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Whether you want to learn how to arrange for your ensemble or just want to improve your arranging skills, here are my top 10 arranging tips and tricks arranging. Of course, these can and should be considered when composing your own music as well.  All good arranging, in my opinion, is based upon the overtone series.  What that demonstrates is that in nature, the frequencies are more open on the low end and closer together on the high end.  This is not one of my top 10, this is the overarching premise behind all arrangements sounding good.  The following is an example of a Bb overtone series (minus the flat 7th) to demonstrate what a well-voiced Bb major chord looks like for band:

Larry’s Top 10 Tips and Tricks:

1. Start by arranging a 4-part Bach chorale or hymn – find one in a band-friendly key, write it out for the instruments, and hear it played.  There is nothing like hearing something you have put on paper realized with living, breathing musicians.  It is still the best way to learn.  Don’t change voices – what I mean is don’t have an instrument play some Alto parts and then switch to Tenor and so forth. Keep the integrity of the SATB lines.  What this does is show you that all that is needed for a pleasing sound in any arranging situation is 4 parts, and it sounds super full just like that.  Less really is more when arranging.

2. Picking the key is the most important part of arranging. 

   First, determine who you want to have the melody and then make sure the key works for those instruments.  I often take longer to pick the key than actually arranging the tune.  I cannot stress how important that is.  As a part of that, pick keys that work for band (flat keys – Bb, Eb, F, Ab are best), because they work best acoustically on the instruments with the least problem notes.  For strings, of course, sharp keys work better acoustically (sharp keys – D, G, A).

3. Next, write the bass line, and make sure it works in counterpoint to the melody.  The bass line should help the music get over the bar line, so not just whole notes. Having good bass line movement helps to propel an arrangement forward.  This is something many beginning arrangers do not pay enough attention to when writing arrangements.

4. Next, write a countermelody – again, it must work in counterpoint to the melody and bass line. Countermelody moves when the melody is at rest or sustaining.  Don’t let the countermelody get in the way of the melody.  Don’t add a countermelody if it is not needed, but certainly, a well-crafted one will help many songs feel more complete.

5. Lastly, add a rhythmic accompaniment – but be careful not to add too much – the listener cannot grasp too much going on at once.

6. You don’t need #3, 4 or 5 all of the time. It is nice to have thin textures (something that is not done enough in my opinion) – just melody or just melody and bass line or just melody and countermelody or just melody, bass line and countermelody or just melody and rhythmic accompaniment.  But, just like a Bach chorale, no more than 4 things are needed or there will be no clarity.

7. Rhythmic clarity is important – rhythms must line up top to bottom or it will be impossible to make it sound clean.

8. Harmonic clarity is also very important – It is not good for the trumpets to change chords on the and of 4 for example while others change on 1 of the next measure.

9. Don’t write non-chords – one of the things young arrangers often do wrong is to try and write harmony on every note, sometimes causing not real chords.  This causes what I call “uncomfortable counterpoint.”

10. Use part writing rules you learned in theory. Why? Because they work! You know, 7th resolves down, 3rd resolves up, etc.  You can certainly break the rules, but you have to know the rules first so that you can break them for a good musical reason.

Bonus – If you are writing for marching band, you should consider “Hot Zones”.  Yes, trumpets can play a written low Bb, but will it give you the best punch you are looking for outside?

Keep these things in mind if you want your arrangements or compositions to sound their best. Good luck!

Hot-Zones

The beauty of music is that there is something for everyone. What one person thinks is the greatest piece ever written could be the most annoying piece for someone else. As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and that axiom is never more apparent than in the selection of literature for your ensembles. Listen, we musicians are a judgmental lot. Sometimes we look down on other teachers because of the music they select to perform with their students. Remember, there is no one more qualified to decide what music to play with your students than you. So, naysayers begone, let people do the jobs they were trained to do.

Rather than tell you what is good or bad music, I will help you determine what are some characteristics of quality music that will help you to better choose music for your ensembles. These certainly are not the only characteristics, but some important ones that can signal the worth of the pieces you select for your students.

1. Intrigue – Does the piece pique your interest? Does it hold your attention? Does it take you on a musical journey, or does it seem too predictable? Is there something about the piece that is memorable? Will you walk away with something after it is over? Will it have an effect on you and your students?

2. Drama – Does the piece have a sense of shape or arc, like a good book? One aspect could be the shape or arc of phrases and the overall arc or form of the entire piece. Does it have well-placed climactic features, or is it just sort of monotone and rambling?

3. Artistry – Does the piece have something to say? It is sophisticated? Is it well-crafted? Is it creative? Does it show genius? Even a well-written grade 1 piece can show these things.

4. Craft – Does the work show the composer’s skill? This is different than artistry, especially for a piece written for students. A piece could have all of the above elements, but be poorly scored due to the composer’s lack of understanding of orchestration and technical limitations of the instruments. This can hurt the overall effectiveness of the piece. I suggest that you look more carefully at this area when selecting literature for your students. Bad results can happen with what is a seemingly good piece if the composer does not have an understanding of what is possible on the instruments and what “works” in scoring. I have reviewed literally thousands of pieces that might have characteristics 1, 2 and 3, but have scoring that will preclude them from being successful with your ensembles. Here are three simple things to look for:

   • Look for what I call uncomfortable counterpoint. That is, look for places where there are non-chords on weak beats (or strong beats too sometimes) that don’t really make a lot of sense from a “theory” standpoint. If you listen to a piece and it feels at times like something might be weird, then check for uncomfortable counterpoint.

