Seeing the big picture(the overall effect)

I've gone over most of the technical aspects of arranging in my previous posts, but now I thought I'd get into why arranging is important. I'm sure you've all heard remixes of songs or covers of songs. Some of them are better than the original, some are worse and others are simply different. There are a lot of things that can make one arrangement more enjoyable than another and of course everyone has different tastes, but I'll go over some basic ideas on creating interest and different effects.

Use pauses and breaks- This may seem cliche and it is, but it works. Try dropping a beat or a whole measure. Once the music comes back in people will go crazy. Make sure this comes at an important point in the song, for maximum impacts. Good places for it are the measure before the verse goes into the chorus or in the middle of the 2nd or 3rd verse. Anyplace where you think people are getting bored and you need them to get excited again is a good place.

(Listen for the breaks at 0:48, 2:53, 3:23)

Change instruments or parts - Adding or deleting instruments can add some interest to your songs and can creating an sense of building to an otherwise boring and static arrangement. Try adding some strings during the 2nd verse, or add some percussion during the chorus. You can also have some instruments play different parts. For example during the 2nd verse have the guitar double the keyboard line or have a 2nd guitar double the main riff an octave higher or lower. All of these things can add a small change that is just enough to keep things interesting without changing the feel of the song. Sometimes something as small as having the drummer switch from the hi hat to the ride cymbal can add something to a song.

(The intro is only the orchestra, followed by the melody played by the oboe, then the woodwinds and finally the guitar enters. This is a beautiful arrangement)

After chorus break down- This is another old trick that works almost every time. After the 2nd chorus of a song or any high point, drop the energy, by adding a quiet section with sparse instrumentation. Then after a period of 4 to 16 bars ramp the energy up and your listeners will go nuts.

(The break down comes in at 3:16)

Style and instruments- Before you start to record or perform your song, think about the style of your song and also the instruments you are using. In some cases you might be limited by things like money, human resources, etc, but most of the time you will have some flexibility with this. Think to yourself, what type of emotion should this song convey and are the instruments/styles I'm using evoking that. For example a song that is angry and aggressive might not come off too well with 2 acoustic guitars and vocals. That's not to say that it can't be done, but it puts all of the responsibility on the performers. If that same song is done by a rock band, the drums, driving rock bass and crunchy guitars will bring you half way there even without great performances. Sometimes it's nice to have the lyrics/singer/lead instrument be the polar opposite of the arrangement, but often people just do this out of laziness or a lack or knowledge. There is no reason to be locked into a genre in 2014. Nobody is going to go berserk because you have a blues song and a bossa nova song on the same album. Explore your options.

 (The orginal version)

(The arrangement that is generally acknowledged to be better. Notice how the rock feel and the guitar tone adds an aggressiveness to the song and propels it forward.)

Opposites are attractive- Often times during songs you'll have different instruments doing different things. The question is, what should you have them do? The answer is often times, the opposite of something else. For example if you have a lead guitar and a singer, while the singer is singing the guitar should either be playing chords, a light riff or not at all. However when the singer pauses, the guitarist should play a fill. Singer on, guitarist off. Singer off, guitarist on. If you listen to reggae you'll notice this happens often with the bass and the guitar. The bass on the down beats and the guitar on the off beats. The same happens between a piano and a guitar. If the guitar is playing a riff on the low strings the piano plays high. If the guitar part is busy the piano part is sparse. This is a good way to arrange a song with lots of different instruments.

(Listen to how the vocals and guitar trade off)

(Bach is a master at trading melodies back and forth between instruments) 

Melody switch- Have a new instrument carry the melody and it works even better if you can do this while a new melody is playing. Remember you can change things around slightly and people will still be able to recognize the melody as long as it's similar to the originally melody. For example have your guitar play the chorus melody during the 2nd verse, but change a few of the notes so the match the current chords.

