A Musical (Theatre) Director's Guide

Music Directing Q&A

2010-08-27T18:27:00.000-07:00

Recently I received an email asking me a bit about my experiences and how this person might deal with the issues she was experiencing. She gave me permission to reprint the story, questions and answers so that any other readers might benefit.

Hi Alex,

Just stumbled onto your blog, and wondered if I could pick your brain and if you could give me some info and advice.

A little bit about me:

I was a music ed/piano major in college and have taught GM in schools, accompanied school choirs, taught piano privately, etc.

Last fall a new theatre in town got my name and asked me to play in their first musical -- "Godspell." I had never done anything like before, but it was Very Very Cool.

I had hoped they would ask me to do their second musical, "Once Upon a Mattress." (Since I had played for their first and only musical, it seemed to make sense that I would be first in the line for the next show.)

A couple months ago I saw from their website that they were holding auditions for it. I thought, "Great, finally I get a chance to work with them again!"
I e-mailed a couple of the people I knew and worked with, saying I would love to play with them again for OUAM. One of them said, "Sure, I'll pass your name on the musical director," the other person never responded. And I never heard back from anybody. (I don't know the musical director, or have any contact info for her, so I was not able to ever contact her directly.)

I just looked at their website, listing the cast and what-not, and see that someone is listed as being "Second keyboard/Violin." (That is the only musician listed.) The show is in three weeks, so unfortunately I guess at this point I have to assume they don't need/want me this time around for some reason.

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Okay, all that to ask the following questions:

1) Not knowing me or the situation, what do you think might have happened here? Did they not like me or my playing?? Is it a bad sign that no one even got back with me to say "No thanks"? I know the musical director for this particular show is a good pianist. Do musical directors usually accompany the shows themselves, and therefore it is rare that someone like me would be needed anyway?

I would more wonder if the production team just simply had this other person in mind as someone they wanted to work with. A lot of things in theatre do happen by word of mouth, and directors tend to like to keep working with someone that they've had a good experience with in the past. It might be you, it might not be you. All I can really say is to keep your ears open -- they may not be happy with the outcome of the show and give you a call.

Yes. Musical directors usually do play the show if they are capable of doing so. I would say that this happens about 90% of the time in shows I've seen and worked on. The main exception being in a case where the music director is conducting the show instead, or was simply teaching the music.

Example: When I did Les Miserables in New Bedford, the music director was conducting only, and all the keyboard players (including myself) were hired. This can happen in large orchestra situation. I did the same myself when I did Into the Woods--I mainly conducted, but did play some of the synth passages from the full score as they were sparse.

It's not to say that you're not needed. Mattress is an older show with a large orchestration. I think it's mostly going to depend on the budget.

2) What is "second keyboard/violin"? Is there an actual score for "Second keybaord?" Or is the musical director playing the full score/orchestral reduction, and the "second keyboardist" plays just the basic piano accompaniment part? It sounds like this person is playing keyboard/piano for some songs, then violin for other songs...? Is that kind of thing typical?

No, there is no official "second keyboard book" for Mattress. You put together some good guesses--something I would probably do myself. They may be having someone play the actual piano book (which is just a piano part with no vocal line above the staff) or just playing fills off the piano/vocal score and maybe throwing in a violin line here or there. It's also possible that this person is just playing synth strings as filler from the piano/vocal score. I'd say that it's getting more typical all the time for weird doublings.

Again, this is all going to depend on budget for what they can afford to hire. Often that and space to put an orchestra or small pit combo.

EDIT: Apparently there is a string reduction book for Mattress.

3) What do musical directors want/not want in an accompanist? (Assuming they even need one, because I'm starting to wonder if they're their own accompanist most of the time.) Is there a glut of accompanists, or is it hard to find good ones, or somewhere in the middle? What makes a "good" accompanist? Where/how do MD's usually find their accompanists -- or "second keyboardists," as the case may be?

