Currently Listening An Evening With By Shane & Shane see related

Have you ever thought of yourself as an arranger of music?  If you’re the worship leader in charge of song selection, charting, and conducting band practice then you should.  Even if you’re a only a musician in the band you should always approach the music with the attitude of an arranger.  What’s an arranger do?  It might seem obvious – the arranger arranges the music.  But what does that mean?  Bottom line, the arranger is conscious of every instrument and part during the song.  The arranger makes key decisions to determine which instruments are needed, when they should be played, and more importantly – when they shouldn’t be played.  The goal is to create flow.  If done well, the song stays interesting to the listener from beginning to end.  This is especially important in worship music where a song may consist of only two or three sections (e.g. verse, chorus, bridge) and just a handful of chords.  In worship, simple songs work great but it’s important to pay special attention to the instrumentation and flow in order to keep the song flowing throughout the course of the music.

Three Tiered View of Music
When I think of music I see it in 3 tiers.  The first tier is the foundation and is made up by the instruments that exist in the lowest frequencies like kick drum and bass.  The third tier sits on top and is comprised of instruments that occur in higher frequencies.  A few common examples include hi-hat, cymbals, higher register keys, and upper fretted guitar rhythm parts.  The 2nd tier is in the middle and is most critical.  This is considered the mid-range of the music and includes acoustic guitars, piano, electric guitars, organ, and most important – vocals.

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