Here is a simple plan for writing vocal arrangements, for those of you with little experience in this area. We will go through the process step by step. What is presented here is just one way of going about writing an arrangement. There are countless other ways to get the notes on paper. This is simply meant to help you get started. As you build up experience in writing, you will find your own way of working.

1 – Choose the voicing

Will the arrangement be for female, male or mixed voices? Is the arrangement going to be a cappella or with accompaniment? How many voices will you write?

Hint: Singing with piano is easier for a choir, but in a cappella singing the expression of the group may even be stronger, because all focus is on the voices.

Hint: For an arrangement with accompaniment, most of the time four voices are sufficient. For a cappella music, five or six voices are more suitable.

Hint: If your choir has considerably more female than male voices, consider writing for SSAB, combining the men in a single baritone part.

2 – Choose the ‘structure’ of the arrangement

Are you writing in a chordal style (with all voices singing the same lyrics at the same time)? Or will you write a melody with accompaniment in the other parts? If there is a solo, will it be sung by a voice group or by a single soloist? Will there be a separate bass line?

Hint: Singing in a chordal style is very rewarding for all singers. The group will have a strong feeling of togetherness. And the basses will have a chance to sing lyrics, instead of dm’s all the time.

Hint: A soloist may bring a lot of expression to the music. But on the other hand, if the soloist is not a fantastic singer, the overall performance will suffer from that.

3 – Choose the voice for the melody

In an arrangement in a chordal style, the melody will probably lie in the top voice. If there is a separate melody and the other parts sing some kind of accompaniment, the melody doesn’t need to be in the soprano.

Hint: If the arrangement is not in a chordal style, consider choosing another voice than the sopranos for the solo. The other voices deserve a melody as well.

Hint: Inexperienced arrangers often think that a melody won’t be heard unless it is in the highest part. But don’t worry about that. A melody in the alto or tenor will easily be heard as long as you write soft sounds in the accompanying voices.

4 – Choose the range of the melody and the key

Determine what the height of the melody will be. If the solo is sung by a soprano voice, write the solo rather low. A melody up to a high f or g will tend to sound shrieky or classical. If the solo is for a male voice, write the solo rather high, so it won’t sound to dark and it will easily be heard. Now that you have chosen the range, deduce the key of your arrangement.

Hint: You don’t need to hold on to the original key. In classical music, a key is seen as rather fixed, as a deliberate choice by the composer. In pop and jazz, the key is simply determined by convenience of singing and playing.

Hint: Some key signatures are more difficult to read and write in than others. For example, if E@ minor is the best key in respect to the height of the melody, consider writing the arrangement in E minor instead and then transposing the arrangement a half step down when finished.

5 – Write down the melody

Find out the suitable time signature for the piece. (In pop and jazz, 4/4 will often be the appropriate time signature, with the backbeat falling on beat two and four.) Next notate the melody. Be very precise in the rhythms you write.

Hint: In conventional writing, composers often do not bother to notate the lengths of the notes accurately. The solo singers may breathe wherever they like. In a choir however, it’s important to have the singers breathe exactly at the same time. Therefore, it’s wise to write down the endings of the notes precisely.

Hint: You don’t need to follow the rhythms of the original performance exactly. If you think a certain rhythm suits your arrangement better than the original, don’t hesitate to write it.

6 – Find out the chords

Get the chords from a songbook or from the internet. If you can’t find them, try to figure them out yourself. Transpose the chords to the right key.

Hint: Chords found on the internet are often flawed and even in songbooks they may contain errors. Therefore, play the harmonies extensively and correct them where needed.

Hint: If you have to figure out the chords yourself, start by writing down the bass line. Most of the time, the bass note on the first beat is the root of the chord.

Hint: You may change the chords of the piece if you like. Arranging is an artistic process, you can take any liberty you like.

7 – Write the bass line

If the arrangement will be a cappella, write down the lowest voice. If the arrangement will be with accompaniment, write down the instrumental bass or the left hand of the piano. Listen to the bass line of the original performance and take those notes as a starting point. Make sure the melody and the bass line sound well together and sound more or less complete.

Hint: Unless a harmony is a slash chord, the root of the chord should sound in the bass on the first beat of each bar. Restrain yourself from violating this rule.

Hint: Don’t write the bass line as if it were a melody. Most of the time, a bass line is quite simple. Keep it that way.

Hint: In writing the bass line, let the harmonies guide you, and not your melodic inclinations. In other words, make sure the bass line is supporting the chords at all times.

8 – Write the remaining voices

If the remaining voices make chords with the melody, this step is easy: just fill in the harmonies. If the remaining voices are accompanying the melody, this step calls for some creativity. Think up parts that sustain the harmonies and rhythmically complement the melody and the bass line.

Hint: Make sure the triads are complete, that is, of each chord the root, the third and the fifth is sounding. In chords with additions, you may skip the fifth.

Hint: If the arrangement is in a chordal style, don’t let the second top voice go above the melody. Otherwise, the audience will probably hear the melody as being distorted.

Hint: If the remaining voices sing some kind of accompaniment instead, they may cross the melody as much as you like. Because the accompanying voices are in a different layer, they will not get in the way of the melody.

Hint: Some sounds like ‘ooh’ and ‘doo’ are eminently suitable for the accompanying voices, because they will not interfere with the melody too much.

9 – Choose a good form for the arrangement

Make sure the arrangement has a natural flow and is showing sufficient variety. For example, add a little extra to the second verse and make the music gradually more complex and louder. Write a good intro and a good ending.

Hint: The form of the original song is not always the best form for a vocal arrangement. In pop, for example, songs often are quite long for an a cappella version. In jazz, the extensive improvisations cannot easily be translated to an arrangement.

Hint: A lot of pop song recordings end with a fade out. On stage such an ending cannot be made convincingly. In such a case, you have to make up your own ending.

10 – Lay-out the score

Use good music notation software, like Sibelius, Finale or MuseScore. Stick to the conventions of musical notation, so the musicians will have no problem reading your notes.

Hint: Write the tenor part in the appropriate clef, that is, a G clef with a tiny eight underneath, which sounds an octave lower than the G clef itself.