Take your performance to the next level with high end cruise ship music arrangements
Cruise Ship Charts
Trying to get that big cruise gig? Or already a seasoned cruise act?
We can help you.
We can help you.
I know from experience that finding good quality cruise ship charts is a difficult task.
Some look good…but sound awful…and some look awful too.
We have a proven track record of providing high quality arrangements on time and on budget.
ROCKET MAN – Max Anthony – Tribute to Elton John performing our arrangements on the stunning Celebrity Beyond (2023)
We do the work so that you love your performance
(& so does your audience!)
Clear, detailed band charts.
As a musical director and performer I know exactly what I want from well written music.
In fact, I have 3 books published by Trinity College Press on piano sight reading.
In fact, I have 3 books published by Trinity College Press on piano sight reading.
Need a BIG sound?
Click tracks are often used in cruise ship arrangements and can make you act really stand out.
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How do I find a good cruise ship arranger?
It can be difficult to know if cruise ship charts are good quality…until you hear them! Here’s some tips for finding the best arrangements and avoiding the worst!
Appearance Matters:
If the music on the page looks untidy there's a good chance it's not going to sound good either. At the very least, it's going to be more difficult for the musician to play it well if they have to spend time deciphering the music. Even without being able to read music you can tell if a page is laid out neatly. Messy arrangements make sight-reading a nightmare, making it difficult to get the best performance.
Information Essentials:
Examine the piano part, often the conductor's domain, crucial for band guidance. Scan for tempo indications, vocal cues, cues for other instruments and cued notes for any missing instruments. Sadly, many charts lack these vital elements.
Choosing Keys:
This isn’t just about making sure the arrangement is the correct key for your voice but if you sound best in B major the chances are most cruise ship bands aren’t going to appreciate reading in that key (or be able to!). Bb or C would be much better choices. A good example of this is “Come Fly With Me” by Frank Sinatra, which is in B major. Every time I’ve played this chart it’s been in Bb.
Listen to the Arrangement
You should always be able to hear an audio export of your chart. Don’t expect it to sound real but it should be good enough to check all the notes and in particular, the horns and woodwind, which can be tricky to arrange. Some instruments such as guitar chords or sections of piano may be missing because notation programs don’t read musical shorthand (improvisation) that musicians tend to like to read. If it sounds good in this state it should sound great in real life!
Cheap is cheap
Cheap or free band arrangements generally always sound awful. Remember some people don't mind or care.
I recently arranged a large quantity of big band charts for a vocalist and to save time he bought some cheap arrangements.
It seemed like a good idea but they were so wrong that I just had to start at the beginning and transcribe everything from scratch.
I’ve also been on gigs where the arrangement was a cheap version and there was just no information in the piano part to direct the band – simply a bunch of chords, with no tempo marks.
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