bigchiefbc wrote:I don't say those particular words. But I do try to put myself in the place of someone listening to the music as an audience, and then ask myself things like "Does this sound good?" "Is it enjoyable or sonically interesting?" "Is this too repetitive?" etc. etc. etc.
my process wouldn't be this so much as "does this passage/bridge/riff belong here?" "does it add to the song, or just make it longer?" "is the point of this song its lyric, or sticking a four-minute solo in the middle?" "how can i make this relatively dull yet 'finished' song more interesting?" "can i
sing it in this key?" structural stuff.
which leads me to share one of my BIG SECRETS OF ARRANGING. let's say you need a solo/break in the middle of the song. you consider going around for a full iteration of the verse, but that's too long; you try soloing over the intro, but that's too boring. now what?
here's what. change key for eight bars and solo over that eight-bar break, and then resolve back to the original key. this strategy can be heard all over post-WW II popular music, and probably in prewar music too though i haven't made a detailed study. Richard Thompson does this all the time, as does Motorhead's "Ace of Spades," but the
Ur-example of this everyone's probably heard is Aretha Franklin's version of "Respect."