12.3 Arranging for Various Ensembles

Arranging for various ensembles is a crucial skill in music composition. It involves adapting musical ideas to fit different instrumental combinations, considering each group's unique characteristics and limitations.

From small chamber groups to full orchestras, arrangers must balance instrumental ranges, timbres, and technical abilities. They distribute melodic lines, harmonies, and rhythms across the ensemble, ensuring the music's essence is preserved while sounding idiomatic to the new instrumentation.

Adapting music for different ensembles

Considerations for arranging for various ensembles

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• Ensembles have varying numbers and types of instruments, each with their own range, timbre, and technical capabilities that must be considered when arranging
• Texture and balance must be managed carefully when arranging for ensembles, ensuring important lines are featured appropriately and inner voices provide adequate harmonic support
• Arrangers must be aware of the limitations and idiomatic tendencies of different instruments (strings, winds, brass, percussion) to write parts that are playable and effectively capture the intent of the music
• Musical material often needs to be simplified or altered to be performable by ensembles with more limited instrumentation or skill level compared to the original version (piano reduction for school orchestra)

Techniques for adapting musical elements across ensembles

• Arranging for different ensembles requires knowledge of transposition and how to adapt musical lines and harmonies to fit the ranges and abilities of the available instruments
• Melodic lines may need to be transposed or re-voiced to lie in a comfortable register for the instruments carrying the tune (violin melody adapted for flute)
• Harmonic accompaniment from a piano score must be distributed among the ensemble instruments in a way that captures the essence of the original while being idiomatic to the new instrumentation (Alberti bass divided between cello and bass)
• Counterpoint and multiple musical lines must be carefully assigned to instruments in the ensemble capable of projecting each voice appropriately (fugue subject passed between clarinet, oboe, and bassoon)
• Timbral combinations should be considered when adapting musical material, substituting instruments as needed to maintain the original color and texture (horn solo replaced by alto saxophone)

Arranging for small ensembles

Adapting piano scores for chamber groups

• Piano scores contain a complete harmonic realization and multiple musical lines that must be adapted and orchestrated across the instruments of a small ensemble
• The form and structure of the original piano score should be maintained in the arrangement unless intentionally modified for creative reasons
• The piano accompaniment must be distributed among the ensemble instruments in a way that captures the harmonic progression and style of the original
  • Chord voicings, rhythmic figures, and accompanimental patterns should be idiomatic to the ensemble instruments (guitar arpeggiations, string pizzicato)
  • Bass lines play an important role in small ensemble arrangements and must clearly outline the harmonic progression
• Arrangers must carefully assign the multiple musical lines in the piano score to instruments in the ensemble, ensuring they are featured at appropriate times (right hand melody played by flute, left hand countermelody played by cello)

Orchestrating lead sheets for small instrumental groups

• Lead sheets specify the melody, lyrics, and chord symbols of a song, requiring the arranger to create idiomatic instrumental parts and voice the chords appropriately
• Arrangers must determine the most suitable instruments to carry the melody and feature prominently, as well as those that will play supporting lines or accompaniment
  • The melodic line can be played by a single instrument or orchestrated across multiple instruments, either in unison or as a harmonized line (violin and viola in octaves)
  • Countermelodies and ornamentations can be added to create interest and forward motion in the arrangement (flute obbligato during clarinet melody)
• Harmonic accompaniment indicated by the lead sheet chord symbols must be voiced and orchestrated idiomatically for the instruments
  • Keyboard, guitar, and mallet percussion can play a central role in realizing the chord progression (Gm7 - C7 - F6)
  • Arrangers should be aware of common accompanimental patterns and styles that can be adapted for small ensemble (bossa nova, stride piano, Alberti bass)

Transcribing for chamber ensembles

Process for adapting an orchestral score for chamber ensemble

• Transcriptions adapt a work for one performing medium to another, such as a full orchestra to a chamber ensemble, while maintaining the original musical intent as much as possible
• Careful study of the orchestral score is necessary to identify the most essential musical lines and voices that should be maintained in the transcription
• Timbres of the orchestral instruments must be considered when choosing which chamber ensemble instruments should play each line or musical idea
  • Similar timbres can be substituted when the original instrument is not available in the chamber ensemble (clarinet playing oboe line)
  • Blending and balancing of instrumental timbres is important in capturing the overall sound of the orchestral version
• Arrangers may need to transpose certain lines to accommodate the range and technical abilities of the chamber ensemble instruments

