I mentioned a few weeks ago that I would discuss pedal point and never got around to it. These last few weeks have been way, way, too busy. I need to make some changes quickly to restore some balance to our family life and am committed to doing so. Basically, I need more employees and […]
Tag Archives: arranging
Every time I give tips about writing/arranging, I pinch myself. I still can’t believe anybody wants to read what I have to say about the topic. I sincerely feel unqualified to run a blog dedicated to music. Regardless of what I think about it, a lot of people do come here for help. I am […]
As many of you have noticed, I don’t modulate very much. The main reason I don’t modulate much is because I really don’t find it very necessary or helpful a lot of the time. In general, if there is no compelling reason to do something, I won’t. I should note that when I am talking […]
Several years ago, I recorded a song on Portraits of Hope called “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus.” I don’t know what I was thinking when I arranged it. Basically if I am being honest, it is a virtually unplayable, complicated mess. I could not even play it in the studio that day with […]
I am a bit backed up on things that I want to discuss here. I am going to discuss last month’s “All Hail the Power” arrangement and I want to discuss Finale. I also want to talk about “Soul Rest” and I suppose I will do that first since it is fresh on my mind. […]
Read Part 1 and Part 2 if you need to. Last time, I introduced the hook that I am using to tie this arrangement together. You might ask how I describe this hook and I am not sure that I know how to answer that question. I would probably say that it is a gentle […]
Last week, I discussed a simple idea behind arranging and today, we are going to start taking a look at it in action. Our example is last month’s arrangement, “Just As I Am,” for the arrangement club. To start, let’s talk about the song itself. When I was young, this song was what we called an “invitation” […]
Here is a dirty secret about arranging: it usually happens fast. One of the biggest surprises I found as I got into the world of professional music is just how fast arranging happens. In the world of jazz, believe it or not, it often happens on the fly as if by magic. In the studio, […]
About seven years ago, I recorded a series of videos about the song “What a Friend We Have In Jesus.” If you watch all five, you will probably invest an hour but also get an extensive look at how I evaluate music and reharmonize it. Basically, these videos go through the song line by line. […]
Read Part 1 here In Part 1, I introduced a general rule: the further from root the melody note is, the more sophisticated the sound is going to be. This is a general rule because it requires a lot of nuance and is not always true. For example, there will be occasions where you get a […]
I was recently at an event where lots of people were presenting songs and someone presented a song that sort of blew people away. It stood out in certain ways that made people sit up and take notice. In my opinion, there was one huge factor that made it stand out and I want to […]