Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

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.

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. Arranging differs from orchestration in that the latter process is limited to the assignment of notes to instruments for performance by an orchestra, concert band, or other musical ensemble. Arranging "involves adding compositional techniques, such as new thematic material for introductions, transitions, or modulations, and endings.... Arranging is the art of giving an existing melody musical variety".

For more information, see this Wikipedia Page.

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How would you live perform a piece whose recording has a faded ending?

Much recorded pop music has endings that fade to silence. If a live all-acoustic band is trying to perform such pieces, it's not really feasible to do a fade. So what other techniques are available to performers and arrangers to end a piece without…
Brian THOMAS
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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 voicings I use for every single chord in a tune in my…
LordDirac
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How to transcribe an arpeggiated 4-note chord to be playable on a violin?

I finished arranging the first movement of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in F minor for a string quartet, only to find out that the chord at bar 7 is impossible for a violinist. My instinctual reaction was: No, it isn't impossible, listen, it is…
Caters
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How do I approximate instruments when arranging an orchestral piece for brass ensemble

I am going to arrange Wagner's Prelude and Liebestod for British brass band. I am not sure if it will be a good fit, but it is worth a try. The instrumentation that I am writing for is…
Eric
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What does an arranger do?

When you see the "arranged by" attribution on a score, what did the arranger (typically) do?
Dave
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"Only open voicing below middle C!" Really?

Every resource I've seen and person I've talked to has said that putting low voices, usually trombones, in close spacing anywhere below C4 is to be avoided at all costs, due to muddiness. As I arrange, though, this rule is causing me some grief, as…
JAF
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What can I do to make cover song to be more interesting?

If I want to cover some songs, I don't want cover it like the original one. Then, I need some refreshment on my cover version right? What can I do to make it more interesting? What are the techniques?
seseorang
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What exactly is the difference between arranging a piece of music and composing it?

I was always under the impression that the composer wrote the piece, and the "arranger" was the one who made it "fuller" by arranging additional instruments for the piece, adding chords behind the basic melody, etc, but I wanted to know for sure and…
masque
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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 the lead singer, and then there's a harmony part…
user9480
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Double basses in Beethoven's Eroica

I have just been listening to Beethoven's Eroica while following a miniature score: Eulenburg score at Amazon. I was paying particular attention to the double basses and I noticed that frequently they went down to the E♭ just below the bass clef…
badjohn
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What's the most comfortable key for a group to sing "Happy Birthday"

I am planning on surprising my wife for her birthday, with a montage video of all of her friends and family singing "Happy Birthday" from their own homes. To do this, I need to create a video they can sing along with. The song has a one-octave…
Andrew Shepherd
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Composing/Arranging for a String Quartet

I've been taking arranging and composing classes at the college I'm attending and I have recently been tasked with writing a piece for a string quartet. I would like to know in general, what should someone be aware of while composing/arranging a…
Dom
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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. Should I write the Eb up the octave instead?
yerman
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Parallel octaves vs doubled octaves

I've read this Wikipedia article on parallel fifths, which also touched on parallel octaves. However, I'm having difficulty understanding the difference between doubled and parallel octaves. I think I understand what a parallel fifth is, and I…
American Luke
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Is there a way to turn sharps and flats into natural notes?

I realise this might be kind of a silly question, but I recently got a kalimba and I am trying to turn various piano songs into kalimba songs! My kalimba is tuned to C major and has 17 keys; no sharps or flats. But most C major songs I've found have…
Gabriel
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