   • Check the scoring in the lower voices to see if it will be muddy. The way to do this is to remember two things: 1. the overtone series and 2. your college part-writing rules. Remember how you were not supposed to have close intervals between the bass and tenor voices in your part-writing theory assignments? Why? Because it sounds bad, and it gets in the way of nature (the overtone series). The overtone series shows us that open voicing on the bottom will be better acoustically. Close intervals of seconds, thirds and fourths between tuba and other lower instruments, or bass and cello in orchestra, will ultimately sound muddy and be problematic for younger student ensembles.

   • Everybody plays all of the time. This is not creative orchestration and gets tiring to listen to. I find this a lot when I review string orchestra pieces. Even having some simple changes in orchestration can go a long way in making a piece hold interest and be more effective.

5. Space – My friends and I have been discussing this one a lot lately, as it appears that many of today’s composers feel the need to fill up every possible space in music with something going on. One of my friends said, “music is how you get out of silence, and back into silence.” I also believe that there needs to be breath in music. It has to ebb and flow and have moments of repose. Certainly, a piece that comes at you for 3 to 5 minutes straight can be effective, but after that point, our ears need some breaks in order for the next phrase or part of the composition to be more effective. Space can obviously lead to better drama in composition. Rest in music is a good thing and can provide the space necessary for color, texture and timbre, making a piece more intriguing and interesting to listen to.

6. Usefulness – You might think, what does this have to do with quality? In my opinion a lot. I believe that if you determine it is a quality piece of music, then ultimately it has usefulness with your students. I also understand that, in the educational realm, finding pieces that help you teach specific things to your students is very important as well. Although we should consider characteristics 1 through 5 first, it is critical that we find music that can be used to teach concepts that our students need, or pieces that push them in the ways they need to be pushed.

Try not to select music only on the fact you like the tune when you hear the demo recording. Since the music you play with your ensembles is your curriculum, it is essential that you take the time, when picking music, to look carefully at the piece for the items mentioned above. Are there other factors that can be considered? Certainly, but this is a good place to start. Even pieces that are to be used for functional purposes like a holiday concert or a spring concert can and should have all of these elements. I am a big believer that there is great music in every genre. The problem today is sifting through the thousands of choices you have as a music educator to get just the right piece for your students’ needs. I hope that these suggestions will help to clarify your selection process into something more concrete. Most importantly, trust your musical tastes and talent when selecting music, and always keep in mind that no one knows the needs of your students better than you! Good luck!

Have you worked on breathing lately? While it may sound simple, there’s nothing better than breathing exercises to help get your band ready for action. The following are some teaching concepts you can use to teach dynamics and concepts of crescendos and decrescendos. All exercises are to be done by blowing air through the instrument or “airing” the exercise or passage of music. Try these at the beginning of each rehearsal. A few minutes everyday or a couple of times a week can payoff some big dividends!

Broader Range / Awareness of Dynamics:

Before beginning remind students to stay relaxed and always play from a full breath.  You can do these exercises with or without instruments.

1. Breath in 4 counts / exhale 8 counts at mf
2. Breath in 4 counts / exhale 8 counts at f
3. Breath in 4 counts / exhale 8 counts at ff
4. Breath in 4 counts / exhale 8 counts at mp
5. Breath in 4 counts / exhale 8 counts at p
6. Breath in 4 counts / exhale 8 counts at pp
7. End by taking a big cleansing breath, and relax for just a moment.

At each step of the way remind students to notice the difference in the volume and the speed of air needed at each dynamic level.

Making Better Crescendos and Decrescendos

Remind the students to stay relaxed and to always play from a full breath.

1. Inhale 4 counts / crescendo 4 counts / decrescendo 4 counts
2. Inhale 4 counts / crescendo 8 counts / decrescendo 8 counts
3. Inhale 4 counts / crescendo 12 counts / decrescendo 12 counts

The trick is to get the decrescendo to match the crescendo. Most bands will crescendo nicely but the decrescendo falls off much too quickly. In most cases (depending on other balance issues) the goal is to have the decrescendo mirror the crescendo.

Try taking the crescendo into the first beat of the decrescendo before getting softer. This will aid in the decrescendo not getting too soft too soon.

And remember…

Always play from full!

Just because something is at pp and lasts only a few counts doesn’t mean you don’t take a full breath. Let the fullness of the breath do the work for you.

Stay relaxed!

Tension is the sound killer; you can never sound your best if your body is tense.

Be creative!!

There is nothing hard and fast in the examples above:

1. Change the number of counts for the inhale
2. Change the number of counts for the exhale
3. Mix the counts for inhale and exhale
4. Change the dynamics
5. Change the tempos

Anything you can think of to get them to focus and “air” and subsequently sound.

Applying to the Music

If you have a particular trouble spot in your program you want to address, develop a breathing exercise utilizing that section. Do this at the beginning of the rehearsal, and then apply it later on.

When you get to the section of the music you want to work on, have students “air” the passage on their instruments. Tell them to remember how the different levels felt and sounded at the beginning of the rehearsal and to apply that feeling and sound here.

A couple of reps here and they will get a much better idea of not only the idea of varying dynamics but also how to actually make a broader range of dynamics.

As with all things students, the next time you come to this section it may only be marginally better or maybe not at all. Simply have the students “air” through the passage again and remind them what it is suppose to sound like. Repeat as often as necessary until it becomes smooth and even.

Throughout your rehearsals refer back to the breathing exercises and have students air through sections of the music especially when it begins to sound tense or uneven.