My book, "The Band Director's Guide to Marching Band Arranging," is now available as a print version from Amazon.com. It is also available as a Kindle textbook from Amazon.com. If you own a Kindle Fire, the musical examples will play directly from the book. It's not exactly a regular Kindle book - it's more of a pdf with musical examples that can be played back on certain devices.
Some of the topics you will find in the book are:
• Evaluating the ensemble
• Choosing music
• Wind instrument ranges
• Using Chord Symbols
• Voicings for brass and woodwinds
• Percussion arranging
• Endings
• Working with electronics on the field
• Using sample libraries with Sibelius or Finale
...and more!
I tried to do something a little different with this book. There are a bunch of older books on arranging out there, but most of them never really talk about the "why" of arranging a piece in a certain way. I firmly believe that one of the main reasons inexperienced arrangers aren't successful is because they don't really take the abilities of the ensemble into account. The book as an extensive section on evaluating the players in the ensemble so you don't write over their heads, and I also discuss the focus of the arrangement. (If you are using it for pep band, or for playing in the stands at a football game, you need to write a great deal differently than you would for a contest performance!)
The book is geared toward a young band director (hence the title), so the reader needs to have at least a bachelor's degree in music level of music theory understanding. Some arranging books spend a lot of time on the basics of theory, but I assume if you are reading this book you learned that stuff already. I don't need to pad the book with redundant information!
I also use examples generated in Sibelius, and I discuss how to use the digital tools we have today in the arranging process, from conception through to part distribution. (While the examples are presented in Sibelius, users of Finale would have no problem adapting my comments to that program.) I provide a specific page for owners of the book to register (see below) so that, as I revise and add things to the book, those owners can receive the updates as well. This is the second edition of the book, written three years after the first release, to reflect advances in the marching band art.
Even if you don't plan to sit down and write a full contest show for your band, the book can be very useful. You may find that all a published arrangement needs to suit your band better is a little editing, or a few rewritten parts. The same techniques and thought processes I present for arranging from scratch are applicable to editing or "rearranging" a published chart.
I also used my 20+ years' experience as a marching band and drum corps judge in writing the book. While you don't have to have a contest band to find the book useful, I mention quite a few things along the way that will help your band be more expressive, and your show be more focused - the kinds of things judges are always looking for.
And the book isn't expensive, thanks to the miracle of epublishing. You can carry it around on your iPad to read in idle moments, like before faculty meetings!
I invite you to check it out. Thanks! - Jeff
Go on to the Book Owners' Page...
Download an excerpt from the book below...
Some of the topics you will find in the book are:
• Evaluating the ensemble
• Choosing music
• Wind instrument ranges
• Using Chord Symbols
• Voicings for brass and woodwinds
• Percussion arranging
• Endings
• Working with electronics on the field
• Using sample libraries with Sibelius or Finale
...and more!
I tried to do something a little different with this book. There are a bunch of older books on arranging out there, but most of them never really talk about the "why" of arranging a piece in a certain way. I firmly believe that one of the main reasons inexperienced arrangers aren't successful is because they don't really take the abilities of the ensemble into account. The book as an extensive section on evaluating the players in the ensemble so you don't write over their heads, and I also discuss the focus of the arrangement. (If you are using it for pep band, or for playing in the stands at a football game, you need to write a great deal differently than you would for a contest performance!)
The book is geared toward a young band director (hence the title), so the reader needs to have at least a bachelor's degree in music level of music theory understanding. Some arranging books spend a lot of time on the basics of theory, but I assume if you are reading this book you learned that stuff already. I don't need to pad the book with redundant information!
I also use examples generated in Sibelius, and I discuss how to use the digital tools we have today in the arranging process, from conception through to part distribution. (While the examples are presented in Sibelius, users of Finale would have no problem adapting my comments to that program.) I provide a specific page for owners of the book to register (see below) so that, as I revise and add things to the book, those owners can receive the updates as well. This is the second edition of the book, written three years after the first release, to reflect advances in the marching band art.
Even if you don't plan to sit down and write a full contest show for your band, the book can be very useful. You may find that all a published arrangement needs to suit your band better is a little editing, or a few rewritten parts. The same techniques and thought processes I present for arranging from scratch are applicable to editing or "rearranging" a published chart.
I also used my 20+ years' experience as a marching band and drum corps judge in writing the book. While you don't have to have a contest band to find the book useful, I mention quite a few things along the way that will help your band be more expressive, and your show be more focused - the kinds of things judges are always looking for.
And the book isn't expensive, thanks to the miracle of epublishing. You can carry it around on your iPad to read in idle moments, like before faculty meetings!
I invite you to check it out. Thanks! - Jeff
Go on to the Book Owners' Page...
Download an excerpt from the book below...
| arranging_book_excerpt.pdf |