An assignment I had to do for a different unit ( called Composition in Music Education) was to create a “mixed bag arrangement” of a song of my choosing. The piece that I chose to arrange was It’s Definitely You (also known as Even if I Die, It is You) a song by V (real name Kim Taehyung) and Jin (real name Kim Seokjin), members of the Korean boy-band BTS. The song was used as part of the soundtrack for the Korean Drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth, which V acted in. I chose this song because – firstly – I enjoy listening to it, and it is, in my opinion, a good song. It is groovy with a great beat! Another reason I chose this song is because of the simple, repetitive melodies. This, along with the other motivic material in the piece, means that teaching the piece by route would be very effective. It’s Definitely You is, obviously, a Kpop song, and using it in the classroom allows students to be introduced to a new genre of music, as well as looking at lyrics in a foreign language.
Firstly, I looked up the chords and found out the song is in Bb minor. I informally worked out the pitches of the melody on the piano and wrote them down, and then confirmed these by listening to the song and searching to see whether I was correct. This also helped me with confirming the rhythms used in the song. Once I had the melody done, I then transposed it into a Bb, Eb and F part as well as transposing it for an alto clef part with viola as the instrument. Instead of having the melody played through as one whole line, I divided it between groups of instruments, following the vocal exchanges in the song. I grouped the Bb and F melodies together, and these play the parts that V sings. I then grouped the C, EB and viola melodies together, and these play the parts that Jin sings.
I created a bass line, one aimed at bass guitar and the other aimed at the trombone, then created a rhythm line, and then created a sheet with the chords used in the song. After the workshop, I created another Bb melody, moving it down an octave on the advice from a trumpet player, who informed me that the part would be too high for some trumpet players. I then added dynamics to all the parts, making sure I also added them into the full score. I refined the accompaniment lines, making them easier as suggested after my workshop. I also created an easy piano part, and chose to include the advanced piano part in my final arrangement.
I created a vocal line as well, since the song is a pop song and includes lyrics. I copied the melody I already created and then moved it down an octave. The thing that took up quite a bit of time for this arrangement, and was definitely the most tedious part, was putting the lyrics in the melody for the vocal line. Due to the lyrics being in Korean, and not being a Korean speaker, it took me a while to carefully work out how the syllables were divided. I listened to It’s Definitely You many times, which did not bother me because, as I mentioned earlier, I listen to this song regularly and enjoy it; this repetitive listening helped me to hear where the romanization of the Korean syllables fell in the melody. It also helped me hear the finer details of the song. I also decided to include a lyric sheet – in it, I included the romanized lyrics, the Korean lyrics and the English translation of the lyrics (thankfully, I was able to go to Genius Lyrics for all of these).
Excluding the accompaniment lines I created for C instruments (these accompaniment lines are aimed at xylophones), the chords and the bass line, I chose not to create any harmony lines for any of the other instruments that may be in the classroom. This is because there is already so much going on in the parts. I personally believe that my arrangement would have been hindered if I chose to include a harmony line.
The last thing I added to my arrangement was an improvisation section. I decided to provide the students with the notes of a minor pentatonic scale with which they can improvise. I chose to keep the piano, bass and rhythm section playing the chord riff/rhythm for the improvised section. I added a note on the full score, informing the teacher that they can repeat the eight bar section as many times as needed. The students would not necessarily have to improvise for eight bars – it could be broken into four bar phrases.
I considered changing the key due to the fact that after workshopping the arrangement, someone suggested I do that. However, I decided to leave it in the original key. I made this decision due to authenticity purposes and also because I did not want the song to lose any of its power or groove.
This arrangement would be very easy to teach Orff-style in the classroom. The melodies are simple, the verse melody mainly made up of three notes, and therefore easy to teach by route. Transfer is also easily achieved in this arrangement – the song includes clicking as well as a drum kit. The drum kit line could first be taught by using body percussion and then be transferred either straight to the kit, or to other unpitched percussion instruments first. The arrangement also includes an improvisation section, with notes provided to assist students.
Click on the link below to have a look at my mixed bag arrangement!
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/3plm003fl5whbx5/AADkOvJRU1WTfHEow4hvOns1a?dl=0
Rachelle Pieri 