Techniques for condensing musical material for smaller forces

• Orchestral scores have many instruments and independent parts that must be reduced and condensed to fit the more limited instrumentation of a chamber ensemble
• Contrapuntal lines in the orchestral work may need to be simplified or combined in the hands of a single chamber player to reduce density while maintaining the essence of the part (violins 1/2 lines combined)
• Number of independent voices should be reduced to the most important lines and ideas that can be performed by the available instruments
  • Secondary harmonies and doublings can be omitted if not essential to the musical fabric
  • Background figurations may be eliminated or simplified to avoid overloading chamber instruments (string tremolos become slurred triplets)
• Careful consideration of which lines to preserve or omit is important in maintaining the original character of the music while adapting to chamber proportions

Arranging popular songs for jazz ensembles

Expanding a lead sheet into a full jazz ensemble arrangement

• Jazz ensemble arrangements are built around a lead sheet specifying the melody and chord changes of the tune
• Introductions and endings need to be composed to effectively frame the arrangement and feature the ensemble
• The melody should be orchestrated using instruments idiomatic to the jazz style, often including saxophones, trumpets, and trombones
  • Harmonized melodic lines, known as "solis" can add thickness and power to the melody statement
  • Call and response between melodic instruments is a common arranging technique in jazz (trumpets play melody, trombones respond)
• Background lines and pads are composed to accompany and support the melody, often using instruments like saxophones, trombones or rhythm section (saxes voice chords beneath trumpet melody)

Stylistic considerations when arranging for big band

• The chord changes are voiced by the pianist and guitarist in a style authentic to the genre of the tune, often utilizing extended and altered harmony (F13(#11))
• The arrangement should intentionally build intensity by adding instruments and dynamics throughout, leading to a climax point and satisfying resolution
• Interludes and solo sections are composed over the chord changes to feature improvisation and provide contrast to the melody sections
• Arrangers should voice instruments in a style idiomatic to the jazz ensemble, using techniques like close position voicings, 4-way close, drop-2, etc.
• Swing rhythms and articulations are important stylistic considerations in capturing an authentic big band sound
  • Eighth notes should be swung or played straight depending on the style of the tune
  • Brass mutes and saxophones subtones can be used to create timbral variety
• Rhythm section accompaniment should be written or specified in a style appropriate to the tune (walking bassline, Basie-style piano comping, Latin percussion grooves)

Concert band arrangements of classical works

Orchestrating for the concert band wind sections

• Woodwinds are generally the most prominent section in concert band and should be featured accordingly, especially in technical and melodic passages
  • Instrument choirs like clarinets, flutes, and double reeds each have unique roles in concert band writing that should be understood
  • Clarinets are very versatile and can be used to play melodies, accompaniment, or technical passages throughout their range (break up melody between 1st, 2nd, 3rd parts)
  • Flutes are agile and can handle fast technical passages in the upper register as well as lyrical lines and ornamentations like trills (opening run from Mendelssohn's Scherzo)
  • Double reeds like oboe and bassoon have penetrating timbres and can effectively double other lines or be featured as soloists
• Saxophones function in a hybrid role, capable of playing both melodically and harmonically as the musical texture requires

Brass and percussion writing in concert band arrangements

• Brass writing in concert band is different than orchestral brass and should utilize more unisons and octaves to project through the woodwind texture
  • Trumpets and cornets often play melodic lines supported by unisons and chords in the horns, trombones, and euphoniums
  • Brass should be voiced in a way that doesn't overpower the woodwinds, often playing in lower registers or thinning out voicings (Holst Suites for Military Band)
  • Tubas and string basses provide the primary bass voice and harmonic foundation of concert band arrangements
• Percussion parts, especially mallet percussion, should be composed thoughtfully and independent of the wind parts to provide rhythmic and coloristic interest
  • Concert band arrangements often expand the percussion section compared to an orchestral score (additional parts for chimes, marimba, etc.)
  • Timpani writing may be more soloistic and melodic than in orchestra, filling in gaps or reinforcing low brass (rolling timpani solo in Stars and Stripes Forever)
  • Careful attention should be paid to the balance of percussion with winds to avoid overpowering important musical lines

Adapting musical elements for the concert band medium

• Concert band arrangements are adaptations of works originally composed for other mediums like orchestra, piano, or small ensemble
• Transposition is often required to put the music in a key that sits well for the concert band instrumentation and utilizes their sounding ranges effectively
  • Many concert band instruments are transposing (clarinet in Bb, horn in F) so the arranger must be fluent in transposing
  • Original key should be considered and possibly altered to maximize the resonance and sonority of the concert band (Holst 1st Suite in Eb)
• Form and structure of the original piece should be maintained, although repeats may be omitted for timing considerations
• Arrangers should be aware of the unique challenges and opportunities of the concert band medium when adapting musical material
  • Increased importance of inner voices and harmony due to the large number of instruments capable of sustaining chords
  • Ability to emulate a variety of orchestral textures and colors through creative instrumentation and voicings
  • Need to simplify certain technical passages to be playable by less advanced musicians, especially in younger ensembles