Between Song and Arrangement

Author: Markus Rill

Deep in thought, live in Frankfurt, Nov. 27, 2007

There’s an old saying that a good song will still work if you play it on a guitar (or piano) only. This implies that you probably know the song in a more embellished version – in an arranged version. It also implies that the arrangement may partially obscure your view of a song.

Is that true? Well then how can you tell a good song from a bad one? How can you tell if it’s only the arrangement making the song shine? And can a good arrangement save any total crap song? And can a great song be screwed up by a lacklustre arrangement? And what role does “performance” play?

I don’t purport to have answers to all these questions but I think we may get a little closer to the truth if we take a closer look at the relationship between song and arrangement.

I do subscribe to that aforementioned saying as a general rule of thumb and as a yardstick for my own work. So much so in fact that when hearing some new hit on the radio I will often proclaim somewhat exasperated “but I can’t hear a song in there”. I think it’s fairly obvious that a lot of today’s music relies on sounds & beats and the performer’s personality or image, not necessarily on songwriting. In other words, that kind of material cannot be played on   guitar or piano only. Or if you tried, it would fail miserably. That’s why strictly speaking I don’t consider the term “song” appropriate for that kind of a record.

Now I suppose that all sounds like I’m an old miser bemoaning the state of today’s music business. And, well, yes, I am. But my point is that those kinds of records which may be of the dance/pop/hiphop/whathaveyou variety were never meant to be performed on an acoustic guitar only. They weren’t written that way, they’re not supposed to be measured by the kind of standards we can readily apply to any song written by, say, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan or even James Blunt. Because say what you will about those guys, they do write songs. And when I say I don’t consider those other kinds of records “songs”, I don’t necessarily mean that in a desultory way. I merely want to point out that applying songwriting standards to a teen star’s dance pop hit single or Madonna’s latest production coup will inevitably make them look dissatisfying. It’s like looking at a painting and measuring it by moviemaking standards. “It’s kind of boring”, the filmmaker will say, “it doesn’t move.” – And that’s just like me saying: “I don’t hear a song in there.”

So now that we have established what kinds of songs we’re talking about here, let’s clarify those terms “song” and “arrangement” and look at some of those questions raised in the first paragraph.

A song, the way I understand it, is that barebones skeleton combination of words & music, melody & chords that you get when someone plays guitar (or piano) and sings to it – with some amount of structure (verse/chorus/bridge, that kind of thing. Without the structure part it’s not a song, it’s just someone playing guitar & singing). The arrangement is what you add to that barebones version. The drum groove, the instrumentation, dynamics.

Now admittedly there is already a level of arrangement inherent in that vocal-guitar version of a song since the performer chooses to either fingerpick or strum, to play it fast or slow, loud or not so loud. And an arrangement may be thought out to the nth degree, it may be somewhat loose or it may be created at the mixing stage. And then there’s songs with an integral arrangement idea woven in. Sometimes the arrangement (or the inclusion of a certain sound) may be part or the entire point of a song. Listen to Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” or any AC/DC song and you’ll see what I mean. So there is a certain gray area. But it’s still important to know what’s what.

photo by Bob Delevante, Nashville, Oct. 2005

I do believe that arrangement, mix and performance can greatly enhance or hurt a song’s impact. After all when you hear any given song for the first time, it’s the whole package that hits you, it’s not lyrics only, melody only or drum sound only. All of these components and more make a record and all of them contribute to its overall effect. There’s numerous examples of songs having a very different overall feel and impact in different arrangements when – in theory – the song is the same. Just compare Bob Dylan’s folk-oriented original version of “All Along The Watchtower” to the fiery version Jimi Hendrix cooked up and the audience reaction to both versions and you’ll see what I mean. And you’ll realize how important it is to find an arrangement that plays to your song’s strengths.

How do you do that?  Firstly, listen to a lot of music and take note of the arrangements. Study which components give a song a certain feel. This may be as simple as figuring out that using pedal steel, fiddle and banjo give your song a country feel and as difficult as figuring out how to make a song rock without resorting to clichéd formulae.

You will find that most any song can be made to fit most any musical genre if you arrange it accordingly. You can punk up any song just like you could make it sound swing or rockabilly.

But unless you’re interested in a gimmick, you do want to find the arrangement best suited for helping express the emotion your song – or the song in need of arranging – wants to convey.

So you’ll need to figure this out first and then you’ll need to communicate it to your musicians (or your software). In my experience, finding the right groove is crucial. Once you decide whether you want a driving backbeat or soft brushes on the snare, whether this feels like a funky number, country swing or a soul number to you, you have most of it figured out. Sure, the rest of the instrumentation may still make a big difference but I would argue that it won’t drastically change the overall character of your song. In other words, once you decide your drummer is going to play a straight rock beat on your song, it’ll be difficult to turn it into a polka or a reggae jam.

That said, even when you have a pretty clear idea of where you want your song to go, it can’t hurt to experiment. Legend has it that the Rolling Stones (or rather Keith Richards) had originally perceived “Start Me Up” as a reggae number. And look what a killer rock song it’s become.

I always find it fascinating how some songs can prosper in various musical settings whereas for some other songs, you do need to find just the right feel that’ll open them up and reveal their potential. I do believe that it is a measure of a song’s quality if it can come out of various musical permutations intact – but I don’t feel like a song is a lesser song if it only really works in one specific musical context. I don’t need to hear Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” as a rhythm & blues workout, a two-step and a waltz to know that it’s a frickin’ great song. Know what I mean?

photo by Chris Weiß

So here’s the findings of our little journey through the world of songwriting & arrangements in a nutshell: You do need a good song in the first place. (I know: Duh. But I do want to point out that I don’t believe you can dress up s**t and make it look pretty.)

And, since 9 times out of 10 you as the songwriter will be the first one to point this song in a musical direction, it’s your task to come up with an arrangement idea, a musical outline. If you’re not sure or can imagine your song to go various ways, do experiment. But if you have a pretty clear concept, do communicate it to your fellow musicians. Because, believe it or not, sometimes it’s hard to gauge from someone strumming the guitar whether they view this as a mellow tune, a mid tempo thing or an out-and-out rocker.
And one last thought: Be open to suggestions. Songwriting is solitary work, at least in my case it mostly is. And then there’s nothing greater, more glorious and more satisfying than to witness your song take flight and go places you never thought possible thanks to your fellow musicians’ contributions.

Markus Rill: Setting moving lyrics to atmospheric folk, stark country, and driving rock’n'roll music, Rill’s sandpaper-and-gravel voice adds another layer of depth and character to his award-winning songs. ‘Rootstime’ magazine calls him “Europe’s premier Americana artist”. Markus is currently touring the UK – his tour dates can be found at www.myspace.com/markusrill You can read his blog here: rocknrill.tumblr.com