Dr. Michael Kearns
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My thoughts

Interpreting big band arrangements

7/15/2015

2 Comments

 
As I write more and more music, I get a little touchy when musicians second guess the composer's instructions. "Oh, he/she did not really want the band to go from piano to forte. That would sound ridiculous." Well, generally, composers/arrangers put great thought into their writing and we should give them a little credit. On the flip side, once you have an arrangement, you are free to interpret the music any way you like. But please, do not tell me that you can get inside the composer's head, unless you have experience performing the music with him/her personally. 
2 Comments
Todd
7/15/2015 01:49:49 pm

But in line with your other blog entry about democracy, the interpretation also has to come from the director with some in put from the musicians where appropriate. I think the first thing to do is actually pay attention to the direction of composer/arranger as written in the music. Once you can play that to perfection, then some reflection and interpretation is possible.

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Michael Kearns
7/18/2015 03:04:28 am

You will not get an argument from me there. Sometimes the directors will bypass (veto) the composer's/arranger's vision immediately if they have a unique vision for the piece.

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    Dr. Michael Kearns

    Musician, educator, husband, father, web designer ... my life is like a mosaic with each piece vying for my attention.

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