(Listen to the melody repeated using different insturments at 0:00, 0:25, 1:50, 3:09, 3:28, etc. Click here to read about more crazy stuff in Gentle Giant songs)

Keep things dynamic- For a short song there isn't much time for your listeners to get bored, but for anything over about a minute you're going to need some variation. Of course you'll be varying the chords and the melody, but there are money other things you can change too. Try changing volume between sections, or the drum, bass, guitar part. Sometimes even switching the guitar part and the piano part can create some interest. Also keep in mind the instruments like electric guitars and keyboards can drastically change the way they sound. If your verse is using a clean, chorused guitar sound, try a slightly distorted sound for the chorus or bridge. Doing things like this helps create interest or increase/decrease energy.

(Listen to how everything comes in quiet at 1.36)

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this series. If you have any questions leave a comment below and check out some of my music at productiontrax.com

Part 1 - Thoughts on Arranging
Part 2 - Timbre
Part 3 - Rhythmic clarity
Part 4 - Harmonic clarity

Timbre

Timbre is defined as the color or tone quality of something. A guitar, flute and trumpet can all play the same note, but the timbre will sound very different. How does this relate to arranging? Well, not only is arranging about not making things sound disjointed and horrible, it is also about making things sound good and evoking moods. Different instruments can help you do that.

 Now I'm sure you're wondering how can I use this. One effective way this is used is by having melodies(or harmonies) doubled by different instruments. These instruments should have different qualities, so that the overall sound is enhanced.

As an example think of a kick drum and a guitar. The kick drum has a loud, percussive, powerful attack, but not tone to speak of and no sustain. A guitar has sustain and tone, but it's hard to get a lot of power out of a guitar. However when they are playing in unison they create a powerful attack that can rip your head off.

Another common example is doubling a tuba with a bass trombone. The tuba has a kind of "farting" sound that, although it is low doesn't contain a lot of power. The bass trombone has power, but it doesn't have the same low fullness. Combined together however the amount of brown notes will have audiences rushing the toilets. A good example of this recently was "The battle at the wall" during season 4 of game of thrones.

(Great low horn blast at 0:35)

Another common thing to do is to double a sustaining instrument without much attack with something percussive. The percussive insturment helps give the line punch and definition while the other insturment give it tone.

 (Check out the middle section where the guitar, synth, drums and xylophone double the same line)



One final example is the use of talk boxes. The earliest example I know of is Frampton cones alive . However don't be fooled into thinking that this is an old technique that nobody uses anymore. Grammy winners Daft Punk used it all over their last album.

One of the great things abound living in the year 2014 is the fact that you have cheap software synths everywhere and you can experiment endlessly with different timbres. Try combining different types of oscillators and even shifting their octaves until you find a sound that suits you. You can also mix acoustic with electronic elements to come up with all new sounds.

Don't be afraid to experiment with different combinations of instruments. They often lead to new and interesting textures and other times they can be great problem solvers. Often times of you want you melody to be more powerful, doubling it with something more percussive will work. The opposite also holds true. Doubling something with a flute(or another woodwind) will lighten it up. There is a whole world of sound out there for you to experiment with, so play around with different combinations and have fun.

Check out some of my songs and arrangements on the side of this page or at productiontrax and leave a comment below.

Part 1 - Thoughts on Arranging
Part 3 - Rhythmic clarity
Part 4 - Harmonic clarity
Part 5 - Seeing the big picture

Rhythmic arranging

I thought I'd talk about rhythm in this post. Luckily rhythm is much easier to deal with and there are less ways to mess it up, but if you aren't careful it can still happen. One simple thing that can cause problems is flams. If you're a drummer I'm sure you know what a flam is, but if not I'll explain. A flam is when one note(usually percussion) is played quickly before another and with a lower volume. You can check it out below.

On drums this is cool, when it happens by accident with 2 different instruments it's not. The one of the worst places this can happen is between a kick drum and a bass. If your kick drum and bass guitar aren't playing complimentary rhythms, you can get flaming that can sound like mistakes. The bass and kick don't have to play the exact same thing, they shouldn't be fighting each other. Of course this can happen with any instrument, but with instruments it seems to cause more problems for whatever reason. Here is an example.

Here is another one with piano that sounds a bit strange and definitely lacks a groove.

