The wacky world of the six horn arrangement

[SOTSDO]

I am in the midst of assembling a pair of thematic shows for a smaller group, what is called a 'six horn' band in the vernacular. For those not lapped into this aspect of the musical world, "six horns" means parts for the alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, along with a pair of trumpets and a solitary trombone, all combined with the usual rhythm combo of bass, guitar, percussion and piano/keyboards.

Once you cross the boundary from the seventeen piece "big band" into six horn territory, the usual selection of music changes profoundly. While there are written arrangements available, the quality thereof is, to put it mildly, "variable".

For some reason, the arrangers of this stuff have fallen in love with the "common rhythm" part, whereby all four folks are reading off of the same part. Then too, not all are comfortable with setting up a lead sheet part, with the piano part accompanied by chord symbols. So, I am often presented with a bass part and little else. With that, we might as well work from a lead sheet or a fake book.

The vocals are (with one or two exceptions out of forty arrangements) presented in the form of a list of lyrics, usually without any indication as to intros, outros and bridges. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

Most of the arrangers are using Finale these days, so at least the parts are more or less legible. However, most are devoid of dynamic markings and all of those notations on the parts that we "horn" players are so used to. Again, a sloppy way to approach the problem.

Out of the universe of tunes that I have assembled to date, most are of the Blues Brothers persuasion. I would estimate that out of the forty involved, only one rises to what I consider to be "normal", with scoring, a real vocal part and properly annotated charts. The rest spread across a continuum, with the ultimate bottom being a bass part for the rhythm, no lyrics at all, and horn parts consisting of a single Bb chart, a single Eb chart, and a trombone part.

(To be completely honest, there was one more part listed - a valve trombone chart that was (you guessed it) a duplicate of the Bb chart. Trouble is, I don't know anyone who will admit to playing one.)

For your average rock or R&B player, this is probably not a problem. They're used to playing by ear and off of a lead sheet. However, I've got a couple of horn guys who are great players, but who require a decent, legible part to produce consistent results. So, we're spending part of every rehearsal putting in all of the stuff that the arrangers left out.

With this Blues Brothers show, which we are producing in conjunction with a local theater group, we are working with their rhythm folks. Therein lies another problem, for the guitar and bass playing seems to involve playing at twelve on the amps' gain knob. Thus far I've been the embodiment of tact regarding this issue, but (push comes to shove), they're just too loud.

The facility where this is to be presented is a very small one, but they are playing out enough to fill a huge theater. I could mike all of the horn folks easily enough, but it would be a lot simpler to tone them down three or four notches instead. We'll see about that.

Along with the purchase of new charts comes all of the administrative headaches. I knock out a numbered "fair use" copy as soon as I get them, but backing them up and fitting them all into a logical book setup takes a bit of effort. At least now that I've got all of the pop stuff (for the Blues Brothers show) in hand, I have a bit more leisure with the Sinatra stuff.

We've got a regular gig on offer for a six horn group (with my rhythm folks and vocalists) that could do Sinatra, and I think that they'll also jump at a Blues Brothers operation as well. Small is big right now, and while I hate to set a bunch of folks aside, if it's the only way to get the job, it will have to do. And, Spencer has a pile of Sinatra stuff already done (and in classic arranger style, not a "lead sheet" mishmash. Plus, I can at least rotate trumpet players through the two spots.

(Sometimes, size reductions come spontaneously. I lost two of my regular bass trombone players over the past six months. One - Leon Young, the guy who used to play tennis with Emperor Showa of Japan - died a few months ago, and the other just moved up to Dallas. The third guy I know has vanished in plain sight - I don't know if the disconnect is intentional or not, but he is sure one hard guy to contact.)

[jbtsax]

An amazing coincidence. Monday I had the opportunity play the 2nd alto book in a band with this instrumentation. No one in the band was younger than 60 and the lead alto player is 75. What was remarkable is that it was a group of exceptionally good local players. The entire book was arranged by the band leader who plays tenor and contains arrangements as good as any I have ever played for any size group. I don't know if he is willing to sell any of them, but I could find out. I was lucky enough to make their sub list so I am looking forward to playing with them in the future.

[SOTSDO]

...is in the type of music. The Sinatra stuff I have seen to date in this instrumentation has been just fine. It's the stuff coming from the R&B, pop and blues world that done in sloppy form.

