Pit Playing

Becoming a Member of the Musical’s Accompanist Team

Many of our students participate in theater as one of their year-round activities, just as we did when we were kids. Back in the day, I was involved in theater both on and off stage, working with both cast and crew. I ran sound and lights on various productions and was the student director of the musical my senior year. Andy was only involved in one theater production each year — the winter musical — where he played in the pit orchestra. He quickly discovered that it was far more interesting than most people ever realized.

Since those days, we’ve both continued performing as woodwind doublers in pit orchestras for a handful of theater productions. It’s both challenging and rewarding as wind players, keeping us on our toes from curtain up to curtain call.

There’s No Business Like Show Business

When musicals are composed, the pit orchestra is customized for each show. That can often vary depending upon when the musical was created. That’s because musicals reflect pop culture and musical styles of their times. For example, a musical from The Jazz Age is likely going to have a Big Band ensemble, while something from The Golden Age may feature a full symphony orchestra. Pre-contemporary musicals can vary, incorporating just about anything from a rock band setup to just a handful of instruments carefully selected for the flavors they add.

Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered

Unlike parts written specifically for violin or trumpet, woodwind parts in musicals are often grouped under titles such as Winds 1, Winds 2, or Winds 3. These woodwind parts are rarely dedicated to just one instrument but instead are meant for woodwind doublers who can switch between two or more instruments in the woodwind family, including flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, and bassoon.

A great example of this was Seussical the Musical in which we played the Winds 1 and Winds 2 parts. The parts called for flutes, clarinets, oboe, alto saxophones, piccolos, soprano saxophone, and tenor saxophone. The Winds 3 & Winds 4 books covered the lower woodwinds like baritone saxophone, clarinet, bass clarinet, and bassoon. It was a blast! Each night we set up our rigs to hold 11 instruments. It was completely wild in the woodwind section and we were picking up and quickly dropping one instrument to the next for two full hours.

The Impossible Dream

Although pit orchestra music is scored for professional woodwind doublers, students in pit orchestras are not expected to perform as doublers. Schools typically cast enough musicians to cover all parts without anyone needing to double. That means that if you play in your school’s pit orchestra, you will likely be sharing a book and doing a lot of waiting for your turn to play your instrument.

Usually our wind doubler students will be the flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, or saxophone (alto/soprano/tenor/bari) doublers which are relatively easy since the instruments are all related to one another. We have had the rare doubling student on saxophone/clarinet or flute/saxophone, or oboe/saxophone here and there, but it is not expected at the high school level.

Anything Goes

Pit orchestra music can be quite impressive to look at because the key signatures and numbers of sharps and flats are typically very unusual compared with concert band or orchestra music. That’s because pit music is written for vocalists, not specifically for wind and string musicians. Vocal music is written in keys that match a singer’s range, just as orchestra music leans toward sharp keys that favor string players and concert band music is oftentimes in flat concert keys that favor wind instruments. As a pit musician, your role is to accompany the singers, so you can expect to see every key signature and every time signature imaginable (sometimes within the same song) along with twists and turns expressing the story and emotion of the characters onstage. Although it can be challenging for musicians, we ask that you don’t let that discourage you!

You’re The Top

Many high school wind students don’t realize that the woodwind books they are playing in a pit orchestra are not just multi-instrumental, but the actual scores that were written for the professionals. That’s right! You’re playing the stuff written for the very best on (or off) Broadway! It has not been simplified for high school students, which means you’ll be playing some of the most demanding music you’ve ever performed.

When we have students that take on pit orchestra for their high school musical, we happily allocate lesson time to work on their parts. We can help break down tricky parts, find helpful warm-ups to deal with complex key signatures, address notations that are unique to pit playing, and help interpret music that is in a “hand written” font that might be difficult to interpret.

Pit orchestra playing can be challenging, but nothing is more rewarding!

Are you interested in joining the pit orchestra at your high school or community theater? Reach out to us with questions or help working on your part!