Tips for arranging/remixing for piano

[Ghetto Lee Lewis]

I'm done with the whole guitar vs. piano argument (at least in this thread, roflz).

If you want to REALLY learn how to sequence good piano, listen to the song

. It's simple enough that it's easy to figure out what's going on, and yet it implements some very effective, emotional piano playing techniques.

Make sure to pay very close to attention to dynamics and tempo changes. Here's a few things to keep in mind:

• Emphasize the first beat of an arpeggio, especially when it's playing the root of the chord.
  
• Bring out the velocities carefully on the melody, emphasizing the beginning of each beat or important notes.
  
• As far as tempo goes, generally pianists play the beginning of a measure fairly quickly and slow down at or near the end of a measure. Even if subtle, this technique can add a lot of emotion.
  There are lots of other subtle expressive changes, but this covers most of the main ones.
  

Here are a few tips/ideas for arranging:

• Piano + slow strings = win.
  
• Use arpeggiated broken chords with the left hand and use the right hand to play the melody. Don't forget to add sustain pedal, and use 9ths when appropriate to add color/emotion (i.e. C, E, G, D, not necessarily in that order). Broken chords can typically be spaced rather far apart (i.e. use C, G, C, D, E, in a broken chord rather than C, E, G to make more interesting/emotional arpeggios). Rachmaninov style arpeggios tend to get much crazier than that (more space, more notes, use of triplets, 5-lets, or 6-lets).
  
• You can also simple right hand patterns or arpeggios and use left hand to play bass (Beethoven used to do this a lot).
  
• Big chords sound better on higher notes, while the low notes of the piano are better for octaves or broken chords. You can even use two handed chords on the high notes if you have the rest of the orchestra playing along (frequently used in romantic style concertos during a build up or finale).
  
• Chord progressions: use chords that are in key, use mode mixture, or borrow chords from neighboring keys. You can experiment until you find something that sounds interesting. If this is confusing, you might want to study up on on music theory (there are lots of free sites and some gurus on this one that can help you).
  

Piano is a very versatile instrument so feel free to try different styles depending on what you're going for. Good luck and have fun!