Tag: arranger

Tip #249 – Neighbor Accents in Harmony

Take a look at the example below:

You will notice that the harmony doesn’t exactly stay the same within the measure – and that is due to the neighbor tones.

Not only does this bring interest to what would otherwise be a stagnant harmony within the context of the measure length, but it also brings attention to the individual notes that make up the harmony.

A trained ear can pick out the different notes that build a harmony, but when one voice changes with the use of neighbor tones, it takes interest to any listener.

Try it out!

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Tip #247 – Setting a Sample to a Pitch

Sometimes, we just default to the idea that the sound sample that a person takes (whether of an instrument, pitch or unpitched, sound effect, etc.) should stay at its captured pitch.

Thanks to the advance in music technologies from the 1980’s to present-day, we have the ability to modulate the pitch of any sound. In addition, we have the ability to tune any captured sound to a frequency we desire.

Experiment with taking sounds like a kick drum, an explosion, a tap on the table, an animal sound, etc. and tune it to several different pitches. Then, try to use what you have melodically! Take advantage of the technology you have before you!

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Tip #246 – Start Small Before Going Big

Remember how when you first started out… with pretty much anything, you had to start at the beginner level, or with the smallest amount, or in the most simplest form? Same rule applies to when writing for an ensemble.

The excitement of getting to write for an 80-piece orchestra might be hard to handle, but before rushing in to see how you’ll write for each instrument – start out small. Start by section, and go even small to groups.

Meaning, you might have the capability to write for 10 horns. Start instead by writing as if you only had 2 horns available. Then write as if you only had 3. Now 4.

At this point, you will begin to train yourself to write first the necessities and then worry about how you will orchestrate across a large ensemble.

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Tip #244 – Expanded Possibilities with a Limited Melody

This has apparently been going around the web:

With the most recent pop music hitting radio stations and streaming platforms, there seems to be a rise in a stagnant melody. Such as one where the chorus of the song form features a melody were it is just on one note.

For compositional and performance purposes, this is really easy. I mean, it is only one pitch – you can’t really mess that up so much. However, as an arranger for harmonic purposes, you have a load of possibilities.

More often than not, people make the pitch the fifth of the chord because it makes the tonality of the key (major or minor) ambiguous. However, that is for you to decide on.

Basically, make a list of all chords (stick to triads) that feature that one pitch. Then, attempt to use them in a creatively manner to harmonize the stagnant melody.

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Tip #242 – Changing a Voicing Midway

Most people when writing or performing music tend to stick to one chord voicing for a harmony. While this is perfectly okay to do, this can lead into having trouble to voice leading because there is a limit to possibilities.

Often, composers don’t practice re-voicing a harmony. For example: if you have an A major seventh chord that lasts a measure long, try a different voicing at the halfway point.

Here is another example of it in action:

Try it out and see if it makes transitions sound smoother and give the piece more interest/variety!

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Tip #239 – Nobody Likes a Bad Fingering Musically

While growing your skill as a composing (if that is what you want to be) is a good thing and should be a priority – there should be some time put to practicing an instrument.

Reason being is so you know the capabilities of an instruments… as to what it can and cannot do, or what is physically impossible for a musician to play.

As you are composing and writing notes down on paper or in a DAW, keep in find how it can be performed. Can you play it? Can you write down what fingers the musician should use, and does require a lot of dexterity?

Not only will this help a musician when playing your music, but it will make you look more competent for knowing about their instrument.

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Tip #236 – Squishing Down Voicing Possibilities

Say you have a harmonic progression like this:

There is an unlimited amount of possibilities in regards to how you can voice them to have good voice leading.

A quick two rule for harmonic voicings is to determine the bottom and the top by:

  1. Keeping the root/bass note at the bottom
  2. Make a roughly stagnant melodic line at the top.

This is because the chord voicings are to give harmony and nothing else; not to give a counter melody that will interfere.

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Tip #232 – Root-less Chords

By default, when you eliminate the root from being at the bottom of a chord, it becomes an inversion of itself.

This can become a useful tool when constructing a bass line by avoiding the root in order to give an unstable feeling or imply a different harmony.

So, now the question is, how does the bass move?

Before, we talked about the root of one chord harmony move to the root of the next. What does one do when it is either the third, sixth, or seventh in the bass.

Above anything else: experiment. However, it might be wise to connect similar notes or move stepwise. Meaning, if the third of one chord harmony is the same as the seventh of the next, keep on that note.

Play with these ideas and see how they can improve with building bass lines.

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Tip #229 – Deciding Between Open-Fifths or Octaves

Sometimes, the piece of music you are writing doesn’t call for complex chord choices or complex chord voicings. It might be because of the style you are going after, or it just might match the mood better if you reduced to simplistic voicings.

DO NOT THINK THAT BECAUSE YOU AREN’T USING COMPLEX VOICINGS THAT YOUR MUSIC ISN’T ADEQUITE. The value of your piece isn’t based of of how challenging it is – but on how invested you are in it. If you believe all it needs is some simplistic voicings, go for it!

Now, two common reductions for harmony is to double the root at the octave, or just to play the root and the fifth.

If you were to choose between the two, which one would it be? What would be the advantages of each?

When doubling the root at the octave, you lose harmonic color because it is reduced down to one pitch class. However, the doubling reinforces the sound and makes that makes that singular color more bold.

Open fifths, as we have talked about previously in posts about power chords, will have a but more harmonic color because it uses two different pitches. Also, the sound will be denser, since the pitches are more closer together than octaves.

Try both and see what fits!

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Teach Yourself Music Theory – 33.) Identifying Seventh-Chords

Before we begin, let’s review:

Previously, we have talked about triads, which are chords comprised of three different pitches, with the notes (from lowest to highest) are a third apart from each other.

If we add another third on top of the triads, we get a seventh-chord, which is a chord comprised of four different pitches with the notes (from lowest to highest) are a third apart from each other and span a distance of a seventh.

The alteration of a triad to a seventh-chord will look like as such:

Now, just like triads, seventh-chords have different names depending on the intervals between each chord member. However, if you can identify the triad the seventh-chord is built from as well as the extra interval above it – you will be more comfortable with identifying triads.

Let’s take a look:

  • Augmented Seventh = Augmented Triad + M7 above root
  • Major Seventh = Major Triad + M7 above root
  • Dominant Seventh = Major Triad +m7 above root
  • Minor Seventh = Minor Triad + m7 above root
  • Half-Diminished Seventh = Diminished Triad + m7 above root
  • Fully-Diminished Seventh = Diminished Triad + d7 above root

This is how they would look (with the third of the chord placed an octave above):

Another way of being able to distinguish between the different seventh-chords is through this diagram:

In comparison to the Major Seventh chord (which we will call “home base” due to its lack of alterations), all the other seventh chords have a pitch raised or lowered.

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