[MUSIC] One really effective tool, when you start thinking about arranging the music that's going to be on your record, is a concept called The Rule of Threes. Now, again, there's no real rules here, but these are tendencies, and once you start thinking about the record in this way, it can be really, really helpful, in terms of trying to organize what you're doing arrangement wise. And what the Rule of Threes basically states is this, is that most records that really work and are successful arrangement wise, basically have three things going on. They have the lead, which is often the vocal or the lead instrument. Then they have a rhythm section that really kind of acts as a cohesive unit, and your mind can kind of lump all that together. And then there's usually one more thing, and I call that the wild card, and that can be the one thing that isn't the lead vocal and it's not the rhythm section, it's doing something else. If you think about some examples, and I'd encourage you to go find these and listen to them. One really easy example to get your mind around is Sultans of Swing by Dire Straits. You've got that rhythm section, and they are just playing so well together that you're not thinking about the separate drum part, and the separate bass part, and the separate rhythm guitar part. The rhythm guitar and the high hat are just totally dialed in together. The bass and the kick drum are just absolutely coupling in a very, very effective way. And they just form this really great cohesive unit that your brain can say, that's the beat. And then you've got the lead vocal which is telling the story, and then the wild card, in that case, is Mark Knopfler's lead guitar and that's giving the other interest in the song. And those three things are really working together very effectively to make this recording. The interesting thing is it's not just recordings of popular music. Most Beethoven symphonies really kind of adhere to the Rule of Threes, if you listen to it. You've got the main part that's going forth, you've got something in the rhythm, you've got something else going on. And these are all intertwining to make all sorts of cool stuff, and it seems very, very complicated, and yet, we can really ferret out what's going on. What we're talking here about is cognitive load. How many things can human beings have going on in their brain at the same time. In terms of some other examples that are maybe a little bit more complex, I will invite you to listen to I am the Walrus by the Beatles. Now, this is one where the wildcard keeps shifting. And if you listen to this carefully, first off you notice that the rhythm section keeps this quarter note pulse, and just as throbbing into this quarter note pulse, and it's kind of mesmerizing. But it also really keeps that rhythm section focused. You've got the lead vocal, John Lennon, that's very distorted, and the lyrics are very strange. And then the wild card tends to go between these very strange cello lines. And this choir of vocals that are going up and down. And a lot of times it's actually being handed off between these things. And sometimes you'll hear, if you analyze this, you'll hear the cellos switch between being the wildcard, where they're doing all sorts of glissandos, to then going right into the quarter note pulse and becoming part of the rhythm section. As one other elements takes over as that wild card. So it's a really interesting thing to analyze if you really want to get into how this can be done in a more complicated way. A more contemporary example would be just something like Uptown Funk. If you listen to that, the rhythm section is right together. They got a really steady beat, the bass and the guitar and the drums are right in there together, and then you've got the vocals, obviously. The wild card goes between being the background vocals, kind of the gang vocals, and the brass and those things all kind of mix together and make a really unified, unified sounding record. So, thinking about this can help you when you're arranging the record in the first place. It can also help you when you're going to organize the mix. It can also help you when you're editing tracks and trying to get things to play nicely together. And it especially can help you when you're trying to decide, what are the things I should maybe get rid of. Often, when you're in a multi-track recording situation, and you're adding tracks, and you're adding tracks, people come in and they ask the question, gee, what does this record need. And I think that a much more valid question is what can we leave out of this record. Is there too much on there and having the rule of reason why can help you kind of figure out. You know what? This doesn't really work as wild card, this doesn't really gel with the rhythm section, let's see what happens if we mute this. So think about this Rule of Threes, I think it can really help you. It's really helped me, and I know it's helped a lot of other people think about how to organize the arrangement. Now if you're just a singer songwriter, if you're just doing recordings of just you and your guitar, you don't have to fill up all three things. Okay, you can have a Rule of Twos in your case, or you can sing acapella and just have one thing going on, and that can be super-effective. I'm not saying that this Rule of Threes is really a hard and fast rule. But it's generally a way of organizing ensembles of players and soloists into a way where cognitively, human beings are going to respond to it in a positive way.
