Voicing and arrangement: is it enough if it's playable and sounds good?

[iopxp]

Voicing and arrangement: is it enough if it's playable and sounds good?




Is there a final solution to piano or any other instrument voicing in music compositions? Can it be correct if it's playable and sounds great? What I mean is, do you need to be a composition expert in voicing arrangements to do it in the proper way of rules only? Is the formula enough?

[LKB]

I started composing around 1975, and l think I have a sense for what you're asking. The most useful answer l can provide, given the broad parameters of your question, is:

Try to learn some theory. It will not only provide answers to your current questions, it will also give you the tools needed to analyze and dissect compositions you'll be interested in as your musical abilities evolve.

I realize that may not be exactly what you were expecting or hoping for, but l promise you, understanding theory will pay dividends for as long as you're involved with music. 

[krummholz]

My reading of the question was that the OP already knows some theory and is wondering if following the rules will always guarantee a good result (or something like that). My answer would be that following the rules is neither sufficient nor always necessary, though depending on the exact context of the question, it's usually a good idea not to break them without reason. But it depends on the idiom one is working in - e.g., in classical counterpoint parallel fifths are frowned on, yet 20th century composers like Robert Simpson routinely used doublings at the fifth and other unusual intervals that would never have been used in the 19th century or earlier.

I'm not certain whether the OP is referring to instrumentation, the layout and spacing of the voices, or voice *leading*. They might get more (and more helpful) replies with a little clarification on that.

[Dry Brett Kavanaugh]

Voicing and arrangement: is it enough if it's playable and sounds good?




Is there a final solution to piano or any other instrument voicing in music compositions? Can it be correct if it's playable and sounds great? What I mean is, do you need to be a composition expert in voicing arrangements to do it in the proper way of rules only? Is the formula enough?

If an a-theoretical arrangement sounds better than a theoretical arrangement, adopt the former. Still this requires a knowledge of harmony and voicing. Analyze why it sounds good and build a new theory about the currently non-theoretical arrangement.