What is arranging? Arranging is the practice of taking music
written for one medium and adapting it to be performed on another.
An arrangement can be done of any piece of music. The only real
limit is your imagination
Slide 4
Why change instrumentation? There are A LOT of pieces in the
world of classical music On imslp.org, an online library of public
domain music, there are over 90,000 works, and thats just the
pieces that are free to use In addition to those, there are at
least as many pieces not free to use This massive library of work
is split up among all instruments and voices
Slide 5
Why change instrumentation? Despite there being a massive body
of work, the pieces are almost always composed exclusively for an
explicit instrumentation Without changing instrumentation or
creating a unique arrangement of a piece, many pieces will never be
accessible to musicians who do not play the instrument it was
written for
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Example #1 Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky This
piece was composed by Mussorgsky upon viewing an exhibit on the art
of a recently deceased friend Original composition: solo piano In
1922 Maurice Ravel orchestrated (arranged) the piece for full
symphony orchestra The adjustment allowed for more room to
experiment with texture and sound It also made the piece accessible
to wind and string musicians (the piece was previously arranged in
1915 by Sir Henry Wood, but the Ravel orchestration has been the
standard since its debut) Ravels orchestration
Slide 7
Pictures cont. Pictures at an Exhibition is a popular piece
among arrangers, its been set for many ensembles besides the
standard orchestra Brass Quintet Percussion Ensemble Woodwind
Quintet Solo Guitar Harp Duet
Slide 8
Thats really cool, but what about other music? As a classical
trombonist, I know what it can be like to play so much classical
and art music that you start to get sick of it Luckily, arranging
is not limited to the classical world Some Nights for String
Quartet Timber for Marching Band Yesterday for Jazz Band
Slide 9
So you want to make an arrangement of your own? What youll need
Know what song or piece of music you want to arrange Know what
ensemble you want to arrange it for If sheet music is available,
use it! If not, there are other ways around Knowing music theory is
helpful, but not entirely necessary Youll need manuscript paper or
music notation software Finale is one of the best, but there is a
free alternative (Musescore)Musescore If you want to perform it,
make sure you have willing musicians and rehearsal time/space
Slide 10
Getting Started For this example, well arrange Caro Mio Ben, an
Italian aria that many classically trained vocalists have sung for
a small instrumental ensemble.
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Step by Step The first step in arranging (after choosing the
piece and finding music) is to determine the ensemble To keep
things interesting, lets do it for oboe, trumpet, horn, and
vibraphone After selecting the instrumentation, look for lines in
the piece, whether theyre melodic or harmonic, just look for
continuity, and assign a line to an instrument Well assign the
trumpet the solo line, the horn the bass line, the vibraphone the
inner parts, and the oboe a hybrid part
Slide 13
Slide 14
What about something else? For the next example, well examine
Lana Del Rays song Young and Beautiful
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4uD6o9XxLs Music for this song is
available, but only for sale or obtainable illegally. What is an
arranger to do in this case? -Here is where your theory knowledge
comes in handy
Slide 15
Wheres the music?! Most pop songs can be found on youtube for a
reference Once you find a recording you like, search for the chords
for the song through any search engine and look through some of the
results, eventually, you should come onto something like this:
Slide 16
Wheres the music?! The piano or guitar is your best friend at
this point! Take the time to listen to the recording bit by bit,
and figure out the notes and rhythms at a piano or other
instrument, writing down your discoveries along the way. This
method will take much longer than the sheet music approach, and
will likely require a broader knowledge of music theory, especially
if you are going to arrange it for a large ensemble This method
also allows room for you to put your own spin on things; without
being fed the lines and placements, you can add your own flair to
your arrangement without deviating off course
