?Lovely? by Billie Eilish and Khalid was released in April 2018. Written and produced by Finneas O?Connel, brother of Billie Eilish, it was used as the soundtrack to Season Two of ?13 Reasons Why? - a drama on Netflix. The song went Platinum in New Zealand and USA, and reached the top five in the New Zealand and Australian Charts.

I think that it lends itself beautifully to a String Quartet Arrangement and very much enjoyed working on it. At the moment I have only a computer version of the Score but will be recording it with Capriccio Quartet once lockdown restrictions are at an end.

Feel free to change the bowing, especially in the eight-quaver accompaniment bars. These do need to be heard, but very much as a background texture. I envisaged the song as played with a great deal of delicacy and subtlety, though this is hard to achieve with Sibelius software. In this arrangement the cello has less to do than usual, but there are some sudden shifts of position and that deep presence is vital to the overall effectiveness of the song. The double stopping usually includes one open string.

I experimented for a long time with different octaves for the violin to play at Letters C and E. You may like to change the score at this point if it feels easier, or just prefer one or the other. I opted for the high octave at times because the unison with the viola two octaves below seemed to have a lot of emotional power. However one octave apart also sounds good so younger players could easily tackle this song.

My Youtube Channel has many of my arrangements for String Quartet, most recorded by Capriccio Quartet, and all but two available as Sheet Music Plus products. Please visit me there :- Helen Marple-Horvat, Songwriter, Arranger, Composer.

'The Crown' is an award winning Netflix series that has won the hearts of many people around the world. Hans Zimmer wrote the theme for the main title with Rupert Gregson-Williams, from Wiltshire, composing music for the first series, joined by Lorne Balfe, a Scottish composer for series two.


I have made an arrangement for String Quartet and hope to make more for different combinations of instruments and piano in the future.

As usual my arrangement can be played by professionals for concerts, weddings and events but also tackled by young people. The key is the original one, D minor, which is easy for strings, and younger players can make use of open strings and take as many bows as they need. I have included some bowing as a guide. Most of the double stopping includes one open string but less experienced players can leave out one of the notes where necessary, especially of it is doubled by one of the other players. I have included some 'commas' in this arrangement and recommend recovering the bow and watching the leader like a hawk!

The long ?piano? sections will need lots of crescendo and decrescendo markings to sound effective. I put down some ideas, but feel free to experiment. The main thing is that they grow and decay again, to keep up the tension. Without that movement, those soft passages might sound boring, albeit the chords are gorgeous.

I have included a crescendo in the penultimate bar before each new dynamic, but ideally a long crescendo is needed between each new dynamic marking. The texture becomes gradually thicker, which will help, but I am looking forward to Capriccio Quartet recording this one as they are so good at building up excitement.

There must be a great deal of drama at letters D and O. After a massive increase in dynamic I am hoping for a ?breath? at the comma, and a very sudden softness for the chords that follow. I also like harmonics for the viola at bars 21-22, giving way to a natural note on the fourth beat of 22. I would like the harmonic in viola to be almost imperceptible as the piece closes out. I haven?t marked it as such, and I couldn?t write a ?simile? on the page without clashes of staves or an extra page. I intended it to be a harmonic to the end though.

Please send me any recordings you make because I love to hear people playing my arrangements, even if it is a phone recording, and especially younger players! I am on facebook and I have a Youtube Channel too. Helen Marple-Horvat Songwriter, Arranger, Composer.