Jerry-

I wish I could help with explaining about arranging harmonies. My hat's off to those can arrange music, as it is to composers and writers like you.

But as for arranging--no,no, no it ain't me babe, it ain't me you're lookin' for, babe. In the groups I've led, either the entire arrangement was already written out or we just filled in the chords as they changed, trying not to duplicate. It wasn't easy.

In the bluegrass group I was in, it was even harder--bluegrass seems to prescribe only specific harmonies for specific voices--I was used to making up harmonies according to what I could do and what I thought the song called for--but wound up poaching on others' vocal territory, it seems. They seem pretty strict about that in bluegrass.

By the way, I will be very busy for the next 3 days---hope to get back to the Kitchen Table perhaps Monday.

I do know some people who have arranged music. Maybe next week I can pick the brains of one arranger--who, interestingly enough, arranges black gospel--to get some pointers from him. It sure sounds like an arcane science to me.