The Place Where Lost Things Go
I’m very happy to announce the release of my latest work, “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns, arranged for SATB choir, piano, and violin. Check out the premiere performance by BYU Singers below, under the direction of Andrew Crane, as well as the Score Preview Video and Lyric Video of the […]
There is a Green Hill Far Away (Arrangement Breakdown)
Cecil Alexander was an Anglican schoolteacher and poet born in Ireland in 1818. Among the most well-known of her 200 hymns is “There is a Green Hill Far Away,” first published without music in her 1848 book Hymns for Little Children—the proceeds of which were used to fund a school for deaf and mute children. […]
Ryan Murphy “Flight” Q&A
I was recently asked to present Ryan Murphy’s arrangement of “Flight” on a reading session and he was kind enough to answer some questions and share his insight. It’s a wonderful piece of music published through Walton Music and the Andrew Crane Choral Series. Purchase SSA Octavo Purchase Full Score & Quartet Parts (Ryan Murphy is the […]
Bad Habits That Weaken Your Choral Writing
For better or worse most arranging is done on a computer, which means that composers rely increasingly on how things sound on playback. While there’s nothing wrong with this approach (it’s what I do), the computer has a way of making certain things sound better in playback than they will in real life. When I […]
The Case for Choir Competitions
The music you make matters far more than any trophy you could receive but participating in competitions is one of the best things you can do to supercharge your choral program. COMPETITION BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN YOUR STUDENTS At its most basic level, choir competitions provide a goal to work toward and a date […]
Finding Your “Golden Brick”: How to Push Boundaries with Success
One of my mentors in college, Ron Simpson, taught a lesson that has since informed my composing and arranging every day. He described what he called the “Golden Brick Rule”, and it concerned how to break convention and try creative things without going too far. Read more at Productions Magazine.
UTAH ACDA 2021 Virtual Swag Bag
FREE DOWNLOADS Enter your information to download the slides from Garrett’s presentation, a copy of his newest piece, “We Will Sing At Christmas,” his curriculum for “Teaching Arranging in the Choral Classroom” and an exclusive discount code at musicnotes.com.
Pop Choral Voicing Techniques (28 Ways to Harmonize a Melody)
When writing a choral arrangement, variety is more complicated than complexity. That variety encompasses not just melody and harmony, but also voicing and timbre. As an exercise for a recent conference presentation, I decided to take a simple melody (Mary Had a Little Lamb) and come up with as many ways to harmonize it as […]
How to Commission New Choral Music: All The Questions You Were Afraid to Ask
There’s no better way to energize your choral program than by commissioning new music. Yet, many directors have never considered it—either because they don’t personally know a composer, or they assume it’s going to be too expensive or too complicated. (It might be expensive, but it doesn’t have to be complicated.) The benefits are enormous: […]
IOWA ACDA 2021 Virtual Swag Bag
FREE DOWNLOADS Enter your information below to download TEACHING ARRANGING IN THE CHORAL CLASSROOM, a FREE arrangement from holidaychoirmusic.com, and an exclusive discount on Garrett’s a cappella catalog at musicnotes.com. ARRANGEMENT GIVEAWAY Conference attendees will receive one FREE arrangement from holidaychoirmusic.com by using the code “ALABAMA21” at checkout. AN EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT FROM MUSICNOTES.COM CLICK THIS […]