Thought I would add this topic to generate discussion about doing Stick arranging for Stick songs in general.

Im no expert on the stick but do arranging for Jazz groups of all sizes. ( You download my CD "What If" at robgellner.com Shameless plug) Arranging for stick and bands has a lot of similarity so Ill share what I do. Please add your thoughts , tips and suggestions as well.

-Pick a tune you like.
-Sleep with the tune. Sing it in your head and out loud to get a feel for how you want it to sound. -Sing into a voice recording app if that helps.
-Search out piano music or other written music as reference material.
-Download your song and Youtube search the song you want by as many people as you can. All the influences of the various people will influence your tune. This will make your tune YOUR tune.
-Use apps like the amazing slow downer or Capo or other apps that show you chord progressions and let you slow tunes down to hear better some of the parts
-Use IReal B app for more chord progression options. A great resource for me.
-Memorize the changes and visualize the changes as you "hear" your song in your head. That way when you play you will be able to do the changes easier. I usually do this when I going to sleep or have some dead time. Just going over in my head what Im going to play.
-Start practicing. I find that a drum beat from beat buddy or a drum machine helps guide how the tune will go. Swing or straight, funk or disco beats will shape your tune. I use Logic Pro X Drummer for a lot of my songs and it sounds great to me.
-Determine best and most comfortable places on the stick to play. This is the most fun for me and helps me learn the stick the most. Exploring the neck is a lot of fun.
-Record your self and adjust things if you need to.
-After you've learned the tune ask yourself if there is a different way or better way to play certain passages.

This is my short list. Ive probably forgotten a bunch of stuff. This is what I do to get an arrangement going.
Please add anything you do to come up with a killer arrangement.


Rob

This is great advice. I liked hearing that you use Logic X drummer. I've been on the fence with Logic for a while, but I think it's finally time.

Some thoughts....

I found that I enjoyed hearing a few different versions of tunes, especially unaccompanied. Once I've started in on my own version, I never look back. Now, the puzzle begins.

I like to get a really solid understanding of the chords to start. I'll play along with other versions to see where I can invert chords in the left hand for efficiency. Once that has been established, I'll lock in the melody.

The melody can be tricky, to me, it's the most important part. Play it like you sing it in the shower - loud and strong! I always try to find a way to play a variation on the verse, reserved for the second or even third verse. This adds some depth to your composition. Professional players do this without even thinking about it, but I still need to remind myself to do it.

http://www.infinitelooper.com/ is the de facto tool for looping videos for me. It's handy and relatively less annoying than other tools that have tons of advertising.

Thanks again for posting this Rob, always an inspiration.

Great points Rob. I’ve found that watching a simple vocal/ acoustic cover increases my success rate with a complex cover.

Gene I’ve been looking for something like this looper tool for some time so thx for posting.

Cheers,
K

I’d like to add, there’s a new tool I’ve found on the interwebs......

https://www.onlinevideoconverter.com/

It’s a tool to rip audio from YouTube videos that is useable on an iPad. Once I rip the audio, I save it directly to my Dropbox. From my Dropbox I can upload the tune to “The Amazing Slowdowner” (my primary means of learning songs, on Stick).

This trio of iPad software really helps me to learn material.....check it out.

Cheers,
Kev

...thank you for the very interesting input, great indeed...
....but your thinking goes to "a killer arrangement"....
...I myself would prefer many killer arrangements, at least more than one...
... and it mustn't be a killer arrangement, just a simple arrangement does it...

...create a first arrangement, then a second ....many mores, of the same song...
different keys, maybe variations too...always the same theme, until...
....yes, until you got it...
....the great composers of the world did exactly this over and over again...
...and we are looking incredible and maybe shoked at their number of opus...