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For myself as a conservatory undergraduate, four-part chorale writing was slow and sometimes laborious. It was a learning curve fraught with rules and clams.
Later in life I got over this and discovered that studying 4-part chorales did not have to be an academic chore; it could actually be fun, useful and educational.
Even if you yourself do not not feel up to the challenge of arranging a large scoring project – – like the Mozart arrangement I gave away last month – – a short chorale might be a more manageable thing to try out as a “mini-project.”
The basic materials needed to start are simple:
- a pencil, an eraser and staff paper
- a chorale resource – such as a hymnal or a music library collection
- time, thought and energy
For notationally-challenged novices especially, I would assert that the pencil and paper method is the preferred and superior method. For myself still, the hands-on experience of sketching with a pencil is many times better than wiggling a mouse. A computer is not required.
This exercise can help improve (among other things):
- understanding of four-part writing
- transposition skills
- music notation standards and practices
- score writing, arranging & artistic choices
These are all valuable – – dare I say required? – – skills for any enterprising musician to have.
Why ‘dive in’ with chorales?
Arranging chorales is a bit like painting by numbers. Put in very plain and simple terms, it is hard to goof up a Bach chorale.
Seriously, the guy is a bona fide genius.
As an example, I have embedded a few transcriptions of my own below (RSS readers may need to click-through). These are arranged for horn quartet and admittedly, there is nothing terrifically profound here. For starters, unlike a brass or woodwind quintet arrangement, there is only one transposition when arranging for four horns.
That being said, some thought was devoted to a few important things:
- high range – making sure the Horn I doesn’t hover too high
- low range – making sure that Horn IV range is reasonable and playable
- breathing/phrasing – do I add fermati and breath marks?
- dynamics – how creative can I get?
Some chorales for instance, were ruled out immediately based solely on the first two rules.
These choices by the way, are the first baby steps into thinking like a music arranger. Who knows? Maybe a summer project like this will spark the inner composer inside of you!
Don’t forget group benefits
The rewards of chorale arranging aren’t exclusive to the arranger! Used as a warm-up tool in your own chamber group, your chorales can help:
- improve intonation, group phrasing and pacing – through the group study of 4-part writing, score study and following a leader
- increase morale – when a member of a group steps up and writes an arrangement, it ferments and invigorates group spirit
- exercise control – why limit your group’s experiences and potential to available, printed sheet music? Who knows your group better than one of its own members?
These arguments are just a beginning. Arranging even the simplest things – – for what basically amounts to as thought, time and energy – – is something that can boost your immediate circle of spirit and musicianship in a number of ways.
All it takes is a pencil and paper.
