Welcome Aboard, Aspiring Writers!
by Yumiko Matsuoka
I am probably one of the luckiest people around, in the sense that I get to
do what I enjoy tremendously, and somehow make a living. It all started when
I heard the Singers Unlimited's Christmas album on the radio in Japan, back
when I was in high school. The amazing sound of Gene Puerling's arrangements
and their impeccable blend absolutely blew me away, and the impact was so strong
that 1) I had to find out what they were doing to create those chords, and 2)
I told myself that one day I would try to do what they were doing. Thus began
my long journey to a cappella writing and singing. It took a lot of turns unrelated
to a cappella, or even music, but I feel that everything I encountered or got
to do on the way has helped me shape my sound.
So how does one go about writing contemporary (as opposed to classical) a
cappella arrangements? I'm not about to offer a definitive answer to this question,
nor do I have the space to go into the details of writing techniques. But maybe
I can give some tips to my fellow a cappella-heads who aspire to write for their
own group, friends and relatives.
The first point that comes to my mind is the choice of songs. A song has to
speak to me at a deep level in order for me to want to write an arrangement.
It could be the lyrics, melody, chord progression, rhythm, any combination of
the above, or something even more intangible. Anyway, it has to inspire me one
way or another. (I truly admire songwriters who can create those wonderful songs
from scratch!)
There are times, however, where a client asks you to arrange a particular song,
rather than lets you choose one. I remember a time where Vox One was hired to
sing at a wedding reception, and was asked to arrange a specific song for the
occasion. I volunteered to write, but it wasn't a song I really liked, and the
result was (at least in my mind) mediocre. It never entered our permanent repertoire.
But most of the time, if you keep an open mind, you can find something good
about a song and a seed of inspiration can go a long way.
After a song is chosen, I let my mind come up with some ideas for it. Or rather,
let the song play with my imagination to create some musical fragments. While
making a song sound more or less like an original can be a valid and fun exercise,
I'm not partial to that type of arranging. I would like to add something new
to it, modify it, and enhance it so that what is already wonderful is given
a fresh angle and it shines in a different way. Some songs may be harder than
others to do so, because the original is arranged and performed in such a manner
that it's almost impossible to give it a new life and make it equally engaging.
That's another aspect of choosing a song which needs careful consideration.
One should pick a song that is great, yet has the potential to be molded anew.
Folk songs are some of the best materials, I think, because the melodies are
often beautiful and the chord progression simple that they allow for much room
to play with. Furthermore, most of them are in the public domain meaning that
you are free to record and publish your arrangements without having to pay royalties.
How can I let the song help me create new ideas, you might ask. For that to
happen, you have to build a catalogue of sounds and ideas that you like (and
to a certain extent, what you dislike). In order to do that, you have to start
listening critically to what you hear. In some ways, it takes away the fun of
listening to the music, but it's a very important step in building one's own
music vocabulary. If you like what you hear but don't exactly know what it is,
transcribe it. It can be frustrating at first - so start small - but once you
get the hang of it, it can be addictive.
I have had the privilege of getting acquainted with quite a few Japanese college
students who are big fans of Vox One, and almost every one of them tells me
that he/she has transcribed a number of our music (so that they could sing them)!
Instead of leaving the task to one person, each group member takes on one part,
and they bring it together. I was very impressed by their efforts, even if they
may not have been quite accurate. As an arranger, you have to be able to look
at the big picture, so you can't necessarily ask someone else to do one or more
parts for you, but trust me, the reward is big. I can't tell you how much I've
learned from transcribing Gene Puerling. The secret is that you learn what works
from within, rather than from what a book or a teacher might tell you. By the
way, the source doesn't necessarily have to be vocal music either (or, for that
matter, strictly contemporary). I would name the Beatles and Debussy to be some
of my other teachers - with the former, probably more for their instrumental
lines and phrases than the vocals
It might also help to write out the lyrics on a separate sheet. Read the poem
and let it speak to you. I have a few arrangements where I did that first and
it gave me a new perspective to those songs. This way, you could come up with
a new concept for the arrangement, rather than just ideas. Knowing whom you
are writing for is another advantage. You can write in such a way to let each
person in that group shine.
With an idea (which could be as tiny as just a chord) I sit down at my keyboard
(alas, I don't have a room for a piano!) and start fooling around. Sometimes
it happens and sometimes it doesn't. When it happens, for me, it's God at work,
because in retrospect I can never understand how I've managed to create something
that actually sounds good. After the arrangement is done, it takes on a life
of its own. It's not necessarily easy when I'm in the middle of it, but somehow
I get done unscathed. And it's one of those precious moments that you completely
forget where you are - hours seem like minutes, and you're flowing in it so
freely, even when you're struggling. On the other hand, when it doesn't happen,
I write down the fragment so that I wouldn't forget it, and come back another
time.
Ultimately, my goal is to create music that means something to some people;
if possible, something that could heal. If I could rework an already beautiful
song and give it a new light (instead of killing it!) my mission is accomplished.
So, welcome aboard, aspiring writers! I hope our paths cross one of these days
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Matsuoka, Yumiko
Yumiko, originally from Tokyo, Japan, is an accomplished arranger/composer/performer
as well as a seasoned educator/clinician. She was the founder of Boston-based
a cappella quintet Vox One whose albums Vox One (1993), Out There (1995)
and Chameleon (1997) won multiple awards from the Contemporary A Cappella
Society of America (CASA). Yumiko's arrangements can also be heard on
another Vox One album Say You Love Me (1995), released by a Japanese label,
Vap, as well as on recordings by other a cappella groups around the nation
including m-pact and Toxic Audio. She is an assistant professor at the
Berklee College of Music in Boston, teaching ear training and vocal writing.
She has been a guest facilitator at the Western Wind Ensemble Singing
Workshop, and has coached collegiate and semi-professional groups in and
out of New England. Her current group is In the Mix, a mixed quartet pursuing
a rich and exciting sound with their own compositions and arrangements
Contact Yumiko at YMatsuoka@berklee.edu
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