Miscelletudes

XAR #8

D Flo — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 17:10:37 +0000

And time constraints have made this the second and last XAR for this year, so I chose my favorite instrumentation to write for: Mallet Choir. The song is The Holly and the Ivy, another traditional English carol. From England. The piece builds to a fast, light, happy rendition that follows the original arrangement pretty closely, with rhythmic support under the melody. The B section switches to a minor key and ups the rhythmic support, and comes back around to the A section again, switching back to major and coming to and end with a call and response theme between each instrument. For you - now - here is: The Holly and the Ivy!

The Holly and the Ivy (mallet choir)

XAR #7

D Flo — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:55:17 +0000

Ho ho ho - here is the latest addition to the Xmas Arrangement Request family! The first song arranged this year is I Saw Three Ships, the traditional English Christmas carol from 17th century England. This one felt like it needed a full orchestra, so I wrote it for solo trumpet. I’m kidding, it’s for full orchestra. I started it with a very piratey, sea-faring feel and in a minor key. The melody is in the horns with the rest of the brass providing the support and punctuations. After a quick crashing of the waves, the song switches to the inside of a seaside pub, with accordian, mallet choir, and pizzicato strings adding a light, drunken feel to the piece. But soon the frivolity is over and the mistress that is the sea calls again; the ships set sail for crazy adventures once again, with a change to a major key and a faster tempo. The low brass and low strings add a steady movement as the melody returns to the high brass, this time in the trumpets. The woodwinds add to the movement with quick triplets, and the high strings give a free, open feel with high whole notes, and the piece ends with a strong flourish. The only thing about this piece right now is that the MIDI format changes the sounds of some of the instruments mid-way through (after the pub part). So the loud, obnoxious trumpet in there should actually be a loud, obnoxious chime. So here you go - yay XAR #7!

I Saw 3 Ships (full orchestra)

XAR # 6

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 14:54:13 +0000

And the final selection for XAR 2006: Silent Night! My version is arranged for String Quartet. I chose a traditional variation technique which basically consists of writing the verses over and over and (lo and behold) varying the style each time. I start with a soft version, melody in the cello and rhythmic chordal support in the viola and violins (in pizzicato [plucked strings] for added softness). I then move to a “normal” variation of more legato textures, which moves into a minor, mournful wlatz variation (naturally). I then play with differences in rhythms (short notes vs. long notes) and interplay between voices, and the move into a quick-tempo, rhythm-heavy, dance-like variation (hyphen) and end with a return of the “normalcy.” Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. I should do this for every holiday. Be safe for Xmas, and enjoy the music! YAY Xmas Arrangement Request # 6:

Silent Night (string quartet)

XAR # 5

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:32:02 +0000

I was saving this one for the last because I was really happy with how it was turning out, but I finished it last night and I don’t have another to post today, so here we go! I took Jingle Bells (written by James Pierpont, and originally written as a T-giving song) and messed around with it a bit. Everyone loves Jingle Bells, right? The happy, bouncy, spirited classic of the holidays that makes you just want to wrap gifts and give money to the Salvation Army. *PUKE* I said screw that, yo - I want a melancholy Jingle Bells, like For Whom the Jingle Bells Toll or something. So my arrangement is indeed in F minor. It is written for my favorite, Mallet Choir (Chimes, Orchestra Bells, Xylophone, Marimba, and Vibraphone), and plays with split-chord ostinatos, rhythmic lulls and hiccups, and melody trade-offs between voices. It is taken at the crazy speed of 160 bpm, but feels very chill and laid-back due mostly to the ostinatos. Hope you like it. YAY XAR # 5:

Jingle Bells (mallet choir)

