As in the previous example, this can be simply harmonised by adding thirds underneath, as shown in diagram 4. Staying with the same chord sequence, we can move the melody line up to the notes of A, B, C and D (each of which forms a fifth interval over the root note of its chord).
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Feel free to skip the music theory if you already know it, but if not, rest assured that making an effort to get your head round it will be time well spent - far from being a dangerous thing, a little musical knowledge is actually extremely useful! If you’re thinking, “Oh no, not another music lesson”, please bear with me - I’ll get back to the juicy funky stuff before long, but want to give a few basic pointers in horn chord construction which will be useful in many different musical situations.
Chord names are written above the stave, with note names displayed underneath. the lower harmony part is marked in red. (This isn’t a hard and fast rule, but bear in mind that if you write an upper harmony, you’re effectively creating a new melodic top line, with the original melody relegated to a supporting role!) Applying the ‘harmonies underneath’ approach to the rising line shown in A simple rising line written over an ascending chord progression of D, E-minor, F and G.diagram 2 (written over an ascending chord progression of D, E-minor, F and G) gives us the simple thirds harmonisation depicted in diagram 3 Diagrams 3-6 show how adding a lower part (marked in red) to a melody line creates simple harmonisations. However, a good brass arranger needs more strings to his or her bow than funky licks and a catchy tune: at some point, you’ll also need to consider the vital ingredient of harmony, that mysterious, beautiful musical element that can transform base metal into gold.īecause the highest part in a horn arrangement defines the melody, catches the ear and gives the music its character, the convention in brass arranging is to write harmonies underneath a top line. That’s not meant as a criticism - these parts are highly effective, and to elaborate them would only dilute their impact. I hesitate to suggest that the two aforementioned worldwide smash hits might be lacking in any way, but from a strictly musical point of view, it’s true to say that their horn arrangements rely mainly on rhythmic syncopation, with little or no melodic development. The horns are voiced in time-honoured style, with saxes and trombone doubling the high trumpet part an octave down, underpinned by an alternating Dm7 to G7 chord sequence. This passage starts at 2.21.diagram 1 and, as you can see, its rhythmic mini-phrases are classic funk figures, animated, catchy and danceable.
The part focuses on rhythm, with only four notes used in the melody - note how the first ‘F D C D’ phrase is played three times in the first bar, with the second iteration falling on the offbeat between beats two and three. I’ve notated the horn part in The ‘Uptown Funk’ instrumental break horn line, transcribed by Dave Stewart. A jaunty four-note lick parps out three times in quick succession, followed by an offbeat stab and a short descending run after a bar’s rest, the vocal hook ‘Don’t believe me, just watch’ is answered by a staccato, machine-gun-like burst of six repeated notes (doubled by snare drum) - this short call-and-response is repeated three times at the end of the break. It’s unlikely that Mark Ronson had any such qualms when co-producing ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars: since the aim was to make a classic funk song, its seventies-inspired instrumental horn break comes as no surprise. Despite initial concerns that this iconic sample might be regarded as old-fashioned, Beyoncé has since praised its crucial contribution to the song’s runaway success. Like all good stick-in-your-head riffs, the horn part is deceptively simple - a triumphant-sounding unison phrase played twice, the second time with an altered last note, over a standard C-major to A-minor chord sequence propelled by a driving, funky beat. The horn hook on ‘Crazy In Love’ is actually a sample of a lick from the Chi-Lites’ 1970 song ‘Are You My Woman? (Tell Me So)’.
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When asked in a 2004 MTV interview what made her ‘Crazy In Love’ song so lively and infectious, the Texan singer summed it up succinctly: “It’s the horn hook.” Earlier this year, when the same TV channel sought expert advice on the question “Why Is ‘Uptown Funk’ so catchy?” (a topic which never fails to provoke heated debate in the House of Lords), UK musicologist Joe Bennett opined, “The big release, the most exciting bit of the song, is the brass riff.” A simple, catchy tune with a funky rhythm may be all you need to create a highly commercial horn hook - but harmony is also an essential ingredient in brass arrangements.Ī great horn arrangement can galvanise a record, and Beyoncé Knowles knows it.
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