An Approach To Arranging

I thought it might be of interest to shed some light on my approach to arranging, which mostly involves writing orchestrations for T.V. bands and stage shows. These types of arrangements generally involve taking existing material which then has to be translated in to a live situation for the band to play. In the case of television, the song usually needs to be edited down to somewhere around 2 minutes and put in the appropriate key and conversely, for stage shows, the song often needs to be extended to an 8 minute extravaganza, going through as many keys and rhythmic variations as possible to allow the choreographer ample opportunity to bring on early arthritis for the dancers.

But let’s kick off with some basics.

I don’t intend to get in to the specifics of orchestrating (voicings, writing for strings etc.) but more an overview and some thoughts I try to keep in mind when approaching a new arrangement.

1. Appropriateness

What am I writing for?
The money. True, but you’ll find funds quickly dry up if you are asked to write out “Smoke On The Water” for a television date with the resident house rock band and your arrangement ends up resembling a tribute to Keith Jarrett.
Write to the brief, with sympathy to the style and the musicians. If your assignment is a three chord rock thrash, then accept that is the song, but try to isolate what ‘makes that song tick’? How is it individual from any other three chord rock thrash? Is there a prominent guitar riff? Does the groove revolve around a drum/bass pattern? If so, these are the areas you need to focus on. This of course applies when your arrangement is actually a transcription that is then orchestrated for your musician line up.

2. The Musicians – your best resource

Unless you are a guitar player, then I venture to say that the guitarist knows more about guitar than you. Likewise the drummer knows more about drums and so on for every other musician on his/her instrument.
In many instances, you may actually know the musicians who will be playing your hard work. If in doubt about whether your brilliant idea is in register, readable or just outright playable, then call the musician in question or a sympathetic person who plays that instrument. My experience has been that musicians are more than willing to point out the error of your ways. However, do not take this as criticism. They are giving you a fabulous (free) lesson and ensuring that your arrangement, when presented to themselves and their colleagues, is played to the highest possible standard.

3. Keep It Simple

This doesn't necessarily mean simplistic. Overwriting is a plague in the commercial arena. Having played countless arrangements in various situations from film scores to club shows, I am consistently impressed when an arrangement is clear, concise, playable and sounds like magic. This is the sign of an arranger who knows what they’re doing. As an example. I’ve been presented piano parts of a traditional rock song where every chord of comping has been notated, to the point the chart runs in to a dozen pages of notation climaxing with my collapse off the piano stool. Then I’ve had the same chart presented as a 2 page ‘slash’ chart with the instruction ‘rock comp’ and I’ve invariably given a better performance than on the former.
Of course, this has to be approached judiciously and keep in mind for what level of musician and situation you are writing. Mrs Agnew, the local community pianist will probably be horrified to have a ‘slash’ chart to play for the local amateur Gilbert and Sullivan Society. Again, remember guideline number 1 – Appropriateness. On my arrangements, more often than not, the bass part is fully written out (often with added chord symbols for clarification or freedom) and brass and string parts are always written in full with the relevant articulations, dynamics etc. But even here, there are ways to simplify the look of the part for ease of playing and thus an improved performance.

4. Clarity

Really an extension of the above idea. There’s little point in writing the best notes in the world if no one can read your writing. Invest in decent music publishing software such as Sibelius, or employ the services of a professional copyist to interpret your wild scribblings of genius.

5. Who’s The Star Around Here Buddy?

In my tempestuous early days of arranging, I was often so caught up in the orchestration, with counterpoint here, re-harmonization and rhythmic displacing there, that the poor vocalist or featured soloist was often left to fight over an ever-growing junkyard of ideas to be heard. Be sympathetic. If you use music notation software, sing the song while you have the arrangement play back. Your arrangement shines when the star shines. By an amazing coincidence, your bank balance increases proportionately.

So there you have it. Just some initial thoughts and we have barely rippled the surface. My final piece of advice: enjoy yourself.


Dave P-B
27 August 2005