I'm probably too anal to be a musician (and - for the record - I have never really claimed to be one; I just push the buttons and blow and what comes out is good enough to fool most), but I like to have everyone on the same track when it comes to ensemble playing. Soloing where it's called for works just fine, but using a "fake book" style of chart for ten people is sort of loosey-goosey. Everyone on the same page and all of that.

[Roger Aldridge]

Could this work for your band? At the chart's page, click on the PDF icon to see the score. Sorry, I don't have a recording yet.

http://www.amc.net/library/compositi...itionID=349846

The last page of the score explains the flexible approach to instrumentation I'm using.

Roger

[SOTSDO]

...the venue in question is specifically looking for "thematic" music, stuff that's recognizable as either Blues Brothers material or from the Rat Pack and friends. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

[Roger Aldridge]

Please keep it in mind for another kind of gig. Or, even if the band simply wants to read through some new things. )

[saxhound]

I'm not normally a fan of Dave Wolpe big band charts, although they are generally easy to work up and go over well with the typical crowd. Surprisingly, his small band (4-6 horn) condensations of his big band stuff are pretty good. Full rhythm & vocal parts too. Might be an option for the Sinatra stuff. They don't often have a bari part, but the bari could double on the lead alto.

I've also got some Blues Brothers charts I arranged, although they suffer from some of the same maladies that you discuss. When I wrote them for my rock band, none of the rhythm players except the drummer could read music. Hence, the basic words & chords lead sheet, although I would always break down the different sections of the tune with a bar count (intro, verse 1, chorus 1, bridge, etc.).

PM me if you are interested in taking a look.

[WoodwindDoubler]

...the venue in question is specifically looking for "thematic" music, stuff that's recognizable as either Blues Brothers material or from the Rat Pack and friends. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Check out http://www.pepperhorn.com.

Sean Evans offers a lot of 6 horn arrangements for a decent price including specifically some rat pack. I'm not sure about blues brothers though.

For example ... I just found "Luck Be A Lady" 6 horns, $16.


I've played a LOT of his arrangements. While it's isn't the most unique arrangements in the world, they sound good and are usually very close to the original recordings.

[SOTSDO]

We've got all that Shaun offered from his original music website, but he has pulled almost everything off of the market (due to copyright issues, I imagine) and most of what remains is of little interest.

Of late, I have been mining Bob Baader's stuff, but there are some pretty inconsistent charts there.

One problem that we are having is that some of the four vocalists involved are deciding that they can't manage some of the previously selected tunes, thus mandating some last minute substitutions. While we horn folks can manage, the rhythm folks aren't too keen on learning anything new (being rote learners rather than chart readers). Not fun times.

However, there's talk of a repeat performance later in the month, with a nice payday involved. Never a dull moment in the music business, as Meredith Willson caused Robert Preston to utter...

[saxhound]

I sub with Bob B.'s band. He does have a massive book of charts. If you ever get called to do a Tower of Power or Chicago show, he's your man.

[WoodwindDoubler]

That makes a lot of sense. I couldn't figure out why I have like 40 frank charts and none of them are there.

[Gandalfe]

What's it like to play in a six-horn band? I wasn't good enough to be happy in a 4-horn band. In a small ensemble, you are only as good as your weakest man. In a big band you are as good as your soloists.

[Roger Aldridge]

For me, everything depends upon the charts and the arranger's concepts of writing for 6 horns. It's possible to get a big sound with 6 horns....that is, using large spread and richly-voiced structures.

[Dave Cushman]

For me, everything depends upon the charts and the arranger's concepts of writing for 6 horns. It's possible to get a big sound with 6 horns....that is, using large spread and richly-voiced structures.

Two 6 horn arranging tips I use is to use the trombone with the saxes and when there is a brass punch the saxes will stop holding their note and play with the brass.

These are a recording of a cruise ship performing some 6 horn arrangements I was hired to put together.

http://www.davecushmanmusic.com/6Hor...AtTheSavoy.mp3
http://www.davecushmanmusic.com/6Hor...heA-Train(.mp3
http://www.davecushmanmusic.com/6Hor...ingsYouAre.mp3
http://www.davecushmanmusic.com/6Hor..._Tangerine.mp3