Arranging - Julie Moffitt  Julie Moffitt is a singer/songwriter, a cappella arranger (Ultimate A Cappella) and ICCA Midwest Producer. She lives in Milwaukee.
"My monthly arranging column here on the CASA site will focus on the process of arranging, from choosing appropriate songs to adhering to a specific group’s abilities and limitations, as well as adding personality and uniqueness to your arrangements. We’ll have some refreshers on music theory for those who have been away from the books for a while, and some introductions to new tricks as they appear, as well as insight into arranging tools like Finale. Questions or requests for advice are welcome!"
|
|
Written by Julie Moffitt
|
|
Wednesday, 20 September 2006 |
Editor's Note: This article follows up from part I
Just for the record, I highly recommend having a consistent and appropriate workspace. Someplace quiet, private, and comfortable without being nap-inducing. Starbucks is not the best place for arranging, unless you have some kind of alien volume switch built into your ears where you can tune out the new Carole King album, the couple behind you arguing about who cheated on whom, and the TV in the corner that’s playing "Akeelah and the Bee" over and over. A quiet room with a chair and a desk and, if you’re so inclined, a keyboard is really all it takes.
This is a case of doing what I say, not what I do. The majority of the arrangements I’ve completed have been done in a fashion pretty much identical to the way I’m working today – lying on the floor (this time it’s my boyfriend’s apartment, where the floor is really a questionable place to be lying in the first place…), propped up on a pillow (or in this case, a University of Chicago sweatshirt) with my elbows already digging painfully into the ropy carpet and the yoga class I spent this morning enjoying rapidly fading as my lower back and neck crane to see the laptop, which is also on the floor. I don’t know what it is but for some reason, I refuse to commit to a room with a desk and chair, and so I find myself on the floor. Therefore, I’ll be getting up to stretch and roll over with a certain frequency during the course of this next stage of arranging.
 Be first to comment this article |  Add as favorites (43) |  Quote this article on your site | Views: 2289
|
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 26 September 2006 )
|
|
Written by Julie Moffitt
|
|
Thursday, 24 August 2006 |
I’m staring at my Winamp player, waiting to hit play on a new song that I’ve been asked to arrange. The group is a returning favorite of mine, so I’ve got all the necessary information (number of people, approximate ranges, preferences, etc.). But I confess, I’m having a little trouble getting motivated to arrange. It’s 80 degrees outside right now, sunny, and my pale legs haven’t seen much sunlight this summer what with living in a van for a month and then stifling in an office job all day.
However, I’ve decided to kill 2 (or 4) birds with one stone. I’m giving y’all a multi-part blog, complete with the “to be continued…” at the end. And the subject matter is the arranging process, from beginning to end and including all the speedbumps in the middle, of a song called “Every Season” by Nichole Nordeman. If this works, I’ll do another one later in the year with a different style of song. If not...eh, sue me. Either way, I’d really love feedback, as I know we all have our own distinct arranging styles, using different tools and processes. Let us learn from one another!
Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (42) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 2615 |
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 29 August 2006 )
|
|
Written by Julie Moffitt
|
|
Wednesday, 12 July 2006 |
Let’s say you’re a young man who has never really been comfortable with women. For whatever reason, you never quite mastered the ability to flirt with, talk to, or even approach a beautiful girl without stuttering or tripping over your own feet. It has been the lifelong bane of your existence. It sucks.
Now let’s say you’re in a bar one night and you see another man walking up to all the most attractive or confident or desirable women, assuredly talking to them, making them laugh, and getting phone numbers left and right. He, my friend, would be a pick-up artist. And you could do one of two things – leave the bar jealous and upset that someone like him is so much better at this particular skill than you, or stay, watch and learn.
Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (39) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1926 |
|
Written by Julie Moffitt
|
|
Thursday, 04 May 2006 |
Now that summer’s almost here, it’s time to firm up those flabby abs, thin out those thighs and tighten that tush! Here are some tips for your best bikini body ever!
Wait. Wrong publication.
To be honest, while everyone’s gearing up for summer by heading off to the gym and hitting the tanning beds (here in the midwest, we do that just to prep our skin for the sun, which we don’t see for 6 months at a time and which hurts that first day), a lot of us are heading into 3 months of down time from performance and arranging. College and high school groups are generally out of commission over summer break, and those of us who arrange for them...well, we just sit around and wait for the big rush of fall assignments to come through.
