If there were a basic training manual for orchestra players, it might include ways to practice not only music, but one-upmanship. It seems as if many young players take pride in getting the conductor’s goat. The following rules are intended as a guide to the development of habits that will irritate the conductor. (Variations and additional methods depend upon the imagination and skill of the player.)
Never be satisfied with the tuning note. Fussing about the pitch takes attention away from the podium and puts it on you, where it belongs.
When raising the music stand, be sure the top comes off and spills the music on the floor.
Complain about the temperature of the rehearsal room, the lighting, crowded space, or a draft. It’s best to do this when the conductor is under pressure.
Look the other way just before cues.
Never have the proper mute, a spare set of strings, or extra reeds. Percussion players must never have all their equipment.
Ask for a re-audition or seating change. Ask often. Give the impression you’re about to quit. Let the conductor know you’re there as a personal favor.
Pluck the strings as if you are checking tuning at every opportunity, especially when the conductor is giving instructions. Brass players: drop mutes. Percussionists have a wide variety of dropable items, but cymbals are unquestionably the best because they roll around for several seconds.
Loudly blow water from the keys during pauses (Horn, oboe and clarinet players are trained to do this from birth).
Long after a passage has gone by, ask the conductor if your C# was in tune. This is especially effective if you had no C# or were not playing at the time. (If he catches you, pretend to be correcting a note in your part.)
At dramatic moments in the music (while the conductor is emoting) be busy marking your music so that the climaxes will sound empty and disappointing.
Wait until well into a rehearsal before letting the conductor know you don’t have the music.
Look at your watch frequently. Shake it in disbelief occasionally.
Tell the conductor, “I can’t find the beat.” Conductors are always sensitive about their “stick technique”, so challenge it frequently.
As the conductor if he has listened to the Bernstein recording of the piece. Imply that he could learn a thing or two from it. Also good: ask “Is this the first time you’ve conducted this piece?”
When rehearsing a difficult passage, screw up your face and shake your head indicating that you’ll never be able to play it. Don’t say anything: make him wonder.
If your articulation differs from that of others playing the same phrase, stick to your guns. Do not ask the conductor which is correct until backstage just before the concert.
Find an excuse to leave rehearsal about 15 minutes early so that others will become restless and start to pack up and fidget.
During applause, smile weakly or show no expression at all. Better yet, nonchalantly put away your instrument. Make the conductor feel he is keeping you from doing something really important.
It is time that players reminded their conductors of the facts of life: just who do conductors think they are, anyway?
Donn Laurence Mills is the NSOA contributing editor. He holds music degrees from Northwestern University and Eastman School of Music. A conductor and music educator, he is also the American educational director for the Yamaha Foundation of Tokyo.
Your teacher gives you the assignment to write a report on someone who does a profession you’re interested in. I receive many emails from people doing reports that need info and try to reply when I can.
This was just forwarded to me – a local child did this school report on me. Not all the info is accurate, but the flavor is all there. For the record, I’ve yet to see myself mentioned in any article where all the info was correct – but that’s the nature of the biz.
Thank you to the person that wrote this. I’m very honored.
REPORT ON A MUSIC PRODUCER
My report on a musical composer is on a man named Conrad Askland. He is from Bellevue, WA He now lives in the desert of Southern California.
He is a composer and arranger he also has his own recording studio and he also has a company he started it is called Road Records. He started his studio in 1989 and he has produced many albums for artist in his studio. And then they are sold out of his company Askland Technologies.
If you have ever called GTE and been put on hold you are listening to Mr. Asklands music. He composed classical orchestral music that is used by GTE for their hold music when customers call them. He also composes music for radio and television through a company called jinglemonkey.com
When Conrad was little his grandmother was a jazz pianist and his grandpa was a sax player and his father was an amateur opera singer. When he was in school he didn’t get along well with his peers and he found out that he loved music and that love would help him through school. When he was 8 he was in the Northwest boys Choir and he got to travel to Europe and sing in many cathedrals. He also sang with the Seattle Opera.
When he was 9 he started to play the piano. At the age of 10 he started the French horn he was enrolled in Honors Youth Orchestra. He took his French horn lessons from the 1st chair of the Seattle Symphony. At 12 he started playing the Bass Guitar. Conrad didn’t like being in High School and he graduated two years early with 4 honors including an academic scholarship. At 18 he played the piano for Nordstrom in BellevueWA. When he was 21 he went to the Miami Univeretsity to study copyright law and international finance when he was done he moved to Victorville Ca where is lives today.
Mr. Askland still comes to Washington to perform and also work he plays the music for many theater productions. He has played the music for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as well as Suessical the musical.
