Gospel City
"The Home of Jay McGee"
"The Home of Jay McGee"
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The Arranger
Arranging Music
To arrange something means to fix it according to your taste. In the case of a musical arranger, it is the same situation, arranging music the way that it sounds best to you. The key here is to try to appeal to the masses by achieving a sound that also suits their tastes.
Musical styles change and so do the sounds that are
considered to be the "it" sound.
Arrangers, as well as producers, often have what is referred to as a signature sound or style. This class of arranger has to be careful not to flood the market with their sound, so they often tend to use their style sparingly. There are always exceptions to the rule, such as Mr. Quincey Jones, who has a signature sound, but can also come with a completely new approach that is just as enjoyable, and still have his signature on it. For instance, "Off The Wall" and "Thriller", by Michael Jackson, were both produced by him. In case you didn't know, "Thriller"is the best - selling album of all time. In the music world of the past, the arranger and producer roles were two separate entities. Today they are often one and the same. Quite a lot of today's music is produced and arranged by the same person, in order to assure that the complete production has that producer's style.One major problem with this is, the producer might be a good coordinator, bringing samples together, but not arranging any type of music themselves. The sampling will run out and then what? The thinking of today's record companies is geared toward selling a proven sound. In other words, if a certain sound has been successful in recent times,then that sound is what people want to hear, so give them more of that. That way of thinking ,in some folks' minds, including myself , is what has pretty much destroyed the music industry. If you want to be an arranger, learn about music, study it; listen to what the great arrangers did. Then bring it out in your own way. If you have music in you, pursue your own way of expressing it. It will give you much satisfaction. I'm speaking from experience.
To arrange something means to fix it according to your taste. In the case of a musical arranger, it is the same situation, arranging music the way that it sounds best to you. The key here is to try to appeal to the masses by achieving a sound that also suits their tastes.
Musical styles change and so do the sounds that are
considered to be the "it" sound.
Arrangers, as well as producers, often have what is referred to as a signature sound or style. This class of arranger has to be careful not to flood the market with their sound, so they often tend to use their style sparingly. There are always exceptions to the rule, such as Mr. Quincey Jones, who has a signature sound, but can also come with a completely new approach that is just as enjoyable, and still have his signature on it. For instance, "Off The Wall" and "Thriller", by Michael Jackson, were both produced by him. In case you didn't know, "Thriller"is the best - selling album of all time. In the music world of the past, the arranger and producer roles were two separate entities. Today they are often one and the same. Quite a lot of today's music is produced and arranged by the same person, in order to assure that the complete production has that producer's style.One major problem with this is, the producer might be a good coordinator, bringing samples together, but not arranging any type of music themselves. The sampling will run out and then what? The thinking of today's record companies is geared toward selling a proven sound. In other words, if a certain sound has been successful in recent times,then that sound is what people want to hear, so give them more of that. That way of thinking ,in some folks' minds, including myself , is what has pretty much destroyed the music industry. If you want to be an arranger, learn about music, study it; listen to what the great arrangers did. Then bring it out in your own way. If you have music in you, pursue your own way of expressing it. It will give you much satisfaction. I'm speaking from experience.
