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:
Arrange some songs on your own You don’t necessarily need a group to order a song from you, or to meet with your own group to discuss the next year’s set lists. If there’s a song out there that’s been begging you to arrange it, take the chance to do it now, when there’s a little less pressure. Try some new tricks, like a totally different style of music than what you’re used to, and see what comes up – you might be able to use some of your new-found skills in a few months to sharpen up the “official” arrangements.
Try an original song Over a year ago, I started writing this piece for a friend of mine. This past February I finally finished writing it – only to realize that it would sound so much more awesome as an a cappella arrangement for a women’s quartet. I have not had a spare moment to even think of arranging this tune, until recently when the assignments died down and my summer opened up, and I can’t wait to finally put those voices together the way I’ve been hearing them in my head. While I don’t have a group in mind for it, I’m looking forward to shopping it around to see if anyone would like to just sing through it and give me some feedback – maybe even do a mini-disc recording for me so I can finally give it to that friend!
Transcribe something totally different I went to USC and studied in the jazz program – and at first, it kicked my butt. I had never studied jazz before, I was a vocalist in a sea of trumpet and piano players, and my teachers were both talented and demanding. The one thing that saved me, crazy as it may sound, was the art of transcription. Every question I had could be answered by sitting and listening, over and over and over, to Coltrane or Chet Baker. Arranging a cappella is basically the same thing as transcribing, with a little flair, but a lot of times we find ourselves stuck in the pop music rut. So break out the Mingus, pick a solo that suits your fancy, and really dig in to it, note for note. It’ll be a challenge but I’m willing to bet you’ll enjoy it, you music geek you.
Take a break Yeah, I know I just said that you’ve got to keep working that arranging muscle to keep it strong. But as with training for any sport, you’ve also got to let those muscles rest a bit so they can rebuild. Take a little time away from a cappella. Turn on the radio (Minneapolis’s “The Current” is a fantastic source for new and independent music, I stream it from www.mpr.org). Listen to some classic rock, some jazz, go see a musical or, even better, a singer/songwriter (we need audiences). When you step back up to the staff paper, you just might be amazed how excited you are to get back into it.