June 10 – Final Choir Sunday – Summer Break
Ave Verum Corpus
Vivaldi Mass in C Major – Gloria and Close
Hymn Medley
June 3
Hymn Medley
May 27 – Pentecost Sunday
How My Soul Doth Savor – Handel
Every Time I Feel the Spirit
May 20
Children’s Service – Led by Youth
Children Sing Hosanna – Children/Glorify/Choir
May 13
Mother’s Day
Panis Angelicus
May 6
Guest Artist Stephanie Bethea
Bolling Suite for Jazz Piano and Flute
April 29
Youth Sunday
No Choir or Glorify today
April 22
There’s Room at the Cross for You – Chancel
Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus – Chancel
Amazing Grace, Jesus Lover of My Soul – Glorify
Prelude – Organ Fugue in G minor – JS Bach
April 15
Guest Artist – Kathy Kahn
April 8
Crown Him With Many Crowns – Mass Choir
Holy, Holy, Holy
April 1
Untitled Hymn – Ferdinand Ortega
February 25
Now Is The Time To Worship
Better Is One Day
Come Be Here With Me
February 18
Guest Artist: Pachelbel Trio Sonata
Choir: Gloria from Vivaldi Mass
February 11
Guest Artist: Kalli Richards
Choir: Sons and Daughters of the King
Here I Am To Worship
Morning Has Broken
February 4
January 28
Lord, Guide My Feet – Chancel Choir
I Release and I Let Go – Chancel Choir with Ria Peth
Doxojazzology – Ria Peth
Come Thou Font of Every Blessing
Be Unto Your Name
In Christ Alone
January 21
Fugue in G Minor – JS Bach
Blest Are They – Chancel Choir
What a Friend We Have in Jesus – Choir SATB
Guests – Lyric Light Opera of the Northwest
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
January 14
Lift Every Voice and Sing
We Shall Overcome
Hear Your Praises
January 7
Pie Jesu – Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lord I Want to Be a Christian – Choir
Holy Holy Holy, Lord God Almighty
Thank You For This Day
Blessed Be Your Name
Thou Font of Every Blessing
Bach Organ Prelude and Fugue in Bb Major
Sunday Services 2006
December 31
Guest minister – Gretchen Cohan
PH28, PH59
Choir/Glorify: Lord Most High, Shout to the Lord
Hymn: PH357
December 24 – Evening Christmas Eve Service
Bach Organ Preludes and Fugues in C Major and F Major
The Birthday of a King
Gesu Bambino
December 24 – Morning Service
Where Shepherds Knelt Gently
December 17
The Jesus Gift
Children’s Service with Brass Quintet
December 10
Introit – Prepare Ye The Way of the Lord
Choir Anthem – Gesu Bambino
Come Emmanuel – PH9
Come, Now Is The Time To Worship
Better Is One Day
Shine On Us
Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus – PH2
December 3
Anthem – Come Emmanuel
Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates – PH 8
We Bring the Sacrifice of Praise – LH 59
God of Wonders
Emmanuel – LH 143
The Lord’s Prayer – sung after communion
Rejoice, Rejoice Believers – PH 15
November 26
Offertory – Sonata in C – WA Mozart
Chancel Choir: Simple Gifts
PH 151
Thank You For This Day
You Are My King
More Precious Than Silver
November 22 – Thanksgiving Eve Service
November 19
Prelude – El Shaddai – Amy Grant
Introit – Thank You For This Day
Anthem – Ave Verum Corpus – WA Mozart
Offertory – Be Thou My Vision – Louise Cheney – Violin
Postlude – Be Thou My Vision – Louise Cheney – Violin
Be Unto Your Name
We Gather Together
Come and Meet With Me
November 12
Anthem – Panis Angelicus – Cesar Franck
Organ Prelude and Fugue in G Major – JS Bach
May the Words of My Mouth
PH 485
Come and Fill Me Up
Blessed Be Your Name
November 5
Prelude – We Bow Down
Postlude – Eine Kleine Nachtmusik – WA Mozart
The Promise – Chancel Choir
The Old Rugged Cross
The River Is Here
Lord Most High
May The Words of My Mouth
October 29
Organ Postlude – Toccata and Fugue in D minor – JS Bach
What a Friend We Have In Jesus
Lord Reign In Me
We Want To See Jesus Lifted High
How Great Is Our God
October 22
The Holy City – Solo Iva Rauch
Prelude – The Old Hundredth
PH464 – Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee
How Great Is Our God
Above All
Anthem – O Lord Hear My Prayer
Amazing Grace
.
