Arranging techniques

renevanderwouden

About arranging techniques.

1. Do you just start to play and press record like instant composing.

2. Or do you already have a melody composed and start straight away at the beginning?

3. Or do you have a melody and start arranging in the middle of the piece?

elektro80 · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 11:45 am Post subject:

Basically I first figure out why I want to write a piece, then spend some time to solve the many issues. Then I start writing the whole thing more or less vertically. I never actually do plain arranging. later I try to make a fair interpretation of the piece and hopefully record it.

phrozenlight · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:03 pm Post subject:

01 - I choose some VSTi's and effects
02 - create some presets for the VSTi's & effects
03 - play some "live" pieces
04 - change the presets etc
05 - repeating 3 & 4 .
06 - play & record some patterns
07 - timeshifting and arranging the patterns
08 - render the "song" to a wav file.
09 - add a fade in and out.
10 - forget the track for some days
11 - final listening
12 - share it with my fans

(13 - sometimes it will be deleted)

renevanderwouden · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:11 pm Post subject:

That's a different approach singing

do you use the matrix-screen in your DAW?

elektro80 · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:14 pm Post subject:

Matrix screen?

Shocked

renevanderwouden · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:19 pm Post subject:

In Logic window #6. With the blocks. This is easy editing notes.

elektro80 · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:27 pm Post subject:

phrozenlight · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:38 pm Post subject:

lol I think rene can better use quote Wink

so we can see to which message he replies, Very Happy

rene you are not a noob on forums are you Razz

renevanderwouden · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 1:43 pm Post subject:

Afro88 · Posted: Thu Jul 27, 2006 4:30 pm Post subject:

Start with more to get less. Put down as many ideas as you possibly can that somehow relate to the same track. Don't arrange them into a song yet, just put down as much material as you possibly can. Leave it for a day, then grab the bits that work the best together and arrange your track. Arranging is a different process than composing, and it's much easier if you separate the two. You don't get stuck when you need a certain riff or chord but don't know what this certain element should be, cause you've always got something that you can try out at the click of a button.

This is the best arranging advice I have ever been given.

elektro80 · Last edited by elektro80 on Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:02 pm; edited 1 time in total

Kassen · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:01 pm Post subject:

I don't realy understand it either. Sounds more like "ways to use a DAW to write music" then like "aranging" to me.

Personally I think DAW's aren't all that suitable for electronic music at all.

elektro80 · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:14 pm Post subject:

I always felt the concept of "arranging" is best applied to a situation when you actually already have a piece of music and you want to:

Kassen · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:20 pm Post subject:

elektro80 · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:23 pm Post subject:

Yeah, the piano roll.. and yes.. I am not seeing the arranging side of this either.

elektro80 · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 3:32 pm Post subject:

Kassen · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 6:06 pm Post subject:

kkissinger · Posted: Mon Jul 31, 2006 9:15 pm Post subject:

Interesting question.

One of the issues I encounter when working in the studio is "option shock" due to the almost unlimited possibilities. When I am ready to compose my own music or arrange something already composed, I choose the pallette of sounds that I want to utilize.

I remind myself not to fret too much over the selected pallette because I can modify and/or add to it later if need be. If I am writing for an ensemble of "real" instruments, then I have to consider the range and other limitations of the ensemble, of course.

Often the stereo effects are important to me and I usually decide in advance where certain sounds will be in the mix so that I can more easily arrange interplay between the left and right sides.

Usually my pallette will include sections of related sounds... similar to the sections of an orchestra (i.e., percussion, brass, etc). In general, I group electronic sounds according to their suitability for rapid passages or slow ones. In general sounds that share the same initial attack can be swapped more easily than sounds with vastly different attacks. (a patch that is great for rapid 32nd notes may not swap with a pad that fades in slowly).

Back in the analog / tape recorder days, the task of patching, arranging, and performing happened concurrently. Today it is possible to separate these tasks in time and it is MUCH easier to go back and change things later. (Ah, how many of us remember how a part that sounded balanced in the submix would sound buried after all the other tracks were added! Those were the days Smile

I fret more about the voice-leadings, harmony, and basic structure of the music than the actual choice of sounds. Even in an improvised work, I want to have some kind of overall structure in mind. With a piece of music that is basically well-crafted, many orchestrations are possible and most will sound great.

Often times, I will hear a certain melody on a certain part at a certain place. I go ahead and put that in and move ahead. I'll come back later to add the other parts.

I like to use Cubase's "piano roll" style editor -- even for traditional music. I like an environment where it is equally easy to read and write music in any key. To compose in the key of a# minor is just as easy as C major with a "piano roll" whereas to read a score with seven sharps in the key signature is not my idea of a fun time Smile

Arranging and composing are so entertwined for me that I find it hard to talk one of the topics without delving into the other.

Kassen · Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 7:39 am Post subject:

kkissinger · Posted: Tue Aug 01, 2006 8:14 am Post subject:

Kassen wrote:

renevanderwouden · Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 11:44 am Post subject:

with arranging tracks I mean: finding harmony that fits a melody

Some people first write down a melody and after that some chords that fit.

Others just starting playing chords in the hope that something beautiful happens.

Again others start with a short sequence of notes and make a song of that.

The Matrix screen (apple+6) is like a piano bar while using MIDI. AFter one has played a track on this, it's easy to modify/quantize the sequence of notes.

Kassen · Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:30 pm Post subject:

Ok. So the real question is "how do you find a harmony (or hamonies) that fit a melody and wether or not you use a 999bucks piano roll with that?

Well, in that case; I mostly don't (unless aranging (in the canonical sense) a piece writen by somebody else). Most of the time I prefer to imply chords inside of the timbre of a single note,

renevanderwouden · Posted: Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:52 pm Post subject:

My pianoroll was 299

opg · Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 6:34 am Post subject:

aquanaut · Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 8:05 am Post subject:

i write a lead sheet with my guitar first. After that its only a matter of what note each instrument will play and how. But the basic structures is done before i start the computer.