Lessons learned from my first pit band experience

[bornagainbass65]

I just had my first theatre pit band experience playing bass for a very good amateur production of A Christmas Carol at Cheltenham Playhouse.  The score is by Alan Menken (Disney composer).  As I am an amateur player of modest ability I found some parts of it pretty demanding. Luckily the other musicians were fantastic. I had a great time and learned a lot.

Here are some lesson that might be useful for other pit band novices:

1) Practice, practice, practice

2) Copy your score and put it together in such a way that page turns are minimised.  (I bought an A3 ringbound drawing pad which enabled me to have up to four A4 pages in view at once, which meant I could do the page turns when I had rests.)  I then attached a bit of hardboard to my music stand to support it.

3) If you are using a bass score that doesn’t include any words/lyrics then write some of them in.  This will help keep track of where you are, and make life easier if you have 20 bar rests to count through, or tricky entries.

4) Make sure you have a decent music stand light.  (I found that a cheap clip on lamp from B&Q did the trick, and meant I didn’t have to worry about flat batteries.)

5) If there is a professional sound system/foldback then consider going headphones into a DI, and do away with the amp.  Controversial, I know, but in the confines of a tiny theatre pit you may not want an amp, unless you are prepared to sit on it.  Wearing headphones should mean you can get your own mix, and protects you if your head is only 10 inches away from the crash cymbal (as mine was).

6) Make sure you can hear the cast, and ideally see them to.  Singers will sometimes miss intros or come in at a random place in the bar, and it’s your job to support them.

7) But don’t start watching the show – you’ll get distracted.

8) Make friends with the sound guy, particularly if you aren’t using your own amp.

9) Make sure you can see the MD or conductor (if you are lucky enough to have one).  (If you wear glasses then varifocals might be useful.)

10)  Consider bringing a cushion to sit on and a water bottle to drink from. Don't have a curry before the show! In a confined space, comfort is everything.

11) Don’t worry about the mistakes you will inevitably make, just concentrate on playing the next three bars correctly, then the next three...

12) If you are playing every evening for four or five days, and twice on Saturday, then try and time off from your day job.  You’ll be knackered.

13) Make friends with the cast.  With the right people involved putting on a show can be a great, team-building experience.

Hope this list helps someone, somewhere…  Feel free to add more/better advice.

Dave.

[discreet]

Thanks very much for this, very useful. In my limited experience of such gigs I would heartily agree with 9) Varifocals! Absolutely essential!

 

[FinnDave]

Completely thrown by the title of the thread, I was expecting to read about a colliery band! Can't remember seeing any coal mines in Cheltenham, though!

[lowdown]

I would also recommend using a volume pedaL. Even if you don't use it for dynamics, it's a god send for on/off between cues.

You don't want to be clanging your strings during quite passages.

 

[bassace]

Although I’ve been playing for more than fifty years I’ve never played in a pit. But I greatly admire those who do. So well done bab65 for some well thought advice. You’re obviously well organised - as most pit musicians have been in my experience.

[Blink]

Great advice, particularly 2) where I get busy with the photocopier or Sibelius.

Always make friends with as many people as you can and you will be asked back.

If you plan to DI into the desk make sure that everyone else in the pit is using monitors as the bass and drums are what carries the whole show. If not, I find that a small rig (in my case TC BH250 and Oneten on a tilt back stand are perfect) set to a balanced volume levels with everyone else in the pit gives the best results.

I'm doing Cats in February. Looking forward to it.

 

N

 

[BigRedX]

Quote

11) Don’t worry about the mistakes you will inevitably make, just concentrate on playing the next three bars correctly, then the next three...

Good advice for any gig.

Unless your error brings the whole song crashing to a premature end mid-line, no-one in the audience will even notice.

[gapiro]

On 04/12/2017 at 13:36, bornagainbass65 said:

2) Copy your score and put it together in such a way that page turns are minimised.  (I bought an A3 ringbound drawing pad which enabled me to have up to four A4 pages in view at once, which meant I could do the page turns when I had rests.)  I then attached a bit of hardboard to my music stand to support it.

Of course, you "shouldn't" do this - but most musical theatre score providers have now digitized the scores and send you the PDF - you must not share them online though 

Of course, people have, and you can access a shedload of them on reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/MusicalTheatreScores/

On 04/12/2017 at 13:36, bornagainbass65 said:

10)  Consider bringing a cushion to sit on and a water bottle to drink from. Don't have a curry before the show! In a confined space, comfort is everything.

For popularity points, bring sweets or cakes too

On 04/12/2017 at 13:36, bornagainbass65 said:

12) If you are playing every evening for four or five days, and twice on Saturday, then try and time off from your day job.  You’ll be knackered.

+ this - I usually take a friday off if its weds to sunday - just breaks it up a bit.

I do a lot of theatre musicals nowadays and do love it. Its a completely different discipline and good to learn.

 

Other tips I would add.

