Arrangement has always stressed me out as a musician as the sheer number of possibilities involved can be overwhelming at times. However, I found that the solutions available become more concrete when actually running through the song with whichever band I’m playing with, as was the case after running through my band song this semester. I wasn’t able to attend the lecture due to illness – so I wasn’t able to run through my song on the Monday, however in a lot of cases I find the way I find I learn best is to analyse songs that utilise the tool in question effectively – in this case arrangement. The song that sprung to mind immediately as having impactful and well-chosen arrangement is Modern Girl by Sleater-Kinney11.
I especially appreciate this song as a learning experience because as a drummer, it’s very tempting to play the whole song and make a feature of the rhythm section. However, this tune proves how withholding the drums until later in the song can provide a particularly satisfying moment – their entry at 2:04 is, in my opinion, the perfect cathartic climax to the song. Then after 5 bars the drums are gone again! A masterful exercise in restraint.
11 Sleater-Kinney. “Modern Girl”. The Woods. By Sleater-Kinney (Carrie Brownstein, Corin Tucker, and Janet Weiss). Produced by Dave Fridmann. May 24, 2005.
Jachin's Songwriting and Performance Journal 