How I Create Arrangements / Covers

Getting Familiar With The Song

Before arranging a cover, familiarise yourself with the song. Listen to it repeatedly to ingrain the melody and harmonies in your head. Even if you already know the song well, listen again from a musician’s perspective and pay close attention to its details. This will make the arranging process much easier later on.

Melody, Harmony and Accompaniment Parts

In most of my covers, I aim to play the melody and accompaniment simultaneously. I listen for the song’s most iconic instrumental and harmonic parts and adapt them to the ukulele while keeping the melody clear and prominent. The accompaniment should complement the melody, not overpower it.

Here’s an example from my arrangement of “Dance Monkey” by Tones & I, where I focus on keeping the melody clear while incorporating the song’s key accompaniment parts without letting them overpower it.

Retaining the Original Artist’s Feel

While adding your own style is important, I also believe in staying true to the original artist’s intention. I shape the melody to reflect the singer’s style, incorporating their embellishments, dynamics, and emphasis on certain notes.

This helps preserve the character of the original song, allowing listeners to hear the artist’s voice behind the arrangement.

Here is an example from my arrangement of Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi, where I use slides, pull-offs, and hammer-ons to make the melody flow more naturally. This creates a more vocal-like quality, making the melody feel sung rather than simply played note by note.

Preventing Monotony

Since many songs repeat the same sections and choruses, it’s important to create contrast between each repetition to keep the listener engaged.

Even when the melody stays the same, you can introduce new ideas through harmonies, percussive chucks, fuller chords, or different voicings. For example, try harmonising in thirds the first time, then using sixths when the section repeats.

Here is an example from my arrangement of Remember Me from Coco. Although the melody remains the same throughout the song, I introduce different variations and harmonies to give each section its own character.

Conclusion

Don’t forget to have fun and enjoy the process! It may feel difficult at first, but with practice, you’ll get the hang of it.

Keep expanding your repertoire to build your musical vocabulary—the more you listen and play, the more ideas you’ll have for your own arrangements.

If you’d like to explore my arrangements, I’ve also released the tabs and scores for all my originals here, so be sure to check them out!