October 15
Robes – Yes
Prelude – Nobilis Humilis – Christy Swartz – Harp
Offering – Con Te Partirò – Christy Swartz Harp
Choir Anthem – Sing a New Song – Michael Haydn (1737-1806)
All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name (Glorify)
Come Thou Font of Every Blessing (Glorify)
We Want to See Jesus Lifted High (Glorify)
Here Our Praises (Glorify)
.
October 8
Robes – Yes
Choir Anthem – Leaning On the Everlasting Arms
Great is Thy Faithfulness
God of Wonders
Blessed Be Your Name
Prelude – Call to Worship (Organ)
Postlude – Improvisation on Great Is Thy Faithfulness (Organ)
.
October 1
Robes – No
Preludes – I’ll Walk With God, Prelude in G Major (JS Bach)
Postlude – Praise to the Lord, the Almighty If I Could Go Anywhere – Choirs and Ria Peth
Glorify Songs:
Praise to the Lord Almighty
Better Is One Day
Come, Now Is The Time to Worship
.
September 24
Robes – No
Prelude – I Allegro – Concerto In E Flat Major, K 447 – WA Mozart (Jim Gaudette – French Horn)
Hymns of Praise:
PH 151 – Crown Him With Many Crowns v 1, 2, 4
My Redeemer Lives
Songs of Adoration:
You Are My All In All
PH 306 – Fairest Lord Jesus – v1, 2
Preparation for Prayer – II Romance: Larghetto – Concerto In E Flat Major, K 447 WA Mozart (Jim Gaudette – French Horn)
Anthem – Spirit Most Holy – Chancel Choir
Offertory – God of Wonders (Glorify)
Postlude – III Allegro – Concerto In E Flat Major, K 447 – WA Mozart (Jim Gaudette – French Horn)
.
September 17
Prelude, Preparation for Prayer and Postlude:
Poulence Suite (Organ)
GLORIFY SONGS
PH467 – How Great Thou Art
LH 120 – Lamb of God – V1 and 3
Open the Eyes of My Heart – Paul Baloche
PH 391 – Take My Life – V1, 3, 5
Offertory – Choir – Praise the King
Ending Song: No Other Gods – Brian Doerksen
.
September 10
Preludes
I’m So Lonely I Could Cry – Hank Williams
Somebody Bigger Than You and I – Johnny Lange
Opening worship songs – Glorify:
Refiner’s Fire – Brian Doerksen
Meet With Me – Lamont Hiebert
Choir
Ray Wright taught arrangers of all levels who attended the Arrangers’ Workshop started by him in the summer of 1959 at the Eastman School of Music. Head of Eastman’s Jazz Studies and Contemporary Media Program for many years, he also served as chief arranger and co-director of music at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Ray also composed film scores for the prize-winning television documentary series “Saga of Western Man.”
His student writers at Eastman were frequent winners of arranging contests held by Down Beat magazine and the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE). Their writing has often been singled out as a leading factor in creating the distinctive quality for which Wright’s prize-winning Eastman Jazz Ensemble was known.
Tony Award winning orchestrator Douglas Besterman credits Rayburn Wright’s teaching for shaving ten years off his orchestration learning curve.
PUBLICATIONS BY RAYBURN WRIGHT
Inside The Score / Book & Cd – Wright
Series Composing/Arranging Book
Inside The Score/Cd*** – Wright
Series Compact Disc
I do. And I’ll tell you why. I will force you to care about this man and why he is so important. Well, no, not “important” – he is a magician of music.
My fascination with Doug Besterman started a couple weeks ago. I am working on a new musical. That may sound grand (and indeed it IS!), but there’s a whole hairy backend to doing this that requires a technical setup and workflow that’s efficient and doesn’t get in the way of the creative process.
Conductors get a lot of kudos and attention at showtime just because they are steering the ship during a show. But the REAL brains behind that is the orchestrator and arranger. You barely ever hear about them. Who orchestrates Andrew Lloyd Weber’s music? Yeah, see. Who cares? Well, the orchestrator is the one that brings the chicken scratches to life.
Orchestrations in the old classical composer days was more of a feat of skill, a time to showoff or improve on a great master. One composer would orchestrate a previous composers work for new instruments. But they would never have someone else orchestrate their OWN material. Who’s every heard of “Mozart Piano Concerto #1” , orchestrated by Beethoven. The first releases anyway, the composers did themselves.
Especially in musical theater it’s common for the “composer” (sometimes really just a songwriter) to pen out the melody and basic chords. The orchestrator can take this and turn it into a symphony. It’s a thankless job.