Luckily there are some simple fixes. One thing you can try is having everything play the same rhythm or at least similar rhythms. In this example nothing sounds wrong or out of place and I don't think it would sound terrible in a song. However there are some improvments that could be made to make it groove a bit harder.

 Now listen to the 2nd example. In the 2nd example the kick drum, bass and clavinet are playing similar rhythms, which gives this example more power.

Some people might like the 1st example better, but in certain situations and songs the 2nd idea works better. By having multiple instruments playing at the same time, you give those rhythms power.

Another thing that works well is what I call trading off. What I mean by that is when one instrument is holding a note another plays a lots of notes and vice versa. This is a fundamental arranging trick and you can hear it everywhere from pop to classical music. Here are some examples

Now here is a song I wrote a while back that uses the exact same technique through out.

I hope that gave you some ideas on how to go about putting together rhythms. Most of it is intuitive, but there are some techniques that help when you're at a lost. Also keep in mind that sometimes you might want things to sound chaotic and you can do the opposite of what I've suggested above. Below are some songs I believe are examples of good rhythmic arranging.

Listen to how all the instruments compliment each other and don't fight each other. Listen to the percussion on the left and right sides. Also take note of how at the end of each phrase he sings you can hear a guitar lick, horn stab or a string riff. During the keyboard solo listen to how all the instruments play together to create a powerful rhythm for the keyboard to solo over. This creates an interesting contrast to the light funky feel of the rest of the song.

I've been getting into Kill Paris recently. Here is an example of funkstep/glitch-hop which is simple but effective. If you listen to the bass during the drop it's playing a simple line that is locked in with the kick drum. Later another lead synth part comes in the plays the exact same thing as the bass just higher. On top of all of this notice how the synths drop out when the vocal sample come in which only makes their reappearance seem to hit even harder(which doesn't seem possible). The genius of this song is they found a good rhythm, had all the instruments follow it and then took it away before you got too tired of it. A simple idea, but when it comes together like this you can turn it into a whiplash inducing groove.

Listen to how the bass, kick, piano and guitar all lock in together into the same rhythm. This makes for a powerful arrangement and is present in most hard rock and heavy metal songs.

As always check out some of my songs and arrangements on the side of this page or at productiontrax and leave a comment below. I'll be back with more on arranging in a week or 2.

Part 1 - Thoughts on Arranging
Part 2 - Timbre
Part 4 - Harmonic clarity
Part 5 - Seeing the big picture

Harmonic Clarity

Harmonic/Frequency clarity

I thought I'd start with Harmonic clarity first. It goes without saying that in any ensemble volumes should be adjusted correctly and correct harmonies are used. However even when you do that sometimes you'll find your song is muddy or there is something that doesn't sound right. I'll go over a few common problems.

Be careful not to exceed low interval limits. The lower you go the wider the intervals should be. Of course there are no absolutes , but in general this is true. I'll give some examples.

Click here for audio

Some don't sound too bad and others sound like a muddy mess. Although all the notes are correct something sounds wrong.

Now here are some better voiced chords.

 Click here for audio

I just changed the bottom notes to octaves and then arranged the top notes accordingly.

Here are a few more examples of bad voicings followed by better versions.

 Click here for audio

 Click here for audio

 Another problem can be clashes in the upper voices. 2nd intervals are often the culprit, so they are something to watch out for. Often times people will use these intervals to add color and a sense of tension to their harmonies which I like(check out Allan Holdsworth). However tension is a bit like hot sauce, it's nice, but you don't want to put it on everything. Anyway here is an example of  a chord using 2nd intervals followed by , IMO a better voicing.

 Click here for audio

I'm sure you're thinking, that's easy enough, but the hard part is remembering not to do this when you have multiple instruments playing. It's easy to voice your piano parts the correct way, but then once you add the guitar you end up with frequencies clashing all over the place. This is especially apparent when 2 instruments play on the downbeat of a measure. This is a common problem, so I'll give a few examples.

Click her for audio

Although I've heard worse, something definitely seems off. In the 2nd measure the piano is playing a B and the Oboe is playing an A. These 2 notes are causing a congested sound. The same thing happens in the following bar also. Below is a version that has the piano playing a different chord voicing.