The questions are getting tougher! You are right, they often play themselves most of the time. When I use another keyboard besides myself (whether I am playing or not), I really think of that other keyboard player as just any other player in my orchestra. They just need to be a competent player and able to conform to my tempos and nuances. However, I find that theatre musicians as a whole are a different breed. We are used to putting together things on a limited number of rehearsals, and are able to play an entire show that can be 2 or more hours of music. To people who have exclusively played choral and solo work or even orchestral and wind ensemble material, it can be a very wild and different experience.

Whenever I need someone to play keyboard for a show, I like to get someone who has done theatre work before, because they understand the volume of playing. A good reader is good as well. I've met very talented players who do not read well and basically need to learn every note of music. They'll also know the lingo and how things work. Theatre is full of all kinds of things that classical musicians will find weird and seldom run into, such as grand pauses, vamps, tacets, unusually long fermatas, cut offs, etc. Sometimes I forget that people don't know what these are and how they work and I will need to explain it.

I look through people I know first, and then usually ask for recommendations. A lot of music (and theatre) work goes through word of mouth. There are also sometimes website and newspaper listings. In my area we have a website called New England Theatre 411 that is a great way to find out about auditions/casting calls, but also when companies are looking for production team members and musicians.

4) I see on your blog a lot of talk about "patches" and I don't know what that means, exactly. It sounds like usually keyboardist for musicals play the parts for the other instruments, is that correct? If so, how does that work -- I mean, do you shuffle back and forth between the flute book and the trumpet book, trying to play it all at once, or is there an actual "keyboard book" that compresses them all in a piano-like score?

Sadly, I seldom get to update my blog, and my prior entries do talk heavily on some of the more technical aspects that I've run into.

There is usually a keyboard book that is specially written for a keyboard player -- the patches (or sounds) are specified in the book. In the case of Les Miserables, there are 3 keyboard books in the orchestra, two of which used some very specific sounds and i was talking a bit about how people could go about recreating them if they wanted the show to sound like the original production.

I have had to create books in the past, however, to cover the string section where one was not available. I'd basically just play everything on a strings patch, but I had note by note reduced the score from the violin, viola, and cello books (more or less combining them into one staff).

5) What would be a good way to let theatres in town know I'd be interested in playing for them?

Again, it's mostly word of mouth, aside from any notices on websites or newspapers, but you could send messages to companies letting them know you're interested.

6) What might be typical pay, if there is such a thing?

It can vary depending on the type of organization. The is usually between $50-$75 per show. A music director will usually get something besides this for rehearsals, but it depends on what the organization can afford.

7) Any other thoughts/advice/suggestions for an accompanist who wants to do musical theatre?

Mostly just keep your ears open. Talk to people and let them know you're available or interested. (Business cards would be useful)
And be positive -- like in any job you want to maintain a professional attitude. Since a lot of theatre is word of mouth, things can get around and people may be less likely to want to hire you.

Kurzweil as a Broadway Standard

2009-04-14T22:38:00.001-07:00

It's been a long time since my last post, and when I try to sleep at night, sometimes ideas pop into my head. I was thinking about my mention of the use of Kurzweil keyboards in Les Miserables, and I decided to try and make a chronological log of the use of them on productions. If there's a show you know that I missed, please email it in -- atirrell@eptheatre.org. This list will be edited as I discover new ones.

Mid 90s - Les Miserables (Switched over from Yamaha DX7)
Mid 90s - Cats (Switched over)
RENT
The Lion King
Saturday Night Fever
Mamma Mia!
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Avenue Q
You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Revival)
Hairspray
Wicked
[title of show]

Off-Broadway:
Tick, Tick, Boom!

Likely:
The Producers
Beauty & The Beast

Not Sure:
Footloose the Musical (OBC sounds like Kurzweil, but also doesn't sometimes)

Man of La Mancha experiences

2008-04-17T23:07:00.000-07:00

So it's 2AM after one opening night and I can't sleep. A friend once told me that journaling can help clear the mind and make you tired... so here goes!

