Editing Big band (section)

==Seating and arrangements==
In the most common seating for a 17-piece big band, each section is carefully set-up in a way to optimize the band's sound. For the wind players, there are 3 different types of parts: lead parts (including first trumpet, first trombone, and first alto sax), solo parts (including second or fourth trumpet, second trombone, and the first tenor sax), and section members (which include the rest of the band). The band is generally configured so lead parts are seated in the middle of their sections and solo parts are seated closest to the rhythm section. The fourth trombone part is generally played by a bass trombone. In some pieces the trumpets may double on [[flugelhorn]] or [[cornet]], and saxophone players frequently double on other woodwinds such as [[Western concert flute|flute]], [[piccolo]], [[clarinet]], [[bass clarinet]], or [[soprano saxophone]].

It is useful to distinguish between the roles of composer, arranger and leader.  The composer writes original music that will be performed by individuals or groups of various sizes, while the arranger adapts the work of composers in a creative way for a performance or recording.<ref>{{cite web |title=Difference Between Music Composer & Arranger |url=https://bestaccreditedcolleges.org/articles/difference-between-music-composer-arranger.html |website=BestAccreditedColleges.org |access-date=21 December 2021}}</ref> Arrangers frequently notate all or most of the score of a given number, usually referred to as a "chart".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=William Forde |title=Music in the Social and Behavioral Sciences |date=2014 |publisher=SAGE |location=Los Angeles |isbn=978-1-4522-8302-9 |page=85 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qfcOBAAAQBAJ |access-date=22 December 2021}}</ref> Bandleaders are typically performers who assemble musicians to form an ensemble of various sizes, select or create material for them, shape the music's dynamics, phrasing, and expression in rehearsals, and lead the group in performance often while playing alongside them.<ref>{{cite web |title=What does a Bandleader do? |url=https://www.berklee.edu/careers/roles/band-leader |website=Berklee |access-date=21 December 2021}}</ref> One of the first prominent big band arrangers was [[Ferde Grofé]], who was hired by [[Paul Whiteman]] to write for his “symphonic jazz orchestra”.<ref name="redlands symphony" /> A number of bandleaders established long-term relationships with certain arrangers, such as the collaboration between leader Count Basie and arranger [[Neil Hefti]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Hefti, Neal |url=https://www.ejazzlines.com/big-band-arrangements/by-arranger/neal-hefti-count-basie-charts/ |website=ejazzlines.com |publisher=Hero Enterprises |access-date=12 June 2023}}</ref> Some bandleaders, such as [[Guy Lombardo]], performed works composed by others (in Lombardo's case, often by his brother [[Carmen Lombardo|Carmen]]),<ref name="Studwell">{{cite book |last1=Studwell |first1=William Emmett and Mark Baldin |title=The Big Band Reader Songs Favored by Swing Era Orchestras and Other Popular Ensembles |date=2000 |publisher=Haworth Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7890-0914-2 |pages=175–77 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iyJsVIs_L2sC |access-date=21 December 2021}}</ref> while others, such as [[Maria Schneider (musician)|Maria Schneider]], take on all three roles.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chinen |first1=Nate |title=Composer Maria Schneider Returns, With A Reckoning, On 'Data Lords' |url=https://www.npr.org/2020/07/24/894686507/composer-maria-schneider-returns-with-a-reckoning-on-data-lords |website=npr |date=24 July 2020 |access-date=21 December 2021}}</ref> In many cases, however, the distinction between these roles can become blurred.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Abate |first1=Robert |title=Composer vs Arranger |url=http://www.robertabatemusic.com/composer-vs-arranger/#sthash.FP3BaoPO.dpbs |website=Robert Abate Music |date=10 February 2015 |access-date=21 December 2021}}</ref> [[Billy Strayhorn]], for example, was a prolific composer and arranger, frequently collaborating with [[Duke Ellington]], but rarely took on the role of bandleader, which was assumed by Ellington, who himself was a composer and arranger.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Effinger |first1=Shannon J. |title=Billy Strayhorn's Lush Life Beyond Duke Ellington |url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/billy-strayhorn-duke-ellington/ |website=uDiscoverMusic |date=27 July 2021 |publisher=Universal Music Group |access-date=21 December 2021}}</ref>
[[Image:OckbrookBandPridePark.jpg|thumb|Ockbrook Big Band at [[Pride Park Stadium]]]]

