What's Happening to Pit Musicians?
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- Опубликовано: 7 апр 2022
- Music Technology mainly in the form of pre-recorded additional instruments are common place in Broadway and West End productions nowadays like it or not. Music Directors need to learn about this technology and how to use it or get left behind.
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Musical theatre without musicians is death
This is such an important conversation to have, because discussions like these can be so frustrating and emotional and oftentimes, the producers/directors don’t understand why it’s such a big deal to the music director. Great video
As one who has written a musical (book, lyrics, half the music), directed two and acted in three, I have to ask, what is the point of even having live musicians if you have pre-recorded tracks for some of them? Synthesizers are one thing; they're being played live. With pre-recorded tracks, all the live musicians are doing is lockstep playing, and that includes the actors. No show is the same every night, and the pit band is supposed to be ACCOMPANYING THE ACTORS onstage. Instead everyone is accompanying the pre-recorded instruments. If an actor decides to, say, take a portion of "Some Enchanted Evening" a little slower for dramatic emphasis, forget it because the track(s) rule. It can also be that an actor jumps a verse -- anyone who thinks a show is identical every night is deluded, and in amateur theater you can square that. To return to the main question, once you have a pre-recorded track, what's the point of real musicians? You've already surrendered to the machine.
Hence why I like the Broadway rule of “if it can be played by a human, it must be”.
Even electronically dense scores such as Hamilton are remarkably played majoritally live, with keyboards and sample pads, and only sounds impossible to recreate by hand (synths with filter sweeps, delays etc) are prerecorded. Unfortunately this isn’t the case in the West End, hence Six’s reorchestration moving to Broadway.
Also prefer Broadway’s rules on minimum band sizes dictated by house size.
Nice video!
Here in Brazil it's becoming quite normal after the musical closes and they begin a tour, all the music is recorded. The orchestra or the band go to the studio to record the songs for the tour. Also, it's quite common the same production return after some months after closing, then when they are back, they usually use the recorded track to be cheaper for the production to maintain some more presentations.
My musical debut was in 2020. All pit rehearsals, stage rehearsals, 6 performances = a $10 ice cream gift card.
For my next 3 shows i was paid $100. It's fun.
2:40 Thousands of pounds can be spent on scenery and costumers but when it comes to the band you hear 'how much?!'
Let me put it this way, most amdram/community/local theatre round here have maybe a 150-200 seat theatre.
VERY few groups are willing to charge more than £12, £15 a ticket for fear of scaring patrons away.
That means you may have at most £3000 income per night.
Times 4 or 5 shows typically for am dram and you have £12-15k income.
Typically rights are around 20-30% so thats immediately losing you 3-4k out of that income.
Lets say you want to hire a 15 piece band do your production of West side story, which is normally something like close to 30.
Band call, Sitzprobe, Tech, Dress + 5 shows = 9 calls at ~ £50 a call , times 15 players, well done you've just spent nearly 7k of your 15k income (if you fully sell the whole run out!).
In my opinion 90% of the problem is a) groups don't charge enough b) people don't value the time effort and skills enough to want to pay £20+ for an amateur show. And I get it, because taking your family to an amateur show costing you best part of £100 for a night after you add a program and some drinks? Not particularly great.
I suspect the average theater goer cannot hear the difference between 14 and 24 musicians. But they can see the difference in full out scenery and costuming.
Also the costuming and scenery costs are generally a one time cost ( with a little maintenance costs here and there). Musicians get paid per performance the theater companies get a good value longer the performance runs.
It's supply and demand just like any commodity. The average theater goer does not care and are not orchestra purists. Change will only come when the noticeable enough where the majority the audience can notice.
I noticed cost savings as a kid when I watched musical theater. For example, you notice a main role also doubling in the ensemble. This kind of stuff does not make sense to you as a kid and you ask why is the wicked witch of the west singing in the Merry Ole Land of Oz.
