Between the bassline at the bottom and the melody at the top is the middle of the arrangement. It is where the harmony lives and where much of the groove's character comes from. Write it well and the song feels full; write it badly and everything turns to mush.
Comping
Comping - short for accompanying - is playing the chords rhythmically under a melody. A piano, a guitar, a Rhodes, a synth.
- Sustained - long chords, a bar at a time. Calm, spacious.
- Rhythmic - the chord repeated in a pattern - 8ths, 16ths, or a syncopated figure.
- Stabs - short, accented chords on specific beats. Very common in house, funk and pop. A stab on the offbeat creates energy without filling space.
The best comping leaves space for the vocal. When the singer is singing, the comping simplifies; between lines, it can fill.
Arpeggios
An arpeggio plays the notes of a chord one at a time rather than together. On a synth, an arpeggiator does this automatically from a held chord, in a pattern you choose - up, down, up and down, random - at a rate locked to tempo.
- Arpeggios add movement to static harmony.
- They are central to trance, synth-pop, film music and much electronic music.
- Try different octave ranges and gate lengths: short notes feel percussive; long notes blend into a wash.
Ostinatos
An ostinato is a short pattern repeated persistently, often unchanged even when the chords change. It creates hypnotic momentum. A single repeating synth figure, piano pattern or plucked string can drive an entire track.
When the chords change under an unchanging ostinato, the same notes take on different meanings - this is one of the simplest ways to make repetition feel like development.
Riffs
A riff is a repeated melodic-rhythmic figure that functions as a hook. Riffs sit somewhere between a melody and an accompaniment: they support the song, and they are memorable in themselves. Guitar riffs in rock, synth riffs in pop and dance, horn riffs in soul and funk.
Arranging the middle
- Divide the frequency range. A low piano, a mid guitar and a high synth can coexist. Three parts in the same register cannot.
- Divide the rhythm. If one part plays on the beat, let another play off it. Interlocking parts create groove; parallel parts create clutter.
- Give each part a job. Harmony, rhythm, movement, colour - if you cannot name a part's job, it probably does not need to be there.
- Change the middle between sections. Sustained pads in the verse, rhythmic stabs in the chorus. The chords can stay the same while the parts carrying them change.
Do this now
- Take your C major project's progression and write three different supporting parts for the chorus: sustained chords, offbeat stabs, and an arpeggio.
- Play all three together and listen. Then remove one. Which combination is clearest?
- Write a one-bar ostinato that stays the same over all four chords of your progression.