For the example below, I use 2 tenors, 2 trumpets (cup muted) and 2 trombones.
#BIG BAND SOUNDING SONG BAR CLOSE FULL#
Having the full sections play here would be way too thick. Open trumpets can work well too but muted trumpets, especially cup mutes, drastically reduce the volume and tuck the sound somewhere between the reeds and trombones. This is a blended pad of muted trumpet, saxes and trombones. Here I’ve used the saxes and trombone audio from above playing together. The first octave of each sax (avoiding the notes mentioned above) is a great range for blending with trombones. Staying within the stave is also a good call for intonation and blend when the saxes are playing background pads.Ī blend of saxes and trombones works well when saxes are kept in warmer parts of their register. In written pitch, avoid the low Bb-C# on all the saxes (and the low A for bari), and the C# in the middle of the stave (a difficult note to control because of the thinner colour and intonation). Players should also be given enough time to breathe - they’ll snatch breaths otherwise but giving designated space will give them full control over their lines.Īll saxes are a very blended sound that are less ‘thick’ than trombones. Also make sure the bass trombone isn’t playing below the stave in soft pads so each instrument has complete control over the entire dynamic range. It should also be noted that Ab above the stave is a bit of a weaker note (and quite flat if played in 1st position) but shouldn’t be a problem for a pro.
What instruments can we use to create a blended sound?Īll trombones are very blended up to about G above the stave. Voicings aside, some instruments blend better than others in various parts of their ranges and thought should be given when orchestrating a spread. I try to keep the trombones as high as possible without making their sound uncontrollable - close voicings on the stave will always thicken the sound, The trick is making sure there aren’t too many low intervals other than octaves and 5ths. Open voicings work great most of the time and they’re really easy to write.
The sax and trombone options are better balanced. Notice that the cups really get in the way of the flugel melody? When an instrument is featured it’s usually best to leave the rest of the section out, so this flugel solo is having to fight the rest of trumpet section. It’s a good idea to use spreads to support important melody notes and can even be used during a soli in place of close position voicings when there’s an important melody note. Notice how these spread voicings support the melody both harmonically and rhythmically now. They have a melody of their own now that works with the simple sax line. I was just focused on making sure the harmony is supported while maintaining good voice leading: Most are open spread voicings until the end where the melody is low and the bass trombone is high. Here’s the melody harmonised with soft pads. In this example, the saxes drop quite low so if the trombones go above them, they should still be in a register that they can control so they can play quieter than the saxes. The pads should support the harmony - not contradict it.ĭon’t let the pad cover the melody. If I miss out an important 3rd or 7th, we could accidentally create an entirely different chord. Remember to check the list of available tensions for each chord type.Īvoid ambiguous voicings in pads. Other available tensions like 9ths, 11ths and 13ths can be added depending on the chord quality, but the basic structure of the chord should be in place first. Make sure to fill in the guide tones (3rds and 7ths) as much as possible and ensure good voice leading between them. It’s supposed to be a background texture and any crazy leaps will make the line stand out. Make sure the voice leading is very smooth. Because I’m only using four voices, decisions will have to be made about which notes are omitted. I could use the bari sax for five voices if necessary. The lowest note, played by the bass trombone, will be the root note most of the time (although it doesn’t have to be). We could use saxes to differentiate the timbre more, but we’ll stick with this smooth homogenous brass sound for now. We can add supporting background harmonies using the trombone.
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