So You Want to Transcribe a Classical Work for Brass Band

So you want to transcribe a classical work for brass band, do you?

Background This white paper is a short discussion of what and how to go about transcribing orchestral orchestral works for brass band. The British author does not intend to set forth an absolute, detailed, and clinical method, rather offers some friendly advice and food for thought for the reader. Hopefully, encouraging more people to arrange and,  potentially, to increase increase the number number of brass band arrangements arrangements within within our concert and and contest halls. halls. It is assumed that reader has access to notation software and is not a professional musician. This paper was authored in 200. !ore information can be found here" www.musica#orichalcinus.eu

So you want to transcribe a classical work for brass band, do you? Preamble Firstly, let’s get a few things straight, shall we? A brass band is not an orchestra and it never will be. No matter how clever an arranger you may think you are, you will never make a brass band sound like an orchestra. Don’t attemt it. !ou won’t succeed and you run the risk of grossly distorting what a brass band is. A brass band is wonderful. "t is fascinating, gritty, delicate, sonorous, brash, loud, soft, brilliant, cheesy, virtuosic, #uirky, and honest. "t is uni#ue$ truly an enigma to anyone not brought u within the brass band family. A brass band is a contradiction, but what a glorious one. " love it and honour all those dedicated souls who lay in bandrooms across the globe. %o, before you set off to transcribe a iece of music from the classical world into the brass band world, lease make sure that your intent it not to mimic. Don’t sell&short the brass band by 'oh, there’s a French horn solo that should go onto the solo tenor....( or '...muted cornet sounds )ust like an oboe, doesn’t it?..(. "n the words of Frankie *owerd, nay, nay, and trice nay. Another thing, let’s all understand$ this aer a er outlines my views only. "’m not a great arranger by any stretch of the imagination, but "’ve erformed many great arrangements as a layer over + decades. his is )ust one aroach. !ou should consider many. ake oosing views and form your own. -hy not? !ou’ve got it in you. %. "’m not an author either, so forgive my oor grammar, structure, and rose, too. And, finally, to areciate that my to&/0 favourite brass band ieces are original works and not arrangements1 however, my to&/0 favourite fa vourite ieces are orchestral works. *ence, why "’m for orchestral arrangements for brass band, big&time. here’s some great stuff out there, you know.

Page: 1 of 21 © 2010 G Colmer ([email protected])

So you want to transcribe a classical work for brass band, do you?

Introduction here are a number of internet resources, and the odd book here and there, that’ll take you through what a band is, with finite descritions of its instrumentation and caabilities. "’m not going to go into all that. hey’ve done a good )ob and why should " try to re&make the bed? 2ne of things "’d like to cover is the rocess. he stes taken to roduce your transcrition. his is a more ractical rocess than theoretical or artistic. *oefully, it’ll sit nicely with the other reference sources you’ll be able to find and digest.

Composition *ow do comosers comose? By understanding their rocess may hel to fashion a way to transcribe for brass band 3our rocess4. Arguably, a comoser’s rocess is$  5 a commission with client e6ectations and conditions. 2ften with Brief  5 the instrumentation already set down. Inspiration 5 could be as simle as humming a tune or dabbling on a iano. Sketches  5 laying out a iano score. roviding a coherent view of structure, form, and content. Orchestration 5 taking the sketch and ainting the sounds, colours, dynamics, and emotion on to an orchestral score. Revision  5 7efining the draft score whilst constantly referring back to the brief, what insired, and sketches made earlier. ditin! 5 indeendent review of the 'final( draft before ublication and erformance, including roducing the individual erformer’s arts. Rewards 5 the hearing of the comosition, your baby, for the first time, and not the crude financial recomense for your efforts. 8ore imortantly, the continued oularity and re&erformance of your work year after a fter year after year 5 resulting in immortality for the few 'greats(.

All you comosers out there 5 are you listening? !es, everyone will have their own eculiar way of comosing which may look comletely different to that described. -hatever works and shakes ya boots9

Page: 2 of 21 © 2010 G Colmer ([email protected])

So you want to transcribe a classical work for brass band, do you?

he reason for outlining the comosition rocess is that "’ve used it as the basic framework, scaffolding so to seak, for my brass band transcrition rocess. 2ne which " have develoed over the years, use today, and describe herein. :nock yourself out$ use it, change it, or ignore this rocess. 8y assumtion will be, throughout, that you’re like me$ an amateur with access to notation software, and not as a full&time rofessional musician doing this as a rimary source of income. -hy? Because commercial necessities will surely imact on this rocess for certain. 7ead on, 8acDuff, for here is my rocess for what it’s worth.

S"P #$ "he Brief his is the first ste. -hether you hysically receive an actual brief, or not, the comonents of this initial ste remain retty much the same. he key is to think before you invest too much time. hink before bef ore you lea9 *ere are some things that " consider before " get stuck in. %e!ality 5 -e are about to coy someone else’s work. ;oyright laws rotect that erson’s work until it becomes ublic domain 3D4, which is unlikely to haen until decades after their death. "f you want to know the laws, for there are many countries laws’ to consider, then go to