Vocal Arranging Tips & Tricks Ian Brekke

Vocal Arranging Tips & Tricks Ian Brekke – ECCO 2016

Why Arrange? Want vs. Need

• Want – “I can visualize this song being successful in an alternative setting” o Are you adding to this and/or making it better? o If it’s worse than the original, what does this accomplish? o Artistic focus/project

• Need – “My ensemble has specific requirements to make this song work” o Is this helping my choir? o Whether it’s artistically “better” or not is much less relevant, as this is fulfilling a need. o Practical focus/project

Why Else?

• To improve at arranging and composition • To explore a new musical style • To cross or combine musical genres • To honor another composer/arranger and/or learn their tendencies

Picking A Song – Some Considerations

• Can you “hear” a song in an alternate setting? • Is it musically, stylistically, and contextually appropriate for your ensemble? • Has someone already done this? Research and listening required. • Who owns the copyright? (Hint: It’s probably Hal Leonard) • Using your knowledge of vocal music, can it be performed well by this instrument? Often this is a matter of preference or taste.

Different Styles of Arranging

• Notational/Written • Improvisational/Circle-Singing • Recording/Looping/Layering • Gray Areas: o Adaptation (Online Example #1) o Transcription (Online Example #2)

1 Foundational Changes & Easy Arranging Starters

• Style/Feel o Primarily an Aesthetic Change (Postmodern Jukebox) o Easy to try – Record different “grooves” to test quickly o Careful of creating a parody

• Major to minor, minor to Major, and Modal Writing o Sometimes this actually supports the lyric better o Modes often work really well with pedal tones and drones

• Time Signature o Odd meters (5/8, 7/8, etc.)Autumn are cool In New York o A great exercise to adapt melodic content accounting for appropriate lyric setting (Online Example #3) Mediumo Swing Vernon Duke

G min7 A min7 Bb6 C 7 FMaj7 G min7 A min7 D7b9 A 5 j œ œ ˙. & b 4 . œ œ œ j Œ j œ œ œ ˙ ∑ Œ Aut-umn in Newœ York,˙ whyœ does Jit seem so in - vit - ing?

G min7 A min7 Bb6 C 7 Amin7b5 D 7 j b j Œ j œ œ œ œ ˙. ∑ Œ 5& œ œ œ œ J ˙ Aut-umn in Newœ York,˙ œit spells theJ thrill of firstJ - night - ing • Tempo oG mFasterin7 = Simplify B min7 E 7 A Maj7 G7 9 b b b b B• Form j j ob œIt’sœ okayœ to add, subtract,bœ andœ re-arrange j j 9& J . œ. œ œ. bœ. bœ. ˙ ˙. ˙ o gliNot-tter all- ingsectionscrowds of andform shimneed-mer to- being theclouds same b inœ can - nyonsœ œof steel, they're

• InstrumentationC min7 /DensityAmi n7b5 Dmin7b5 G7b9 CMaj7 C 7 C7#5 o Re-voice for need OR aesthetic appeal (sometimes requires change of key) o Density is often overdone – less is more b Do not fear unisonj and 2-part writingn ˙ 13& o œ. bœ ˙ ˙. ˙. ˙ ˙. #˙ mak - ingœ me feel I'm home. It's • Words/Syllables oG mNoin7 words? WriteA msome!in7 (BOnline6 ExampleC #47 ) FMaj7 G min7 A min7 D 7 D 7 o Syllables are a vocalist’s toolb for articulation – use effectively b A j § Used to enhance melody, not detract from it b œ j ‰ œ œ œ œ ˙. ˙ ∑ Œ 17& N§œ (Onlineœ Example #5) œ J J o AutAgain,- umn carefulin Newœ of Yorkparody˙ thatœ brings theJ pro-mise of new love C min7 D min7 Ebmin6 F 7 Bbmin6 Abmin7 Gb7 C7b9 2 b œ œ œ j j œ œ bœ bœ œ b˙. ˙ ˙. Ó 21& œ bœ autJ-umn in New York˙ œ. is oft-en mingJ -led withJ pain

