MIDI Arranging - Audio 205 - Winter Quarter - 2011

Syllabus

Instructor: Danny McCollim Ph# 533-3238

Room: Bld 15/115 Office: Bld 15/221
Email: dannym@spokanefalls.edu
Text: No current text is required
Prerequisites: Music 214

Course Description:

MIDI Arranging explores many styles of writing and arranging for groups of instruments like strings,
horns, woodwinds and the rhythm section (drums, bass, guitar, and keyboards) and teaches the student to
create MIDI arrangements that really work. This course directs you in the techniques you'll need to create an
effective arrangement; including effective voicings for instruments, rhythm section notation, intro's and
endings, melodic embellishment, articulations and dynamics, and how to create an emotional contour
throughout the arrangement.

Course Outcomes:
We will take a systematic approach throughout the quarter to introduce the student to popular
arranging concepts for groups of musical instruments.

 Know how to use Finale Notation software to create lead sheets and full scores of musical arrangements.
 Know the parts of a song and be able to analyze a lead sheet
 Learn to identify instruments by ear and know their written and playing ranges
 Understand drum, bass, piano and guitar notation in Swing, Bossa Nova, Samba, Latin, Pop/Rock, Funk, Blues and
Country styles.
 Know how to write intro’s, endings, interludes and use modulations to enhance an arrangement.
 Learn and understand LIL’s (low interval limits)
 Understand close, spread and drop voicing techniques for instruments.
 Know how to do advance editing with MIDI software.

Course Outline:
Week 1: Finale Tutorial; Chapter 1 and 2

Introduction of the operation of Finale including:

 Suggested order of events

 Keyboard terminology
 Exploring the Main Tool Palette
 Selecting Tools from the Main Tool Palette
 The Selection Tool
 Contextual Menus
 (Aura Lee)
 Using the Setup Wizard to enter the title, composer, time and key signature
 Entering the notation using Simple Entry by typing the letters on the computer keyboard
 Entering a tie
 Deleting extra measures

Week 2: Finale Tutorial; Chapter 3 and 4

The skills to be covered in this example include:

Chords (Amazing Grace)
 Creating a pickup measure
 Displaying measure numbers on every bar
 Simple Entry using Return/Enter
 Entering dynamic markings
 Entering notation with Simple Entry to include triplets and grace notes
 Scrolling the music during playback
 Reducing the size of the music
 Creating different files of the music in different keys
MIDI Entry- Chords and Lyrics (Three Blind Mice)

Week 3: Bass Notation

 Range and Transposition
 Bass Lines for Swing
 Bass Swing Exercise
 Bossa Nova and Samba Bass Lines
 Latin Bass Lines in Relation to Other Instruments

Week 5: Bass in Pop/Rock, Funk, and Fusion

 Pop/Rock Bass Lines
 Funk Bass Lines

Week 6: Introductions, Endings, Articulations, and Dynamics

 Introductions
 Endings
 Articulations
 Dynamics

Week 7: Instrument ranges

 Brass and woodwinds
 Strings

Week 8: Voicings

 3 part; closed, spread

 4 part; 4 way close, drop 2, drop 3 and drop 2 & 4
 Lower Interval Limits
 Harmonic Tensions

Week 9: Planning an Arrangement

 Considerations for effective song form

 Introduction, development, climax and ending.

Week 10: Final Project – Blues Song “Let The Good Times Roll”

 4-part Horn and 3-part Strings

  Complete score and MIDI Sequence

Grading Policy

Grading is determined on project completions, assignments, demonstration of software functions, attendance

and Tests scores.

Your grades will be determined using the percentage you achieve of the total according to the following table:

Percentage Letter Grade GPA Percentage Letter Grade GPA

> 97 A+ 4.0 > 70 but < 75 C+ 2.0-2.3
> 94 but < 97 A 3.7-3.9 > 65 but < 70 C 1.6 – 1.9
>90 but < 94 A- 3.4-3.6 > 60 but <65 C- 1.3 – 1.5
> 85 but < 90 B+ 3.1-3.3 > 55 but <60 D+ 1.0 – 1.2
> 80 but < 85 B 2.8 -3.0 > 50 but < 55 D 0.7 – 0.9
> 75 but < 80 B- 2.4 -2.7 < 50 F 0.0

Text: There is no required textbook for this course. We will provide you with classroom materials. You will
be required to print materials on your own time/at your own cost throughout the quarter. It will be your
responsibility to collect these materials systematically in your binder.

Course Web Site: The online syllabus web site will be a critical feature of the course. As the course
progresses you will be able to find assignments, problems with solutions, links to online activities, our course
schedule, and even this syllabus. Here is the site address: http://faculty.spokanefalls.edu/. You can navigate
here from the SFCC home page by choosing „Online Syllabus under the “Current Students” heading to the
left of the page. Then scroll to click on the following link

Attendance Policy: This is a hands-on learning experience that requires you to be in class at all times.
You are allowed 3 excused absences throughout the quarter. After that, every unexcused absence will
reduce your final grade by .2 9 unexcused absences will result in class failure