I've worked at a theater company as a trumpet for 20 years. They've always covered each book. Until now.. we are about to start a production of Merrily We Roll Along and will only have one trumpet (out of 3) and one reed player (out of 4). Luckily they still hired the one trombone player required! Opens in two weeks. Sitzprobe this week. It's a bummer. Hopefully this isn't the new trend everywhere. :(
OK You have your opinion and I have mine!
I disagree with you totally.!!
I've played percussion in the pit on and off for 25 years.
When the bean counters take over and cost dictates staging and orchestrating a production becomes more important than the aesthetics of a live performance, we're all in trouble. I've played 42nd Street, South Pacific , and My Fair Lady just to name a few. I've also played Hairspray and Phantom many times too.
So, I'm not just a clueless someone who speaks from ignorance..
My question to you is this. Why would I take the time and trouble to go to the theater to listen to a Pre-recorded lifeless, lackluster performance when I can watch it on my 70 inch Tv and play it thru my 500 watt stereo system?
You know where this is going mister MD? A.I. will be replacing you soon too. We won't need a music director if they're no musicians to direct. You are "Respectfully totally wrong on this. If this trend keeps up no one will go to see pre-recorded lifeless crap! Maybe the people up on stage can lipsync too? Poppycock!!!
Unfortunately, to most layman audiences, a halving of musicians budget will have a far lesser impact on the impression of the show than the halving of the set or lighting budgets.
Pains me to say this as a musician, but the average audience member won’t pick out synth strings with one live violin on top as particularly different than a full string section. It’s the easy place to cut budgets. Sets a dangerous precedent for the future, however music genres in theatre are shifting towards more technologically focused and smaller ensembled music anyway, which could mean that musical quality isn’t being lost by enlisting more technology and smaller bands.
As a music director, you're in a position of power to advocate for the use of live musicians in your shows. Why are you using your platform to say "get with the times, screw live musicians" and go along with the use of backing tracks that steal jobs from working musicians?
Problem: You’re doing 42nd Street, but the company tells you “We only have the money for 6 musicians”
Solution 1: You say “screw that, we’re hiring the full band or I walk” The likely outcome here is that you’re fired and get to hire no band, but if they did listen to you repeatedly, then another aspect of the production suffers, and we definitely don’t want that.
Solution 2: You say “Whatever, just do tracks” and we all know what’s wrong with that.
Solution 3: You work on it and think about how you can still be creative and incorporate technology creatively into your decision. Maybe you can add some backing tracks in a way that feels organic to the musicians you have live. Maybe you get a session together and record your own tracks, but in a way that is unique to your own show. Maybe you’re able to get in touch with the licensers and you’re able to re orchestrate.
I would argue that this video is not saying, as you put it, “Get with the times” but rather suggesting that we all go to solution 3 instead of the other 2.
@@mrmakaitv in that case how about looking for a show that only calls for 6 musicians? There's plenty of those out there.
You never answered the principle issue: how are music directors advocating in their positions for less use of backing tracks and more live musicians. Backing tracks should never be the default. Fight for pit musicians.
You’re very, very much mistaken if you think the MD is in charge of finance. When presented with a budget you’re forced into such decisions. I’m not advocating anything, I’m being a realist and will use live musicians when it’s viable. At the same time I’m doing what all MDs should be doing and keeping up with such technology, those that don’t are getting left behind.
@@MusicDirectorOnline I never said that MDs are in charge of the budget. MDs are, however, the person on the production team who has the most power to advocate for using live musicians. If you don’t fight for us, we don’t work. How would you like it if someone told you that a computer could replace the MD? Fight for us, don’t sit by and allow the industry to erase us from the theatrical experience.
@@tannerharrodguitar EXACTLY.
That’s why I hate capitalism so much…
It’s not capitalism because much of the proceeds go to the arts. It become partly unaffordable here in NYC for many. We go and support as much as possible as that was my background in the past. Operation costs are just to heavy to fill a theater with enough patrons to sustain an ROI or even a break even.😅