Archives for December 2010

A Merry Christmas to all…..the christmas song (chestnuts roasting by an open fire)

Listen to the video below and try to follow the melody only. Hopefully this won’t be too hard as the I’m playing the melody slightly louder than the other notes.  This is a standard arrangement norm, keeping the melody in the foreground, and applies to all types of arranging, orchestral music, pop music etc In the process of learning a song, learning the melody first gives us a head start. If you’re struggling with an arrangement, concentrate on the melody, only play the melody if necessary, a good melody will stand on it’s own. Often if students are having difficulty making an arrangement sound fluent it will be because they are losing focus on the melody.  So, my advice is, start with the melody and once you’re playing it strong and sure, start to fill the arrangement out with the other notes