Since February, I've been working on two musical productions at once.
Man of La Mancha with a private high school, and No, No, Nanette (revival version) with my college.

I did La Mancha with a school I did South Pacific with last year. That had been an independent study arrangement with my piano teacher. They liked my work and hired me back this year.

I was working as the assistant music director/vocal coach/rehearsal pianist--unfortunately I am only credited as the rehearsal pianist.

I would go and work with the kids about a month into rehearsals, doing coachings and accompanying, and trying to keep the director/MD from going crazy.

For the most part, it was a good experience. I wish I could have more time to work with the kids. I only got in a few coachings due to my schedule and their schedules.

Our Aldonza had to take some of "It's All The Same" down the octave. I would have preferred that she didn't. I only find out afterwards that the Original Cast Recording I have is (mostly) in a lower key... interesting how some things change.

The orchestrations ended up being interesting. Initially, the MD wanted a brass quintet, and I would end up covering anything else on keyboard. We also talked about doing trumpet, trombone, guitar, percussion, and me on keyboard. Then with budget concerns that got whittled down to guitar, percussion, and keyboard... and finally percussion and keyboard.

I was now tasked with the challenge of making it sounds musically interesting...
Due to our modern set design, we would be put into a small space on stage consisting of some scaffolding. I would be using a keyboard and not a piano, so I figured "Absolutely why not make this sound as authentic as possible?"

I went through my module (Kurzweil PC2R/wO, CK), and found a decent classical guitar patch. I split my keyboard, and put a good flute patch on the higher octave. I also put in a woodwinds patch for anything non rhythmic.

I ended up playing the show mostly with the guitar/flute patch, adding the woodwind licks when I could. The MD was playing a second keyboard with a flute patch on my Yamaha TX7 (his board was a digital piano with few sounds) covering the vocals. I set up the TX7 so he wouldn't have a random piano in there. This way he was also able to add in some of the woodwind lines that I could not grab.

Also of note was my percussionist playing two parts in some places--the show is written for two players (not including the timpani book).

All in all, it worked out pretty nicely... though from a video clip I saw online, I may have had my amp louder than I thought. :/

Next entry: No, No, Nanette.
PS., If you left a comment on my last post, and weren't notified... I've since responded!

Les Miserables Keyboard Research

2008-01-01T23:03:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to my blog.
The goal of this project is to document my findings as an MD and share them with other MDs who might be performing these shows.
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So, I have a chance at working on a production of Les Miserables this summer.
Being the keyboard synthesis dork that I am, I decided to do some research on what I might be in for as a keyboardist for this megamusical.
(Note: The following information will also be of help to MD's of the Les Miserables School Edition)

Let's start with the basics:

Les Miserables was developed as a concept show in 1980. By 1985, it was reworked and opened in the West End in London. The show by this point was very similar to what was then brought over to the US, where Les Mis opened on Broadway in 1987.

Being the mid-80s and technology being what it was, the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer was very popular. The DX7 had 61 touch sensitive (but not weighted) keys, and could only store 32 patches at a time. Patches could be loaded or saved onto cartridges, or loaded in from a computer over MIDI using Sysex.

John Cameron was the orchestrator of Les Mis, starting with the French Concept version in 1980. A fantastic orchestrator and synth programmer, Cameron developed all of the DX7 patches used in the show. The patches are dark and synthy, and not really in any way trying to sound like acoustic instruments. They are there to add to the full effect of the show.

Over the years, the show moved to DX7-II and then the SY77.
Later, new patches were created for Roland JV1080 modules programmed by "Stuart". These sounds were more acoustic (per Schonberg's request) and were used on the 10th Anniversary CD/DVDs. In 1997, Stuart created 'hybrid' patches for Kurzweil K2vX synths, that mixed acoustic sounds with the "more grungy, dirty sounds." In 1998, a decision was made to go back to the DX patches, because they were more authentic to the feel of the show. Stuart sampled or recreated the sounds on the Kurzweil K2000, and this is the set that was used in London from then on.