Typical big band [[Head arrangement|arrangements]] from the swing era were written in [[strophic form]] with the same phrase and chord structure repeated several times.<ref>{{cite web |title=Big Band Music History |url=https://themusichistory.com/big-band-music-history.html |website=TheMusicHistory.com |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref> Each iteration, or chorus, commonly follows [[twelve bar blues]] form or [[Thirty-two-bar form|thirty-two-bar (AABA) song form]]. The first chorus of an arrangement introduces the melody and is followed by choruses of development.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Guide To Song Forms – AABA Song Form |url=https://www.songstuff.com/songwriting/article/aaba-song-form/ |website=Songstuff |date=18 February 2014 |access-date=9 December 2021}}</ref> This development may take the form of improvised solos, written solo sections, and "[[shout chorus]]es".<ref name="16, Solos and Backgrounds">{{cite web |last1=Rogers |first1=Evan |title=Big Band Arranging: for composers, orchestrators and arrangers: 16, Solos and Backgrounds |url=https://www.evanrogersmusic.com/blog-contents/big-band-arranging/solos-and-backgrounds |website=Evan Rogers: Orchestrator/Arranger/Conductor |access-date=10 November 2020}}</ref>

An arrangement's first chorus is sometimes preceded by an introduction, which may be as short as a few measures or may extend to a chorus of its own. Many arrangements contain an interlude, often similar in content to the introduction, inserted between some or all choruses. Other methods of embellishing the form include modulations and cadential extensions.<ref name="Tyler Dennis">{{cite web |last1=Dennis |first1=Tyler |title=Inside the Score in the 21st Century: Techniques for Contemporary Large Jazz Ensemble Composition |url=https://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1072&context=honors_theses |website=The Aquila Digital Community |publisher=[[University of Southern Mississippi]] |access-date=11 November 2020}}</ref>

Some big ensembles, like [[King Oliver]]'s, played music that was half-arranged, half-improvised, often relying on head arrangements.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bowman |first1=Robert |title=The question of improvisation and head arrangement in King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band |date=1982 |publisher=York University |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-612-15541-1 |edition=M.F.A. thesis}}</ref> A head arrangement is a piece of music that is formed by band members during rehearsal.<ref>{{cite web |title=Definitions: Timbre, Ostinato, Stride |url=http://www.people.virginia.edu/~skd9r/MUSI212_new/materials/definitions1.html#headarrangement|publisher=W.W. Norton |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref> They experiment, often with one player coming up with a simple musical figure leading to development within the same section and then further expansion by other sections, with the entire band then memorizing the way they are going to perform the piece, without writing it on sheet music.<ref>Simon, 105.</ref> During the 1930s, [[Count Basie]]'s band often used head arrangements, as Basie said, "we just sort of start it off and the others fall in."<ref name="Kernfeld">{{cite book|last1=Kernfeld|first1=Barry|title=What to Listen to in Jazz|date=1995|publisher=Yale Univ. Press|location=New Haven [u.a.]|isbn=0-300-05902-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/whattolistenfori00kern/page/90 90–91]|url=https://archive.org/details/whattolistenfori00kern/page/90}}</ref><ref name="Behrens2011">{{cite book|author=John Behrens|title=America's Music Makers: Big Bands & Ballrooms 1912–2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GKgJNIaWn1IC&pg=PA36|access-date=31 August 2017|date=March 2011|publisher=AuthorHouse|isbn=978-1-4567-2952-3|pages=36–}}</ref> Head arrangements were more common during the period of the 1930s because there was less turnover in personnel, giving the band members more time to rehearse.<ref name="Jazz: The First 100 Years">{{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Henry and Keith Waters |title=Jazz: The First 100 Years |date=2010 |publisher=Cengage Learning |location=Boston |isbn=978-1-4390-8333-8 |edition=3rd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QcewFVEyG6oC |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref>{{rp|p.31}}