Jazz arranging & Composition

THE JAZZ ARRANGING PAGES

As well as the articles in this section, it is very important to have a good grounding in jazz theory, especially in relation to chord sructure, substitutes and altered chords. These topics are covered in the Jazz section of this site, along with some useful resources and reading list. Jazz composition and arranging, whether for small band or big band, is not an easy art to pin down. As with pop and rock, many jazz performers become composers purely to write music for their own performance. For jazz improvisers, composition is also a logical extension of performance: improvisation is, after all, on-the-spot composition. Jazz composition is now recognised as a legitimate area of study at schools, universities and music college, but due to the nature of jazz as soon as you try to academicise it, you fall into the trap of losing some of its originality and spontaneity. All of the resouces on these, along with some of the material you will find on the saxophone pages, may be useful I hope, but it is essential to immerse yourself in the music: listen to jazz of all eras, play jazz and ideally find a personal tutor.

HINTS AND TIPS

• Transcription of existing arrangements is one of the best ways to learn, not just the rules but how different arrangers have created their individual styles, by bending or breaking the rules, or creating their own.
• Write legible parts, you will get more time rehearsing the creative stuff instead of interpreting bad handwriting.
• Write untransposed scores. Again, you’ll save time on rehearsals that can be spent having ideas.
• Encourage musicians to be critical and listen to any input they have
• However large the ensemble, unisons and octaves should not be ignored. They can be very powerful, or supply a contrast to thick harmony. When using backing figures or counterpoint it often works well to have the lead in harmony and the backing in unison, or vice versa. It can be very effective to use unison on an anacrusis (pickup) or faster melodic passages, followed by open or closed harmony on slower moving lines.