recorded or live music for musicals
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Printed Date: 11/21/24 at 4:38pm
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Topic: recorded or live music for musicals
Posted By: magicguy
Subject: recorded or live music for musicals
Date Posted: 12/30/07 at 9:49am
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We have one member that feels using recorded music is like performing Karoke. The feel of live music gives a higher quality to a performance. The feel of live music at a musical is an awesome experience.
However, I've been to many theatre groups that do an outstanding performance with a musical using recorded music. There are some performers that like the consistency of the recorded music.
There are many more pros and cons. I would love to hear from everyone about this.
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Replies:
Posted By: MartyW
Date Posted: 1/01/08 at 4:39pm
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Live is always best.... but unfortunatly, not always available... ------------- Marty W "Till next we trod the boards.." |
Posted By: closetdiva
Date Posted: 1/02/08 at 11:38am
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Live is best - especially if they can vamp on the fly. (Never have a quick costume change right before your solo!) ------------- Duct tape can fix anything - except a dropped line! ;-) |
Posted By: whitebat
Date Posted: 1/09/08 at 9:11pm
| Live is best... if you can get it, and get it early enough. In HS, I was in a musical with canned music. That was what we had for all the rehearsals, so that was what we had for performances. Otherwise, I think we have used canned music for rehearsals, but got live music in for later rehearsals. Our last musical we had live music, but we did a (non-musical) version of "A Christmas Carol" with live instrumental music, live a capella, and live mixed vocal and instrumental, with a canned entre act. I do remember being in a musical with only piano (live), which was played very slowly. I think we might've been better off with canned in that one, as we could've gotten a faster tempo, and maybe more instruments. I guess an advantage of live would be transposing or adjusting the tempo, although maybe you need permission to do so on a non-emergency basis. |
Posted By: JohnnyOneNote
Date Posted: 2/08/08 at 11:35pm
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I have done two shows with recorded music and 20 some with live..(directing) I had more problems with live than I did with recorded. People always bring up the vamping.... well.. if you mess up the orchestra just keeps right on going just like a recording will.
I guess I am bias on this, but having to deal with all those musicians can get a little annoying. Around here they always want to be paid. NO ONE is paid at our theater.. actors, directors... why musicians? One said to me... "Because I have spent a lot of money on my craft" the next day I brought in my student loan balance for my masters..... he shut up.
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Posted By: magicguy
Date Posted: 2/09/08 at 7:07am
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I appreciate all of your responses. My main reason for originally posting this was to find out if it's proper to use recorded music. I've heard some say that using recorded music lowers the standard of the production. Sure, using live musicians can be a bonus. But if that is not an option, can't a theatre group use recorded music and still have the audience walk away feeling they have experienced a top-notch show? ------------- An actor is a sculptor who carves in snow. - Lawrence Barrett |
Posted By: landon2006
Date Posted: 3/10/08 at 3:54pm
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Depends... If you use something like Orchextra from MTI or Instrumentalease from R&H, you're going to be pretty good. If your playing the music from a CD, you not only might have some issues but unless you have proper clearance to play the music (not just a license to play the Musical, but a license to play the music from the musical too), your violating copyright laws. Live is always best. Whats even better is if you can use a live orchestra and one of the above mentioned systems... It makes your 15 piece orchestra sound like a symphony. ------------- |
Posted By: Ken W
Date Posted: 4/18/08 at 11:10pm
| Most of our musicals have a live orchestra, but a few are recorded. |
Posted By: stagechild
Date Posted: 5/16/08 at 2:25pm
| We will have a live orchestra all the time in the show but we use some recorded music prior, at intermisson and after the show. Also the sound effects are recorded other then a few (such as the occaisonal gunshot). |
Posted By: smileon3
Date Posted: 1/19/09 at 5:38pm
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The CT I've been involved with since 1994 was built in a former grocery store building. The stage is cement. There is no where to put a live orchestra, so we've always used canned music, with the exception of "Forever Plaid," which had a piano on stage. The other theater group I work with (and will be directing for this summer) uses a stage that was built by people that had never been involved in theater. Among other problems... there is no place for an orchestra. So we have no choice but to use canned music there as well. I played in a pit orchestra for Fiddler on the Roof in high school, and had a great time. However, when I go see shows, I prefer canned music to live - it's in tune a lot more frequently.  |
Posted By: imamember
Date Posted: 1/19/09 at 7:43pm
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I think live is a lot more entertaining for the audience but I guess personally I wouldn't care. I know for Fame I would have enjoyed recorded since the musicians came on really late in the game and didn't quite learn everything so cues were missed and such |
Posted By: VPA1
Date Posted: 1/28/09 at 10:58pm
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Easy answer: live music is better... more folks involved in your show, bigger tix sales, more sparkle, more professionalism, better, just plain better. ON THE OTHER HAND, it is always HARDER and more FRUSTRATING as well for everyone.. the cast and crew... and vamping is no real argument either way.
Final analysis, if you are an experienced director, go with live music. If you are a newbie to musicals, go with recorded. If you are short on hair, go with recorded music, if you have plenty to lose, go with live. |
Posted By: David McCall
Date Posted: 1/29/09 at 12:28am
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I used to think live was clearly better until I saw Cabaret at Trump Plaza in Atlantic City. When the show started off I thought the club band was the orchestra, but then it started getting too fancy for it to be 5-6 pieces. All in all it sounded very good. I wasn't dead sure that they didn't have an orchestra tucked away until I asked after the show. You do need a high quality system to pull it off.
It has become very popular to hide the orchestra backstage or tucked away somewhere. The audience often doesn't see the orchestra or even hear the direct sound from the orchestra. Once you do that, I'm not sure it's such a big deal if you go to a prerecorded score. The group I work with puts a 12 piece orchestra Backstage. At least you get a volume control that way.
David
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Posted By: tristanrobin
Date Posted: 1/31/09 at 7:13pm
True. There are several Broadway theatres in which the orchestra is in another BUILDING - and the whole thing is cued by television screens and ear piece prompts. I prefer live music by far, but in those instances, I would just as soon the music be canned - and let me pay $75 for a ticket instead of $130! |
Posted By: Helena
Date Posted: 7/20/10 at 11:16am
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We always have LIVE music for the performances.
This year we did use recorded music for rehearsals (up to a certain point). This was a RehearalScore from MTI.... very useful in that the cast could load the program on their computers and have the score at home to practice with. I could also slow the tempos and review certain parts easily while the actors were still learning.
But for performances - live music is best. ------------- "..that's farce, that's theater, that's life" |