Try to Remember: SoundTrax Digital Audio Download

This arrangement captures the wistful, intimate quality that makes the original so memorable, while Jay Althouse's choral adaptation sits perfectly within the range and ability of most singers. The song's central theme about memory and nostalgia gives students something genuine to sing about, and the jazz harmonies expose them to the kind of sophisticated songwriting that lives outside classical music.

Stepping into this song feels like walking through a memory, turning it over in your mind, trying to hold onto something that keeps slipping away. The melody has a gentle, searching quality, and the jazz harmonies add layers of emotion beneath what might sound simple on first hearing. Singing it requires singers to find sincerity in simplicity.

This arrangement works for high school and college choirs seeking accessible yet musically substantial jazz choral literature. It also suits smaller ensembles, mixed groups, or treble choirs performing in pops or cabaret contexts where an intimate, character-driven piece makes sense.

• Shape the phrasing around the lyrical content; this isn't a rhythmically driven piece, so let singers breathe where the text naturally suggests it rather than locking to metronomic precision.
• Bring out the jazz voicing by asking singers to listen across chord members rather than focusing only on their own line; the harmonic colors depend on blend and balance.
• Use the recorded accompaniment in rehearsal to establish the harmonic context, then work toward independence so singers feel the changes rather than rely on the track.
• Balance vulnerability with clarity in the vocal sound; the text demands intimacy, but every word needs to land with the audience.

Program this in a concert that explores themes of memory, nostalgia, or connection; it pairs naturally with other standards-based or musical theater repertoire. It also works beautifully as a ballad moment in a lighter program, offering contrast if surrounded by more energetic or rhythmically driven pieces.

• Interpreting jazz harmonies and chord extensions
• Phrasing and breath placement based on lyrical meaning rather than bar lines
• Singing with emotional authenticity and vulnerability
• Balancing blend across jazz voicings
• Learning a standard from American musical theater