But in all honesty, writing and arranging music is just like any other sport – you’ve got to practice to keep your chops, and summer is one of the best times to try some new things. Here are a few tricks I use to keep myself in shape in the off-season:
Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (40) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1789 |
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 09 May 2006 )
|
|
Written by Julie Moffitt
|
|
Tuesday, 28 February 2006 |
|
Ah, the a capella medley. If done poorly, it can be five minutes of torture, but if done well, it can be an absolute treat for both the performer and the audience. When I was with the SoCal VoCals, we had this medley from Footloose that was simply killer. We used it for ICCA competitions, we choreographed the whole thing, and it never failed to make the audience laugh, cry, sing along, and cheer wildly at the end. We still sing it at every VoCal reunion – heck, we all still remember the choreography.
So what does it take to create a medley masterpiece? When faced with three or four (or more!) barely related songs, perhaps TV show themes from 1984 or songs with the word “train” in the title, the task of merging all the ideas into one coherent and, hopefully, engaging piece can be daunting. Here are a few tricks that I use to make things flow a little more smoothly.
Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (46) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1851 |
|
Last Updated ( Friday, 03 March 2006 )
|
|
Written by Julie Moffitt
|
|
Monday, 30 January 2006 |
Last Sunday I was lounging in a restaurant 10 feet from the Caribbean Sea, sipping something with rum in it and talking with some friends I had flown down to visit. They asked me about my latest recording project and, as I told them about the studio where I’ve been spending all my time, I noticed that the young man at the table next to us, a Habitat for Humanity volunteer, I guessed, was listening intently. He finally spoke up and told us that he was a musician as well. We got to talking, and one thing led to another, and I brought up the fact that I also arrange a cappella music.
Here’s the part that struck me – not only was this random stranger in the Virgin Islands familiar with the a cappella scene (which is something I generally have to explain, or at least mention “Carmen Sandiego”), he actually owns CDs featuring my old college group and, when I told him my name, he knew which songs had been my solos. A bona fide a cappella fan, drinking a rum runner at the table next to me in St. Croix. Two weeks earlier, I’d produced an event in Michigan and met two students who had performed versions of one of my original arrangements when they were in high school (making me feel a trifle old, I confess, but encouraging nonetheless).
Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (42) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1336 |
|
Written by Deke Sharon
|
|
Thursday, 28 July 2005 |
|
Some columns will tackle new topics; others will focus on a question. This is the latter sort, sent in by Roger:
-----
When I arranged "The Star Spangled Banner", I did it essentially by ear, fueling my inclination for odd sounding chords. But now that I'm back at school, I decided I would try to apply some the basic theory, so I went through the song to try to identify all of my chords, giving myself a sizeable headache in the process.
Looking at my chords (below), are they fundamentally responsible for making my arrangement sound weird, rather than interesting? Or would it likely instead be due to the inversions I used (the bass is rarely on the root)?
Below is a guitar tab I found online, and then I inserted what I thought my chords were. Some of them were just so weird I didn't know what they might be called. Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (43) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 2018 |
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 23 October 2005 )
|
|
Written by Deke Sharon
|
|
Thursday, 30 June 2005 |
|
Welcome to the first installment of "Adventures in A Cappella Arranging," the new and hopefully improved "Arranger's Corner," which was featured in The CAN (The Contemporary A cappella News, CASA's official news magazine) through most of the 1990s. I'll be your host, as we explore the backwaters of a cappella arranging, one issue at a time. Then, if we get back before sunset, I'll pull off my mukluks and answer some reader letters. (Feel free to email me at deke@casa.org.) Before I start, I should make one thing very clear: although I'll do my best to give you high-quality, low-risk advice, it should be noted that there's no perfect solution for every situation. Music is art, and as such is reliably messy. Music theory is just that - a theory - and, as we've seen with Newton and Einstein, yesterday's perfect rule can be today's "sometimes, but..." Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (46) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 1217 |
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 24 July 2005 )
|
|
Written by Deke Sharon
|
|
Sunday, 19 June 2005 |
|
Contemporary a cappella has been around for over a decade, resulting in a dynamic and rhythmic sound and style that makes it different from barbershop, doo wop, close harmony, and other a cappella styles. Learn how to create a great contemporary a cappella arrangement using this tried and true 10 step formula.
I) Choose a Song
It's easy to come up with songs that would be fun to arrange, but usually there is a question of what's needed in the repertoire, or whats missing stylistically. Avoiding songs that are frequently performed by other a cappella groups is a good idea your group will make a name for itself much more quickly if you develop your own sound. You group should have a great first and last song, a great encore, and at least one ballad at its disposal. Make sure you have someone in your group who can sing the solo of the song you choose. The soloist is the most important vocalist in any song, and since as arranger you're organizing everything around this central voice and melody, you'd better be sure that you have a voice that can get the job done.
Be first to comment this article | Add as favorites (46) | Quote this article on your site | Views: 3003 |
|
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 06 September 2005 )
|
|
|
|
