Lessons learned from Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass!

In 2011, when I was considering tunes for the Civil War album Tenting on the Old Camp Ground, I thought of the spiritual “Wade in the Water” (and ended up doing it in a lively duet form with Bill Gurley, in an arrangement Bill originated).  I remembered that I’d first heard the marvelous melody on a record by the Tijuana Brass in the 1960s --- so I went looking for the track and ended up re-collecting in digital form all of their albums!  I began to realize that these, and especially the two records I owned at that time, What Now My Love and The Brass Are Coming, had had a profound influence on my musical sense and styling ever since.  I play different instruments and genres than Herbie and his group of first-rate session men, but the approach I use to production, arranging, and playing is definitely similar!

To convince myself that I wasn’t  just imagining this influence, and to perhaps share the ideas with others, I started a brainstorming list --- and it quickly became a large set of both general concepts and specific applications.

Here it is!  I hope you as a musician or other creative artist can find inspiration and ideas for your own work.  Let me know your own thoughts!

• Compose new pieces about things that matter to you.

• Don’t assume that your audience is limited to a certain demographic, but let your sincerity and spontaneity speak, and perhaps you’ll reach the hearts of many sectors of society!

• When doing popular pieces, don’t do them like other people do.

• Don’t merely play a tune --- let the tune be a basis for your own “singing” on your instrument.

• Change keys a lot, and change them in all sorts of ways.

• Change tempo in intriguing ways.

• Change lead instruments a lot, even within a verse, but use your best solo instruments the most.

• Slow down or speed up a familiar piece, and change the rhythmic approach from what people are used to.

• Only play music that really speaks to you yourself as you do it.

• Let your version of a melody be crafted according to what your arrangement asks of it, changing notes and timing as needed.

• In an ensemble, find a way for the rhythmic groove to be developed irresistibly while preserving the personalities of each player in the section --- each working off the others as real people while contributing his element to the groove.

• Incorporate many interesting answering counter-parts in the arrangement.

• Use creative, engaging voicing in the lead instrument --- many personal details.

• Make albums and concert sets that have an intriguing and colorful theme.

• Let a sense of humor take over at times, even in a daring way.

• Really, really enjoy yourself --- make it one of the goals of the music; always be searching for passion and joy.

• Use instruments that people don’t expect to be used for your kind of music.

• When doing folk music, keep respect for the source but be yourself with it.

• Bring folk music techniques and ideas into other genres.

• When working with other musicians, allow them to express their own musical personalities in the arranging and playing, rather than just use them for their instruments’ technique and tone.

• Incorporate people in your albums who aren’t normal professionals --- like having studio maintenance people sing, etc.!

• Use big and little contrasts --- in tempo, key, mood, volume, genre, size of group, instrumentation --- within a piece and within a series of pieces.

• Look for a sense of drama and experience.

• Take a quiet ballad and make it rhythmic and exciting; take a fast, happy tune and make it quiet and contemplative.

• Don’t just play your instrument --- play music using your instrument.

• Make “comments” with the lead instrument, and accent notes, other than the melody.

• Bring a piece to a total halt, then start it up again.

• Combine insistent rhythm grooves with emotional chord choices and progressions, for a compelling effect on the listener.

• Hum!