General Approach
to arranging for the carillonStudy the original score
- Identify all the unique elements of the original piece: melody, harmony, bass line, counter-melodies, accompaniment, rhythmic motives, ...
- Determine which of these elements are essential to the piece, i.e. what does a listener need to hear to be able to recognize the piece?
- Begin by setting only these essential elements in your arrangement. You can always add more details later.
While a song's melody will certainly be essential to retain in your arrangement, more subtle elements like rhythmic motives will help your arrangement keep the character of the original piece.
Space out your voices
Because carillon bells have such a rich and complex sound, achieving clarity between the top, inner, and bottom voices in your arrangement can be a challenge. Maintaining sufficient vertical space between these voices can help to improve the clarity of each line.
Writing chords in open position instead of closed position is a simple way to create more vertical space between voices in your carillon arrangement:
G major chord in closed position
G major chord in open position
Know your register
Each register on the carillon has its own sound characteristics. Take advantage of this by strategically placing your melody/accompaniment/bass in the register that suits it best on the carillon.
The bass register.
Bass bells are sonorous. They ring for the longest and have the richest tones.
Great for:
- Simple bass lines
- Melody
Not good for:
- Complex bass lines
- Chordal accompaniment
- Fast rhythms
Avoid writing dyads in the bass. While it's possible to play two notes simultaneously in the pedals, this often creates too thick a texture and is best used sparingly, e.g. for a special effect.
Consider this typical waltz accompaniment as it might be played in the left hand on the piano compared to how it might be played on the carillon.
Written for the piano, played as written on the carillon.
Arranged for the carillon
The low treble register.
Bells in the low treble range have a rich tone but not quite as long a decay time as the bass bells.
Great for:
- Melody
- Thin accompaniment
Not good for:
- Thick chordal accompaniment (e.g. with triads)
- Fast runs (on heavy carillons)
Be careful in this range on heavier carillons. If there is too much activity in this range, the texture easily begins to sound muddy. While triads in this range might pose no problems on a light carillon, dyads are usually preferable, especially on heavier instruments.
Fast runs can also be difficult to play in this range on heavier carillons. Consider this excerpt from Sally Slade Warner's arrangement of the Arrival of the Queen of Sheba by Handel:
On heavier carillons, this passage can be difficult to play at a quick tempo and may sound too thick for the light texture of this piece. Transposing the arrangement up would help make it more playable and allow you to achieve greater clarity in these low, quick passages.
The middle treble register.
Bells in this range have a purer tone, not too rich and not too dry.
Great for:
- Just about anything
The high treble register.
The bells in the carillon's highest register do not ring for very long and do not have a very large dynamic range.
Great for:
- Soft melodies
- Counter-melodies
- Accompaniment (e.g. arpeggiated over melody in pedals)
Not good for:
- Melody over thick accompaniment
- Loud, forte passages
Reduce thick harmonies and textures
The carillon has such a rich sound that thick harmonies and complex textures will likely need to be thinned out or simplified.
Remember: less is more.
Be creative
Arranging music is like translating from one language to another. The literal translation of a word or saying is not always the best translation. Likewise, a direct transcription of a piece of music for carillon does not always give the best results.
When making an arrangement, you must study the original score; but after you've internalized it, forget how it looks on paper. Keep the sound of the original piece in mind, and don't be afraid to diverge significantly from the original score in order to achieve a result that is idiomatic for the carillon and sounds the most like the original piece.