{"id":13347,"date":"2019-08-24T15:23:52","date_gmt":"2019-08-24T20:23:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/?p=13347"},"modified":"2025-11-19T11:06:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T16:06:56","slug":"5-tips-to-becoming-a-music-arranger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/takenote\/5-tips-to-becoming-a-music-arranger\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Skills You Need to Become a Music Arranger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-develop-the-key-strengths-that-make-a-great-music-arranger\">How to Develop the Key Strengths That Make a Great Music Arranger<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re a songwriter making demos, it\u2019s probably going to take more than just your voice on top of acoustic chords to sell your song. You need to get hip to arranging. To be a good music arranger is to have the ability to incorporate strings, horns, a rhythm section, and more instruments into your own music (or even into somebody else&#8217;s). Music arranging can be an added asset to your skills as a musician, and it can also be an entire career unto itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Course Overview: Arranging: Woodwinds and Strings | Berklee Online\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fqynt6sKchk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Jerry Gates shares what can be expected in his course, <em>Arranging: Woodwinds and Strings<\/em>.<strong> <\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere are a lot of artists out there who have great ideas but don\u2019t know how to pull them together to create a whole,\u201d says <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/faculty\/jerry-gates?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;tum_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-article-link\" target=\"_blank\">Jerry Gates<\/a>, an arranging instructor at Berklee Online. \u201cSo that\u2019s where the music arranger comes in. They can take that good idea and craft it into something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gates knows what it\u2019s like to arrange music professionally. He authored three arranging courses available to Berklee Online students this fall: <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/arranging-small-ensemble-and-horns?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\">Small Ensemble and Horns<\/a><\/em>, <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/arranging-advanced-horn-writing?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\">Advanced Horn Writing<\/a><\/em>, and <em><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/arranging-woodwinds-and-strings?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\">Woodwinds and Strings<\/a><\/em>. Inspired by his industry experience, Gates teaches students to become nimble music arrangers, across a variety of genres, instruments, and styles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Poetic Jazz Symphonic Boston   3  Waiting For The Call\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vp2xx2HlEBg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Gates conducts his piece titled \u201cWaiting For The Call\u201d with the Poetic Jazz Symphonic at Berklee Performance Center in 2018. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Over his 35-year career, Gates has arranged and written for TV and radio. Working as a music arranger as well as a composer, producer, educator, and orchestrator, some of his credits include commercials for Scope mouthwash, Marlboro cigarettes, Bank of America, Log Cabin maple syrup, and television shows like <em>The Dennis Miller Show<\/em>, as well as working with jazz great Bill Holman, and film composers Jack Smalley and Richard Band.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to become a music arranger\u2014for yourself, or for others\u2014Gates has some advice for what it takes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-have-a-deep-understanding-of-music-theory\"><strong>Have a Deep Understanding of Music Theory<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>First and foremost, music arrangers must know music theory inside and out. It helps if you are proficient at one or more instruments and have experience writing music. Additionally, a music arranger must be able to convey music theory concepts to others.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think we need to look at music as a language, and to be able to speak it efficiently, cohesively, and with anybody,\u201d says Gates. \u201cWhen you get into the studio situation, where time is money, you&#8217;ve got to be more efficient and that&#8217;s where being able to speak the language to the players, engineer, producer, whoever, is really important.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-be-a-methodical-and-organized-thinker\"><strong>Be a Methodical and Organized Thinker<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Gates says that arranging music can be summarized in one word: organization. While you don\u2019t necessarily need to be an organized person, you need to be a methodical thinker to be a music arranger. Imagine arranging music as a puzzle. There are intros, verses, choruses, bridges, transitions, endings, and more. The music arranger\u2019s job is to fit these puzzle pieces together to achieve the sound that the client wants.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cArranging music is organizing many bits of information into a coherent whole,\u201d says Gates.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/online.berklee.edu\/courses\/interest\/arranging?campaign_id=7010Z000001ZkQgQAK&amp;pid=&amp;utm_source=takenote&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_campaign=bol-gen-takenote-link-from-article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">LEARN ARRANGING ONLINE WITH BERKLEE!<\/a><\/strong><\/em><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-be-able-to-carry-out-a-client-s-vision\"><strong>Be Able to Carry out a Client\u2019s Vision<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With some projects, you will be able to exercise creative freedom, but for client work, most often you are asked to carry out a specific vision for a piece of music. Though you might have a great idea to take a project in an interesting direction, most often clients are looking for something specific. As an artist, you need to gather as much information as possible about what the client wants and practice restraint in order to create what the client is looking for with the least amount of back-and-forth.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt Berklee, you&#8217;re learning so many cool, extended, complex concepts, and the first thing you want to do is put them into the first piece of music you work on,\u201d says Gates. \u201cBut, if that&#8217;s for a client, that&#8217;s probably not what they&#8217;re looking for. They&#8217;re probably looking for something pretty simple. So you have to be willing to pull back. The client is usually right in the sense that they&#8217;re paying you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-be-savvy-with-technology\"><strong>Be Savvy with Technology<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Music composition no longer involves simply sitting at a piano with a blank sheet of music and a pencil. Clients want to hear nearly-finished-quality samples, which can only be produced if you are savvy with music composition technology. Recording and electronic music composition is an entire career in itself, but music arrangers must have enough tech-savvy to convey to a client what a final piece will sound like.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe client wants to hear demos of your work before you make the final versions, and that&#8217;s stuff you usually have to gather yourself,\u201d says Gates. \u201cIf you don&#8217;t have a good understanding of how to use the technology to make a good sound, then you&#8217;re in trouble.\u201d<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-be-a-quick-learner-and-producer\"><strong>Be a Quick Learner and Producer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not possible to become intimately familiar arranging all genres of music. It is, however, possible, to become a quick learner so that if you are asked to arrange a piece of music into a specific style that you\u2019re not familiar with, you know how to listen and recreate the musical components that constitute a certain genre of music.&nbsp;<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf somebody calls you and says, \u2018I&#8217;ve got this writing gig, I need it done in four days and I&#8217;ve got a $1,000 budget, can you do it?\u2019\u201d says Gates. \u201cAre you going to say, \u2018No?\u2019 Or are you going to take a shot at it and figure it out? Even if you don&#8217;t know the style really well. You&#8217;re better off taking the gig and figuring it out. Hopefully, through taking courses you&#8217;ll have the tools to be able to take apart the style, even if it&#8217;s something you&#8217;re not familiar with.\u201d<br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Berklee Online music arrangement course instructor and author Jerry Gates shares five tips to help you become a music arranger. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":13350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,9570,9567],"tags":[6666,6664,6663,6535,110,6538,6665,6530,6540,6529,6539,6537,6526,6469,6528,991,6542,998,6541,6536,6533,6532,6531,6534],"class_list":["post-13347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-composition-orchestration-arranging-articles","category-music-theory-harmony-and-ear-training-articles","tag-6666","tag-a-felicidade","tag-antonio-carlos-jobim","tag-arrangement","tag-arranging","tag-bank-of-america","tag-berklee-performance-center","tag-horns","tag-jack-smalley","tag-jerry-gates","tag-log-cabin-maple-syrup","tag-marlboro-cigarettes","tag-music-arrangement","tag-music-arranger","tag-music-arranging","tag-music-production","tag-music-technology","tag-music-theory","tag-richard-band","tag-scope-mouthwash","tag-small-ensemble","tag-strings","tag-woodwinds","tag-writing-music"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - 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