SKU: GI.G-9124
Step-by-Step
Instructions and
Exercises. Composed
by Blake R. Henson and
Gerald Custer. Music
Education. 278 pages. GIA
Publications #9124.
Published by GIA
Publications (GI.G-9124).
ISBN 9781622771745.
English.
Need to
adapt an SATB work for
your small SAB choir?
Have sopranos who can’t
sing divisi…but know a
great trumpet player who
is happy to help out?
Need to simplify a viola
part for a beginner? In
straightforward,
step-by-step fashion,
authors Blake Henson and
Gerald Custer show how to
take a piece of existing
music and craft a
workable, polished
arrangement that meets
the needs of your
ensemble in the real
world. Arranging: A
Beginner’s Guide is
full of ideas, examples,
and exercises to try out
and adapt, grounded in
the belief that arranging
is not only a necessary
skill, it is one that is
relatively easy to learn
and master. This book is
written for conductors,
church musicians,
teachers, and students at
all levels. Learn how to:
• reconfigure a piece
to fit your choral
circumstances •
translate your ideas into
practical, performable
music • turn a solo
song into a choral piece
• write a descant •
transform a piano part
into an arrangement for
band or strings •
extend a hymn into an
anthem with introduction,
interludes, and coda •
create within copyright
law With numerous
examples and helpful
tips—plus humor and
insight—this engaging
and practical workbook is
designed to make the
arranging process simple
and fun. “We are
generally familiar with
an endless supply of
songs and sounds.
However, as performers
and as listeners, we need
ways of experiencing this
information and
inspiration in fresh and
new ways for insight,
understanding, and
sometimes for the
important and practical
reasons of accessibility.
This is at the core of
Arranging: A Beginner’s
Guide: Step-by Step
Instructions and
Exercises, and the tools
we need to approach
informed creativity are
systematically outlined
in this comprehensive
guide to arranging.”
—Tim Sharp, Executive
Director American Choral
Directors Association
Sought after for his
choral, solo vocal, and
orchestral work, Blake
Henson has received
numerous commissions from
choral and instrumental
ensembles of all kinds.
Dr. Henson is an
experienced and popular
teacher of theory and
composition. A
Grammy-nominated,
award-winning composer
and arranger with more
than 95 works in print
and two CDs, Jerry Custer
teaches music theory and
composition at Wayne
State University in
Detroit. Also by Blake
Henson and Jerry Custer,
available from GIA
Publications, Inc.: From
Words to Music: A
User’s Guide to Text
for Choral Musicians
(G-8728) and The
Composer’s Craft: A
Practical Guide for
Students and Teachers
(G-8533).