This song is named after a young Brazilian woman named Rafaela who was
acting as a translator for a Brazilian guitarist performing in Nashville.
The talented guitarist seemed enamored of Rafaela, but she didn't share the
sentiment. I wrote this composition a few weeks after meeting the two
Brazilians; I suppose I was in a Brazilian state of mind.
This Brazilian state of mind is not new to me by any means, though I have
never visited Brazil. Fortunately, I am barely old enough to remember when
the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim was relatively new and Americans such as
the late Charle Byrd and Stan Getz were embracing the "new beat."
To me, this sound has always been associated with sophistication and
elegance. I can remember being four or five years old and my mother
dragging me along while she shopped in the ritzy, heavily-perfumed,
chandelier-adorned Lord & Taylor department store in Falls Church,
Virginia with "The Girl From Ipanema" or "One-Note
Sampa" playing through the store sound system. It is amazing how music
can embellish our life experience! The innocent, unaffected child in me
loves this music.
Yes, this was before hippies and acid rock. In the 60's this type of
music was associated with "the establishment" and dubbed
"elevator music" {when is the last time you heard music in an
elevator?}, so it was an entirely nostalgic experience for me to compose
"Rafaela."
In composing this song, the goal wasn't trying to do something
particularly innovative, but rather to have fun with a style that I enjoy.
My stylistic evolution as a composer is just beginning. Many musicians do
not compose because they feel that they have no unique style. Compositional
styles evolves after imitation, experience and experimentation. I doubt
that most composers start with a unique style.
I do not particularly care for the generalization that minor keys are sad
and major keys are happy, yet I would say that the moods of
"Rafaela" are a mix of melancholy {Eminor} and hopefulness
{modulating to Emajor}, ending with melancholy, as the background story of
"Rafaela" might suggest. Although a bossa nova is usually in 2/4
time, I wrote this in 4/4 because of the phrasing of the melodic lines.
While this song works fine as a fingerstyle solo, the melody {the highest
stems-up notes} can easily be given to a flute player or other monophonic
instrument, resulting in a nice doubling of the melody between the two
instruments.
When playing this as a solo, the arrangement of the parts {bass line,
chords, melody} are intended to recreate the sound of a small jazz combo
without drums. It is extremely important to make sure that the different
lines are held for the full durations of the notes. Otherwise, the
counterpoint will not be achieved.
Finally, this is a good rhythmic study. Perhaps playing the melody and
the bass line separately a few time will give you the rhythmic feels for
the different parts. This one may take some diligence. It is a subtle but
graceful, sexy but not flashy piece. I hope you will enjoy the results!

R.H.
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