Click her for audio

To be honest this version isn't ideal for me, but sometimes you can't always get what you want and sometimes you have to compromise. In general I think that if you have an extension like a 6th(the note A in this example) it should be in the melody(oboe) and not just the harmony. That said I believe it is an improvement. Below are some other ways to solve problems with arrangements.

Subtract notes- Instead of having the piano and guitar both play big lush chords have each play less notes and the combined sound will be better. Often times in jazz the piano or guitar will just play 2 notes and let the bass play the root of the chord. This leaves very little chance for clashes to happen since there isn't much to clash with. Funk music takes a similar approach and goes a bit further by having each instrument play its own rhythm/riff. Often times guitarists and piano players that are used to playing by themselves play these big chord voicings and then when they are playing in a band they tend to clash with the other instruments. Sometimes all it takes to fix this is have the guitar player use only the top 4 strings or have the piano player take their left hand off the keyboard.

Change the rhythm- As long as the clashing notes aren't playing at the same time things will be fine. Sometimes shortening a few notes will be enough to fix things and other times it's better to change a chord into an arpeggio. Arpeggiating chords can be used as a way to avoid clashing notes when you can't change octaves. You can also make a riff that will outline a chord which is useful for funk, rock or metal.

Change the octave- Sometimes it's as simple as changing the octave of a note. The minor 2nd is pretty dissonant, but the minor 9th is much less so.

Hopefully that helped a little bit, but as always let your ear be your guide because if it sounds good it is good. Also  check out some of my songs and arrangements on the side of this page or at productiontrax and leave a comment below.

Part 1 - Thoughts on Arranging
Part 2 - Timbre
Part 3 - Rhythmic clarity
Part 5 - Seeing the big picture

Thoughts on Arranging

A friend asked me recently to write a bit about arranging, so I thought I'd share my thoughts on it. This is a big subject, so I'll just give a brief overview of how I go about it.

My way of thinking about arranging is that its similar to putting together a puzzle. Unfortunately just like a puzzle, the more pieces you have the more difficult it becomes. The main things to worry about are

• Timbre
• Rhythmic clarity
• Harmonic clarity
• Overall effect

I'll go over all of these in this post and then expand on them more in subsequent posts.

Timbre- The overall tone of the song and instruments. Some instruments sound really good together and others don't. Of course this is mostly subjective, but there are some cases where 1 instrument can completely mask another. For example I once tried to double a lead guitar part with a synth playing a sine wave. The sine was was pretty much inaudible unless I turned it up to ridiculous levels.

Rhythmic clarity- Everyone loves a good groove and there are tons of songs(particularly funk) that have almost every instrument playing a different rhythm. However if not done properly the groove falls apart and in the worst case scenarios it sounds like the players are making mistakes.

Harmonic/Frequency clarity- This relates to how a chord is played. Of course the notes of the chord are important, but equally important is what octave they are played in relation to the other notes. If proper care isn't taken, muddiness or seemingly wrong notes will pop up. Also if you have too many instruments playing in the same frequency range harmonic masking can occur. This can happen with things like 7 string guitars and basses, pianos and basses, pianos and guitars, 2 guitars, etc. Having too many instruments in the same range will cause a song to sound muddy and can obscure the instruments. Whats the point of writing/playing a part of listeners can't hear it.

Overall effect- The whole point of writing music is to express yourself and bring about feelings in the listeners. Many people think of arranging in a purely technical way, but arranging can be just as creative as song writing. There is some tried and true tools/tricks that bring about the emotions in listeners and these can make those tired old chord progressions, beats, melodies, etc come to life. Arranging can be used to add musicality to songs that otherwise would be stale and a bit boring.

Anyway, in the future I'll try to explore all of these in greater detail. Until then check out some of my songs and arrangements on the side of this page or at productiontrax. Leave me some comments below.

Part 2 - Timbre
Part 3 - Rhythmic clarity
Part 4 - Harmonic clarity
Part 5 - Seeing the big picture