Questions tagged [arranging]
In music, an arrangement is a musical reconceptualization of a previously composed work. It may differ from the original work by means of reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or development of the formal structure.
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Can saxophones be in orchestras, not just like the symphonic jazz orchestras/big band?
I'm arranging a game piece from Minecraft called "Alpha" (aka end credits theme).
I thought the idea of merging school band and orchestra would be a cool idea, but I don't know if writing ...
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Are there general rules for playing a three-voice organ piece without pedals?
I've been fixing up an old reed organ, and would love to play some of Bach's organ works on it; for example, I've had my eye on the chorale prelude Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme (BWV 645).
The ...
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How to transition from a swing feel to a straight feel
I'm working on an arrangement that has a Reggae PreChorus moving into a Rock beat similar to what's known as a "Half-Time Beat". Now my problem is moving from the swing feel of the reggae to ...
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When orchestrating, is it ok to double the melody in a middle voice?
If I have, say, a trumpet and a tenor saxophone (among a larger ensemble), and the trumpet is leading the melody in a semi-high register. Can I double it in the middle register, with the saxophone, ...
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Mood instruction to play a section messily, asynchronously
Another question for my amateur Shostakovich Symphony 11 arrangement for solo piano. The part I am asking about is 29:36 to 29:56 in this video, or rehearsal marks 80 to 82 in the original score. I'm ...
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Can bugles play "Bugler's Holiday" (Anderson)?
Bugler's Holiday (Anderson) was apparently written for a trumpet trio (according to various internet-accessible sites that seem to know).
My question is: Can it be performed by a bugle trio? (I know ...
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What is the best way to notate an arrangement and melody for a low singing voice?
I am a bass-baritone singer and am trying to figure out how best to write and and arrange my music so that I can have the best representation of what I will be performing and recording in my studio. ...
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How to make a transition sound so "in your face"?
I can't really describe well with words what I mean, but this transition in Touch off by Uverworld (01:07) is sort of very "in your face". I feel like some techniques from electronic music ...
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In an arrangement, what rules/heuristics do you use to determine when it's okay for notes to stack on one another?
For example, say you have a piano playing chords whose top notes are between middle C and the C above - in what situations would you say it's okay for some melody line to cross over those top notes? ...
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How are the Imperial March intro harmonies best interpreted on piano?
I'm wondering how the below is most effectively performed on piano. I've solved the 'rhythm problem' (i.e., the very rapid triplet repetitions) by using both hands via piano 'split' feature — each ...
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Terminology for style where melody uses low notes?
Usually the notes that compose the melody are the high notes, and accompaniment are low notes. However, for some arrangements, I've noticed one style flips this by putting the melody in the low notes ...
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Dictation Problem: What is the time signature? [closed]
So this is a song that I am trying to dictate so that I can play it as a duet with my cello teacher (the Briar and the Rose by Tom Waits). However, the time that we used when I sang it with my friends ...
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Comping over the Cmaj7 in "My Favorite Things"
I am wondering if someone can give advice on how to make comping over the Cmaj7 chord in bars 5 through 8 sound more interesting.
In the first 4 bars I play E-7 to F#-7 to E-7/G back to F#-7 and that ...
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Notation for rapid diminuendo
I am writing a part for strings and I want a rapid (but not instant) diminuendo across one bar from forte to total silence by the end of the fourth beat. I had four possibilities in mind for conveying ...
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How can I learn orchestration for songs (rather than for movies)? [closed]
I'm looking for tips and guidelines to learn orchestration for music (not a recommendation for a specific product or anything like that).
I'm talking about songs or performances that were completely ...
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What are popular songs with a philharmonic orchestra arrangement/accompaniment called?
I am trying to understand whether there is a name for this genre,
For example, Somewhere over the rainbow and many songs of Ray Charles like this Eleanor Rigby one. and like in this Barbra Streisand ...
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Big Band solo conventions
I'm writing an arrangement of a typical AABA jazz standard for big band. After the 1st chorus (AABA once) I want a saxophone to take a solo. It occurred to me that I could let a different instrument (...
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Double time swing notation
I am arranging a piece for big band, and I want a section that is being played "straight" (no swing) to immediately be followed by a section with double time swing. Is it necessary to ...
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Transposing a melody into power chords
This question was deemed off-topic, Arrangement of Avicii level's power chords
Which is fair, since it was a tall order. After wrestling with it for another week, I think I can refine my approach ...
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What are the key factors for any composer to select instrument for a song? [closed]
There are lots of instruments in all over the world every instrument have its different sound that could attach differently to the person`s emotion wondering how Music Composer think for selecting ...
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The Role of Piano in Bossa Nova
I'm preparing a Bossa arrangement which will feature: GTR, Drums, Bass, Vocals , Trumpet and piano. I think it's obvious what the role of each instrument will be when playing Bossa Nova. But I am ...
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Author of this piano solo arrangement of Jesus Joy of Man's Desiring [closed]
From the little I know, it seems that the Hess arrangement is seen as the most common reference when it comes to Jesus Joy of Man's Desiring for piano solo.
I stumbled upon another arrangement which ...
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When to abide by Sibelius and not
In the climax of a piece I'm arranging, I want a Bb trumpet to go up to the C two 8ves above Middle C (concert pitch). This is the highest note in the piece. When I write this in Sibelius, I get a ...
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Choosing instrument for a solo
I am currently arranging a big-band piece to be played by my college big band (4 trumpets; 3 trombones + 1 bass trombone; 2 alto & 2 tenor saxes + 1 bari sax; rhythm section). I'm working on a ...
