Arranging for a Band
A band that is stuck on a song almost always sounds the same way: busy, full and boring at once. Everyone plays well, everyone plays the right notes, and nothing comes out. The reflex is to add something, and the fix is almost always to remove one.
- 5 roles
- 1 role per player
- subtract first
Where you run into this
- Band
- Studio
- Live
- Songwriting
In short
Three layers of decision get lumped together. Composing supplies the material: melody, chords, lyric, rough form. Arranging decides who plays what, when and in which register. Producing decides how it sounds as a recording. Most band problems are arranging problems being solved with production.
Relief, usually. The moment a band stops doubling itself, the same song sounds bigger without anyone playing more.
How it works
In almost every arrangement, from a jazz trio to a metal band to an orchestra, five functions get filled: the melody, the bass, the harmonic filler, the rhythmic drive and the counterline. The names differ by tradition and the functions do not.
Where you run into this
- Two instruments playing the same role in the same register
- A chorus that gets smaller when another guitar is added
- A verse that works because one player stops
In practice
Nearly every arrangement problem turns out to be a doubled role. Two guitars both strumming chords, a keyboard and a guitar both filling the mids, a bass and a left hand playing the same line. Assign one role per player for one take and most of the fog lifts.