When I’m teaching a young arranger or composer, these are some of the most likely mistakes they’re likely to make.
Obscuring important beats. Some of my students probably think “Show beat three” will appear on my gravestone!
Enharmonic spellings. It’s essential to understand why certain spelling are preferred, either for enforcing a sense of key or for ease of reading.
Range issues. As I have said to my students, “Beethoven wrote way beyond the comfortable range in the Ninth Symphony. He’s allowed to. We’re not.”
Too busy/not busy enough. Finding the right level of intensity for each part will make for a a better experience for the musicians.
Don’t know what’s difficult. Some things look easy and are hard. Some things look hard and are easy. Knowing how to tell them apart is 100% experience-based.
There are three ways to deal with these mistakes in your first pieces.
- Ignore input. “I wrote what I wrote!”
- Make the changes before putting in front of an ensemble.
- Make the changes after you see what works and doesn’t with an ensemble.
I advocate for option 2, naturally.