There are many obstacles on the road to becoming an accomplished arranger. Lack of knowledge is one and, sometimes, we are not even aware that our knowledge is a bit on the short side. Finding suitable songs on which to cut ones teeth is another. Many songs, especially the ones that we would, perhaps, like to arrange, simply do not conform to the 'rules' and that makes life difficult. Also, there is not a lot of satisfaction to be gained from producing the world's finest arrangement unless you have a tame performing group who will learn it and sing it. Music is not music until it's performed.

This class will address the last two issues directly and, in the process, will teach you much that you may not already know. The class will arrange a song in its entirety and produce a finished arrangement ready for performance. Bob Walker, an arranger of many years standing with many, many arrangements to his credit, will be choosing a suitable song. The Chorus Stream has promised that the resulting arrangement will be one of the songs chosen for Harmony College 2012. If there is not enough time at the college to complete the arrangement, look forward to some distance learning in the succeeding weeks and months in order to get it completed.

The song chosen will not be obscure or unknown. It will be a 'standard' that does not appear very regularly in the barbershop repertoire. It may or may not be contestable but copyright permission will be sought and it will become available to quartets and choruses who may want to sing it.

This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the creative process and learn from someone who has been there and done that.

What you need

• Previous attendance on the Beginning Arranging course or equivalent knowledge.
• You should have some arranging experience under your belt even if it is only in tweaking the odd tag. There will be a short revision period at the start of the course but be prepared for the pace to pick up quite quickly.

What you will do

• Participate in producing a finished, performance ready arrangement.
• Learn about writing intros and/or tags appropriate to the song and arrangement.
• Experiment with different embellishments, learn how to find them and how to choose which one to use.
• Experiment with alterative structures: verse first or chorus first etc.
• Learn about development and how to use simple devices to build the music towards the climax.