“It should be realized that the possible ranges for beginning and junior band students and for professional musicians will be significantly different in some cases.”
– an excerpt from the book
ARPress is honored to publish Basic Arranging Techniques for the Beginning Arranger (Volume 1) by Dr. David W. Roe. This book is now available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and the ARPress website.
Dr. David W. Roe is a teacher, composer, arranger, conductor, and trombonist. For many years, he has taught instrumental and vocal music in the secondary schools of Ontario, Canada.
Dr. Roe began his post-secondary studies at the University of Toronto, where he graduated with a Mus. Bac. degree in Music Education. At the same time, he received the A.R.C.T. Diploma in Trombone from the Royal Conservatory. The year after graduating, he had the opportunity to study at the Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria. Later in his teaching career, he returned to graduate school at the University of Miami, Florida, where he earned the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in Music Composition.
Dr. Roe has written many compositions for symphony orchestra, concert band, woodwind, brass, string, and percussion ensembles, choir and organ, and English handbells. His compositions have been performed in Canada and the United States.
Basic Arranging Techniques for the Beginning Arranger (Volume 1) serves both as a resource booklet and a workbook for students interested in arranging music for small ensembles such as woodwind, brass, string, and percussion ensembles, as well as larger ensembles like the concert band. It is assumed that the student has a basic understanding of the rudiments of music, including notation, scales and key signatures, intervals, meter, and transposition. However, if the student lacks this knowledge, there are suggestions for helpful books in the Bibliography.
Dr. Roe has taught instrumental and vocal music in the secondary schools of Ontario, Canada, for many years. He acknowledges that many schools are not equipped with materials to teach arranging and composition at the basic level, and that there are very few books on the market covering this subject that are affordable for most school budgets. Dr. Roe’s qualifications, both as an educator and as a composer/arranger, enable him to understand what students need to grasp in order to become involved in the practice of arranging and composition.
Because this is a text for beginning students of arranging, only the instruments of the concert band and school orchestra are included. Instruments such as the harp, contrabassoon, English horn, and bass flute are not covered. The assignments provide the student with the opportunity to arrange music for woodwind, brass, string, and percussion ensembles, as well as the concert band. There are no assignments for writing for orchestra.
Also excluded are special effects such as the use of mutes and multiphonics, the subject of string bowings, and special string techniques like col legno, sul ponticello, harmonics, double stops, etc. The ranges provided for the instruments are those that a senior high school student is likely able to produce. The blackened notes indicate those that are possible for more experienced instrumentalists.
In general, the larger the ensemble size, the larger the score. Due to the size of this book, students may find the concert band arrangement on pages 36 and 37 challenging. Large-size score paper is available at most music stores.
Dr. Roe plans to write a second volume on arranging, which will offer students a more advanced look at the practice of arranging for various ensembles, including the orchestra, as well as an introduction to choral arranging. If you are interested in purchasing Volume 2, you may write to Dr. David W. Roe at dwrmusicco@gmail.com.
Basic Arranging Techniques for the Beginning Arranger (Volume 1) by Dr. David W. Roe is now available for purchase via ARPress Bookstore: