Sometimes I hear covers or acoustic versions of songs that are normally played by:
* Rhythm guitarist
* Guitarist
* Bassist
* Drummer
* Keyboard person (pianist?)
And usually the the singer is the rhythm guitarist (in the bands I’m familiar with).
When one of these songs is played by just one person with one instrument– like a piano cover for example, I am not music-savvy enough to know what parts of the original song would be included, excluded, or changed in some way.
In: 3
I don’t want to get too theoretical, but a soloist who is adapting an arrangement from a full band or ensemble piece would learn the melody and chords of the song by listening carefully or reading the sheet music. ‘Ear training’ allows musicians to pick up the harmonic nuances and the rhythms that hold the song together. Arrangement is the practice of adapting an existing piece of music to suit a particular style and ability, or thematics.
There aren’t many “rules” which outline how to arrange songs in a particular way. It’s a whole lot of creative decisions going on at once. Music Theory is what opens those doors to playing, for example, pop hits as a piano instrumental.
Once you put the melody and the chords together on your instrument, the rest is performance and planning.
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