Welcome to my arrangements thread!

I just finished arranging a Donkey Kong Country 2 medley for my band. Please tell me what you think or what needs to be improved on.

DK2 Medley - MP3 (http://www.4shared.com/file/13392099/252b43cf/Donkey_Kong_Country_2_-_Medley__arr_gedtag__Garritan_Sounds_.html)

i like this arrangment i think that your band will enjoy playing it, It sounds like good fun (love the piano part btw its so bouncy)

Ok, a few problems:
-Don't put flute, oboe and clarinet in direct unison (same octaves) because the flute will be overpowered and stuff like that.
-Don't put the bass clarinet above their C (in the staff) because from what I've heard, it's hard for most of them to play above that (just use a clarinet that would keep the "line balance" of the part (both clarinet sections sound like one))
-You need better transitions because sometimes it feels like you just jump from one selection to the next, unless you're aiming for that sudden change in atmosphere (and meter)...
-Where's the tenor sax? I mean it's okay not to have one but I'm just curious...

That's what I could find, good job on the other aspects and stuff :)

First a little background about the band. Basically it’s like a club where the main focus is playing live video game music. Whatever instruments show up every semester will be the band. And anyone can come. There are no auditions.

This semester my band consists of the following number of players: 2 flutes, 4 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 trumpets, 2 trombones, 2 violins, 2 cellos, and 1 of each of the rest.



-Don't put flute, oboe and clarinet in direct unison (same octaves) because the flute will be overpowered and stuff like that.


From what I’ve heard (from the other tunes the band played) the melody lines sound kind of weak so I figured adding more unison will add more punch to it. Also our brass section tends to overpower all the other sections (woodwinds, string, etc). But if using unison isn’t good, then what? Octave higher? Add a voice 2? A part barrowed from a different instrument? A totally different part that doesn’t exist yet?



-Don't put the bass clarinet above their C (in the staff) because from what I've heard, it's hard for most of them to play above that...


What is the lowest note that is comfortably played for a bass clarinet player?



-You need better transitions because sometimes it feels like you just jump from one selection to the next, unless you're aiming for that sudden change in atmosphere (and meter)...


I tried to connect each selection as best I could. I don't know if I'm just lazy to make better transitions or I can't write good ones.

Your comment on transitions made me want to do more research so I read up on stuff that might help me with those (like modulations (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modulation_%28music%29)). When I wrote the arrangement, I wasn't aware of any of that.



-Where's the tenor sax? I mean it's okay not to have one but I'm just curious...


There is no tenor sax part because we don’t have one in the band.

Awesome! :)

From what I’ve heard (from the other tunes the band played) the melody lines sound kind of weak so I figured adding more unison will add more punch to it. Also our brass section tends to overpower all the other sections (woodwinds, string, etc). But if using unison isn’t good, then what? Octave higher? Add a voice 2? A part barrowed from a different instrument? A totally different part that doesn’t exist yet?


You have a few choices:
a) reduce the number of brass parts (but that wouldn't be fun for the brass players) or tone them down with mutes
b) slow down the brass section, so that the woodwinds get all the velocity - this should bring attention back towards them
c) adding a second woodwind voice would be good! Separate the flute from the oboe and give the oboe a harmonic complement to the flute (sixths, fifths or thirds lower). This should enrich the melody.

Remember that when you want to highlight a certain melodic line, tone down the rest of the instruments (as if they were only accompanying that "solo" for that moment).



What is the lowest note that is comfortably played for a bass clarinet player?


From Wikipedia:


According to Aber and Lerstad, who give fingerings up to C8, the highest note commonly encountered in modern solo literature is [...] the first D above the treble clef.


Basically, the more skilled the player, the higher he can go. For any wind instrument (woodwind or brass), you can theoretically get higher notes by overblowing (so blowing harder/differently to reach different frequency levels). However, knowing the performer's range is best when writing music because:
a) the person might not be able to overblow
b) overblowing is tiring, so constant overblowing is out of the question, even if theory says it's possible
c) overblowing is hard to control, which may give out unsteady tones
So my suggestion would be to ask the bass clarinet players in person what their effective range is!


I hope this helped! Though I haven't looked at the .mus score yet, the sound file sounds great!

Keep up the good work!

From what I’ve heard (from the other tunes the band played) the melody lines sound kind of weak so I figured adding more unison will add more punch to it. Also our brass section tends to overpower all the other sections (woodwinds, string, etc). But if using unison isn’t good, then what? Octave higher? Add a voice 2? A part barrowed from a different instrument? A totally different part that doesn’t exist yet?

A very important orchestration rule: the more instruments does NOT equal to a louder sound, it just thickens the sound and can sometimes even ruin your tuning. Octaves does not cut through either, though it could create an illusion of a louder sound at times. So basically: playing loud or soft is really about your performers' skills.

o.o You have SO much stuff in unison; it's not a good thing to just jam all of the instruments in unison. Because you have kept the same doublings for so long, it won't make a "new" sound nowhere; it just sounds old throughout, since you just used nearly the same doublings throughout the song.

I am a Bass Clarinet player... it is best to avoid going above 3rd Space D (in written pitch) otherwise they will sound all weird. If you are to go higher, it's better to put Bass Clarinet that high for orchestral works. Bass Clarinets can go down to Eb below the staff. DO NOT PUT the 1st Alto Sax with the 1st Clarinets. It's probably better to put them with the 2nd Clarinets. Ever heard of Slur Marks? :P They'll be needed.

You almost always have Piano doubled with a few other instruments. That will sort of get old... Give Bassoons unique parts (including the Oboe)! The two instruments are double-reeded, and they need to change the "tone" of the band at times. Also don't overuse these two instruments too often.

Meas. 165; you have 16 instruments verses 5 instruments doing a quarter note melody... don't expect to hear it. Also most of the parts there are in direct unison, not a good thing...

Do not overuse doublings so much...

Thanks for the comments everyone.


You have SO much stuff in unison
So I guess that's the moral of the story. I need to make more unique parts. But I'm always afraid that if I add more unique parts, the song might sound too "hectic." Or do I have to get better arranging skills so it doesn't sound hectic?

But before I start improving on that issue, I'd like to improve on writing better transitions when changing keys first. Attached is something I worked on to practice my transitions. I read the modulation stuff on wikipedia so its based on that. I labeled what I intend to be the pivot chords in the mus file. Do the transitions from different keys sound smooth to you? Am I going the right direction?

(Honestly though, you are better at key signature changes than I am. :P )

It's just the last one that didn't go somewhat well for me. The easiest key signature change that you can do is in the dominant of the current key you are in. (If you're in C Major, the Dominant is G Major).

excellent arrangement, gedtag. It was really interesting the way that the different songs were woven together to form one, long piece. Too bad I don't have Finale 2007, otherwise i could have taken an in depth look at the score. But anyways, great work. Keep it up.