Overview

Welcome to Module 1. We'll be arranging for trumpet, alto sax, tenor sax, and trombone, plus a rhythm section of piano, bass, and drums. We'll first learn the range and transposition for each, and next we'll look at the timbre, projection, and intensity in the low, middle, and high ranges.

Timbre, or tone color, is the quality of a sound, often described with words like bright, dark, warm, airy, or piercing, refers to the power of a sound and how strongly it carries to the listener. Intensity refers to how hard a player is pushing the sound and what dynamic level they're playing at.

You'll get to hear it for yourself with examples of live musicians playing in different dynamic levels in different ranges. The goal is for you to know how each instrument sounds and how much intensity it projects within all three ranges. This is a fundamental skill for every arranger whether you're writing for small group or big band.

Next are technical considerations. We'll examine endurance, agility, extreme ranges, and special considerations for the brass and saxes. For example, brass need to rest periodically, while saxes can play longer without resting. This small difference has a big effect on how you approach writing for brass versus saxes.

Last, we focus on the rhythm section. Using text with different types of slash notation gives the rhythm section the right balance of freedom and direction.

By the end of this module, you have a much better understanding of what each instrument can do and how to write for it. Let's get started.