ARRANGEMENT
[ 6 ARRANGEMENT TIPS FOR GREAT MIXES | Grant Norsworthy ]
My first ever published article was called “The Think of the bouncing boy as the vocal melody There are other elements to the picture -
Boy, The Bed & The Bass”, and it highlighted and the lyric of the song. That’s the most comforter, pillows, wall hangings and so on -
what I’d learned from seeing my 3-year-old son important element of this picture and of our that add interest and color to the overall picture.
bouncing on his mother’s and my bed. I shared song. That’s what we are asking people to But the little boy will bounce without them.
how that illustration informed my musical connect with, resonate with, sing along to. These are our guitars, keyboards, harmony
choices as the bassist with bands like PC3
(Paul Colman Trio) and Sonicflood.
vocals and any other instrumentation we might
The bed that Casper is bouncing on has two add. Any one of them is not essential to the
halves - mommy’s side and daddy’s side. success or failure of the song. They must not
But these days I’m more often in the role of These two halves of one whole in our band’s clutter the sonic space of the melody and the
Musical Director, instructor and consultant for sound are the bass guitar and the drums - lyrics. Unless there is an instrumental passage
multiple bands - most commonly in Church more specifically the kick drum. The parts being to a song, they must never compete for the
music situations. The applications for the played by these two must be connected, solid, attention of the listener.
bouncing-toddler foundational and support the vocal melody and
illustration
have
grown
exponentially into a way of thinking about music
lyrics. They allow the boy to bounce!
in general; giving a clear goal to work towards
There is a myriad of practical applications from
this illustration to musical direction. With any
when crafting a band’s sound to effectively The lower frequencies of these instruments, band I am leading, in this order of priority, I work
engage a church congregation to worship God when mixed correctly, have the power to move with purpose to:
through songs. people, shift air, create a vibe and groove for the
• consolidate the song’s melody and unify
music while never invading the frequency range
the vocal style of the singers,
Picture this: My 3-year-old son Casper leaping - the sonic space - of the song’s melody. Given • make sure all vocalists are singing
exuberantly through the air, arms flailing, face a suitable sound system, lower frequencies can the same lyrics (and that they match
beaming, propelled by his little legs springing be put to dynamic use while never making the the screens!),
off mommy and daddy’s bed. It’s an engaging band sound too loud or hurting any ears.
• establish
picture. It draws people in.
solid
time-keeping
and
melody-supporting parts for drums and
bass guitar,
• establish other instrumental parts that
support, but never clutter the melody,
• make sure any harmony vocals are used
sparingly and mixed lower than the
melody, and
• ensure an overall mix that has clearly
audible melody supported by robust
low end.
This way of thinking about sound and music
can help the whole team. Instrumentalists,
singers and audio technicians alike can agree
on a defined objective for our sound. This,
in turn, can help each individual make better
musical choices that facilitate the achievement
of the agreed goal.
Grant Norsworthy
Founder of MoreThanMusicMentor.com providing
training for worshipping musicians.
MoreThanMusicMentor.com
70
April 2018
WorshipMusician.com