The Guitar and the

Keyboards
 General Function of the
guitar and the keyboard

The guitar and the keyboard give the rhythm section the
harmonic body of the ensemble.The bottom is already
taken cared of by the bass.

The guitar and keyboard also serve as a ‘rhythmic

reinforcement’ as the bulk of the pivotal rhythms are
usually taken cared of by the drums.

The guitar and the keyboard likewise add color to the

rhythms section.
as with the bass and drums all the notation techniques
previously discussed can be used in any style.

the guitar and keyboard have many other possible

functions in an arrangement and we shall encounter
many more notation techniques than before to outline al
of them in your writing.
 The Guitar
(An Overview)

we have to aware that there many ways of voicing a chord

and some voicings are not possible in light of physical
limitations of the fingering of the instrument.
if you are not a guitar player, it is best to make sure that the
guitar player can actually play what you wrote.
the only way to understand the guitar as in any instrument is
to actually sit down and play it yourself.
deciding on what guitar you will use for a project will
depend on the style that you are writing for which also
holds true for the bass and drums.

you will find that certain instruments are common in

certain styles. e.g. nylon for bossa nova and classical
music, steel string for folk/pop, electric for rock and
hollow body for jazz and jazz fusion.

it is also important to take note of the dynamic limits of

the instrument. a nylon string instrument for instance
will not be heard on a very loud rock tune.
Guitar Basic Characteristics

a transposing instrument

sounds an octave lower than written

many types of guitars ranging from the 6-string (either

electric or acoustic; 4 string nylon, 8 string, 12 string,
etc.)
 Some Types of Guitars

-many types of guitars with different number of strings

and also many types of guitars with different kinds of
shapes that create distinctly different sounds.

As an arranger it is important to be familiar with some of

the different kinds of guitars and the different kinds of
tuning.
Four Stringed Guitar
8-String Guitar
12-String Guitar
6-String Acoustic
6- String Electric
 Range
-the guitar is a transposing instrument
sounding an octave higher than written
 Tuning for the 6 String

e-A-D-G-B-E (most common tuning)

It is important to note however that there are also different

ways to tune a guitar depending on the genre and the type of
group you as an arranger will be writing.

It is also prudent to bear in mind as an arranger of the

dynamic limits of the instrument that you are writing for. (e.g.
nylon string over on rock tune, etc.)
Techniques and Notation Basics

• Variety of techniques that an arranger can utilize when writing

for the guitar all of which can be used in any genre/style
• All of these techniques have their corresponding notational
symbols.
• Arranger needs to be aware of how these techniques sound in
order to skillfully utilize them in the arrangement and also how
these look notationally in order for him /her to be able to write
same arrangements to be performed by a live set of
professional musicians.
 Comping

looks exactly the same as basic time for the drums and
play changes for bass.

It indicates freedom for the guitar player as opposed to

written out parts.
Single Note Comp with Rhythm
Slashes

this means playing one

note of a chord at a
time rather than
playing the whole chord
thereby resulting in
arpeggiation or a riff.

It gives the guitar

player some freedom to
put his own take into
your piece.
Solos
Just like comping, Rhythm slashes are also given in the
measure when a solo is desired. This is indicated on the
part, the same way you would see it for drums or bass, with
the word "solo" above the staff, where you want it to begin.

You can also indicate "end solo", just to be clear with your
player that attention will be focused elsewhere at this point.
Fills

Rhythm slashes are

also used when fills are
desired. Write the word
"fill" over where you
want it to begin,
followed by a broken
line that extends for the
length of the fill. End
with a short, solid line
going down.
Specific Rhythm
Single Note Comping with Specific
Notes
Other type of single note comping is usually written and
makes use of notes and/or tensions from the chord

This useful in order to give notice to your player that

something else is happening within the ensemble. This
also differentiates it from top note voicing

When utilizing this technique, always be mindful of

putting the words "single-note comping" above or below
where this begins, because then the player will know
immediately that this is something other than the
melody, for instance. It also differentiates it from top-
note voicing, which will be discussed next.
Top Note Voicing
 "Top-note voicing" means that the highest note of the chord is
indicated, but not the rest.

Top-note voicing is a technique used for specific reasons.

Sometimes you want the guitar player to play a chord, but also to
play a specific note as the top note, or the highest note of the chord.

The way top-note voicing is written is to write the top note you
want to hear. You then write the words "top-note voicing" above or
below the staff.
 The player refers to the chord symbol given, and then plays this note as the top
note of his voicing.

There are a variety of reasons why you might want to use this technique. Some
possibilities might be that you want the melody line doubled with guitar, you
might want background horn kicks to be doubled, or you may want to hear a
guide tone line in the background, on guitar. (A guide-tone line is generally a
descending line, primarily made up of thirds and sevenths of the chord.)

When using top-note voicing, it is important to consider the top-note voicing

range. Remember, a chord has to be played underneath it, so the range would be
limited.
 Specific Voicing

For a non-guitar player, specific voicings can be the most challenging

of all the guitar notation techniques. Voicings for guitar are
something you need to write with great care. Because of the tuning of
the strings, and fingering necessary for the voicings, there are many
different options for the player to voice chords.

