Arrangements are the fuel that will send your songs sky high. A compelling arrangement will make the recording process easier, the mix sound better and the finished product full and satisfying. It will save you time and money, and keep you from endless trial-and-error studio sessions that never quite yield the results you want. How do you create that compelling arrangement?

While a full course on arranging is beyond the scope of these few paragraphs, there are three ideas that will immediately shape your work and dramatically improve the way your songs affect their listeners. These three elements of a compelling arrangement are:

1. Arc of energy.

2. Counterpoint and drama.

3. Constant freshness.

Let’s look at them one by one.

1. Arc of energy.

A good song is a good story. That is my operating principle for arranging and composing. A story keeps the listener interested, thinking about what each event means, wondering what will happen next. You want your listeners to stop and wonder as you take them on a musical journey.

This is not only accomplished by the composition — words and melody — but by the energy of the arrangement. A solo piano has one type of feel, wailing guitars have quite another. If a song has only one energy level and flavor, it gets tired very fast, the story has been killed. The best songs build to a climax, then may drop for an interlude, and build again to the finale. That is interesting, that is dynamic.

Energy arcs can be created in so many ways. You can add or remove instruments in different sections, you can switch from a high-hat to a ride cymbal, you can change the octave of the piano part, you can thicken the vocal harmonies, and so forth. You are limited only by your imagination. Use all of these tools to create a compelling arc of energy for your song.

2. Counterpoint and drama.

An element of storytelling is the meeting of characters and how they interact. They may be lovers, enemies, partners or competitors. Musically, this element of drama can be added by using counterpoint.

Counterpoints are secondary melodies. They have their own internal flow, but complement, support or dialogue with the main melody. Counterpoints can play parallel to the melody, but are used most effectively at the ends of phrases. They then become a sort of answer to what the melody just stated, creating a musical dialogue.

The counterpoints can also be used as the intro to a song, or the basis of a bridge section, or of a coda. They can be played by any of the instruments, or sung by the backup singers. Counterpoints should not be allowed to steal the show, but should make the melody more compelling.

My personal favorite example of use of counterpoint in a song is the ABBA classic, The Winner Takes It All. Listen to that song and see what a counterpoint (and the superbly crafted arc of energy) can do.

3. Constant freshness.

Truth be told, if you’ve done the first two elements well, your song will always remain fresh. Nonetheless, constantly bringing new colors in will move your song up out of the ordinary.

There are lots of great ways to keep each moment and section fresh. It might be as simple as changing one note in the lead melody, or as complicated as using an entirely different rhythm. You should be careful, though, to keep the song together as one unit. Too much of a shift can hurt the unity of the composition and is distracting to the listener.

I like to keep things fresh by textural changes, such as having the backing vocals sing the melody and the lead vocal do some free variations. You can experiment with putting different chords here and there, or adding a break, a fill, a tempo change. That feeling of freshness is most important at the beginning of each new section. If you do it well, you can come back home at the end of the song with the original feel. But that original feel will itself be fresh, just like it feels to come home after an exhilarating journey.

These are the three elements that will take your song to the next level. Experiment, enjoy your creativity. But most of all, give arranging its time and its due, and it will reward you greatly.

Seth Lutnick is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and musical theater performer. Visit his web site, The Music Zone, http://www.music.getitdone.biz, for a full guide to arranging and home recording.

Why is it easy to compose piano music?

Because you have to start from where you are. This should be fairly easy; Otherwise you have not started from where you are.

A suggestion is to start writing piano pieces for beginners in a progressive order. The idea is that as the pieces get more complicated for the player they will also become more complicated for you to notate and compose and you will subsequently learn as you write.

How is composing beneficial for your piano playing?

1. Your compositional endeavours will make you more and more aware of intrinsic musical subtleties in the music of other composers. When you start to think and feel like a composer you will also become a better performer as well. Performing is also a creative process similar to composing.

2. When you compose you will become a better sight reader.

I remember an assignment I had many years ago when I wrote the music to a musical. It made me aware of many notational problems I had not taken the time to solve for myself before.

When I started to play my piano music again I was astonished when realizing it was much easier for me to sight read complicated piano sheet music. The reason for this I concluded was my concentrated effort to notate my own piano music.

The process to play something with my fingers and and then try to notate the music on manuscript paper was so to speak a reversed sight reading exercise.

What about manuscript paper?

You can use a notation program or you can write on paper or use both approaches. I suggest that you start writing on paper the way that composers have done for centuries.

Composing piano sheet music by hand on manuscript paper is a cheap and effective exercise to learn the various sheet music symbols.

Very often I jot down musical ideas on ordinary white paper after drawing five lines by hand. It works fine if you can’t find your manuscript paper. You can buy manuscript paper for sheet music or print out your favorite format for free on the site http://www.blanksheetmusic.net

In conclusion, composing piano sheet music can become a natural part of your daily practice routine.

Spend half an hour a day composing your own piano sheet music and you will increase your musical knowledge and become an even better musician!

And remember; Composing piano sheet music is fun!

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free sheet music and learn to play resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com

What a great instrument the piano is – white keys, black keys, and 88 tones make it incredibly versatile!

Most students take it upon themselves to try and master this instrument. They begin to learn note reading and go through a series of books before they are ready to play the music of the masters.

If only they realized that a world of free improvisation was waiting for them on the black keys, they too could experience the joy of improvisation right away. They might even forget about note-reading for a while and actually enjoy themselves as actual music was being made.

For example, take the lesson Oriental Sunrise. This is a black key improvisation based on the E flat minor pentatonic scale. Now, when most people hear the term black key improvisation they think of children banging on the piano creating some kind of noise. And while this has its place, the adult can create quite a beautiful sound by using only the black keys.

The secret is in how the keys are played. Anyone can go to the piano, sit down and play. The keys are there and are readily accessible. However, one person may just plunk around while another is able to create music. It’s all about sensitivity! The sensitive musician is able to create music using only a few notes. The non-musician can not. They have to learn to get in touch with themselves first.

If you can go to the piano, play a black key improvisation, and make it sound like music, you are way, way ahead of the game! You understand that it’s not how many notes or chords you know, it’s how they are played that makes the difference!

Edward Weiss is a pianist/composer and webmaster of Quiescence Music’s online piano lessons. He has been helping students learn how to play piano in the New Age style for over 14 years and works with students in private, in groups, and now over the internet. Stop by now at http://www.quiescencemusic.com/pianolessons.html for a FREE piano lesson!