Notes to Composers on Composition and Arranging

Some general thoughts on making music easier for beginners:  

The overall difficulty of a piece is a sum of all of the challenges contained in the piece.  This includes not only the more obvious challenges, such as technical difficulties and challenging rhythms, but also the more subtle challenges, such as keeping a steady beat when another part is playing a different rhythm or sharing a melody between two instruments.  Challenges are most easily overcome if other aspects of the piece are exceptionally easy (for example, a syncopated rhythm is easier if played on a repeated open string).  With that in mind, it might be useful to remember a few guidelines:  

1. Repeated notes are easier than changing notes.
2. Repeated patterns are easier than continuously changing patterns.
3. Short sections of 8-16 bars are easier than long sections. 
4. The familiar is easier than the unusual.
5. Balance between the instruments is important – the normal challenges of well-balanced ensemble are increased when dealing with beginner students (high notes for a flutist may be impossible to play soft while low notes are difficult to play loud; The opposite is true for guitar).

Some general thoughts to give variety to easy music:

1. Easy percussion parts can be added to most instrumental parts.
2. Easy singing parts can be sung by most instrumentalists.
3. Many extended techniques such as Bartok pizz. or bowing on the body of the instrument are actually quite easy for young students.
4. Each instrument is entitled to an interesting part (this often means each instrument should get the melody at some point in the piece).
5. Clear dynamics and articulations are important since students’ musical instincts are still forming.