7. Conclusion…..………………………….…..……………………………
The main goal of this research was to investigate how arrangers can use vocals as an addition to their horn arrangements.
Through experimenting and literature research I came to the conclusion that there are three main focus points when aiming for vocals to be an autonomous part in a horn section with 2 other horns.
The first subject to be taken into account is the use of vowels. In chapter 5 I linked vowels of the phonetic system to the sound of the horns. Results reviews that the matched vowels quite literally change were the instrument theory tells us the sound changes.
During the live rehearsal, phase II- chapter 6.3, I found out that horn players also need to think about their vowel use when playing. When opting for a homogeneous blending, the vowels that the singer uses should match the sounding vowels of horn players. When this isn’t the case, the arranger van ask the horn players to try and match the physical vowels they use when they play to the sounding vowels of the vocalist.
The second subject to think about is the choice of instruments. I would always recommend to have two horns of different registers to be in the section. This roots for a sound that is as rich as possible. In chapter 6.2 I categorized the instruments in wood and brass, and I found out that in terms of this, all combinations are workable, but within each combination not every devision is possible. All wood + voice and all brass + voice gives a homogeneous blending. The combination of wood and brass is most homogeneous when one of the horn players is leading, and the other horn is able to make a blend with the voice.
The last thing to take into consideration is that of the devision of the parts. For this research I wanted to be as open as possible about this topic. I wanted to experiment with the standard devision of high instruments being always on top, low instruments being always at the bottom, and med ranged instruments being always in the middle. In chapter 6.1 I found that based on instrument theory there are different unlikely possibilities, and in chapter 6.3 I came across the sound that these different devisions would have. When choosing your devision within a group, you can refer to the instrument theory again, paired with the, maybe somewhat obvious, conclusion that when playing or singing in the highest or lowest register of your instrument the overall sound will be much more intense. This means that when you give certain instruments that role, you will hear that people have work for their money, and this may or may not be what you are looking for.
On a personal note, I gained a lot of knowledge about arranging for horn sections. More important to me is that I learned a lot about being an ensemble player. Reflecting on this research, I am very keen with the results. The recordings, though, are not of an amazing quality, and I would do this differently a next time. For further research I would like to try out a whole lot of other options that based on my conclusion would work. It would also be very interesting if this theory is also applicable to larger horn sections, and whether the outcomes would be the same regarding singing different parts (topvoice, a middle part, the lowest part) and vowel-use.