F min7 C 7 F min7 Ab7 DbMaj7 Ab7 EMaj7 C j b œ. œ œ œ ˙. Œ œ œ œ Œ 25& bœ bœ. œ b˙. œ dream - ers withJ emp - ty hands, they sigh forœ ex - o - tic lands, it's

© • Re-harmonization o Change the underlying chord so the melody note has a different function § Ex: If the melodyShenandoah note is the 3rd ,Examples change chord so it functions as the 5th. o Trial and error is crucial – don’t settle too early

Eb Ab Eb b œ œ œ ˙ œ œ & b b 4 œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ 4 Oh,œ Shenœ -anœ-œdoah,œ I long to hear you A - way you rol-lin' riv-er Oh, Ab Bb Cmi Bb Eb Gmi b j & b b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ ‰ ˙ œ œ œ œ œ Œ 5 Shen-an-doah, I long to hearœ youœ œ 'way,œ I'mœ bound a-way, 'crossœ theœ Cmi Bb Eb b & b b ˙ œ 9 wide Misœ - sourœ - wi.

Effective Starter “Tricks”EbMa6

• bbUse ÓpedalŒ tones/drones œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ & b Pedal tones create stability, simplicity,œ œ andœ naturallyœ enhanceœ œ melodic content œ o Shenœ - anœ - doah,œ œ œI longœ to hear you œA - o 5thsœ in men add further stability, or shift it to women for men’s melody o Choral exercise – full choir drone, shifting to closest correct note on chord changes œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ? œ œ œ œ œ œ œ • bbOstinatosÓ Œ = Motor that drives an arrangement Œ 13 b o Similar(CLOSED to style/feel VOICINGS) in their function

• WriteAbMa More7 Unisons EbMa7 o Incredibly effective for teaching blend, balance, style, and listening bb o˙ Allows the ensembleœ toœ feel successfulœ œ right away œ œ Œ œ & b ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ • 2-partway Writing you rol - lin' riv - er Oh, o Prioritize using 3rd and 6th intervals combined with good voice leading o˙ Study Phil Mattsonœ – œhe’s theœ masterœ œ œ œ œ ? b œ œ œ œ œ Œ 16 • bWriteb (DROP FOR 2 theVOICINGS) lyrics, not against them œ

7 7 7 • PassAbM thea7 melody around Bb Cmi Bb o (Online Example #6 & #7) bb œ œ œ œ œ Œ ‰ j &• Haveb œ a sectionœ orœ sections drop œout for effectœ œœ œ œ œ Shen - an - doah, ˙ I long to hear you œ 'way,J ˙ 3 œ œ œ œ ? b œ œ œ œ œ ‰ J 18 b b œ œ œ ˙ œ (SPREAD/OPEN VOICINGS) © Shenandoah Examples

Eb Ab Eb b 4 œ œ œ ˙ œ œ & b b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ Process – Different4 Oh,œ ApproachesShen-an-doah, I long to hear you A - way you rol-lin' riv-er Oh,

Everyone arrangesAb a littleBb differentlyC mbasedi on naturalBb preference.Eb Here are a fewG mconsiderationsi as you figure outb your own: & b b œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ ‰ j ˙ œ œ œ œ œ Œ 5 • ArrangingShen-an- doah,from a leadI long sheetto hearœ youœ œ 'way,œ I'mœ bound a- way, 'crossœ theœ o (Online Examples #8 & #9) Cmi Bb Eb • 7th Chord Voicings b o Closed & b b ˙ Drop 2 œ 9 wideo Misœ - sourœ - wi. o Open/Spread EbMa6 b œ œ & b b Ó Œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ œ Shenœ - anœ - doah,œ œ œI longœ to hear you œA - œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ? œ œ œ œ œ œ œ bb Ó Œ Œ 13 b (CLOSED VOICINGS) AbMa7 EbMa7 b ˙ œ œ & b b ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ way you rol - lin' rivœ - er Oh, ˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ? b œ œ œ œ œ Œ 16 b b (DROP 2 VOICINGS) œ

