3. Partitures………………………………………………………………
I created two songs to be played. I tried to have different types of arranging techniques involved.
I composed the first song, Start the End, when I was analyzing the music of Kenny Wheeler and noticed that he uses a lot of modal interchange. I was not fully understanding this concept, and so I dove more into this.
Modal interchange is the principle that you switch between different modes within a song, and you “borrow” chords from that other mode. In Figure 6 you will find an overview of the different modes, and the corresponding chord types.
3.1 Start the End………………………………………………….
The main arranging techniques I used for this arrangement are lead vs. backings and polyphony. I used different types of voicings, some are consciously picked, and some are more random because of polyphony.
In this song I switch between an A-aeolean mode and a A-minor/major7 mode. Technically speaking, the last one isn’t a church mode, but I figured using a different type of mode will create the same feeling.
2. Choosing your pitches………………………………………………………….
In this research I expect a certain basic knowledge about (jazz) music theory. If you have the feeling you don’t have that skills yet, I recommend the following books:
- Persichetti, Vincent. (1961) Twentieth-Century Harmony. New York, USA: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
- Naus, J. Wayne. (1998) Beyond Functional Harmony. Advance Music.
It is important that you are able to analyze your song to find the right pitches for your arrangement. In Figure 5 you will find an overview (based on information from the book “Modern Jazz Voicings”).with all the possible tensions when voicing a certain chord-type. In chapter 4 I will tell you more about certain voicings.
3.2 Eventually I Will……………………………………………….
The main arranging techniques I used for this arrangement are unisono/ doubling in octaves, lead vs. 2 backing and a counter part. There is also a part with different rhythmical patterns on top of each other.
In this song I worked without functional harmony, the chord types are mainly triads over a different bass note, which creates rich chord sounds.
When choosing my pitches for the 3 part horn arrangement, I will have to look vertically to each chord and decide which scale will be appropriate.
