Glenn Miller's Method for Orchestral Arranging

Last updated
1943 first edition, Mutual Music Society, New York. Glenn Miller's Method for Orchestral Arranging 1943 Mutual.jpg
1943 first edition, Mutual Music Society, New York.

Glenn Miller's Method for Orchestral Arranging is a 1943 book on arranging by Glenn Miller published by the Mutual Music Society in the U.S. and Chappell & Co., Ltd., in the UK.

Glenn Miller American big band musician, arranger, composer, and bandleader

Alton Glenn Miller was an American big-band trombonist, arranger, composer, and bandleader in the swing era. He was the best-selling recording artist from 1939 to 1943, leading one of the best-known big bands. Miller's recordings include "In the Mood", "Moonlight Serenade", "Pennsylvania 6-5000", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "A String of Pearls", "At Last", "(I've Got a Gal In) Kalamazoo", "American Patrol", "Tuxedo Junction", "Elmer's Tune", and "Little Brown Jug". In just four years Glenn Miller scored 16 number-one records and 69 top ten hits—more than Elvis Presley and the Beatles did in their careers. While he was traveling to entertain U.S. troops in France during World War II, Miller's aircraft disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel.

Chappell & Co. was an English company that published music and manufactured pianos.

Contents

Background

The book was published in New York by the Mutual Music Society on May 28, 1943, consisting of 116 pages. [1] The book was wrapped in dark red cloth with two stapled, folded multiple page scores, with the title in a gold color. [2] The two songs featured were "The Song of the Volga Boatmen" in six pages and "I'm Thrilled" in five pages, which had been released as 78 singles by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra on RCA Victor. Glenn Miller described the process of making orchestral arrangements with many examples from his own orchestra. There were chapters on "Making a smooth arrangement", "Making a rhythmic arrangement", and "Orchestral effects".

The Song of the Volga Boatmen Russian folksong

The "Song of the Volga Boatmen" is a well-known traditional Russian song collected by Mily Balakirev, and published in his book of folk songs in 1866. It was sung by burlaks, or barge-haulers, on the Volga River. Balakirev published it with only one verse. The other two verses were added at a later date. Ilya Repin's famous painting Barge Haulers on the Volga depicts such burlaks in Tsarist Russia toiling along the Volga.

The book was also published in a similar UK edition in 1943 by Chappell & Co., Ltd., 50 New Bond Street, in London, W.I, printed by Lowe and Brydone.

The book was influential on later jazz arrangers. Grammy Award winning arranger Bob Freedman used the book to develop his own arranging techniques. [3]

Grammy Award accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States

A Grammy Award, or Grammy, is an award presented by The Recording Academy to recognize achievements in the music industry. The annual presentation ceremony features performances by prominent artists, and the presentation of those awards that have a more popular interest. The Grammys are the second of the Big Three major music awards held annually.

James Stewart was shown reading the book in a 1953 Universal Pictures promotional photograph for the film The Glenn Miller Story .

James Stewart American actor

James Maitland Stewart was an American actor and military officer who is among the most honored and popular stars in film history. With a career spanning 62 years, Stewart was a major Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player who was known for his distinctive drawl and down-to-earth persona, which helped him often portray American middle-class men struggling in crisis. Many of the films in which he starred have become enduring classics.

Universal Pictures American motion picture studio

Universal Pictures is an American film studio owned by Comcast through the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour, it is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States, the world's fifth oldest after Gaumont, Pathé, Titanus, and Nordisk Film, and the oldest member of Hollywood's "Big Five" studios in terms of the overall film market. Its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City.

<i>The Glenn Miller Story</i> 1954 film by Anthony Mann

The Glenn Miller Story is a 1954 American biographical film about the eponymous American band-leader, directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their first non-western collaboration. Universal-International's first public announcements, early in 1953, employed the soon-discarded title, "Moonlight Serenade."

Related Research Articles

It Happened in Sun Valley song performed by Glenn Miller

"It Happened in Sun Valley" is a 1941 song composed by Harry Warren and with lyrics by Mack Gordon. It was recorded and featured by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra in the movie Sun Valley Serenade.

Glenn Miller discography discography

Between 1938 and 1944, Glenn Miller and His Orchestra released 266 singles on the monaural ten-inch shellac 78 rpm format. Their studio output comprised a variety of musical styles inside of the Swing genre, including ballads, band chants, dance instrumentals, novelty tracks, songs adapted from motion pictures, and, as the Second World War approached, patriotic music. Non-instrumental songs featured Miller's various vocalists, generally Ray Eberle or Marion Hutton before 1940, with Tex Beneke, vocal group The Modernaires, and Skip Nelson all making studio vocal appearances after the turn of the decade. Beginning with An Album of Outstanding Arrangements in 1945, this collection has been repackaged into various album formats over time with release on 78 rpm, 10 and 12 inch LP, 7 inch 45 rpm, compact cassette, 8-track, compact disc (CD), and digital formats.

