• Today, some checklists based on the arrangement tips from last time. After you’ve written your song, ask yourself these questions.

 

What do the instruments do?

How do they fit together?

• Do they change or stay the same?
• Are their parts simple or complex?
• Do the overall dynamics change? e.g. loud/soft, fast/slow, full/sparse arrangement
  Does the tempo change?
• Does the overall level of complexity, texture or no of notes played per bar (8ths, 16ths 32nds) change drastically anywhere?
• What layers does it have? e.g. rhythm, bass, harmony, melody
• What different textures does it have?  e.g. melody and accompaniment, counter melody, polyphony (lots of interweaving melodies), homophony (block chords)
• Is there anything unusual or interesting about the way things are sung or played?

And to analyse each section, try adapting this form (see key below)

Song:                                                                                                               Historic Placement:

Layers: Rhythm, Bass, Harmonic, Melodic

Key

• Syncopation – using off beats
• Implied harmonies – chords created by different melodies/instruments working together
• Diatonic – fitting into a major or minor key
• Chromatic – lots of sharps and flats, notes which do not fit the key
• Modal – using different scales to major minor (e.g. blues scale)
• Ascending/Descending – going up/down