Writing For Two Horns

If you want to be a competent arranger, you have to have an understanding of

harmony, and how to harmonize a melody. In jazz, most chords that we use
have more notes than a basic triad, or tones 1,3, and 5. In most music around
the world it is not uncommon to also add the seventh chord tone as well. But in
jazz, traditionally we add more “color” to our chords, and these notes are called
extensions. Before we talk about how to write for all of those two horn gigs
you’ll be arranging for, here’s jazz harmony and extensions in a paragraph.

Extensions are chord tones that have extended or added notes beyond the

seventh. These extended notes are all the other notes from a corresponding
scale, besides the 1,3,5 and 7. For example, Let’s Look at a C major scale. The
notes are C,D,E,F,G,A,B,C. So the 1,3,5, and 7 would be C,E,G, and B. Notice
that there are only 3 degrees of possible extensions, the 2,4, and 6. Remember,
these notes are extensions or above the chord, so we have to raise them up an
octave. We can simply achieve this by adding 7 to the corresponding tone, so
our available extensions are now 9,11, and 13. (More on the 11th later). Before
nerding out on jazz harmony, let’s look at some things we should consider when
harmonizing a melody.

1) The relationship of the melody note to the chord.

2) Is it derived from a particular scale?

3) What should I do when the melody note is non-diatonic?

Any melody can be arranged in 4 basic ways, so let’s not over complicate it.

1) In union or octaves.

2) In harmony.

3) Using counterpoint.

4) Homophony

Harmonizing for two horns can be problematic sometimes. As I stated earlier,

in jazz, we use “all” of the notes in the chord. Seriously, in most cases we are
using the 1,3,5,7, and 9, and these tones can teen be chromatically altered. If
we had four horns it would be much easier to get all of that harmonic clarity in
 our voicing. With two horns it is very important to write a second voice,
along with the bass line that clearly sound the harmonic progression of the
piece. Here are some basic concepts to consider when writing/harmonizing for
two horns.

1) What two instruments am I writing for? Are their ranges similar?

2) Thirds are your friend. Writing in thirds usually the strongest way to imply
imply the basic harmonic progression of the piece.

3) Fourths and fifths are good too, but not a strong as thirds. Use them
sparingly. Good times to use them is at the end of a phrase, or when the
melody note is on a 3rd or 7th so the corresponding 3rd or 7th is a 4th or 5th
away. (this works for 6/9 chords too)

4) Seconds should be used sparingly. Use them mostly for effect, or a

suspension.

5) Sixths are just thirds up or down an octave depending on how you are looking

at it. They are strongest when the melody is on the root or the two instruments
are not in similar ranges.

6) Sometimes its great to just write a good line below the melody. Remember,
people came with the music first, theory came afterwards.