here's where the strings come in
This week, I'm arranging strings for a House of Blondes session on Friday. I wrote a cello line on the fly for a Moneyshot song several years ago, but I've never done any arranging for other musicians. I, of course, have no idea what I'm doing, and that is what draws me to the whole experience. It's a challenge.
I wasn't really sure how to prepare - I guess I could've listened to some of my favorite songs with strings on them? But hell no! In fact, I'm hard-pressed to name one off the top of my head.
Are there rules to this sort of thing? I don't see why. I just figured I needed to know which notes each instrument - the cellocellocellocello, the viola and the violin - could play.
I went online to find the range of each instrument, and found a load of viola jokes. I guess the violist is the string section equivalent of the drummer, the butt of all the jokes. some of these jokes are harsh:
How do you keep your violin from getting stolen?
Put it in a viola case.
What's the definiton of "perfect pitch?"
Throwing a viola into a dumpster without hitting the rim.
What's the difference between a viola and a coffin?
The coffin has the dead person on the inside.
Why do so many people take an instant dislike to the viola?
It saves time.
(One day drummers and violists are going to be tired of getting picked on and are going to revolt against the Guitar/Violin Machine [G/VM]. The streets will run red with blood and catgut. We will build crosses out of rosewood & maple. And as we're rhythmically nailing them to the crosses, the drummers will undoubtedly rush the beat.)
Rather than going with the classic quartet (two violins, viola, cello), I think I'm dropping one violin for another cello - cellos sound cooler. I'm not crazy about the violin, not sure why. I have no opinion on the viola, having never spent much time with it, but as a drummer I empathize with its underdog status, so I think we may end up featuring it out of spite.
So I'm home Monday night, watching football, mindlessly playing cello and viola lines on guitar and violin lines on my melodica over a version of the song. I know I don't want it to sound sappy, but so far it sounds crappy. So I have to fix it, then dump it into an mp3, run it by John from House of Blondes, fix it, repeat steps two and three, skip step four, say 'fuck it'.
Then I'm half done - I have to notate it all. I haven't had fun with notating music since I took a gut class in my senior year of college (and I still got a bad grade because I refused to miss 'A Price is Right'). Is a quarter note 2 beats or 3 in 6/8 notation?
Should be a fun thursday night. I anticipate a lot of confused looks at the session tomorrow night. But I'll roll my eyes, shout a lot, say "this is the way it has to be", and generally act like an asshole. And that's arranging strings, right? Now who wants a horn section?
I wasn't really sure how to prepare - I guess I could've listened to some of my favorite songs with strings on them? But hell no! In fact, I'm hard-pressed to name one off the top of my head.
Are there rules to this sort of thing? I don't see why. I just figured I needed to know which notes each instrument - the cellocellocellocello, the viola and the violin - could play.
I went online to find the range of each instrument, and found a load of viola jokes. I guess the violist is the string section equivalent of the drummer, the butt of all the jokes. some of these jokes are harsh:
How do you keep your violin from getting stolen?
Put it in a viola case.
What's the definiton of "perfect pitch?"
Throwing a viola into a dumpster without hitting the rim.
What's the difference between a viola and a coffin?
The coffin has the dead person on the inside.
Why do so many people take an instant dislike to the viola?
It saves time.
(One day drummers and violists are going to be tired of getting picked on and are going to revolt against the Guitar/Violin Machine [G/VM]. The streets will run red with blood and catgut. We will build crosses out of rosewood & maple. And as we're rhythmically nailing them to the crosses, the drummers will undoubtedly rush the beat.)
Rather than going with the classic quartet (two violins, viola, cello), I think I'm dropping one violin for another cello - cellos sound cooler. I'm not crazy about the violin, not sure why. I have no opinion on the viola, having never spent much time with it, but as a drummer I empathize with its underdog status, so I think we may end up featuring it out of spite.
So I'm home Monday night, watching football, mindlessly playing cello and viola lines on guitar and violin lines on my melodica over a version of the song. I know I don't want it to sound sappy, but so far it sounds crappy. So I have to fix it, then dump it into an mp3, run it by John from House of Blondes, fix it, repeat steps two and three, skip step four, say 'fuck it'.
Then I'm half done - I have to notate it all. I haven't had fun with notating music since I took a gut class in my senior year of college (and I still got a bad grade because I refused to miss 'A Price is Right'). Is a quarter note 2 beats or 3 in 6/8 notation?
Should be a fun thursday night. I anticipate a lot of confused looks at the session tomorrow night. But I'll roll my eyes, shout a lot, say "this is the way it has to be", and generally act like an asshole. And that's arranging strings, right? Now who wants a horn section?
posted by stinkrock at 9:36 AM
12 Comments:
Huh? I sang the cello line over the phone to you!
You push me for content, I fudge on the fact-checking, you bust me. You're never satisfied.
Please remember: I will never meet or exceed your expectations.
Oh, and now that I don't have a leg to stand on this string arrangement business, you need to get over here right away.
I'll just phone it in, as usual.
This is why you need a copy of Digital Performer, a super cheap midi controller, and a super cheap sound module (like the Alesis nanosynth).
You put the 2 track mix in DP, you bring up some midi tracks, you play along and record midi, write, play, repeat, write, play, repeat.
When you've got something resembling a line, you simply open the midi track in another window, which displays it as sheet music. Change the clef if you want, add performance notes, change the font, whatever, then print it out or - better yet - save it as a PDF and email it to your players.
Session comes, they've already got the part, you're prepared to focus on the yelling, berating, and drinking.
Wow. that sounds easy. Although it was pretty amusing wondering where the dull roar on my melodica track was coming from, and realizing it was because they were tearing up my street at 11:30pm last night.
hilarious. i can sit you sitting on the couch, shaking the melodica and your head...
I told George I wouldn't be happy unless he made the violin player cry.
I forsee many many tears tonight. Good luck Mike. I, of course, being sensible, am going to be far away from that session.
George: That's not the part.
Mike: I wrote the fucking part.
Dave: I'm not here either.
Viola player: Boo Hooo
I'll be at home all night to answer questions and provide arrangements.
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