Advice on arranging for piano?

[Bob]

Where can I go for this? 

Are there any books, websites, anything!...  that will tell me how to take something an make it sound as good as possible for piano?

Or if you want to throw out some specific ideas, that would work too I suppose.  I can think of ones like doubling an octave, adding in notes to flesh out a chord, arpeggiating a chord in the left hand, etc. 

If there's a book that summarizes all that (or if people want to create a list here), that's what I wonder about.

I've got some "arrangments" of musicals, pop music, etc. for school.  Sometimes the melody is in the piano, sometimes not.  They just sound sooo freaking plain sometimes.  "Hack-ish" if that makes sense.  Not well thought-out.  Like someone just took the melody, threw some kind of accompaniment on it, and sold the book (probably true).  I have to play the arrangements.  If I can add a little more to make it sound better, more pianistic, I wouldn't mind.  Nothing technical just for show, but just more pleasant sounding, more "piano" sounding.  Which would be a piano arrangment instead of a flat transcription.

Does anyone know of any books like this?  Or any sources to go to for it? 

I've read and tried some stuff from jazz books, come up with stuff on my own, or just borrowed the accompaniment patterns of other pieces.  I would like more ideas and something more consistent.  It drives me nuts when I play just what is written on the page.  (Please help!) 

[abell88]

Well, I'm sure there is a book somewhere...but my suggestion is, go to a Baptist or similar church and ask to watch the pianist play...you don't want a worship band, but the more traditional piano or piano/organist accompanists...ideally someone who's been playing for quite a few years, because that's just the kind of thing they usually do, take a hymn or gospel song and add fills, arpeggios, etc.

Also, there is a very talented (gospel) composer named Mark Hayes who has some things that might be useful on his site: https://markhayes.com/improvnotes.cfm

[pianistimo]

dear abel88,  that's very helpful - the mark hayes improv ideas! 

[penguinlover]

I just heard Mark Hayes in concert last week!  He's got great ideas, and his music is very refreshing.  By the way, it was at a Baptist church!

[mikey6]

'I don't remeber his name' arranged some of radiohead's songs for piano and performed them.  YOu might want to see how he transformed pop into 'sortts' classical piano.  I had a look at the music - they are pretty much impossible to play as written (he really likes added-note chords to the pint of tonal clusters which are very uncomfortable to play) but if you edit them, they work.

[ingagroznaya]

Bob, maybe you'd like to try Dan Coates Professional Touch Encyclopedia and/or Advance Piano Solos Encyclopedia by Tom Roed?  If you would read though this couple of books, it should help. This books are professionally arranged and hopefully would give you some ideas. Search for Dan Coates and Tom Roed on the net.