What is the job difference between an arranger and a producer?

[fantasyvn]

Hi all,

 

What is the job difference between an arranger and a producer? If an arranger has made the arrangement for your song, then what is the job of a producer?

[nerol1st]

The producer would tell you {censored} like "that sucked play it again", "try another instrument", "we need a different mic" "don't deviate from the arrangment"...

They do other things as well, like setting up recording dates, pre production and the like.

 

The engineer would just push buttons and place mics (well... not just).

 

Arranger helps sculpt the way the song is gonna be played, what verse goes where, if there are horns etc...

[Lee Knight]

Tommy James was one early rock combos that used an actual arranger. Crimson and Clover, I Think Were Alone Now, Crystal Blue Persuasion. Most small rock groups did it themselves then had the producer help clean up some of the mess... but James used a full fledged arranger for his tunes. Forget the names now but Mix mag had a nice Classic Tracks article discussing this team.

 

So... the producer might hire an arranger. Or the producer might do it himself if that's a forte of his. Or a producer might be a genius at recognizing great talent and know how to stay the f%^& out of it.

 

Regardless, it's the producer's job to make sure the project is completed within budget while hitting their creative target. Whatever it takes.

[UstadKhanAli]

The engineer would just push buttons and place mics (well... not just).

 

...and choose which mic preamps and mics to use, their placement, EQ choices, run the equipment, keep everything running, and wake the producer when they're finished....

[IsildursBane]

 

So... the producer might hire an arranger. Or the producer might do it himself if that's a forte of his. Or a producer might be a genius at recognizing great talent and know how to stay the f%^& out of it. Regardless, it's the producer's job to make sure the project is completed within budget while hitting their creative target. Whatever it takes.

 

 

Essentially, he's a project manager. As Lee said, it's the producer's job to get the project done well while working within whatever schedule and budget constraints are present. This can manifest itself in a number of ways including providing creative direction, songwriting, arranging, performing, engineering, stroking egos, selecting session players or other outside help, dealing with label & budget issues, etc. Just like in the engineering/tech world, managers/producers have different backgrounds and styles: some are hands-on, some are hands-off, some are more tech-oriented, some are more people-oriented, some are wound-up, some are laid back, some have skill sets unique to a particular style or discipline, and ultimately some are better for certain projects than others.

 

-Dan.

[Phil O'Keefe]

A producer is kind of the "buck stops here" person - they are responsible for everything - production, pre-production and rehearsal, engineering, song selection, arrangements, budgeting, label liaison, studio booking, session players, performance / take assessment, etc. They're the managers who oversee every aspect of making a viable record, and they might do some of those things themselves, or they might farm some of the tasks out to others while managing and overseeing that they are done to their satisfaction and to the benefit of the final product.

 

While a producer may serve as an arranger, or contribute to arrangements, this isn't an absolute. Today, in some genres, the person who "makes the beats" is considered the producer, but in years gone by, having a separate arranger was more common - especially on sessions that utilized strings / brass / orchestral elements. In those cases where the producer decided not to do these tasks themselves, a producer will pick the arranger, give them guidelines in terms of the overall sound and feel they're looking for, review and assess the arrangement, and possibly make some changes to it. They will be responsible for picking the session players, making sure the paperwork is all done, making sure they get paid, etc. etc. They may conduct the players, or hire a conductor, but the oversight and approval of all of these things falls on the producer's shoulders. Is the arrangement suitable? Is the tempo appropriate? The instrumentation? Was take five or take three "the one"?

 

In a rock band context, bands will frequently "self-arrange"; at least insofar as their own individual parts. In pre-production, or at the sessions, the producer will frequently make changes to those basic "head arrangements"; shortening an overly long introduction so that the chorus and hook "hit" the listener sooner, moving the bass part an octave lower to get it out of the way of the guitars or vocal lines, stripping away parts in sections or layering additional parts for dynamic effect or to make the song "breathe" or build, etc.

 

Bottom line - the arranger is concerned with the instrumentation and various parts that comprise the song's arrangement and score, while a producer is concerned with that - and everything else that goes into the album's production.