FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do i get a "preview" copy of the music?
By law, I can't send out my arrangements for previewing, instead, however I DO offer a two-part alternative solution.
First, you may listen to FREE one minute audio samples of all my arrangements and other arranger's work (for which I've recorded vocal learning trax) on my website. Below are detailed instructions on how to navigate my site to listen to these demos. From the length of the instructions below, it may seem like a complicated process, but once you've followed through it once, you'll see how easy it is to listen to FREE demos!
A. On my website's home page (left side), click on the large gold text that says "Instantly listen to FREE samples of all audio products."
B. On the page that comes up, about halfway down the page is a drop-down menu that says "category". Click, hold, and drop down that menu to the category you wish to look at (for example, WOMEN-WRIGHT. That category will list all the FREE sample audio demos of Larry Wright arrangements for women).
C. On the list that comes up, peruse the list and simply click on any song title you wish to listen to. If you have a particular song title you wish to listen to, use the search engine (in the box that says "search") and type in that box any key word (that is, important word) of the song title. All the song titles that have that word in the title will then be listed for you.
D. Click on the song title (in gold text) that you want to listen to. You'll be taken to a page where the demo will automatically start to play the one minute audio sample in a few seconds. Sorry, but you may not download (or drag) these demos to your desktop.
Second, if you play the FREE short demo and like what you hear and want to hear the full-length audio demo, you may purchase and IMMEDIATELY download (at the end of the purchase transaction) to your computer's desktop) the $2 full-length audio demo. These demos are found on my website as part of the normal Women's and Men's lists. Below are detailed instructions how to purchase and download these full-length audio demos.
A. On my website's home page, look for the (green) categories menu in the upper left-hand corner of the page. Click on the category that says "Women's Full Demos."
B. On the list that comes up, peruse the list and simply click on any song title you wish to listen to. If you have a particular song title you wish to listen to, use the search engine (in the box that says "search") and type in that box any key word (that is, important word) of the song title. All the song titles that have that word in the title will then be listed for you.
C. Click on the song title (in gold text) that you want to order. Then follow the directions to complete your order and download the full-length demo to your computer's desktop. Please realize that my website store, although very large (with many categories of products for both men and women), is easy to navigate IF you read the few important steps to navigating my website. On the home page, click on "Important! Before attempting To Navigate This Extensive Site, Please Click Here"... and please read these few important points! For example, the very first important point states that you should use a fairly current (no more than 3 or 4 years old) version of internet "browser." Otherwise, the complete pages of my site may not be shown, and necessary prompts (buttons to click on) to complete the ordering process may not be visible. Updating your browser is generally free and easy to do.
2. Can I purchase just the arrangement?
Unfortunately, no. In recent years, Hal Leonard Publishing Corp. and Alfred Music Co., both of whom control the "print" licensing for the vast majority of songs we want to sing, have made it increasingly difficult and expensive to get sheet music (barbershop arrangements). Unfortunately, gone are the days when you could pay an arranger (like me) a $50 arranger's fee (for my work) and pay the publisher $1.25 for each copy of music you needed.
Now, by arbitrary rules these publishers have established, I can no longer even charge any fee for my arrangement efforts. And on top of that, you need to go through the process of applying directly to the publisher for a "song" license (prior to getting the music from me). The fee these two main publishers (above) are now charging (you, the barbershop customer) are a "per song/per group" flat licensing fee of approx. $55-$75 (per song) for quartets.... and $100-$175 for choruses, depending upon the song (more recent songs are more) and the size of the chorus. On top of that, Hal Leonard Corp. (at least) has been taking 4 to 6 weeks to issue a licensing contract to you. Once you have that contract in hand is when I'm finally legally authorized to send you a copy of the arrangement... imprinted with your group's name, date, and sole right to sing the arrangement.
