''Glenn Miller's Method for Orchestral Arranging'' is a 1943 book on

arranging In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

Glenn Miller Alton Glen Miller (March 1, 1904 – December 15, 1944) was an American big band founder, owner, conductor, composer, arranger, trombone player and recording artist before and during World War II, when he was an officer in the United States Arm ...

published by the Mutual Music Society in the U.S. and Chappell & Co., Ltd., in the UK.

Background

The book was published in New York by the Mutual Music Society on May 28, 1943, consisting of 116 pages. The book was wrapped in dark red cloth with two stapled, folded multiple page scores, with the title in a gold color. The two songs featured were "

The Song of the Volga Boatmen The "Song of the Volga Boatmen" (known in Russian as Эй, ухнем! y, ukhnem!, "Yo, heave-ho!" after the refrain) is a well-known traditional Russian song collected by Mily Balakirev and published in his book of folk songs in 1866. It was s ...

" 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 RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...

. 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 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 The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

winning arranger Bob Freedman used the book to develop his own arranging techniques."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.
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James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

was shown reading the book in a 1953

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

promotional photograph for the film ''

The Glenn Miller Story ''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 second non-western collaboration. Plot The film follows big band leader Glenn ...

''.

References

Sources

*Flower, John (1972). ''Moonlight Serenade: a bio-discography of the Glenn Miller Civilian Band''. New Rochelle, NY: Arlington House. . *Miller, Glenn (1943). ''Glenn Miller's Method for Orchestral Arranging''. New York: Mutual Music Society. ASIN: B0007DMEDQ *Simon, George Thomas (1980). ''Glenn Miller and His Orchestra''. New York: Da Capo paperback. . *Simon, George Thomas (1971). ''Simon Says''. New York: Galahad. . *Schuller, Gunther (1991). ''The Swing Era: The Development of Jazz, 1930–1945, Vol. 2''. New York: Oxford University Press. . *Sudhalter, Richard (1999). ''Lost Chords''. New York: Oxford University Press.

External links

''Glenn Miller's Method for Orchestral Arranging, Google Books.''Catalog of Copyright Entries, U.S. Library of Congress, 1943.
{{Glenn Miller 1943 books Jazz songs Jazz compositions Instrumentals Song books