Modern Jazz Voicings: Arranging for Small and Medium Ensembles [Paperback]

Ted Pease (Author), Ken Pullig (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2001

The definitive text used for the time-honored Chord Scales course at Berklee College of Music, this book concentrates on scoring for every possible ensemble combination and teaches performers and arrangers how to add color, character and sophistication to chord voicings. Topics covered include: selecting appropriate harmonic tensions, understanding jazz harmony, overcoming harmonic ambiguity, experimenting with unusual combinations and non-traditional alignments, and many more. The accompanying CD includes performance examples of several different arranging techniques. "A no-nonsense, meat and potatoes source of basic and not-so-basic information about everything relating to jazz writing - covers several courses worth of information." - Kenny Werner Pianist, Composer and Author of Effortless Mastery

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A no-nonsense, meat and potatoes source of basic and not-so-basic information about everything relating to jazz writing." -- Kenny Werner, Pianist, Composer, Author of Effortless Mastery

"Ted is a legend at Berklee for his musicality, knowledge, and generosity in passing his wisdom on to students." -- Abraham Laboriel

"The long-famous 'Berklee voicings secrets' have finally been assembled into a beautifully-organized reference resource." -- Alf Clausen, Emmy and Annie winning composer, The Simpsons, Bette, Moonlighting, ALF

From the Publisher

How do you get that modern jazz sound?

Performers and Arrangers: Add color, character, and sophistication to your chord voicings. Learn to use fourths, clusters, upper-structure triads, and other advanced arranging and performing techniques for three to six parts.

This is the definitive text used for the time-honored Chord Scales course at Berklee College of Music.

Through a step-by-step process with exercises and recorded examples, the authors guide you through the intricacies of deriving "non-tertial" voicings from the right chord scales and applying them to various musical situations.

Become fluent in these techniques and use them effectively to express your own music:
- Select appropriate harmonic tensions and understand jazz harmony
- Avoid common mistakes and overcome harmonic ambiguity
- Experiment with unusual combinations and non-traditional alignments, mixing in other textures, including solo, linear, and contrapuntal passages
- Listen to arranging techniques performed on the CD and follow along with corresponding notated examples
- Apply new techniques using the Suggested Activities pages; great for assignments or home use
- Hear arrangers and players use these voicings to create their characteristic sounds with recommended recordings.

This book concentrates on scoring for every possible ensemble combination: winds, voices, strings, rhythm section, and more. Before long, you will be producing complete and effective arrangements for five or six horns and a rhythm section, arrangements with a mature, contemporary dimension, and a sophisticated sound.

Product Details

• Paperback: 136 pages
• Publisher: Berklee Press (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0634014439
• ISBN-13: 978-0634014437
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #201,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for anyone interested in arranging., December 24, 2006

By 

M. Sweetz "Pop-a-holic" (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Jazz Voicings: Arranging for Small and Medium Ensembles (Paperback)

This book is absolutely excellent. Like other Berklee Press books, it is easy-to-understand, and it offers exercises after each exercise to ensure that the lessons are etched in your brain through hands-on application. This book demystifies alot concerning voicings and chord scale theory, and I dare say that this and "Reharmonization Techniques" by Randy Felts should be the first books one reads before they read other fine arranging books by Sebesky, Riddle, Mancini and Grove. Many of those books focus more on style, with little if any explaination of jazz/chord theory. Once you get the essentials from this book, you'll gain way more from the other books.

This book starts with a lesson on chord theory, then simple 4 and 5 part voicings, as well as non-chord tone reharmonization. It then proceeds to tell you exactly how to write voicings in fourths, clusters, and upper-structure triads. In addition, it comes with a CD with recorded examples from each chapter of the book, so you can hear the subtle differences between the various voicings and effects.

This book is amazing!

One word of advice (speaking from my own initial misunderstanding): when reading the early chapter detailing "avoid notes", be sure to absorb and understand it as much as possible - it is the foundation upon which the later chapters on specialized voicings are built upon. This is the only part of the book where a decent grasp of jazz chord construction and tensions MAY be needed. In a nutshell, a note is avoided because: a.) It creates an nasty, dissonant interval with an essential chord tone, or b.) It creates an inteval with an essential chord tone that is uncharacteristic of that chord type (ie. a tritone in a Major 7th chord, etc.)

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A helpful book, though my experience with it was a little frustrating, March 21, 2007

By 

J. Mackill - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Modern Jazz Voicings: Arranging for Small and Medium Ensembles (Paperback)

The material presented is great, and will prove helpful in my study of arranging.

I did have one problem with the book however. In the introduction it states, "Because this book is intended for an expanded audience beyond students enrolled at Berklee, it includes substantial amounts of new text, many new musical examples, solutions to exercises and an accompanying CD."

Yes, it's all there except the solutions to the exercises and I am finding that frustrating. I contacted the publisher and got this reply:

Our Senior Editor clarified that the author meant the exercises begin with a measure of answers filled in for the student. They will clarify the "solutions to exercises" mention in the next printing of the book. My apologies for any confusion this may have caused you.

Anyways, I found this aspect frustrating and a hinderance to my getting the full benefit of this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Resource, February 1, 2005

By 

Dan Primack - See all my reviews

This review is from: Modern Jazz Voicings: Arranging for Small and Medium Ensembles (Paperback)

"Modern Jazz Voicing" answers the fundamental question: How do you get that modern jazz sound? Divided into 2 separate sections, Part I provides the foundation for understanding basic techniques, voicings, and chord scales. Part II discusses the use of fourths, clusters, triads, and six-parts. At the end of each chapter are a series of exercises used to reinforce and demonstrate the techniques of that chapter. The felxibility I have found in being able to apply these techniques in different situations has greatly improved my capabilities. I strongly recommed this book to anyone seeking to increase their arranging capabilities.