Arranging your music 3: tips to help you write a great track (Counterpoint)

Organising your music so that it has a sense of direction, movement and flow is one of the most crucial factors in producing a good track. A great way to do this is by arranging your music in lines (counterpoint) where each one interweaves with the next.The same musical ideas can sound completely different depending on the way your sounds and instruments are put together. In this video, we’ll give you a range of tips to help elevate your musical ideas and think in lines.

00:00 Intro
00:49 Write hummable, characteristic lines
3:40 Each line can have its own melodic characteristic
4:23 Rhythmic definition
7:23 Melodic shape
10:47 Articulations can create clarity
12:32 Range, dynamic & instrument, will change the character of a line
16:46 Writing a capella
17:57 Balancing things that are complex with things that are simple
20:38 Make sure all of your parts agree with the chords
22:50 Tools not rules
24:25 Effects
25:11 Arrange your chords
26:21 You can use these principles with any sound
27:28 Keep open-minded as your arrangement develops