Difference between layering and clutter

C

crimsonhawk47

New member
In a well done arrangement you can take any two instruments and one of two things will apply.* Either a) the two instruments are doing highly related and supplemental things (for musicality), yet are different enough so as not to step on the toes of one another, or b) the two instruments are doing the same thing and can be considered one sound (even if octaves apart). It’s one of those ‘all or nothing’ kind of games. What you want to avoid is two instruments doing sort of the same thing, but not quite.* When this happens you get what people typically refer to as “clutter.”

-Chris Carter

I'm trying to identify what in my production might just be clutter. I need layering often to create a track that sounds big. I don't totally get what Chris means by this

If you could take any two instruments and have them be highly related, what about a snare and a bass? I wouldn't really consider those highly related.

My guess of sounds that are kind of doing the same thing would be, say, two strings that are holding a root note, but then one of them quickly plays a different note before the sound resets. That string has now established itself as a second sound and needs to be heard as much as the other string.

Does anybody have thoughts or insight in how to layer more effectively?
 
the art of layering is also called orchestrating

so the only thing I would suggest right now is to review some orchestration and arranging texts from the jazz literature

names to seek out (in no particular order): henry mancini, don sebesky, nelson riddle, russell garcia, gordon delamont, sammy nestico, micky baker

I would point out that in some cases the clutter effect is what makes a particular orchestrational/arrangement gesture work: a key example is upward rushing string lines: you usually address these by using different tuplets in the different parts, mostly related to how fast each of the string instruments can speak

9-tuplets in the violin I
7-tuplets in the violin II
6-tuplets in the violas
5-tuplets in the violoncellos
semiquavers in the bass

good luck
 
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the first one yes

the second only marginally applies here: the thrust of it is how to write a 4 part arrangement that is interesting and varied yet not tied to lock-step harmonisation of each melody note, i.e. the accompaniment has its own internal melodic rhythm and line whilst achieving a higher harmonic density and expression
 
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