Arranging

Arranging music for a new ensemble can sometimes be a little confusing, but I don’t think it needs to be complicated.

I’ve arranged a few pieces for my middle school orchestra students and the first time was somewhat difficult, but after that it became much more easy because the arrangements don’t need to be complicated.

Some things, like long held chords, are arranging techniques that sound great and aren’t that hard to put together. Adding lots of flourishes is going to be more difficult because that means you’re writing a lot of different parts.

But the main idea of arranging music for an orchestra doesn’t have to be complicated. You can make the arrangement as simple or as complicated as you want to. If the arrangement is for a specific ensemble and that ensemble plays at a specific level, then the piece should reflect that.

This can make some things more tricky because you’ll need to be familiar with both the levels of the players and the instruments that they play in order to write something at the appropriate level.

But the arranging of the music doesn’t need to be complicated. You can re-use ideas that you’ve seen in other music for that same, or a similar, ensemble.

ISJ