Exploring The Metropolis Master Class
My June 2nd talk at the Brooklyn Youth Chorus Academy was a success! My talk centered on two things: What is Song in it’s most basic form and how does an understanding of Song effect the arranging process. I used Cole Porter’s Every Time We Say Goodbye as a case study. We heard versions by: Coltrane, Ray Charles/Betty Carter, Theo Bleckmann/Ben Monder, Annie Lennox, and an arrangement of Every Time We Say Goodbye that I did for Dominique Eade and Boston’s A Far Cry chamber orchestra.
After a brief overview of what I see to be the basic elements of a song we dove into a discussion of what fundamental elements of Every Time We Say Goodbye were essential to maintain, and which could be discarded or altered in the process of crafting an original arrangement. Through the listening examples we looked at how changing one element of any given song effects the overall character of the original, and how as arrangers we can highlight different aspects of a song to create the desired tone and ambiance that fits your personal creative vision.
