User Manual

ARTURIA – BRASS 2 – USER’S MANUAL
9
1 INTRODUCTION: ARRANGING FOR BRASS 2
Brass instruments are used in a great many music styles – sometimes discretely and
sometimes taking center-stage. To know which moment is best to insert a brass section,
musically and creatively speaking, is often the work of a brass arrangement specialist.
But what do you do if you are not a “brass arrangement specialist”?
First of all, listen to and emulate other songs of your chosen genre. Basing your
arrangement on the approach of a known work is a well-worn tradition in many musical
styles. Also, be creative. Don’t think that brass is limited merely to the styles of music
where we are accustomed to hearing them. Used appropriately, brass can give a hot,
lively touch to your piece regardless of whether your style of music fits neatly into a pre-
defined category or not.
Next, determine what role you want to give to your brass section. You can use it as
accompaniment, marking transitions or strong moments in the piece (where it serves as
a response to a melodic line with singing, for example). A brass section can be used to
create melodic phrases for introductions, as the principal themes of a piece, or even to
be played along side with other instruments. Lighter arrangements (arrangements less
present in the mix) can also serve as the counter melody or harmonic reinforcement. A
single instrument can be used occasionally to punctuate a melody and, more than that,
as an instrumental solo in a transition or bridge.
Finally, consider the arrangement itself. Don’t try to overload it or do too much. A
simple, expressive horn line can be highly effective. Appreciate the work of harmony and
chords that form the notes between the different instruments, don’t settle by simply
playing all the instruments in unison. With all the parameters that BRASS 2 offers, work
on expression in your arrangements: profit from real time playing parameters such as
the attack, pressure, tone, vibrato, etc. A true instrumentalist naturally adjusts his
playing approach; that is what brings music to life.
Along those lines, think about the idiosyncrasies of an instrumentalist or of several
players together. For example, if all notes are precisely fixed using quantization, the
brass sections will sound a bit too “clean” because even the best of musicians play with a
certain shift in sound between them; this is what makes a brass section living and allows
us to perceive the subtle differences between the attack of each instrument. This
observation is true for all styles of music, to varying degrees, according to extensive
research regarding precision in performance and tempo variations. Below we have, for
the some general styles of music, some very general suggestions on using BRASS 2 to
create quality arrangements.
1.1 Pop/Rock
In general, the horn line is used to accentuate certain strong passages of the piece
(crescendo, transitions, etc.) Look for passages in you piece that can be accentuated, the
places that “miss something”, to give them the dimension of power and change that
you’re looking for. Brief and efficient riffs will be the easiest to insert into your song.
Sometimes a single, well-placed chord is enough. Until very confident with this genre,
avoid mixing the horn line with singing portions; instead, alternate them to fill empty