Big Band Arranging

Alberto Betancourt (Albetan)

The Standard big band has 3 sections:
Sax section
Brass section
Rhythm section.

Sax section may be:

1)Soprano, 2)Alto, 3)Tenor, 4) Baritone
1)Alto, 2)Alto, 3)Tenor, 4)Tenor
Or any combination of 4 or 5 Saxes

Brass section may be:

1)Trumpet, 2)Trumpet, 3)Trombone, 4) Trombone
1)Trumpet, 2)Trumpet, 3)French horn, 4)Trombone
1)Trumpet, 2)French horn, 3)Trombone, 4)Trombone
Or any combination of 4 or 5 brass.

Rhythm section:
Piano/Guitar, bass, drums.

Melody may be performed by brass section, or by sax section, or

by a solo horn.
Melody line may be played by a section in unison, or in melodic
blocks as in file Melodic Voicing 2 (closed & open blocks). (See
it at Albetan’s area).
If you have 5 instruments, 1st and 5th voices play melody in
octave.

The other section plays chords in background or in rhythmic

figures in harmonic blocks, or counterpoints or countermelodies
in blocks or unison.
For a more contemporary sound in this section use A & B Forms
of Voicing. See file at Albetan’s Area.

There are also big bands with two brass sections and one sax
section:
4 trumpets,
4 trombones.
4 saxes.

In this great big band you have multiple possibilities for rich
arrangements. Some suggestions:

1)Trumpets in blocks with Melody, Saxes in harmony, Trombones

in fill-ins and breaks.

2)Trumpets and Trombones ensemble with melody in blocks,

Saxes in harmony.

3) Saxes in unison in Melody, trombones in harmony, trumpets in

fill-ins and breaks.

4) Trumpets and Saxes ensemble in blocks in Melody, Trombones

in harmony.

5)Trombones in unison in Melody, saxes in harmony, trumpets in

fill-ins and breaks.

6) Axis of 7th & 3rd: Trumpets 1st voice, Saxes 2nd voice, 2
trombones 3rd voice, 2 trombones & Baritone 4th voice.
This is a classical choral sound.
You have thousands of combinations and styles.

You may add some solo instruments as Clarinet, Flute, Oboe,

English horn… Many musicians play several wind instruments.
Remember Glenn Miller and his Clarinet.

Transposed Instruments:
Bb Trumpet must be transposed 1 tone upwards in treble clef.
Trombone is written in bass clef without transposition.
F Horn is written a perfect fifth upwards in both clefs.
Bb Soprano is written 1 tone upwards in treble clef.
Eb Alto is written a major sixth upwards in treble clef.
BbTenor is written a ninth upwards in treble clef.
Eb Baritone is written a 13th upwards in treble clef.

You may write blocks as in piano lead sheet, and then transpose
parts for each instrument.
An easy way to write big band arrangements is in Finale:
Select staves for your big band instruments. Each one appears in
its own transposed clef.
Click on "Options", "Display in Concert Pitch".
So you may write all wind instruments as a piano score... Once
you have finished, go again to disable "Display in Concert Pitch"
and all wind instruments appear in their corresponding
transposed keys.

In Rhythmic section we must write chords, and some obbligato

figures and breaks and accents.
Also we may write bass line with chord symbols. So piano left
hand and bass play bass line, while right hand plays chords in A &
B Forms of Voicing.
For a nice style of arranging for big bands please study these
files at Albetan’s area:

Melodic Voicings 1, 2, 3, 4
A & B Forms of Voicings
Performing Jazz Lead Sheets.

A small band sounding as a big band:

With any combination of 4 horns, piano/guitar, bass and drums,
you may sound as a big band by writing voices in open or closed
blocks.
Also you may do a duet of 2 horns in melody and 2 in harmony.
Or 1 solo horn in melody and 3 horns in harmony.
Or 3 horns in blocks in Melody and 1 horn in counterpoint…

Good luck and enjoy big band sound.