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Making a melodic line stand out in written score
I'm arranging an orchestral piece for solo piano, and find myself transcribing a passage with a single melodic line in the lower register, which to play on piano should alternate between the left and ...
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Voicing Freddie Green-style rhythms in jazz arrangement
I'm working on a jazz arrangement and i was thinking of a walking bass, brushes on the drums, some chord stabs and fills for the piano, but as for the guitar it's a bit difficult. I want to write in ...
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How to play Swallowtail Jig on viola (beginner level)
I'm teaching a few young students the Swallowtail Jig in a fiddling group. I have mostly violins but also a viola player. I'm wondering what the best way is to teach this tune.
The trouble is that ...
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Changing from divisi to multiple parts (Sibelius)
I am currently arranging a piece which has a few divisi parts. I will use the clarinets as the example for this question. There are two of them, and at the beginning (when they are not playing) I want ...
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Can an original composition be an arrangement part 2
I had written awhile back, and raised the question - "can an original composition be an arrangement.” I don't think I was clear. I found this article that may help someone understand my question: ...
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When arranging/transcribing a song, how do know what chords are being played? [duplicate]
I'd like to arrange a song that doesn't have or has little guitar onto fingerstyle guitar. Finding individual notes is tedious but simple, but how do you find chords, especially when it's not even the ...
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Are the higher octave notes required in the chords for Hilda's theme song?
I'm trying to teach myself the theme song for the Netflix original show, Hilda:
With that, I used Chordify to confirm and deny my suspicions for the chords involved:
...
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how do you arrange a drum part for piano?
I'm currently trying to transcribe Come As You Are by Nirvana, for piano. I've got the melody right, but I'm struggling with the drum part, and without the beginning sounds it's really boring. Any ...
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How to make a custom tuning for fingerstyle guitar
Kent nishimura, i rarely see him used standard tuning.
I want to know how does he get his Tuning for the songs he is arranging, i dont need to know how he arrange his songs since that seems to be ...
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Jazz quartets without chord instrument [closed]
I want to write my degree thesis in music theory on arranging for jazz quartets without chord instruments (i.e. Vibraphone, piano, guitar...). For instance, there are the recordings of Gerry Mulligan ...
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Custom rehearsal markings on an arrangement of a piece that already has them
I've arranged a 75 minute symphony for solo piano. This piece is obviously very long, as are its four movements, but it can in fact be relatively well divided into smaller, musically cohesive sub-...
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Should I write my parts in the correct octave?
I am a songwriter and a producer and I am learning how to compose and write music. I am going to be writing guitar, piano, bass and my own vocals. I notice that most sheet music of songs in the genre ...
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Bossa Nova Arrangement
I'm preparing a Bossa Nova Tune and it will feature a Singer, Guitarist, Pianist(me) and some percussion. Now i want the guitar to play the typical Bossa Nova rhythm but I don't know what do play with ...
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Low Eb on electric bass
I'm arranging a piece where the electric bass plays a low Eb on the recording. I think it's probably unfair to expect a bass player to perform in an alternate tuning just to appease this demand. ...
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Scales changes in Orchestration
There is a common technic used in orchestration across all genres of music. Sometimes in the second verse or before the singer is about to repeat another part in the song there is a move usually up in ...
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how can I study orchestration methods for electric guitar?
In this post, I was given some tips on arranging electric guitars. However, I would like to do further reading on the subject (spreads, range, register, coupling, doubling, unisons, etc), and I can't ...
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Why would an arranger change a major G6 chord to a major C chord in second inversion?
I am studying Cold Play's "Don't Panic", and in the piano arrangement, the arranger has changed a major6 chord to an inverted chord with the same bass. Here is the score
In the original ...
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Why do arrangers put the more dissonant note on top of the arrangement and what does that mean for lower singing voices
In piano arrangements of songs I am learning, the melody usually appear on top of the arrangement as I assume it sounds better having it there. I assume this is especially true of dissonant notes as I ...
user35708
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Chord voicings used by backup trios in Motown girl groups?
On songs like Be my baby by the Ronettes or Will you love me tomorrow? by the Shirelles (a Carole King tune), there seems to be a standard style of arrangement where you have the lead vocals sung by ...
user9480
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Military band music
Which instruments typically double up (play unison) in military bands? I have googled this question in different ways, but without an answer.
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Drum chart standards
I'm currently notating a drum chart in Sibelius. The song is "Best to You" by Blood Orange. It's an R&B/Electropop/Afrobeat song. I am not a drummer, and I have only just figured out ...
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How much of a jazz tune should I pre-arrange?
I have been learning jazz piano (mainly solo) for a few months and am trying to incorporate more color and more interesting voicings in my chords. However, I find it very difficult to keep the ...
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Where can I share my guitar arrangements to get more youtube traffic? [closed]
Do you know of any sites where people would be interested in video game OST guitar arrangements?
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Is there a name for arranging a triple-meter piece into quadruple meter?
Is there a technical name for when a piece originally in triple meter is arranged into quadruple meter? (Usually this is done by doubling the first a beat.)
For example, the quadruple-meter ...
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How do you quote foreign motives in a composition?
This seems like it should be straightforward, but I don't know how to do it, so it's not for me at least.
At the timestamp I provide in this song, the Animaniacs' Presidents Song, there is a quote ...
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(How) Can CPE Bach's *Solfeggietto* (Solfeggio) in C Minor be played left-hand alone?
In researching CPE Bach - Solfeggietto - cross-hand playing style?, I stumbled on the following statement in Wikipedia:
The work is often performed by left-hand alone.
How?
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