This is all important to know, because you will have many different options presented to you when music directing or playing the show.

The original productions use two keyboard parts -- Keyboard 1 and 2.
When renting the show from MTI, at least, you will likely also be provided with a Keyboard 3 part. This part was written to be used in lieu of a string section (or perhaps to augment a very small string section) and should be played using more modern string patches, like on a Kurzweil. If you have a good string section, it is advised to not use this part!

Because of the original DX7's limitations of 61 keys and 32 patches, each player would have two keyboards, stacked like manuals on an organ. They are referred to Upper Keyboard and Lower Keyboard.

So now, you the music director, are MDing a production of either the full show, or the school edition, and you're wondering what to do. Back in 2004, I was working on the school edition, and I got my hands on a Yamaha TX7 (a rack version of the DX7) and I was able to obtain the original patches online, but I wasn't able to make any sense out of them. The patches as listed in the Keyboard books did not correspond to the patches I had downloaded, and I didn't understand why there were 4 banks of patches. It makes more sense now that I know that each player had two keyboards, each with its own bank.

If you can get your hands on any of the original style keyboards, great! Another option would be to use a software emulator like Native Instruments FM7 or FM8 (the new version of FM7).

Now, at present, I only have access to a full score that does not have any of the patch names or DX patch numbers provided, so I can't tell if you would really need two keyboards using a DX7-II or later. I am waiting on a patch list that will go with my score to determine this.
If you have any of the keyboard parts books to the show presently, contact me, and maybe with your help we can figure this out.

Where can you find these patches, you may wonder?
I found them years ago on a DX7 Yahoo group, but for your ease, you can get them here: http://www.mediafire.com/?btvmtolyv0o
I generally use the DX71 banks. I think the DX72 banks were for DX7-II or later synths. I'm not sure what the MIDI in the ZIP is for--no doubt another method of transmitting the sysex banks.
To be specific, the K1UP banks are for Upper Keyboard 1, and the K1LO is for Lower Keyboard 1, and K2UP is for Upper Keyboard 2 and K2LO is for Lower Keyboard 2.
The banks need to be loaded to the keyboard using Sysex software and a MIDI interface. I may write an entry on how to do that at another time.

Now we need to decipher the patches. Here is a patch list that will show how the patches in the part books correspond to the DX patches:

Patches in Italics are from original Yamaha banks.

Upper Keyboard 1

Vibes
Horn 8vb
Bishop's Organ (Marked "Clarinet")
Gentle Woodwinds (Marked "Clarinet")
Harsh Strings 8vb
Gentle Organ/Strings
Long Strings
Mellow Sustain (Marked "Strings")
Hard Piano (Almost "Jangle")
Low Resonant Electric Piano 8vb (Marked "Acc Piano")
Piano/Xylo (Marked "Piano)
Low Resonant Electric Piano Loco (Marked "Acc Piano")
"Sparkle" Electric Piano
Slow Low Growl (Marked "Strings")
Touch Sensitive Strings 8vb
Heavy Electric Piano 8vb
Recorder
Flute
Thick Phased Electric Piano 8vb
Clavinet/'Hard'
Mellow Brass
Gentle Electric Piano (Guitar-Like)
Guitar Short Attack (+ Sustain Harmonices 8va)
Block (Mallet Sound)
Mellow Harp (Use 1/5 Mod Wheel)
Harp
Muted Bells
Sharp Brass
Electric Piano/Gentle 'edge'
Low Quasi Brass 8vb
Voice
Low Resonant Brass 8vb

