Vocalist/Actor Mandy Williams sent us a recording of her singing her composition, looking for an arrangementrefers to the structure and order of musical elements in a composition, such as melody, harmony, rhythm, and instrumentation. and theatrical demoA recording created to preview the content of a show or song. Demos can also become master recordings. recording with pitSpace in front of and below the stage for the orchestra or band; or any offstage space where the orchestra is located for live performance band orchestrationThe art and science of arranging music for an orchestra, including the assignment of individual parts to different instruments and the creation of a score..
TranscriptionThe process of notating a piece of music as it is performed, either by ear or from a recording. and Harmonic Scheme
After transcribing the melodyA sequence of single pitches perceived as a unit, usually the main theme or tune in a piece of music. and lyric into Finale, the next step for us was deriving a harmonic scheme. The song’s possible harmonic structureThe arrangement of chords and harmonies in a piece of music. was suggested by 2 factors – the changing mood of the lyric, and its melodic contour, containing intervals with functional implications.
After sketching in some chordTwo or more notes played simultaneously; a group of three or more notes played or sung at the same time to create harmony. changesJazz shorthand for Chord Changes; the chord progression over the lead sheet, or adding hints of a bass line in spots, we were ready to start writing the arrangement.
The ArrangingThe process of adapting a piece of music for a different ensemble, style, or performance context. Phase
Her brief asked for a Broadway style, with pit band instrumentationThe array of different instruments or sounds incorporated in a musical score for the track.
RhythmThe pattern of beats and accentuations in music, which gives a piece its sense of movement and flow. Section Role
Writing the bass line came first. In most of our work, it defines the style and groove – it’s the backbone and foundation of the chart. Next was writing 2 bars of drums, with the bass drum matching the bass rhythm – then pasting it out to the end of the chart, with divergences to be handled as we get there. The groove goes through a few changes during the course of the arrangement, and the drums will play fills and hits with the band.
The restA symbol indicating a period of silence in a piece of music. of the rhythm section provides harmonic support, rhythmic and melodic counterpointThe art of combining two or more melodic lines in such a way that they complement each other harmonically while retaining their independence as melodic lines., completing the definition of the style and groove.
Horn Sections’ Role
Performing multiple functions, the horns can
- Reinforce hits in the rhythm section
- Play countermelodies
- Play responses in the gaps in the vocal line
- Play “pads” adding color to the harmonic background, often with rhythmic interest
- Reinforce the vocal line or harmonize it
- Provide ongoing melodic commentary (obligato)
- Provide lead-insA sequence of tones approaching a target or chord tone chromatically, diatonically, intervalically, or some combination of those to set up the next section of the tune
- Provide a lead voice on instrumental sections (if present)
Countermelodies are most effective when their targets are on a different chord (color) tone than the vocal, when they differ in rhythmic density, and when they’re more active when the vocal is less active and vise-versa.
Finale playback file from the ScoreA written representation of a piece of music, including the notation for all parts of an ensemble.
The Music Production Phase
On approval of the arrangement, we saved our Aria Player bank configuration in the player, then exported the midiA protocol for communicating musical information, such as notes and control signals, between electronic musical instruments and computers. from Finale.
Finale into Proacronym short for Publishing Rights Organization, such as ASCAP, BMI, SESAC Tools
In Pro Tools, we
- Imported the midi into tracks to capture the tempo mapComponent in MIDI data defining the tempo and tempo changes in a musical piece or track
- Set up the instrument tracks (as “multlis,” 16 different instruments per player instance)
- Routed the audio from the player back into the session via auxChannel strips in a DAW offering additonal in-out routing with support for additional plugins inputs for mix1. Collection of individual tracks or parts 2. The process of adjusting relative sound levels, processing and placement within a sonic realm 3. The result of sonic recording and processing control over every channel
- Created a rough mix
- Exported individual instrument tracks (“stemsIndividual tracks extracted or exported from a mix as individual sound files”)
- Loaded the stems and pdfs into a Dropbox for the artist to use recording on her end
After some time, Mandy sent her vocal stem back to us, and we completed the mix, bringing out the counterpoint and commentary by the sections, humanizing the rhythm section, etc. The recording below is all samples with the exception of Mandy’s vocal.
