Dear Friends,
So many of you have posed very fascinating questions to me regarding putting a song together. Then recently Ted Rose brought the matter up again on this forum. So, I’m going to open up a decision about how to approach arranging a song that you can play live. One that might sound rather close to a multi track recording that the pros do. You need to understand my point of view is that of a 71 year old, self taught, one finger chord player who needs all the technical help that the keyboard can provide.
Together, we will look at fifteen songs derived from the movies, which I have sequenced. If you play the KN6000, e-mail me at: frankbez@aol.com
I will send you the files. While we take some time to get ready, here are the steps I take in building every arrangement I do.
STEP ONE
Know where you want to end up with your song. Whether you swing or you rock out, if you know how the song ends you can find an interesting way to get through it.
STEP TWO
Consider some of the rhythms that you don’t normally use. Look for some twists and turns as you lead the listener down the garden path. Follow Bob Hendershot’s advise and copy the styles you want to use into the Composer. As a result, you will be able to easily change some parts and the panning positions. In addition the arrangement will very likely play in the next generation instrument.
STEP THREE
Look for the Right Hand voices that tell the story of the song. The Sound Explorer is a great resource and will automatically set the appropriate effects settings for the selected voice. Try to move back and forth between using Technichord and not. A simple solo voice brings a nice relief after listening to those big fat chords.
STEP FOUR
Put your Panel Memory into Expand Mode and starting in Bank A1 save your selected sounds and styles. By putting your changes in numerical order, you will be able to move through your song using a foot switch or Performance Pads. I like to note the Panel Memory changes on my music so that months later I can go back and play the song as it was originally arranged. SAVE WHAT YOU HAVE TO DISK.
STEP FIVE
Step back and listen to what you have. See if the transitions work, adjust the levels, add or eliminate certain Composer parts until your beautiful song becomes magic.
Without question there is a great deal more to making an interesting arrangement, and I think many of the things you may want to consider will come out as we talk about the specific songs.
Frank Bez
Previous Topic
Index