Guide
How to arrange a song for string quartet
A string quartet (two violins, viola and cello) is the standard ensemble at weddings, receptions and events, and pop songs sound beautiful on strings. Here's how to make an arrangement that sounds full with just four players.
1. Choose the key for the strings
Strings sound brightest in keys that use their open strings: D, G, A and C major, and E, B and D minor. Avoid keys with many flats if you can, because they cut out the resonant open strings. Moving a song from E♭ to D is a common and invisible change; the chord transposer moves the chords for you.
2. Know the ranges and clefs
| Instrument | Clef | Comfortable range |
|---|---|---|
| Violin I and II | Treble | G3 – A5 |
| Viola | Alto | C3 – D5 |
| Cello | Bass (tenor or treble up high) | C2 – A4 |
The instrument range checker shows whether your melody fits each instrument.
3. Give the melody to violin I, mostly
Violin I sings the tune most of the time. For variety, give the verse to the cello (it sounds like a warm voice in its upper register) and bring the melody back to violin I for the chorus.
4. Write the bass line for the cello
When the cello isn't playing the melody, it plays the root of each chord, usually in half or whole notes for a ballad and in quarter or eighth notes for an up-tempo song.
5. Fill the middle with violin II and viola
They play the harmony. Common patterns:
- Sustained chords (long notes on the 3rd and 5th of each chord) for slow songs.
- Repeated eighth notes for drive in up-tempo songs.
- Arpeggios or broken chords, like a guitar picking pattern.
- Pizzicato (plucked) on beats 2 and 4 to suggest a backbeat.
Keep the inner parts below the melody. If the second violin goes above the first, the melody disappears.
6. Use texture to build the song
- Verse 1: melody plus cello, very sparse.
- Chorus 1: all four, sustained harmony.
- Verse 2: add a rhythmic pattern in the inner parts.
- Last chorus: melody in octaves (violin I and II together), cello playing a moving bass line, viola on rhythm.
7. Add bowings and dynamics
Mark slurs over phrases you want smooth, and dynamics at every section. Accent the backbeat with short, separated strokes in up-tempo songs.
A note on wedding medleys
String quartets often play medleys for the ceremony and cocktails. Join songs with a held chord in the inner parts while the first violin plays a short pickup into the next tune. More ideas in wedding medley ideas.
Medley Writer can arrange your songs for strings directly from the recordings, with violin, viola and cello parts in the right clefs.
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Upload the songs, choose the parts and the order, and get a full arrangement for your band with the transitions written in. Free during the beta.
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