“Very organized & always clear.”

“Loved his slide-show summations!”

“Great tips on arranging for an ensemble.”

“Great musical ideas, organized so logically and clear!”

“Thank you. This masterclass was very helpful for my musical development.”

“Takeaway: Indent your codas. Think like the musician you’re writing the part for!”

“Takeaway: Clarity of charts, important over being lazy or relying on notation software.”

“So many takeaways! This has answered questions I have had for the past 10 years… Thank you!”

“Exceptionally clear. Great handouts & very useful info. Makes me want to compose some music!”

“Takeway: Try to make arrangements usable for the ‘reader’ to encourage them to maximize their musical expressions.”

“This was a very effective masterclass. I work with a range of players from non-readers, highly artistic and creative, to cats who are straight out of the best schools who can do anything.
I myself I’m not a very good reader, to put it mildly. However I write a lot, and these were fantastic ideas and strategies for me to apply on my own charts.
Very valuable to consider my audience, but also to make conscious decisions about every thing on the page. The creative part process is hard enough, so when we finally have something we want to gift other players, it needs to be effective and clear. Thanks so much.”

[00:00:00]: Intro Performance
[00:01:39]: Introduction
[00:02:06]: Ways to Bring New Music to a Group
[00:02:28]: Charts: Advantages & Disadvantages
[00:03:51]: Bad Instructions Analogy & Multitasking
[00:05:36]: Why Chart Design Always Matters
[00:06:48]: Session Caveats & Darcy James Argue Resource
[00:07:44]: Why MIDI Playback Can’t Be Trusted
[00:08:35]: The 6 Essential Strategies
[00:08:44]: Strategy 1: Player Agency vs Specificity
[00:09:19]: Curator vs Visionary – Miles Davis
[00:11:04]: Choosing Format – The Lead Sheet
[00:13:02]: The Grand Staff Approach
[00:13:56]: The Condensed Score Approach
[00:16:59]: Consider Your Audience (the “Readers”)
[00:17:30]: When Not to Use a Chart – Snarky Puppy
[00:18:14]: Memorizing Music for Better Performance
[00:18:58]: Nashville Number System for Pedal Steel
[00:22:29]: Strategy 1 Recap
[00:23:07]: [Q&A] Music Input & Notation Software
[00:25:04]: Strategy 2: Page Layout & Temporal Focus
[00:26:47]: Measures Per Line Match the Phrasing
[00:29:27]: First/Second Endings & Double Bars
[00:30:01]: Roadmap Example Walkthrough
[00:32:54]: Jumpers, D.S. al Coda & To Coda
[00:35:43]: A Bad Roadmap Example
[00:37:29]: [Q&A] Whether to Chart Memorized Songs
[00:38:52]: Strategy 3: Page Layout for Practicality
[00:39:43]: Fitting Music on Fewest Pages
[00:42:42]: Locating Page Turns Strategically
[00:43:25]: Drum Part Consideration Example
[00:46:12]: [Q&A] Multi-Measure Rest vs Spelled Bars
[00:49:00]: Strategy 4: Think Like the Player
[00:50:28]: Scoring Ranges & Real vs MIDI Players
[00:51:16]: Dynamic Limitations of Instruments
[00:52:34]: Asking Colleagues – Alto Flute Story
[00:53:13]: Considerate Parts vs Slasher Parts
[00:55:46]: Instrument Conventions & Clef Choices
[00:58:28]: Strategy 5: Dynamics & Articulations
[00:59:51]: Mingus Fables of Faubus Example
[01:00:15]: Articulation Marks – Tenuto, Staccato
[01:01:14]: How Articulations Improve Ensembles
[01:02:23]: When to Be Deliberately Vague
[01:03:57]: Strategy 6: Clear Text & Chord Symbols
[01:04:50]: Sans-Serif vs Serif Fonts
[01:06:01]: Spelling Chord Symbols Clearly
[01:08:35]: Dangerous Notation Software Defaults
[01:11:15]: Spelling & Enharmonics Pitfalls
[01:12:06]: Always Print for Final Inspection
[01:13:23]: MIDI Playback Is a Trap
[01:14:34]: Making Difficult Music Look Easy
[01:15:14]: Zappa’s Black Page & Checking Ego
[01:17:08]: Simplifying Chord Symbols (G7/C)
[01:19:54]: Avoid Over- & Undernotation
[01:21:16]: Learn from Other Writers’ Charts
[01:24:16]: Take Responsibility as the Writer
[01:25:55]: [Q&A] Time Signatures Across Sections
[01:27:23]: [Q&A] Learning Songs by Memory
[01:28:38]: [Q&A] Notation for Brad’s Lamar Album
[01:29:17]: [Q&A] Is MuseScore Powerful Enough?
[01:30:15]: [Q&A] Anthony Braxton Charts & Tyshawn Sorey
[01:31:06]: [Q&A] MIDI Keyboard & Speedy Entry
[01:32:23]: [Q&A] Fashionable Wardrobe & Vintage Guitars
[01:33:05]: [Q&A] The Nate Smith Drumstick Story
[01:34:15]: Closing Thanks
[01:35:02]: Final Performance