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Technique & Performance

Arrangement

Definition

An arrangement is a new version of an existing piece of music, reworked for different instruments, voices or a different style, with fresh choices about harmony, texture, form and who plays what.

An arranger starts from an existing piece, often just a melody and chords, and decides how it will actually sound. A folk song becomes a piece for string quartet; a pop song is arranged for choir; a big-band arranger writes parts for saxophones, trumpets and trombones from a lead sheet. The melody stays recognizable, but almost everything around it can change.

What an arranger decides

  • Instrumentation: which instruments or voices play, and a key that suits their ranges.
  • Texture: melody with block chords, broken chords, a countermelody, or several independent lines (texture).
  • Harmony: keeping the original chords, or reharmonizing with new ones.
  • Form: adding an introduction, an ending or a new section, or repeating a verse in a new key (form).
  • Rhythm and style: the same tune as a ballad, a waltz or a bossa nova.
Three examples in 4/4, two bars each. The first is a treble melody alone: G A C E, then half notes D and C. The second adds a bass staff with a whole-note C major chord and then half-note G major and C major chords. The third adds a bass staff with broken chords in eighth notes: C G E G twice, then B G D G and C G E G.
One original tune in three settings: the melody alone; with block chords in the left hand (a whole-note C chord, then half-note G and C chords); and with broken chords in eighth notes. The melody stays the same, but each texture gives it a different character.

Arrangement and transcription

A transcription tries to keep the original music the same while moving it to a new instrument. An arrangement takes creative liberties. In practice the line between them is not sharp, and many published student "arrangements" are simplified versions of pieces, in easier keys and thinner textures.

Try arranging today

  1. Take a simple tune you know and its chords; I, IV and V are enough to start.
  2. Play the melody in your right hand with whole-note chords in the left.
  3. Change the left hand to broken chords, or an Alberti bass pattern.
  4. Add a two-bar introduction made from the last two bars of the tune.
  5. Play the tune once more an octave higher, or in a new key, as a final verse.

Accompaniment patterns, Turn chords into grooves and Realize a lead sheet give you left-hand ideas to use.

A note on copyright

Arranging a piece for your own practice is one thing. Publishing, selling or distributing an arrangement of a song that is still under copyright usually needs permission from the rights holder. Music old enough to be in the public domain can generally be arranged freely, though the rules differ from country to country.

Common questions

What is the difference between an arrangement and a composition?

A composition is the original piece; an arrangement is a new version of it. The arranger makes many creative choices, but the melody, and usually the basic harmony, come from the composer.

Do I need permission to arrange a song?

Arranging for your own private practice is generally not an issue. To publish, sell or distribute an arrangement of a song still under copyright, you usually need permission from the rights holder; public-domain music can generally be arranged freely.

Practice it: free worksheets