What is a piano arrangement? Learn all about piano arrangements and discover examples below
Have you ever wanted to play your favorite pop song or symphony on the piano, even though it was written for band or full orchestra? That’s where a piano arrangement comes in handy. A piano arrangement is a version of a musical work that’s adapted for piano playing. It takes music conceived for other instruments or ensembles and makes it playable on the keyboard.
With a good arrangement, you don’t have to know any other instruments in order to enjoy playing your favorite music on the piano. Let’s explore different ways to create piano arrangements and how to make them exciting and suitable for players of any skill level.
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What are the arrangement techniques for piano?
An effective piano arrangement is one that makes the music idiomatic to the piano. This means the piece, whatever its origin, has been translated comfortably to the keyboard, and takes both the capabilities and limitations of the instrument into account.
Hand size
One of the most important piano considerations is the average player’s hand size. Most people can comfortably reach no more than an octave between the thumb and little finger. You can imagine, then, how impractical this passage from J.S. Bach’s Chaconne for violin would be for a single hand on the piano:
The melody and chords span well over an octave, and even a player with a huge span could not reach the last two chords one-handed. So, the solution is to break up the melody and chords between the hands such that neither hand reaches more than an octave:
Practicality
Another consideration when making piano arrangements is the feasibility of the playing. String players, for example, can rapidly repeat the same notes at a fast tempo, and often do in orchestral music. Here is a passage from the New World Symphony by Antonin Dvorak:
While horns play the melody, the violins and violas quietly repeat the notes of E minor and C major chords at high speed. While this is possible on the piano, it is much more taxing and impractical at the allegro molto tempo, and very difficult to execute quietly. These string parts are more effectively rendered on the piano as a broken-chord figure, resembling an Alberti bass pattern. The right hand is now much easier to play fast, without drowning out the melody on the left hand:
Difficulty level
Just as important in piano arranging is the consideration of a player’s skill level. Below are passages from three different arrangements of the same piece, Carol of the Bells by Mykola Leyontovich. The first takes an elementary-level player’s skill into account: neither the melody nor the bass line requires the hands to move outside of a comfortable hand position, or pentascale. The rhythms are straightforward, and the musical texture has single notes with no complex patterns. The second example is suited to a more experienced student, with the bass part enhanced by a broken-chord pattern. This requires the left hand to move out of position somewhat, but without any large leaps. Finally, the advanced-level passage has everything that the first two carefully avoid: complex rhythms, polyphonic texture with a countermelody on the left hand, wider hand spans, and frequent leaps.
Easy piano arrangements
Piano players who are just starting out will feel more empowered if their favorite music is not too challenging. To that end, a beginner-level arrangement should not introduce any musical concepts that the student has yet to encounter. Here are some points to keep in mind when creating an easy piano arrangement:
Simplicity of musical texture
Beginning piano students need their favorite songs arranged with just the melody. This is the most recognizable part of the music, and can usually be played without requiring the hands to move. This arrangement of Old MacDonald has the left and right hands in F and D pentascales, respectively. At no time do students have to reach outside of these hand positions. Also, there are finger numbers to guide the player whenever the melody changes hands.
Simple rhythms
Complex rhythms should be avoided in beginner piano arrangements. If the melody has a lot of changing note values or triplets, it may not be suitable for students at this level. In this part of the Star Wars Main Theme by John Williams, nearly every beat has a different kind of rhythm, which can be discouraging for beginners.
Melodies with a lot of syncopations are also beyond a beginner’s skill. Syncopations are notes that fall between the beats, complicating the rhythm. Sometimes a tune can be simplified by shifting these notes back onto the beat, such as in this passage from Can You Feel the Love Tonight by Elton John:
You can find beginner-level piano arrangements of popular songs here.
Disney piano arrangements
Songs from Disney films are perfect for kids, not just because of their popularity, but also due to the great variety of musical genres they offer. From Frozen to Aladdin, from The Lion King to Encanto, students encounter pop ballads, madrigals, Broadway theatrics, classical styles, Latin dance music, and more!
