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SONGBOOK
A TRUE TREATISE OF HARMONY


A song is something subtle, a delicate train of thought composed of harmony, melody, rhythm and lyrics.
Traditionally, in Brazil, written music, music score, etc… have been published with very little concern for accuracy. The result has been a disfiguration of these elements. It is as if music publishers have not thought there was any importance if a melody contained a sharp or a flat note, or if a chord were an augmented or a diminished fifth which is the same as saying it makes no difference if a painter uses pink or purple or that it makes no difference where they put the decimal point in your bank statement.
Fortunately for all of us with an interest in music, Almir Chediak conceived these Songbooks and took the trouble to write these scores together with the authors – with the exception, of course, of Noel Rosa, Vinícius de Moraes and Ary Barroso.
In addition, these scores have been painstakingly revised by Almir, and by the authors when possible, before publishing. What we now have is a register, in each Songbook, of the concept, harmony, spirit and vision of each author. Which is the equivalent of saying that, as a collection, the Songbooks are nothing less than a true, extensive and varied treatise of harmony available to arrangers, singers, musicians, students and dilettantes.
I chose to condense into a single volume my best-known songs rather than scatter them throughout several volumes, interspersed with unpublished or lesser-known melodies. This way, I both reward the reader and keep open the possibility of a second volume when those songs become as well-known and in such demand as these I have chosen for this Songbook.


Carlos Lyra


The Carlos Lyra Songbook is the tenth of the series released by Lumiar Editora of Almir Chediak. There are 55 songs in one volume, all reviewed by the composer.

In this Songbook, you’ll find, in addition to the fifty-five songs, photos, a biography, a discography and a preface by Tom Jobim.

Parallel to this book, Lumiar Discos is releasing the Carlos Lyra songbook in CD and tape. It includes 20 songs interpreted by over thirty artists of Brazilian Popular Music.


Almir Chediak

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