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When did musical arrangement get complex?


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Transcribe is a verb...Transcription is a noun...

Mirriam-Webster online dictionary...

Here is a segment of the Wikipedia on the term that covers the difference between a transcription and an arrangement in how the terms are used in music...

I'll start by saying don't believe everything you read on wikipedia. The MW definition says the same thing I did, that arrangement and transcription are the same thing. It also describes it as an act, in which case it is being used as a verb.

From the New College Encyclopedia of Music (required text for music majors) -

Transcription. v. ARRANGEMENT

(I didn't add the caps, that's exactly what it says, no more, no less.)

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As far as the repetitive theme goes, if you listen to Bloo 2010, the first half time push/impact point after the fade out, the motif played there is a variation of a part of the melody in Asphalt Cocktail. It reappears in each movement and is the original source melody material for the ballad in that show.

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MIke D explained it best

in layman's terms transcription is writing what you hear as close to the original, an arrangement is composing a piece based on existing work, with variation in music and/or instrumentation... simply writing note for note in another key is considered an "arrangement".

one more time, from an actual professional:

TRANSCRIPTION AND ARRANGEMENT AREN'T THE SAME THING, REGARDLESS OF THEIR NOUN OR VERB FORM.

and no, it wasnt 1994 Blue Devils that "it all began"... you can go further back than that to see intricate variations on a theme, etc.

Look at 82 SCV... or 79 Spirit of Atlanta.... 84 Cadets (aka Garfield)... 1983 Blues in the Night, Spirit is a good example... the entire 1985 Star of Indiana Show, 86 Suncoast....or how about 1988 Suncoast, although original music from Robert W Smith, it pays homage to recognizable music throughout... technically 89 Suncoast... although the arranger is the original composer, 89 is based upon the 85 work...

Crown's first year... with The Music Man, absolutely nothing like the original, if anything an improvement over the original

1991 Blue devils

1992 Star

1993 Blue Knights

tasty and interesting music being carved out of existing pieces is nothing new...

Edited by Da_Expert_has_spoken
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As an aside, you can "transcribe" a performance, and you can "arrange" or "orchestrate" a work. "Orchestrate" just means assigning notes to parts, no moving things around. "Arrange" implies something more, but it can be a very wide variety.

I think chopped up arrangements can be done well, but they are riskier. That said, as pointed out, even the most faithful arrangements are almost always tweaked to suit the length and pace of a drum corps show.

I think recently Crown has been doing the most close-arrangements of other pieces. Particularly this year (and 2010, speaking of Mahler). It helps that Klesch is a genius, though.

Edited by skywhopper
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When did transcription get complex? When mankind invented more than two notes. :tongue:

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Question: "When did music arrangements start getting so complex?"

Answer: When it started being referred to as music DESIGN rather than composition or arrangement.

And then it got way, way, way, worse when the Visual Design began dictating the Music Design!

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And then it got way, way, way, worse when the Visual Design began dictating the Music Design!

oh boy, aint this the truth... as an arranger myself... Ive seen this get worse over the years... now the priority is visual first, then music: visual takes precedence ... music has to be tailored to fit a visual concept and then to the design.

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