Arranging for Marching & Pep Bands
You are driving with the radio on and hear a song that simply needs to be blasted under the Friday night lights. The super catchy melody, prominent percussion, driving bass lines, and inherent swagger make it a sure hit, and you are ready to dive into an arrangement.
The ArrangeMe community is home to many fantastic marching band writers. The arranger finalists in the Metallica Marching Band Competition certainly proved that! While some arrangers make their living by writing solely for marching and pep bands, arranging for this kind of band is a popular project for experienced arrangers who are new to large ensemble writing. Even for experienced concert ensemble arrangers, there are unique elements to consider when writing for an athletic band. With that in mind, we have put together a few tips for arrangers looking to branch out into this exciting format.
The fewer parts, the better!
Think of the marching band like a quartet. You have four voices to work with: Melody, Harmony, Bass, and Percussion
Paul Murtha’s marching band arrangement of “Livin’ On A Prayer” provides a fantastic template for doubled parts, a melody passed to different sections, and an interesting bass line.
No matter what instruments you assign to these categories, you will find that doubling parts will create the best performance. Unlike most concert performers, musicians in a marching band or pep band find themselves performing choreography in addition to the music. They may march through the streets in a parade, perform drill on the field, or whip their horn from side to side in the stands. Additionally, a pep band may be made up of volunteer players, and section membership may change from game to game. By giving every instrument section at least one doubling buddy, players will have time to catch their breath as needed, and the arrangement’s musical integrity will remain even if a section is short on players.
One tried-and-true way to break up the band is this:
Melody: Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Trumpet, Mallet Percussion
Harmony: Alto and Tenor Saxophone, French Horn, Trombone
Bass: Baritone Saxophone, Baritone, Tuba, Electric Bass
Percussion: Crash Cymbal, Snare Drum, Marching Quads, Bass Drum
Pro Tip: Instruments like the oboe, bassoon, and bass clarinet are not commonly found in a marching band, and you do not need to write a part for them. Often, those players switch to a different marching instrument.
Brass is boss
Assign the melody to the trumpets and/or the trombones, remembering to take range into consideration. These cylindrical bore brass instruments send their sound directly out and away from the band, making them the most easily heard voices. Trumpets are a great choice for the melody, but a trombone melody can help create a dark tone, or highlight an original artist’s low voice. Flutes, clarinets, saxophones, and French horns (or mellophones) are great choices to beef up the melodic line, but they can also be used for harmony and countermelody.
Pro Tip: Most marching bands use marching mellophones instead of French horns. They are easier to hold and play, and their bell faces outward like a trumpet for better sound projection. You do not need to write a different part for these instruments—the mellophone players will read a French horn part.
Assign the bass line to the tubas—and we don’t just mean the root of the chord. The bass line should literally include any riffs the bassist may have played on the original song. Add baritones and trombones an octave above the tubas, and keep these parts interesting by adding rhythmic drive, even if it was not in the original song. When you avoid whole notes in favor of repeating quarter notes, for example, not only can the players sneak a needed breath, but the band’s overall energy will be better maintained.
Percussion: the heart of the band
Speaking of energy, do not let percussion be an afterthought! The percussion section is arguably the band’s most important group of musicians in this regard.
While some pep bands have a drum set, both marching and pep bands feature multiple crash cymbals, snare drums, marching quads (toms), and bass drums, all of which should be included as individual parts. If the song you are arranging originally had a drum set, break that rhythm into pieces and assign it to its corresponding marching instrument (hi-hat to cymbals, kick drum to bass drum, etc.). No matter the song’s original percussion presence, you’ll want your arrangement to rock even harder. The drumline is the beating heart of the band and your writing for them should drive the rest of the music.
It is important to study drum notation and drumline writing, especially if you are not an experienced percussionist or percussion writer. Some bands always hire a special arranger just for percussion, so it would also be beneficial to find someone who is knowledgeable about writing for percussion and ask them for feedback on what you write!
“The drumline is the beating heart of the band and your writing for them should drive the rest of the music. ”
Keep it simple
Though the end result sounds anything but simple, ArrangeMe member Timm Pieper doubled parts, saved the trumpets for the high notes, and managed to cut a full minute out of Metallica’s original for his arrangement of “Lux Æterna.”
Many marching bands memorize their music for performance, and many pep bands flip through more than a dozen titles during a game. As arrangers, we simply can’t expect the same level of attention to technical perfection from most athletic bands as we can from a concert band—it is not usually the point of the performance. Your arrangement should be easily sight-readable and should avoid “road map” confusion. Stick to band-friendly keys even if it requires you to transpose the source material, and remember to keep the arrangement tight! Hit the best parts of the song and end your arrangement in under three minutes if you can.
Ultimately, the culture of marching and pep band is to have fun, do a little showing off, and to provide game-time entertainment. Find a balance between simplicity and musicality, and you’ll create a great arrangement.
“Hit the best parts of the song and end your arrangement in under three minutes if you can.”
Self-publishing your marching band arrangement
Once you have finished notating your arrangement, it is time to get it ready for publication!
A marching band score should be in landscape format. Wherever you can, combine instrument lines onto one staff to save space. This score will rarely be used in performance, but will serve as a reference during rehearsals.
Individual instrument parts should also be in landscape, and should be formatted to fit in a flip folder. A part that is 6.75" wide and 5.25” high is the standard. Depending on your music notation platform of choice, there may even be a pre-set format for this kind of part.
Remember to check your final product against The Self-editor’s Checklist and make sure it fits your brand. Publish to ArrangeMe using the ‘Marching Band’ format found in Ensemble: Band, and start marketing your new chart!