The only way I can personally receive any money for all my considerable effort (of writing the arrangement and recording the vocal learning trax) is to only sell my arrangements in conjunction with my learning trax. Audio recordings (i.e., vocal learning trax) are not under music publisher's control. To comply with their rules, I therefore charge $0 for my arrmt.... and $100 for my vocal learning trax. On my website, I call this arrmt/trax grouping an "Arrmt/Trax Combo." So, until the publisher's rules change, this is the way I'm forced to do business. Almost all (99%) of my Arrmt/Trax Combos are $100. To help out my customers financially, I offer my "2 for 1" deal all the time. Buy a combo and receive a second combo free. Of course, you're still looking at the "song" licensing fee from the publisher. Only "my part" (the learning trax) is actually free.
3. How do I find your $2 full-length audio demos?
In the green menu on the left side of my website's home page, click on either "Women"... or "Men", then "Women's Full Demos." Then use the search engine to find the title you want. Click on that title which places it in your shopping cart. Then proceed to "checkout."
4. I'm looking for one of your arrangements and learning trax "Combo", and can't seem to find it on your site. How do I find it?
To find the title in the "Women's Buy One Get One Free Combo" list, once in a great while, if the words in a song title aren't unique enough (e.g., too common of words,... like the title "Let It Go"), the resulting search for the title creates a very long list of song titles to wade through. For titles like these, I've tried to also include a very descriptive ADDITIONAL word or two, e.g., "from Frozen." So simply typing the word "Frozen" would find you that product!
5. I purchased an Arrmt/Trax Combo months and months ago, however, somehow the trax were deleted accidentally in my computer and I'm now wanting to download them again. How do I do that?
If your order is more than two weeks old, contact me to reset the downloads "clock." for another two weeks (of access). After I reset the clock, go to my website's home page. In the upper right-hand corner find "Customer." Click on it and follow the prompts to download your trax again.
6. How do you sing so together when it's just you singing all the parts?
By recording the keyboard instuments and strings playing each part separately, I can vocally sync up with that instrumental part and then gradually "build" the tracks in almost perfect sync.
7. You record a lot of ladies Learning Trax. How can you sing those really high tenor notes?
I can sing up to about high Eb(on a good day). Any higher than that, and I use my computer software to tranpose notes up to the correct pitch, sometimes up as much as a 4th or 5th interval. Currently, my very talented daughter Ashley is singing all my ladies trax. She's as good as it gets!
8. On your older recordings, why do you sometimes mix drums in the background of the uptempo songs?
Barbershoppers really have a tendency to not sing good rhythm nor do they hold tempo very well. A light drum track in the background is a great "learning tool" in helping you keep notes rhythmically where they belong!
9. On your older trax recordings, Is that a piano (in the background) also playing the part?
Yes,... well, actually it's a "stacking" of various keyboard sounds (piano, electric pianos, and sampled strings sounds).
10. What kind of equipment do you use to record your Learning Trax?
Over the past 25 years, I've probably accumulated about $100,000 worth of very professional recording equipment in my recording studio. Right now, I use a pro audio/midi software called Logic Pro 9. Everything is recorded in the computer (Mac G-5). I use very expensive mic's (Neumann U87-$3200/C12-$5000) and mic-preamps (Neve/Avalon/Manley). I have two "rack towers" (about 4 foot high each) of various signal processing gear, although most current signal processing is done in the computer via Logic Pro 9's native plug-in's and lots of other 3rd party plug-ins.
11. What's the largest number of vocal parts that you've recorded for a Learning Trax?
Probably that one goes to Renee Craig's Coronet Club Chorus arrmts with the Queens Men Chorus also joining in... up to 12 or 13 parts singing at one time.
12. Why do you record keyboard instruments also playing each part?
It helps me when I have to sync up all the vocal parts. I listen to the keyboard part of the current part I'm going to record and then sing along with it.
13. How can you sing all those parts so accurately and not make one mistake?
I do make mistakes! The neat thing is, with my pretty sophisticated equipment, I can "punch-in" sometimes right in the middle of a word and make a correction. I can,... and do look at the finished audio wave files and tune-up any notes that still aren't perfectly in tune or in vertical sync using Melodyne software. It's a very time-consuming process, but it's just the way I like to do things.