So now you want to write for your wind instruments. Where do you start? First, there are a few tools that will be helpful to have close by:

1. An audio recording of the song
2. The chord chart that you are writing horn parts for, preferably in the key of the recording, unless you are hearing-gifted!
3. A key chart and/or a transposition chart
4. An instrument range chart
5. If possible, a mechanism to slow down the song
6. Optionally, a MIDI recorder and/or music notation software (or music paper)

OK, if you have most of the above you’re all set. There are so many good ways to begin writing parts, but I’m going to give you mine as a starting block. First, I just sit and listen to the song several times, trying to listen to how all the instruments currently blend together. Here’s the thing to really consider. There is probably already a LOT going on in the song before you ever get to the horns. On top of that, what is going on is often occurring all about the same range so when you add horns, we add them sparingly and effectively so as not to muddy the mix further. Let’s take a deeper look. The picture below gives a general view of the instruments and their played ranges. Depending on the player and how they play, these ranges will differ.

Generally, we know that either a guitarist or keyboardist will be leading the song. Keyboardists often play chords in the middle of the keyboard which, surprise, is just where a lot of the horn sounds are heard. Additionally, many keyboardists also add in their bass tones in their left hands. The bass, if not careful may end up competing with the left hand of the keyboardists.

On top of that, acoustic and electric guitarists, by nature of the instrument, play a range that also includes the middle and the upper and lower tones unless they are playing power or partial chords. Drums, though rhythmic and generally not melodic, add more sound to the mix. Already you may be thinking “Well where is there room for more instruments?”. If you are, that’s great! It means you are thinking musically. The best musicians are those who make a point to listen to others in the band and who know when to play and when NOT to play. In some songs, there may be no place or limited placement for the horns. And, not all horns may play on all songs. So, look at the horns as spices. A little sugar (flute) here, a little ginger (saxophone) there, some hot pepper (trumpet), or add a little flour (trombone) for richness.

Now if everyone is playing the same thing, you’re going to end up with a sticky, brown, gooey mess. Consider if we were spreading colors, one color where each instrument is playing. Although the top example below is visually symmetrically pleasing where everyone is playing, it has no character. And yet, many players play just this way. The second example, though, shows character starting off with just piano and drums, then bass and guitar joining, with spurts of organ and interspersed horns. This is certainly going to sound more interesting and present a different perspective to the person listening or worshipping.

As you start listening for places to add horns, consider

1. Where are there ‘open spaces’ that can use more sound?
2. Where do spots exist in the music that can use doubled voices?
3. Where can we add movement? Adding movement and especially syncopation is a wonderful horn technique.
4. Depending on the horns you have, which ones would sound good together for this particular song? Is this a song mostly for flute with saxophone support or a good song for 4 horns to play chords on?
5. Are there any places for a single horn solo?
6. What are the playing limits and ranges of my horn players?
7. How comfortable are they playing alone or in groups?

So, you’ve considered all this and are ready to start writing. I tend to start with
writing chords for horns as opposed to writing each part separately. I may go back and write separate parts in some cases but not always. I may spend 5-10 minutes or more playing wind patches on keyboard with the recording before I start really writing. That gives me an opportunity to play around some before getting in too far. It is important to listen to voice leading to make sure you don’t jump all around the scale.

Using a MIDI keyboard may also simplify your writing efforts, by allowing you to ‘write’ music as you play. Using Finale (or some other notation software) captures the notes and simplifies the effort to print them out and save them. Of course, you can also hand write the parts if you prefer.

If you are trying to transcribe horn parts, you may want to use Windows media player with its slowdown option to help. Or, there are other tools depending on your operating system and software. Additionally, you don’t always have to transcribe exactly. In our worship team, we sometimes use snapshots of the parts similar to the chord charts a rhythm player would use. For example, we may write out an intro, verse, chorus, bridge, solo section, and ending but writing each section once with a header. On a long song that would be transcribed with repeats and other parts, you may go from 4 pages of written horn parts to 1 or 2 pages of “sectioned parts”, based on the song. So, if the worship leader decides to play the verse twice, the horn section knows to repeat the section marked verse. It may take some players a little effort to think outside the standard writing mode, but long term works well. A sample is shown below:

Some suggestions as you write.

1. Don’t try to write it all at once. Feel free to write some, listen to it again, write some more, or add another part.
2. Use syncopation!
3. Don’t forget that the horns are like spices in the soup or icing on the cake – include dynamics and play enhancements such as slurs and accents for your horn players. Try to use all opportunities to keep the horn parts fresh and limit sloppy playing.
4. Consider alternate instrument sounds. A sax or trumpet sounds brighter when facing a microphone directly than it does when facing a microphone at a 45 degree angle. For fast strong songs, direct mic-ing may be best while a ballad might suggest your horns mic indirectly (at an angle)
5. Don’t always match the other instruments. When the chorus starts on the 1 beat, can the horns come in on the 2 beat? Or vice versa?
6. Try to use open (second, third, fourth inversion) chords more often than closed (first inversion) chords. Closed chords work fine for short bursts of energy but often lack the voice-leading needed for longer stretches of harmony.  Even for some short sections, using closed chords could come across as ‘cheezy’.

1st Inversion/Closed	2nd Inversion/Open	3rd Inversion/Open

1. Make sure to follow the style of the song.
2. Leave room for solos where they should exist but be careful you don’t open the door to multiple soloists playing all at once or someone playing the same phrases over and over.
3. Most importantly, don’t overshadow the words, or the meaning, of the song. A wonderfully executed bridge or solo means nothing if it just pulled the worshipper away from worship. As a matter of fact, it is worse than nothing.

Once you’ve written out your parts, make sure to play them all together (another good reason for a software program). There are tons of great ideas that operate fine on their own but just don’t work within a song. Or there may be two competing ideas where both horn parts sound great in the song alone but added together sound like a train wreck. Once you’re happy with the results, make sure to transpose them correctly for your horn players! Start by transposing to the key that you are performing the song in, then transpose again for the non-C instruments (trumpet, tenor sax, alto sax, etc.). That’s it - it’s simple, but not always easy!