A String of Pearls (song)

"A String of Pearls" is a 1941 song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on RCA Bluebird, composed by Jerry Gray with lyrics by Eddie DeLange. The song is a big band and jazz standard.

I Swung the Election song performed by Jack Teagarden

"I Swung the Election" is a 1939 song composed by Glenn Miller and recorded by jazz trombonist Jack Teagarden and his orchestra. Jack Teagarden released the song as a Columbia 78 single in 1939 and as a V-Disc in 1948.

George Dale "The Fox" Williams was a musician, composer, and an arranger for a number of major big bands, including Jimmie Lunceford, Glenn Miller, Gene Krupa, Sonny Dunham, and Ray Anthony.

Community Swing song performed by Glenn Miller

Community Swing is a swing jazz instrumental composed and recorded by Glenn Miller and released as a Brunswick 78 single in 1937 by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra.

Sometime (Glenn Miller song) song performed by Glenn Miller

Sometime is a 1939 song composed by Glenn Miller, Chummy MacGregor, and Mitchell Parish and performed for radio broadcast only. The song was never recorded in the studio but was performed live for remote radio broadcast on the Mutual and Blue Network from the Meadowbrook Ballroom in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.

I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem jazz and pop song

"I Dreamt I Dwelt in Harlem" is a 1941 jazz and pop song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song was released as a 78 single on RCA Bluebird by Glenn Miller.

It Must Be Jelly (Cause Jam Dont Shake like That) song performed by Glenn Miller

"It Must Be Jelly " is a 1942 jazz and pop song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song was released as an RCA 78 single by Glenn Miller in 1944. Woody Herman also released the song as a single and as a V-Disc.

Pennsylvania 6-5000 (song) original song by Jerry Gray (music), Bill Finegan (music), and Carl Sigman (words)

"Pennsylvania 6-5000" is a 1940 swing jazz and pop standard with music by Jerry Gray and lyrics by Carl Sigman. It was recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra as a Bluebird 78 rpm single.

Here We Go Again (Glenn Miller song) swing jazz instrumental recorded by Glenn Miller

"Here We Go Again" is a swing jazz instrumental recorded by Glenn Miller. The song was released as a 78 single.

I Know Why (And So Do You) song performed by Glenn Miller

"I Know Why " is a 1941 song by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song appeared in the 20th Century Fox movie Sun Valley Serenade. The song was also released as an RCA Bluebird 78 single.

Crosstown (Glenn Miller song) 1940 song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on RCA Bluebird

"Crosstown" is a 1940 song recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra. The song was written by James Cavanaugh, John Redmond, and Nat Simon.

Every Days a Holiday (song) song performed by Glenn Miller

"Every Day's a Holiday" is a song written by Sam Coslow and Barry Trivers. The song was recorded by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra on Brunswick Records in 1938.

George Siravo was a composer, arranger, conductor, saxophonist, and clarinetist.

Tomorrows Another Day (song) song performed by Glenn Miller

"Tomorrow's Another Day" is a 1935 song composed by Glenn Miller for the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. The song was released as a 78 single by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra on Decca Records.

125 Jazz Breaks for Trombone song

125 Jazz Breaks for Trombone is a 1927 folio or songbook of compositions for trombone by Glenn Miller. The jazz breaks were included in a songbook published by the Melrose Brothers in Chicago and a UK edition by Herman Darewski.

Harlem Chapel Chimes song performed by Glenn Miller

"Harlem Chapel Chimes" is a 1935 jazz instrumental composed by Glenn Miller. The song was released as an A-side 78 single by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra.

References

  1. ↑ WorldCat.
  2. ↑ York University Libraries.
  3. ↑ "I had been playing piano and clarinet with the school band, and when I was 13 I bought a book called Glenn Miller's Method for Orchestral Arranging. There were instructions for writing along with two or three scores of songs Miller had recorded. So I’d read the scores and listen to the records. That's how I learned the fundamentals of arranging." "Bob Freedman on Maynard Ferguson". January 15, 2010. Jazzwax.com.

Sources

International Standard Book Number Unique numeric book identifier

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. Publishers purchase ISBNs from an affiliate of the International ISBN Agency.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.