Fast Facts: Music Arranging

Popular cities for music arranging jobs:

Nashville, TN
New York, NY
Los Angeles, CA

Median annual salary for music arrangers in 2004: $37,000
Typical employers:

Music publishers
Recording studios
Production companies

Percentage of U.S. musicians who are self-employed: 50%
Popular certificate programs:

Arranging
Harmony
Interpretation

Starting Your Music Career

Music arrangers can earn salaries in three different ways. Most work as freelance professionals, earning fees for each project they complete. Some music arrangers hold staff positions at publishing companies, where they work closely with composers and earn annual salaries with benefits. Music arranging professionals who contribute materially to the development of a hit song can earn royalties that provide steady, passive income for decades.

While many music arranging professionals work closely with composers to create charts for new songs, others analyze existing recordings to interpret their contents. Some music transcriptionists review recordings from jam sessions during the album production process. Other transcriptionists pull apart popular music to create instructional material or to develop "cover versions" for different instrument lineups.

Music Arranging Articles

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Online Music Arranging Courses

In an era marked by popular performers and composers with little formal training, music arrangers keep the craft of complex songwriting alive. Music arranging courses build on music theory by teaching students how to capture rhythm, melody, and harmony on paper. Many music arranging certificate programs familiarize students with the complex software required to print and distribute arrangement charts.

A Career in Music Arranging

Unlike other music business jobs, which often involve long hours and heavy physical demands, music arranging offers most professionals the opportunity to choose their own schedule and their preferred working environment. Because competition for music arranger jobs can be very high, online certificates can help job candidates sharpen their skills while learning essential, new techniques.

Berklee College of Music

Study performing with the top music school in the country

Master the fundamentals of music construction, and get college credit!

These performance courses are offered entirely online with Berklee's renowned faculty.

Take your music composition and writing to a higher level. Study the theory and techniques behind music that makes songs and compositions that work. With the talented faculty at Berkleemusic, you know you are getting an in depth and top of the line education.

Choose from individual courses, or three levels of certificate programs. We also have a complete list of all courses in music arranging.

Music Theory 101

Get the musical foundation you need to take your skills to an even higher level. Learn to read, write, listen deeply . and put theory into practice every day! After more than 40 years at Berklee, Professor Emeritus Paul Schmeling has helped countless students build a solid base of musical knowledge.

Paul Schmeling (12 weeks) 3 Credits

Berklee Keyboard Method

Learn the Berklee approach to keyboard / piano in this 12-week course. Master the basics of technique and chord voicings, plus gain an understanding of more advanced concepts such as interpretation of lead sheets and improvisation.

Paul Schmeling (12 weeks) 3 Credits

Harmonic Ear Training

Harmonic Ear Training details a step-by-step "vertical" (from the root up) and "horizontal" (using the song's key as a reference point) approach to hearing chord changes and progressions. In this detailed course, students will learn to internalize the music and identify chords and progressions with ease and confidence.

Roberta Radley (12 weeks) 3 Credits

Arranging 1, 2, and 3

Jump into these specialised arranging courses at whichever level you feel is comfortable. From basic writing for a small band to much more complex orchestrations, become confident of your skills at arrangement and take your music up a notch.

Various Instructors Each (12 weeks) 3 Credits

Basic Improvisation

Basic Improvisation is designed to develop your solos, and organize your thoughts and playing with the sounds around you through a step-by-step approach that applies to all styles and any instrument. You'll begin by looking at the 12-Bar Blues form and the pentatonic scale, and gain a greater feel for phrasing your riffs and playing 'in the pocket' by studying rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic repetition.

Matt Marvuglio and Ed Tomassi (6 weeks) 2 Credits

Style Writing for Performers and Arrangers

Increase your style vocabulary and performing skills, and create your own great grooves and styles mixes in the same fashion as many successful contemporary artists and producers. By the end of the course you will have a greater knowledge of styles, improved performance skills, and an impressive portfolio of recordings and arrangements that will enhance your songwriting and production skills and impress potential clients.

Daniel Moretti (12 weeks) 3 Credits

Writing Music with Finale

Learn to write music with Finale, the world's best selling music notation software. By the end of the course, you will have mastered the most powerful functions of this versatile tool, and learned the techniques used by the most experienced, accomplished music engravers and writers.

Jonathan Feist (12 weeks) 3 Credits

Making Music with GarageBand

This three-week course covers the basics of GarageBand: understanding the program's interface, basic mixing techniques and simple loops, as well as more advanced techniques including the use of effects and constructing complete arrangements that suit your musical needs.

Stefani Langol (3 weeks) 1 Credits