"Georgia On My Mind" free arrangement

HarryLikas

I've arranged "Georgia On My Mind" using my 2+2 chord arranging method for solo piano.
“Georgia On My Mind” is a popular song written by Hoagy Carmichael with lyrics by Stuart Gorrell in 1930. Although it was not originally intended as a state anthem, the song’s reflective melody and nostalgic lyrics express a deep sense of longing and emotional attachment. It became widely associated with the state of Georgia through Ray Charles’s 1960 recording, which transformed it into a soul classic and brought it renewed popularity. Over time, the song has been interpreted by many jazz and pop artists and was officially named the state song of Georgia in 1979.

In 2+2 chord arranging, the left hand anchors the harmony, typically playing the root and 7th or the root and 3rd, and sometimes the root and 5th on tonic chords. The right-hand thumb completes the chord by adding either the 3rd or 7th—whichever is not already covered by the left hand—while the remaining fingers carry the melody above.

2+2 voicings are hand-friendly, balanced, and versatile. The left-hand notes can stand alone as a complete accompaniment, while the right hand adds fills or improvisation. With regular practice, the 2+2 system helps pianists move from guessing at chords to playing confident, expressive harmony in just a few weeks.

I’ve arranged over 1,400 solo jazz piano arrangements using the 2+2 method and produced 65 tutorials, all available at www.Patreon.com/HarryLikas
I was also the technical editor for Mark Levine’s The Jazz Theory Book and a contributor to The Jazz Piano Book.

rogerch

HarryLikas Thanks Harry! When you post these arrangements I use them for sight reading practice. Playing slowly with pedal I get a very nice lush jazzy sound that’s a lot different from what I usually play. These arrangements are relatively easy and very fun and rewarding to play!

Sophia

I agree that the ones I tried sound very nice. They are not that easy to play for me just yet though 🙂 But I have very fond memories of this tune, so I look forward to learning it!

HarryLikas

Thanks so much for sharing that—that really makes my day to hear. 😊

Using these arrangements for slow, pedaled sight-reading is exactly how I hoped they’d be used. When you take them at a relaxed tempo, the harmony has time to bloom, and that lush, jazzy sound really comes through—even with relatively simple materials.

And you’re absolutely right: they may look approachable on the page, but they still ask for coordination, balance, and patience. That part comes with time, and fond memories of a tune are a huge advantage—they give you extra motivation to stay with it while the hands catch up.

Take it slowly, enjoy the sound, and let it unfold at its own pace. You’re doing it the right way. 🎹

—Harry

Sophia

Thanks @HarryLikas 🙂 I'm actually tempted to buy your 1400 arrangements book, because so far, the ones I learned are lovely (Edelweiss and Autumn Leaves). And the ones I haven't tried yet, are often pieces I really like 😃

Right now it still takes me weeks to learn any of your arrangements, but perhaps in a few years I'll have progressed to the point where, like Roger, I will be able to sight read them and just enjoy a leisurely tune on a daily basis 🙂

Thanks again for sharing your arrangements with us so generously!

HarryLikas

Sophia You're welcome. Don’t worry at all about how long they take to learn right now—taking weeks is completely normal. One helpful thing is that the chord names written above tend to use the same left-hand shapes, so over time your hands start to recognize the patterns and things get easier to read and play.

Thanks again for letting me know the arrangements are helpful.

rogerch

I'm always looking for sight reading material so I bought the 1400 arrangements. 2800 pages of music! This will keep me busy for a while!

I scanned through the first few hundred pages and saw the keys D, G, C, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, and Db represented. I really appreciate the varied keys as I strive to be equally proficient in all keys! Maybe I'll find F#, B, E, A, and Gb in there somewhere. 😀

I'm really looking forward to playing these arrangements! In addition to sight reading I'll work on understanding how these arrangements are put together so I can add some of these elements to my improvisation toolbox.

Thanks so much @HarryLikas !

ShiroKuro

rogerch 2800 pages of music

OMG that’s a lot of music! Maybe when I finish the sightreading book I’m playing through right now..

Hey @HarryLikas would you say that the difficulty level of the pieces is relatively the same as what we see here?

HarryLikas

rogerch You’re right about the key coverage. Most of the commonly used keys are in there, and you’ll also find F, C, Eb, Bb, and G. I call them the five common keys.
One thing that really helps me with sight reading is that the chord names written above tend to use the same left-hand shape. Over time, your hands start to recognize those patterns automatically, and the music becomes much easier to read and play.
I’m especially glad you mentioned studying how the arrangements are put together — that’s really the goal, so those ideas can carry over naturally into your improvisation.
In 2+2 chord arranging, the left hand anchors the harmony, typically playing the root and 7th or the root and 3rd, and sometimes the root and 5th on tonic chords. The right-hand thumb completes the chord by adding either the 3rd or 7th—whichever is not already covered by the left hand—while the remaining fingers carry the melody above.

HarryLikas

ShiroKuro Yes, is a lot of music 😄
I estimate that about 90% of the arrangements are at roughly the same difficulty level as “Georgia.” A small number are a bit easier or a bit harder, but the overall level is very consistent throughout the book.

ShiroKuro

HarryLikas Maybe you could consider breaking it up and selling (for example) "part 1," "part 2" etc. 😅

HarryLikas

ShiroKuro that's a good idea, thanks.