Lower Keyboard 1

String Sound (1A5)
Thunder
Low Brass 8vb
Slow Strings (2A8)
Close-Up Strings
Low Slow Strings 8vb
"Orchestra" (1A7)
Fairly Slow Strings
Harsh 'Wah' Strings
Harpsichord (Single Manual)
Fender Piano (1A11)
Sharp Piano
Sitar (1B22)
Glockenspiel (2A22)
Deep Dense Piano 8vb
Reedy Sustain (Marked "Strings")
Hard Edge guitar
Clavinet 8vb
Acoustic Guitar/Plectrum
'Clang' Guitar
"Leadharp" (Harp/Guitar)
Warm piano
Finger Style Guitar (Use 1/5 Mod Wheel)
Xylo 8va (2A24)
Fairly Sharp Brass
Tubular Bells (1A26)
Low Sustain 8vb (Marked "Strings")
Harp (Use 1/6 Mod Wheel) (1B30)
Sharper Harp (Use 1/6 Mod Wheel) (1B29)
'Clang' Bass 16vb
Thick Brass 8vb (2A12)
Organ/Strings 8vb

Upper Keyboard 2

Vibes
Horn 8vb
Bishop's Organ (Marked "Clarinet")
Gentle Woodwinds (Marked "Clarinet")
Harsh Strings 8vb
Gentle Organ/Strings
Long Strings
Mellow Sustain (Marked "Strings")
Harsh Strings Loco
Low Resonant Electric Piano 8vb (Marked "Acc Piano")
Piano/Xylo (Marked "Piano)
Low Resonant Electric Piano Loco (Marked "Acc Piano")
Syn-Orchestra (Organ-Like)
Slow Low Growl (Marked "Strings")
Touch Sensitive Strings 8vb
Electric Piano 'Roar' 8vb
Recorder
Flute
Thick Phased Electric Piano 8vb
Clavinet/'Hard'
Mellow Brass
Gentle Electric Piano (Guitar-Like)
Ringing Guitar
Block (Mallet Sound)
Mellow Harp (Use 1/5 Mod Wheel)
High Bells 8va
Lower Bells
Sharp Brass
"Pluk" (Hit Hard & Release)
Low Quasi Brass 8vb
Voice
Low Resonant Brass 8vb

Lower Keyboard 2

String Sound (1A5)
Breathy Brass 8vb (1A3)
Low Brass 8vb
Slow Strings (2A8)
Close-Up Strings
Low Slow Strings 8vb
"Orchestra" (1A7)
Fairly Slow Strings
Harsh 'Wah' Strings
Harpsichord (Single Manual)
Fender Piano (1A11)
Sharp Piano
Sitar (1B22)
Glockenspiel (2A22)
Deep Dense Piano 8vb
Reedy Sustain (Marked "Strings")
Hard Edge guitar
Clavinet 8vb
Acoustic Guitar/Plectrum
'Clang' Guitar
Medium Attack Strings
Warm piano
Finger Style Guitar (Use 1/5 Mod Wheel)
Xylo 8va (2A24)
Fairly Sharp Brass
Tubular Bells (1A26)
Low Sustain 8vb (Marked "Strings")
Harp (Use 1/6 Mod Wheel) (1B30)
Sharper Harp (Use 1/6 Mod Wheel) (1B29)
'Clang' Bass 16vb
Thick Brass 8vb (2A12)
DX-Intro (Long Growing Evil 'Growl')

I am still researching more on the latest Kurzweil patches for the show. I do not know if it is possible to obtain these. I know that in the past, any theatre company performing the (full) show was given the DX patches on an Atari formatted floppy disk to transfer. I had contacted MTI in 2004 because I thought I had the wrong patches, since I did not have this list at that time. I asked them if they could send the DX7 patches. The response given to me was that the patches probably weren't around any more, after all, the DX7 has not been in heavy use since the late 80's /early 90's. Clearly they were wrong, and never knew about the Kurzweil patches.

The great thing about the new Kurzweil patches, if we music directors are allowed access to them, is that they will probably be usable in any K2-series keyboard, as they are all backwards compatible.

Hopefully this is somewhat useful. If you have any questions or comments, or anything else you'd like me to explore, please leave a comment and let me know!

-Alex

Major Source: http://www.mixermania.co.uk/ - Martin Hughes
(Website no longer available. Found through Google and Archive.org web archive.)