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Post by allnamesaretaken on Jun 9, 2009 22:55:17 GMT -5
As it says, this is for any of us who have had the experience of playing in a pit orchestra for a musical. Or opera, for the more hardcore crowd.
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fruple
Band Nerd
Go Participation!
Posts: 167
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Post by fruple on Jun 10, 2009 17:56:00 GMT -5
I kind of have experience. I did all the practices for our pit orchestra, but the week before the actual show, the director cut me because there was "no room for percussion instruments".
So, they did percussion with all electronics and it was always off and it made me sad. That's about it.
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Post by allnamesaretaken on Jun 10, 2009 18:45:23 GMT -5
^Ouch. Sorry. That's a bummer.
Actually, now that I think about it, if the drummer hadn't gotten mono a week before showtime, there probably wouldn't be enough room for all my auxiliary and mallet percussion. I mean, we already had to give the chime part to the keyboard player. Also, before opening night, our keyboard player somehow cut her leg on broken glass...fortunately, the mother of one of the chorus/tech members was a nurse, and she was able to play.
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Post by trumellotonium on Jun 10, 2009 19:39:46 GMT -5
I played in the pit for The Sound of Music on horn... having just started the instrument a week or two before rehearsals started. My parents (who are musicians and generally tell me if I suck) insist it sounded good...
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Post by jazztastic on Jun 12, 2009 21:45:48 GMT -5
I've played in "Kiss Me Kate" on trombone and "Once on this Island" on guitars. Musical productions are SO. MUCH. STRESS. But in the end, just like marching band, it's totally worth it.
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KUguardgrl13
Band Nerd
I'm a sister in the bond of this kinship I am fond[F4:687065693]
Posts: 442
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Post by KUguardgrl13 on Jun 13, 2009 0:22:04 GMT -5
i played viola in the pit for my middle school's version of Annie. it was arranged by the director since very few musicals have viola parts and they never buy the full score at my middle school or high school, but the middle school director is willing to transpose and arrange parts. i've never been in a high school production, but i've always wanted to. unfortunatly i think the only musicals with a full string section are probably phantom and les mis.
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Post by allnamesaretaken on Jun 13, 2009 6:16:34 GMT -5
^Actually, the musical I was in (Cinderella) did have viola parts. And I would bet the previous two musicals (can't remember names, except one was a Gershwin) had a couple as well.
Yep, I remember feeling a little empty myself when our run ended (and annoyed that we only do one every two years).
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bandman001
Band Geek
Real Trombonists play Bass, Crazy Trombonists play Alto!
Posts: 64
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Post by bandman001 on Jun 21, 2009 22:56:19 GMT -5
I played the trombone parts for "Oklahoma" and "Oliver". The "Oliver" musical was the most fun with an awesome 3 beat mute switch (plunger to straight back to plunger) every 2 bars for about 100 bars.
The only problem for me with Pit was we practiced the same music over and over again, but once we performed it it felt amazing!
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Post by Trumpeting4life on Jul 29, 2009 8:05:23 GMT -5
Oh hey! I played violin in my high-school's production of "fiddler on the roof" and "Elton John's Aida". Fun times... I don't think I'll ever forget performance week, aka "hell week".
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Post by SaxGirl on Jul 29, 2009 12:16:27 GMT -5
Pit Orchestra was how I learned instruments, seriously. In high school, I was primarily an alto sax player for 9th and 10th grade, then learned trombone and played that in 11th and 12th grade. Depending on the musical's score, though, I'd pick up instruments to fill in parts that nobody was handling. The alto and tenor sax parts for The Pajama Game were rough, but FUN. That was my freshman year. 11th grade I did a ton of mute switching on Bye Bye Birdie - straights, plungers, cups, all pretty quick like what bandman001 said. In 10th grade, for My One and Only, they needed an oboe for two songs. So, I learned oboe (thank God I don't play anymore, all the baby ducks would be trying to come nest with me). In 12th grade, my band director had no one to play tuba for the Gaston bar scene in Beauty and the Beast, so I HAPPILY grabbed a concert tuba and taught myself just enough to get by (there was a tuba part in two other songs, as well). I suck at reading below the staff, especially in bass clef, so I just wrote in fingerings on all the scores and played along by pitch. I won't ever get an A+ in a tuba class, but I did it well enough to cover the part. My band director knew I was responsible (the other two trombonists wouldn't even play half the time, and they'd admit it), so often times he would give me percussion instruments to play, too. In Beauty and the Beast, we had an electronically controlled light-up rose. A mechanical button was attached to it under the stage, which would drop petals off the rose as the Beast's transformation took hold - guess who was in charge of THAT? That was the best part about pit, beyond all the AWESOME times I had. I love working with the cast, even though there's that distinct cast-crew-pit rivalry, and knowing all the lines from sitting through rehearsal after rehearsal is the best.
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Post by tubachick11 on Aug 14, 2009 18:24:30 GMT -5
I've wanted to, but Freshman year our show was Damn Yankees, which didn't require low brass, except trombone, and I didn't want to have to learn that, then last year they did a show that required no band instruments. I can't remember what it's called now.
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Lee
Newbie
Low Brass Section Leader
Posts: 28
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Post by Lee on Aug 14, 2009 23:19:42 GMT -5
This past year I did trombone in Guys and Dolls. Great show!
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