For example, “How Far I’ll Go” from Disney’s Moana can be arranged with just the basic melody and minimal supporting harmony notes on the left hand. This elementary-level rendering also has simplified rhythms and is in the easier key of F major:
For early intermediate students, the song can be arranged in the more challenging key of E major, with syncopations in the melody and a more fleshed-out accompaniment on the left hand:
For six fun, exciting, and easy piano arrangements of Disney hit songs, click here.
Christmas piano arrangements
Christmas songs offer a wealth of tuneful melodies, many of which are so popular that no additional harmony or flair is necessary when arranging for beginner students. The melodies, which tend to have a narrow range, often fall conveniently into a five-finger hand position, or pentascale, such as the chorus of Jingle Bells:
And, as with all songs, a more elaborate arrangement can be made with a walking bass boogie-style left hand:
Want to play over twenty of the most popular Christmas songs? Hoffman Academy has three albums of Christmas Piano Arrangements for different skill levels–early elementary, elementary, and late elementary.
Piano hymn arrangements
Religious hymns and spirituals are songs of a devotional nature. They have been an integral part of worship services in many religious traditions for millennia. From ancient Mesopotamian and Egyptian rites to modern Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, and Jewish prayer, hymns have been a vehicle for expressing faith and cultural identity.
Lead sheets
Because worship services are held frequently, musicians may not have the time to learn many challenging hymn arrangements every day or week. As an example, for Christian church services, a lead sheet is often the most useful type of arrangement. This is a rendering with just the melody notated, but also with chord symbols marked above. The pianist or organist can then simply improvise the harmonies to accompany the hymn tune, making the performance more versatile for different services. Here is an excerpt from a lead sheet version of Amazing Grace, and, written out below, how the musician might choose to harmonize it:
African-American spirituals
These worship hymns draw on the religious and social experiences of African-American people, and constitute a powerful and rousing part of the Christian liturgy. Making frequent use of blues and gospel styles, they also often draw on the suffering and long struggle of black Americans under slavery. Wade In the Water is an example of what W.E.B. Du Bois called a sorrow song, a spiritual in which Christian faith draws an intimate parallel with the yearning for emancipation. Below is an early intermediate arrangement with simple chords, followed by an advanced version with much more rhythmic complexity. Notice both arrangements have a swing tempo, giving them the rocking feel often heard in blues and gospel music.
For dozens of arrangements of hymns and spirituals, plus great tips on how to learn them, click here.
Advanced piano arrangements
For piano players with years of experience, an advanced arrangement provides the challenge and authenticity befitting their skill. Even though the piano cannot compete with an orchestra’s vast timbre palette, an advanced piano arrangement may still convey the textural, harmonic, and rhythmic complexity that the composer intended. The performer can also display the higher skill and expressive power demanded by such an arrangement.
From orchestra to piano
It can be daunting to see a typical symphonic score for the first time. Each type of instrument has its own staff, and a full page looks very different from piano sheet music. Here is an excerpt from the original score of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony:
As frightening as this looks, there are really only a few different melodic lines. The woodwinds and horns all have the same music, a fanfare on E in repeated quarter and eighth note rhythms. The first violins have the principal melody, the second violins have an accompaniment with arpeggios, and the violas, cellos, and basses play triplets against the normal eighth notes elsewhere. All of this can be boiled down to a two-handed piano arrangement. Below you can see the wind fanfare and first violin melody transcribed for the right hand, while the left takes the bass line and leaps up to play the triplets in the accompaniment. The result is a feasible–albeit challenging–version of the symphony for piano:
A modern marvel
Jarrod Radnich is a concert, theater, and film composer whose advanced piano arrangements are world-renowned. Just as formidable a pianist, he often performs his own arrangements to great acclaim. As artistic director of the High Desert Cultural Center in California, he creates orchestral arrangements for the Joshua Tree Philharmonic that carefully account for the differing skill levels of all participating musicians.
Watch Jarrod Radnich perform his own piano arrangement of Hanz Zimmer’s “He’s a Pirate” from the Pirates of the Caribbean films:
Try learning a piano arrangement today!
From beginner-level arrangements with just a melody to advanced showpiece versions of symphonic or gospel music, Hoffman Academy has something for everyone! Sign up for Premium today and get access to our entire online music library. You’ll find over 750 titles of sheet music, many of which are piano arrangements for every skill level. Happy playing!