•  Make sure you have Pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners and, if you can find it, score tape http://www.overscoretape.com/
• Write notes as you need them on the score - esp if you have a dep for any night
• Try and avoid tech night if you can legitimately (very rare the band does anything and usually just sit around for 4 hours)
• chat, socialise, spread the word on social media about shows- will be appreciated by the theatre co group

I'll try and think of some more tonight!

 

[ambient]

I've done a few at Birmingham Rep. I agree, it is brilliant.

 

A friend of mine did Blood brothers for quite a while, I'd sat in with him a few times, that's what got me wanting to do it. That experience served me well when I finally got asked.

 

I agree with the poster about a volume pedal, it's incredibly useful. Stands and lights were supplied, as were headphones. There were TV monitors scattered around the pit area, so that we could see what was going on.

[gapiro]

A volume pedal is something I need to sort out - I have a mute button on my multi fx 

You probably dont need effects except for specific songs in specific shows - for example I did Sister act last year and you need a lot of autowah in that.

Another tip - most pits dont fit a double bass when you're meant to be doubling

 

[lowdown]

35 minutes ago, gapiro said:

 

Another tip - most pits dont fit a double bass when you're meant to be doubling

 

So what’s the tip then? 

[Blink]

fretless with flat wounds 

[lowdown]

4 minutes ago, Blink said:

fretless with flat wounds 

Have you tried legato bowing with a Bass Guitar? 

[gapiro]

23 minutes ago, lowdown said:

So what’s the tip then? 

Ha, it was more an "information" i guess!

There's one group I play in that does shows with Double Bass every year. The orchestra is in front of the stage on floor height. I'm generally forced to play electric DB for that because otherwise I block out a large chunk of the stage with the DB body ....

Mind you, they are probably hte best cast and production I play in every year- consistently great.

 

[ambient]

48 minutes ago, lowdown said:

Have you tried legato bowing with a Bass Guitar? 

Like this

[lowdown]

 

Try convincing a fixer, musical director/conductor or musical supervisor when they specified Upright though (P45).

 

I presume that is you, Ambient ? Are the middle strings raised high enough to accommodate the radius required for bowing, or do you just use the B & F strings? Curious really.

[ambient]

28 minutes ago, lowdown said:

 

Try convincing a fixer, musical director/conductor or musical supervisor when they specified Upright though (P45).

 

I presume that is you, Ambient ? Are the middle strings raised high enough to accommodate the radius required for bowing, or do you just use the B & F strings? Curious really.

Yeah, yeah that’s me. The fretboard is pretty much flat and the strings follow that. So yes, I can only really play the low B and the F strings. It took ages to a) get my bowing technique right, bearing in mind that I’m bowing at such a strange angle, and b) to find just the right areas on the string for the bow to work in a nice way.

I’ve got some custom flat wound strings arriving from America one day this week, they’re currently being held up in customs. When they come it should hopefully make bowing like this easier, I’ll be able to slide along the string.

 

 

[ambient]

9 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

As mentioned above, use a digitised version of your score on a tablet with a page turner foot pedal. Also negates the requirement for point #4.

Does this allow you to make notes and changes?

[lowdown]

Pencil Changes can sometimes be made for a performance, or during a performance even (Illness, understudies, tech problems etc), then reverting back for the next performance or so.

Not a regular happening, granted, but it does happen. But there are PDF apps that you can amend and add markings etc.

Changes/cuts mainly happen at the rehearsal stage, so that's when they usually need to be changed. Or if on a pro show, the arranging/scoring company will amend and print a new chart during the rehearsal.

But of course, if that's the case, you are using their charts anyway, not something you would have converted to a PDF yourself.

Edited December 6, 2017 by lowdown

[ambient]

I think I’d prefer a paper version to be honest. It’s battery won’t run down, and the worst that can happen if it falls of it's stand is losing the page.

[lowdown]

50 minutes ago, ambient said:

I think I’d prefer a paper version to be honest. It’s battery won’t run down, and the worst that can happen if it falls of it's stand is losing the page.

I did a Rhythm section workshop for a show earlier in the year, for a couple of weeks (just a five piece).

The production company wanted to experiment with iPad Air, so hired them in with foot switch page turning.

Problems we had were with things like DS al Coda and repeats etc (when there were 5/6 pages),  going back and forth, you couldn’t see the DS and Coda’s. Of course doing it a few times you knew how far back and forward to go. Not good for deps though in the panic of battle. One iPad also died, just shut down.  Also the Keyboard players didn’t know if they were coming or going - Volume pedals, sustain pedals, page turn pedals, patch change pedals. 

 

I do know shows that have used iPads/tablets, so I suppose they might become the norm in the future. Intial set up and supply for an Orchestra or large band would be expensive though.

I definitely prefer analogue paper charts myself.

 

 

Edited December 6, 2017 by lowdown

[gapiro]

22 hours ago, ambient said:

Does this allow you to make notes and changes?

I usually put the PDF into something like forscore/onenote etc that does allow annotations and thus have got them.

I did rock of ages earlier this year and could not do that without the pdf, or without spending a lot of time memorising the whole score

I also appreciate I duplicate work by keeping the pad within arms reach usually (if not on the stand in the case of a hidden pit).