Arranging for Dummies. . .

[Scott Ramminger]

I'm thinking of writing some charts for a several horns -- rock and R&B stuff mostly. I"m looking for a basic arranging book that has charts that show the concert ranges of the various horns -- trumpet, bone, saxes, and talks about voicing choices for two to five horns.

Not really looking for a book that covers everything soup to nuts -- big band arranging, strings, etc. Something basic would be nice. If it had some examples of how some of the popular R&B and rock horn sections have typically been voiced (Motown, Stax, Tower of Power, etc.) that would be nice.

I wrote a few big band charts back in high school, but it's been a while (I'm 50 now). Back in the day I had a thin little book -- I think it was by Sy Oliver -- that covered some big band arranging basics that was quite helpful. Something like that for R&B arranging would be perfect. . .

Any ideas?

[jdbojarski]

These are two pretty good all-around books that I would highly recommend.


http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Jazz-Voicings-Arranging-Ensembles/dp/0634014439/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

http://www.amazon.com/David-Bakers-Arranging-Composing-Ensemble/dp/0882844695/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249492173&sr=8-1

[Off-kilter]

Having just finished Saxophone Summer Camp, I too have gotten the arranging bug. Something about the sound of 45 saxes playing the " Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso" really got me buzzed and I want to do some stuff like that . It's made me listen to Henry Mancini in a whole new way ( and I already liked him to start with).Anyway, here's the results of my preliminary research. Books- " Arranging for Large Jazz Ensemble" by Dick Lowell and Ken Pulig..."Modern Jazz Voicings" by Ted Pease and Ken Pulig...and the one I've got on order,"Writing for Saxophones" by Jay Easton. All of these can be found easily by Googling the titles. There's also an on-line arranging course at WWW.northernsounds.com that's free and seems quite good. I'm just beginning to plow my way through it. Bit of a slog,I obviously need a little more work on basic theory but I'm motivated. Lastly,there's also a book by Henry Mancini,going from memory I believe it's called "Scales and Scores" that might be worth looking into.Have a look into these and see if any are of help.

[sleepless]

http://www.amazon.com/Musicians-Guide-Reading-Writing-Music/dp/0879305703/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249494762&sr=1-1

I have used this book a lot - it's not strictly arrangment, it's more like a crash course for reading music notation. The back of the book has a chart of concert keys and pitch ranges for all instruments though - very handy. Paperback book, very thin, quick read and easy to carry around to rehearsals.

[gary]

There are transcription books of arrangements by Chicago and BS&T. I would suggest getting these books and seeing how they did it. Especially with Chicago, you'll see the use of unisons breaking into harmonies only at certain important points. Also, how to voice chords to get a big sound with only three horns. With BS&T you'll see how using a larger horn section makes some things easier (eg note choices on complex chords) than with three horns, but you'll also see the expanded possibilities.

The techniques themselves for horn writing in pop/R&B are pretty basic. What a book will not show you, is how you personally get some good musical ideas. That is, anybody can learn to score the notes for three horns, but coming up with good riffs and melodies, or counter-melodies, which is what horn writing is all about in these genres, that comes from you and it gets back to the SOS answer - do a lot of deep, concentrated listening until the style (in this case, horn lines) come instinctively from you. Frankly, I would start with some well-know stuff that you are familiar with and just copy what's there. Get the basic scoring techniques down. Then move on.

If you've got a notation program, you can also import MIDI files of some of those R&B/pop tunes you are interested in and get an idea of how to handle the horn lines. Many MIDI files are a mess when you do that, but others are quite manageable once you get the process down.

If you want a small-group resource book, probably the Pease book mentioned above is a good bet. I think it goes beyond your needs, but some of the more sophisticated applications he illustrates might give you some ideas in your own writing.

[Gregg W. Jackson]

I'm looking for a basic arranging book that has charts that show the concert ranges of the various horns -- trumpet, bone, saxes, and talks about voicing choices for two to five horns.

Pete Thomas's web site would be a good place for you to start.

For ranges, see http://www.petethomas.co.uk/jazz-ranges.html
For voicings, see http://www.petethomas.co.uk/jazz-blockvoicing.html and http://www.petethomas.co.uk/jazz-blockvoicing-b.html

[CardinalRule]

+1 on Gary's suggestions.
I have been on a transcribing tear this past month. Like you, I am interested in knowing how to arrange for a small group (jazz, not R&B). I have learned so much in the process--more so than I think a book could tell me initially, IMO. I will get one of those arranging books--probably the Pease one--as I think now a lot of the info will make more "sense" to me after having had this immediate and hands-on experience with the music.

[Scott Ramminger]

Thanks for the tips guys. The transcriptions idea is a great one. 'Cause that is what I'm after -- a big, interesting sound with three or four horns.

[gary]

Scott - regarding the scoring, basically, just keep in mind the tessituras of the horns and, unless you are going for a special effect, keep your voicings in the same tessitura on each horn. I see this is problematic in inexperienced arrangers; two horns are in strong registers while another is in a weak register. In other words, if you voice the lead instrument (probably trpt) in a mellow tessitura, voice the other instruments also in their mellow ranges; and biting, edgy trpt, likewise the other instruments in a similar tessitura for each of those instruments.

Another tip with just a couple of instruments, voice your basic chords but then look for a note that is an extension, that has some tension to it, that you can substitute for a basic chord tone. This will make three horns sound like five. Of course, you have to be consistent, so don't just do that on one voicing, but carry it out through a phrase or lick. Also, this doesn't always work in basic pop or blues which are not inclined to use extensions.

If you just follow these two simple concepts you can go a long way towards making your voicings full, balanced and effective.

[JL]

Also check out some Horace Silver tunes, especially if you want to know what to do with only two horns, say trumpet & tenor.

[patchmo]

I'm waitin' for "Arranging for SmartA$$e$!:tongue1: :tongue7:

[Roger Aldridge]

Arranging for the Large Jazz Ensemble (Berklee Press) is one of the very best I've seen. It covers A LOT of ground. The techniques learned from this book can be then used for any size of band (small or large).

Highly Recommended!

Roger

[Roger Aldridge]

Scott,

If you're looking for a big sound with 3 or 4 horns, focus on using spread voicings as well as drop-2 and drop-2&4 mechanical voicings. Each one is covered in the Berklee book I recommended in the previous message. 4 horns, of course, will give you more possibilities than with 3. To pick up on what Gary said, approach your spread voicings so that the bottom 2 or 3 horns have essential chord tones -- such as 1, 3, 7 -- then (above those notes) the remaining horns use upper tensions (some kind of 9 ,11, 13) of the chord.

I'm careful about the intervals between instruments in my voicings. In particular, I strive to have at least one major seventh interval (if possible) between two instruments in a spread or drop voicing. As an example of a 4-horn spread voicing on a C minor seventh chord (going up from the bottom): C, Eb, Bb, D (9th). Sometimes it's possible to have TWO major seventh intervals as in this example of a F mj 7 (#11): F#, C#, E#, B#. Having major seventh (or minor second) intervals between instruments in a voicing is one of the best things for having a rich and interesting sound.

Again, I highly recommend the Berklee book. It covers topics that we're not able to go into depth in a forum message...such as low interval limits, recommended instrument ranges, mechanical versus spread voicings, linear writing, etc. The book comes with a CD so you can actually listen to the examples given in each chapter.

Roger