7 7 7 AbMa7 Bb Cmi Bb bb œ œ œ œ œ Œ ‰ j & b œ œ œ œ œ œœ œ œ œ Shen - an - doah, ˙ I long to hear you œ 'way,J (Shen - an - doah, hear you) œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œ œ ? b œ œ ‰ J 18 b b œ œ œ ˙ œ (SPREAD/OPEN VOICINGS) ©

4 2 Shenandoah Examples 7 7 7 EbMa7 Gmi Cmi Bb EbMa6 b & b b ˙ œ œ œ œ œ Œ œ ˙ œ œ ˙ œ I'mœ boundœ a - way, 'crossœ theœ wide˙ œ Misœ -sourœ - wi.

˙ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ œ œ œœ w ? bb Œ ˙ œ œ 20 b(CLOSED/DROP 2 COMBO)

• Accompanied vs. Un-accompanied o Accompanied works = Voices are functioning as a melodic “section” § Often primarily homorhythmic § Accompaniment is able to supply harmony, rhythm, counter-melody, and motor. Voices are the featured instrument. o Un-accompanied works = Voices fulfill ALL roles § Melody, harmony, rhythm, counter-melody, motor § Often polyrhythmic § Use of vocal bass, vocal percussion common § (Online Example #10)

• Writing Vertically vs. Horizontally o Vertical = Great voice leading, good for homorhythmic o Horizontal = Very “Sing-able” lines, good for polyrhythmic o Often influenced by instrumental background

• Finding your writing space and tools o Where? With what? When?

• Record yourself o Raw ideas, scratch tracks, etc. o Allows you to experience externally vs. internally o Sibelius/Finale playback is okay, but it’s not vocal

5 General Words of Wisdom

• Start your arrangement at the first part you can “hear” o Hint: This is often not the beginning

• Be ready to set aside several sections/revisions of your work o Do not throw away or delete – You will probably miss it!

• Good piano voicings are generally good vocal, horn, and string voicings o Start practicing piano!

• Consciously direct your audience’s focus o In any given section, which part do you believe is the most important? The least important? Does your arrangement emphasize what you want it to emphasize? o Hint: If it doesn’t, this almost always involves simplifying something too dense o Remember: Your audience is hearing this for the first time

• Prioritize good voice leading unless going for a specific effect o Counterpoint rules, while helpful, are not universally applicable in 2016. You WILL get parallel 5ths. Everyone is doing it!

• Be aware of the effective “life span” of each arranging idea o i.e. How long can the listener enjoy it before they’re bored or tired of it? o Sometimes great ideas are under-utilized, others are exhausting § Consider audience’s focus, complexity, and context o If you have a great/interesting idea, bring it back (recall) o Avoid the “kitchen sink” arrangement – too many ideas confuses the listener (ie. too many colors mixed together end up brown)

• Golden Arranging Rule – 50% Familiar, 50% Surprise!

• Sing your work often as you are writing

• Seek out the feedback of someone you respect and/or study successful works

• Work with a pianist on written accompaniments

• Arranging is hard. Get used to it!

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

Questions?

Additional Resources • “A Cappella Arranging” by Dylan Bell & Deke Sharon • “Arranging for Large Jazz Ensemble” by Ken Pullig & Dick Lowell • “Barbershop Arranging Manual” by the Barbershop Harmony Society • “Choral Arranging” by Hawley Ades • “Circlesongs: The Method” by Roger Treece • “The Complete Guide to Teaching Vocal Jazz” by Steve Zegree • “Jazz Arranging Techniques” by Gary Lindsay • “Modern Jazz Voicings” by Ken Pullig & Ted Pease • “Scatability” iPhone App by Michele Weir • “The Vocal Jazz Ensemble” by Paris Rutherford • http://www.acdacal.org/repertoire-standards/jazz-choirs/