What is your Philosophy of Arranging?

Does " Philosophy of Arranging" sound pretentious? Maybe I should just say "Guidelines"or "My Style" or "Things That Work and Things That Don't"

Good arrangements have lots of contrast. Contrast in dynamics, tone color, instrumentation, and texture. Short drum breaks in the middle of songs. Solos. Small ensembles. Woodwind features.

To create contrast, you need thinner textures. Many stock arrangements have everybody playing all the time. Contrast doesn't mean Full band at F, then MF, then FF. That's boring. You need Full Band at PP, then just woodwinds, then sixteen bars of mallets. When the full band comes back in at FF, that's effective!

Solos are Good. Most bands don't have nearly enough solo and small ensemble sections. IMHO one third of a show should be solos or small ensembles.

Solos and small ensembles are are the best sound your band can make..

Duets, small ensembles, and percussion breaks are just as good as solos.

Solos create contrast, they grab audience attention, and they let everyone else rest.

Solos keep your best players interested and motivated.

Your music should reflect the different ability levels in your band. Are your section leaders sitting around bored while you spend 3/4 of your time with your weakest players?

The answer, of course, is to to fit the parts to the players. Give your best players flashy or beautifully melodic solos and interesting ensembles (didn't you read the top part of this page?)

Give your younger players a part they can MASTER.

 

 

 

 

Solos - A Revelation!

I was at a contest watching an awesome 5A band whose trumpet section outnumbered my entire horn line. Big. Powerful. State champions.

My band was a good Class A; this group was literally out of our league. Then a kid stepped out and played a trumpet solo. Great solo!

But I had good players too. If we played a trumpet solo, for 16 bars we would sound just as good! And the full band would sound bigger when they came back in.

I made some changes; tuttis became solos. Our score went up. Full band passages became small ensembles. Our score rose again.

Then it hit me... the less we play, the better our music score! A friend(?) commented that our best score might be if we didn't play at all! .

Okay, I wouldn't go that far, but since then my arrangements have featured less tutti writing and more solos, small ensembles, and thinner textures.