The Value of Arranging and Composing

I never thought I’d do any arranging or certainly not composing. Yet here I am, having now arranged quite a few trombone quartets (over a dozen now, and counting) and even a few original works. I was never, and not now able to sit at a piano and do much more than find middle C, and that was always the tool for the serious arranger/composer.

But technology has gifted us with music writing programs that open up new opportunities to a simple minded trombonist, such as myself. The great thing about Finale, or other programs, is that it plays whatever you write for you. Now I don’t need to play piano! All I need is an idea, a good ear, and some time. I do not have perfect pitch, but my ear is pretty good, so when I put something down, if it’s not what my inner ear hears, I can confirm, and adjust.

But the topic is the value of doing this in the first place. One quick and obvious reason is that you save money by writing arrangements yourself. I’ve played many arrangements over the years, some better than others. At one point, I realized there was no reason to think I couldn’t do as well or better than some I’d played.

So off I went, into the new world of creating something to play, in most cases for my quartet, The trombones of the St. Louis Symphony. It took time, and I had to build new muscles, but as I went, it got easier, I learned more and more, got better, and kept at it. I guess like all things, it takes practice. Who knew, right?

So it saves money, and another big plus was being able to tailor fit music for different situations. General audiences, churches, Christmas, whatever opportunities we had as a group, we could come up with music just for those events. Sometimes we had difficulty getting music that was as good a fit, unless we wrote our own. 

So cost, plus fitting music to your specific needs. And now, having written quite a few tunes, there is another possibility…selling your work! Now this has yet to make much of a dent in my lifestyle, for sure I don’t expect to pass Burt Bacharach or Paul McCartney anytime soon, but there isn’t going to be any harm in dreaming! 

I actually sold my first (any only so far!) arrangement recently, Rudy the Red Nosed Reindeer, combined with Berlioz Hungarian March. Such a natural pairing, right?

And it was really cool to have expanded what previously had been strictly a playing career into new territory, even if it’s just one tune. Which brings up another point.

It gives you another way to be creative. In retirement, this has been very good for me. No one wants to think about it, but should the time come, for whatever reason, you can always express yourself as a musician by writing and arranging. 

Amazing as it was to me as well, was how hard I wrote for myself! Often I had to play through what I wrote, and adjust things. You’d think I would know better than anyone to leave room for breaths, and maybe get the horn off my face, but no, the computer does it all so easily, and that can be a problem. It also plays any tempo you put in, so you have to check to see if it’s reasonable.

And lastly, your musical understanding, of your instrument, yourself, can only grow with the effort. Even if you don’t come up with the next great symphony or push Taylor Swift from the top of the charts, it’s a feeling of accomplishment, to hear something that you imagined come to life. I have a few tunes I even composed! You never know what idle musical thought may drift into your head, and now days I check to see if its something, or just a tune to whistle while I wash dishes. You never know.

So if you’re not already, consider trying out your musical chops in a new way. Maybe it’s not you, maybe it is, but it can’t hurt trying. Our Christmas album, Seasons Greetings, is only our own arrangements. And I think that’s pretty cool! (by the way, shameless plug, go to the quartet website stltrombones.com and get a copy, before they’re all gone, these prices can’t last, but wait, there’s more, etc.)

And there’s always the chance that more tunes come onto the website, hint hint!

Tim Higgins wrote his own concerto and performed it with the San Francisco Symphony, so anything is possible, right? And how cool is that!

Start small, and see where it goes. Even if it doesn’t turn out to be your next career, you will likely get something from just trying.  Good luck, and enjoy yourself, whatever you do. Music is a gift, however it shows up in your life.