A simple triad on the piano will usually be played on guitar using at

least four strings and maybe all six, therefore possibly adding more
notes to the voicing and/or doubling notes. Also, the inversion of the
chord you choose on piano may be played differently on the guitar.
When you hire a guitar player who's an excellent player,
there is usually no need to write out a lot of voicings for
them. However, if you have something specific in mind,
you would then need to write some specific voicings.

A good guideline would be to voice the notes in close

position with intervals of 3rds, 4ths and 5ths.
‘Hounds of Winter’-Sting
 Repeated Voicings

Repeated voicings are handy when repeating the same voicings over the same
chord in succession.

To notate this, first write out the specific voicing and then for the succeeding
ones , just put the top note of the chord with a long stem.
 Another variation of this technique is to give the
initial specific voicing followed by specific rhythms
and it would then be understood that the voicing
given would be played where you have indicated the
specific rhythms
 Specific Rhythms

There will be instances when writing as much specific-

rhythm notation as you can, as opposed to giving
endless measures of basic comping rhythm slashes, can
be extremely helpful for the player to feel more
grounded in the music—especially if they've never
played it before.

In addition, the result will be much more satisfactory to

you because they'll be playing what you really want.
There will be places in your arrangement where the specific
rhythms you need will be obvious, like places where you have
stop time and the entire rhythm section plays all the same
rhythms.

Specific rhythms in guitar are written the same as for everyone

else in the rhythm section. It looks the same as stop-time
notation in the drums
 Power Chords

What are power chords?

Power chords are made up of the root, the fifth and the octave played in
the lower register of the guitar.

They are to be noted as “POWER CHORDS” with these words written over
that section of the piece in the instrument.

They are also notated with the symbols C5 for the C chord or F5 for the F
chord, etc.
‘Everybody Wants To Rule the World’- Tears for
Fears
 Muffled Notes and/ or Single Notes

Generally used in rock/pop. It is simply written with an x on top of the note OR simply indicated by the words
MUFFLED NOTES or MUFFLED SINGLE NOTE COMP. Purpose is to provide color and/or rhythmic element in the
arrangement.
‘Peg’- Steely Dan
Keyboards
 Keyboard Overview

The keyboard is the final rhythm section that we’ll

discuss.

First fact that you as an arranger must keep in mind is

that almost all of the notational techniques discussed
for the guitar can be used for the keyboard as well. e.g.
fills, solos, etc.
Important to be able to play or at least understand
how the instrument works as this is the only
instrument that can play the parts of virtually all of the
instruments.

It must be remembered that not everybody have the

same hand length or span. When writing for this
instrument and are unsure about your hired player’s
abilities, keep within an octave to avoid wasting
precious studio time
Range

there are many types of

keyboards but generally most
acoustic pianos have 8 keys.

synthesizers which fall along

the same category have a more
variable range. Some have 88
keys while some have a lot less
and not the same range as the
piano. But the techniques we
will be discussing will apply to
any size synthesizer.
 Handspan

Not everybody have the same hand size thus, there is no

common hand span for everybody. Each of us has a hand
span as unique as our other physical features.

To write then for the keyboard, the arranger has to keep this
in mind at all times and be very prudent with his voicings.
As a general rule, the hand span should be no more than
an octave in order to ensure that all the players that you
come across with will be able to play your piece/
arrangement.

Exceeding this simple but very important point would

open the arranger up to the possibility of your the
arrangement not being playable.
 Single and Double Staves

When writing for keyboard, you may choose to use only the treble clef, only bass
clef, or both treble and bass clef together.

You can change back and forth between single and double staves, throughout the
arrangement, but don't change from one to the other within a system, only at the
beginning of a new system.
When writing in treble clef, it is assumed that this music
will be played with one hand only, usually the right hand.
When writing in bass clef only, it is assumed that the left
hand would play the part.

When writing for both treble and bass clefs together, the
right hand plays the treble clef and left hand, the bass
clef. Stems for the right-hand voicings should always go
up; stems for left-hand voicings usually go down
Multiple Keyboard Parts

When writing for two keyboard parts, it is necessary to

put a bracket to denote that it is only to be played by a
single player.

Likewise, if you are playing or writing for a synthesizer,

it is also important to note the sound that you want to
come out. (e.g. strings, brass, electric piano, organ, etc.
Sustain Pedal

Keyboards generally also have a

sustain pedal and are sometimes
needed to be specifically written.

It is indicated by the abbreviation

“ped” under the beat and this
indicates that the pedal should be
down and the notes be sustained.
When you want the sustain off, place
an * under that beat. If you have a lot
of sustain pedal in your piece, you
may just put this on the first four
bars of your piece and it will be
understood that later that pedaling
should continue to be that way.
 Chord Voicings

Generally, the voicings used when arranging for the rhythm section are in the
close-position voicings.

Furthermore, most close-position chord voicings are played around middle C. If

you voice the chord too low, it will sound muddy, unless you're looking for a
power chord sound.

Higher voicings are usually used as more of an effect, and will be more
noticeable.
 Assignment

• Listen to the song “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and

transcribe the guitar and keyboard parts using the techniques
used in this lecture. Use at least 4 techniques for EACH part. (4 for
the guitar and 4 for the keyboard)

• Go back to your assigned song and add the guitar and keyboard
parts. Use at least 4 notational shortcuts and techniques for each
instrument (4 for the keyboard and 4 for the guitar)