XAR #4

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:01:39 +0000

And we’re back! Let the arrangements and the Xmas-ing begin again! Our first suggestion that I chose to arrange for 2006 is Coventry Carol, a lesser-known seasonal lullaby. Due to its slow, heavy, chord-laced nature, I chose to write it as a short warmup for Drum Corps brass (Mellophone, Trumpet in D, Trumpet in B flat, Trombone, Baritone, and Sousaphone). The warmup builds in intensity as the carol progresses, and only for the last verse do all the brass play at once. The end is basically an open invitation to push the register as high or low as a player can on his or her instrument. I believe this is a pretty fitting opening to this year’s Xmas Arrangement Requests. Here is:

Coventry Carol (Drum Corps brass)

Kearthling Fight

Thu, 26 Jan 2006 22:44:55 +0000

This is the soundtrack to scene 6 from the first episode of Li’l Kitty Jam Jams. It’s a full orchestra with voices, and a little synth thrown in. In this scene, the cat battles the evil Kearthlings, stopping them from destroying more of the Technologian’s city. It begins with lots of destruction and strife and general ill-being, proceeds to a chase, and then a pause before an odd end. When you see the first episode, you’ll understand. And you will see the first episode. Here is the Kearthling Fight from ep. 1 of Li’l Kitty Jam Jams:

Scene 6

XAR # 3

Fri, 23 Dec 2005 03:50:05 +0000

And here it is, # 3, and before Xmas even! You didn’t think I could do it, I didn’t think I could do it, it may not have been done as well as it could’ve been , but it’s done! So starteth a holiday tradition. We Three Kings Of Orient Are deviates muchly from tradition in this arrangement. I opted for a jazzy brass choir sound with lots of syncopation and tight harmonies. Many arrangements of this piece that I’ve heard have been slow and gloomy, and triple meter (since the song is written in 3/4). Screw all that, says I. Groove out to the Kings like you is in 1976, baby! YAY Xmas Arrangement Request # 3:

We Three Kings Of Orient Are (brass choir)

XAR # 2

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 04:23:41 +0000

For your next Xmas arrangement full of MIDI goodness, I present God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (string quartet). The piece has always had a sort of Baroque-ish sound to it in my mind, so I played with layering the voices in ways that sound almost fugue-like (but totally aren’t) and with augmenting the melody through rhythmic interplay. There are basically 4 1/2 - 5 variations on the theme in this one arrangement which you should be able to pick out with no problem. The second variation has a crazy part where three voices are each doing a patterned rhythm through the chords (two in a triple meter-style, the third in a duple style). The third variation is basically an experiment in Rounds, like Row Your Boat only with Gentlemen. See what you think. The rest of the variations stretch and condense the harmonies before bringing it back to the original arrangement. YAY Xmas Arrangement Request # 2:

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen (string quartet)

XAR # 1

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 03:09:16 +0000

I started off with O Holy Night. I kept pretty traditional with this one, there’s not much you can do to better it, and I didn’t want to go all weirdy with it right now. It’s written for full orchestra (which MIDI can’t really handle, so some things aren’t in that should be and some sounds get swapped and funked up, and blabbidy blah blip bloo). It was hard to get away from the waltziness of the original composition, so I more or less embraced it. The tempo is a tad faster than when I first wrote it, I felt it might’ve needed it a bit, and you can feel free to agree or disagree at your leisure. YAY Xmas Arrangement Request # 1:

O Holy Night (full orchestra)

Xmas Cheer! (or Jeer, as the case may be)

Tue, 13 Dec 2005 03:15:25 +0000

Of course if I had my way I’d be writing stuff everyday. Without work to interrupt. Or trivial things, like eating. And sleeping. Hence the drought between entries. So! Here’s some holiday funnery to get you in the Xmas mood. ‘Cause you need it and all. I took a favorite of mine and now a Xmas classic, The Carol of the Bells (Ukrainian Christmas Carol), and I arranged it for mallet choir (chimes, orchestra bells, xylophone, marimba, and vibes). I focused on staying true to the original melody while mixing up some rhythms and phrases within the piece. I also played around with dynamics, and in particular orchestral builds (dynamic builds achieved by stacking instrumental parts toward a common resolution in a staggered pattern). Enough musical jargon! Let it snow:

Carol of the Bells (mallet choir)