(Besterman working in his studio)
So for my musical – the end product I need to have created is finished scores for the musicians that coincides with the script. That’s obvious. But EEGADS that got complicated real quick when I started rearranging my studio specifically for this task.
As I’m searching online I come across references to the orchestrations of Besterman. One of the projects he orchestrated was Seussical the Musical. I conducted that show last year and a little light went off “Why yes, those orchestrations WERE FANTASTIC!” (The production of Seussical I conducted was with a full 20+ orchestra. It is VERY fun with a full ensemble – if you’re doing a production of Seussical please consider NOT pairing the orchestra down) I have a pretty good memory for music parts so I’ve been going over the orchestration in my head, recalling the parts that were particularly effective.
As I search on and on I have found many interviews with Douglas Besterman online that give a little insight to his training and where his influences come from. Of course nothing beats hearing it for yourself, so I’ve ordered several of his soundtracks to listen to.
Here’s more info on Besterman. At the end of this article is a link to his website. I’m glad you know who he is now – you’ll have to listen to his orchestrations for yourself to hear why he is a “magician of music”. He breathes life into new music, instead of that oldy moldy Broadway sound.
To my orchestration buddies (yes, I know you’re at there, all five of us) – check out a search of Besterman and orchestration terms online for interviews. There are many nuggets of wisdom and insight to be found.
BESTERMAN – On Orchestrating THE PRODUCERS
While the stars get encores and accolades-“Nathan Lane gives the performance of his career!” says WCBS-TV-and even the director gets notices- “Susan Stroman’s brilliant staging doesn’t miss a sight gag or a comic inflection!” says The Star-Ledger-most theater-goers might overlook the orchestrator’s credits.
We’re the designers of the sound of a piece,” Besterman says. “Outside of the theater world, a lot of people don’t really know about the job of an orchestrator. That’s partly because the kudos go to the composer when a score works, but it’s a job that’s pretty high on the food chain in theater.”
In a typical production, the composer develops the show’s melodies-the contextual skeleton-for each song, mainly on piano. The orchestrator then fleshes out each piece and develops them for a mini-orchestra-usually about 24 musicians for live theater.
Sometimes, a composer will pass on a fully developed piece. But often there’s little more than a hum of an indication of how a song is supposed to go. To complete that translation, the composer turns to the orchestrator.
“Composers carefully choose the right partner for a project,” Besterman says. “It’s very much a partnership.”
And Besterman has partnered with some of the best in the business in a career that has included bestselling Disney films and honored Broadway plays.
(left) Doug Besterman (Tony-award Winning Orchestrator, Fosse, The Producers, Thoroughly Modern Millie) wife Johanna, Julie and Gregory Jbara
BESTERMAN CREDITS TECHNIQUE TO MENTOR RAYBURN WRIGHT
s with many aspiring artists, Besterman dreamed of working on Broadway and in film while a college student. At Rochester, he studied both music history and theater, a program that allowed him to take classes at the College and at the Eastman School of Music.
Although he was always interested in composing and orchestrating, he says Rochester helped set the stage for his
career.
He studied with the late Rayburn Wright ’43E, then head of the Department of Jazz and Contemporary Media at Eastman, who had been a chief arranger at Radio City Music Hall in the ’50s. Besterman credits his former teacher with speeding his development.
“The things I learned from Ray shaved 10 years off my learning curve because it was incredibly practical information,” he says. “People used to say that I had no experience yet I was able to do so much, because that’s what Ray knew and taught us. It was an incredibly valuable four years.”
INTERVIEW WITH DOUG BESTERMAN
By Dan Goldwasser
What does an orchestrator do?
An orchestrator is responsible for taking a composer’s musical ideas – often written for piano or guitar – and expanding them to be played by a larger group of musicians – in the case of a Broadway show, anywhere from 6 to 24 musicians – and for a film, from 40 – 100.
What’s the difference between an arranger and an orchestrator?
Technically, an arranger will add his or her musical stamp on a piece of music – in the form of adding an intro or ending, coming up with counter-melodies, or re-conceiving the musical style of the piece – an orchestrator, technically speaking, won’t add anything.
In practice, orchestrators on Broadway – and to an extent in film as well – are also arrangers – we do often add counter-lines and re-conceive the musical style – but no distinction is made.
What are some of your more memorable experiences?
Well, it was fantastic being a part of the musical The Producers – a show like that only comes along every so often – the same goes for the movie Chicago. It was also great to work with singers like Barbra Streisand and Barry Manilow – and producers like Arif Mardin and Phil Ramone – recording industry legends.
Have you worked outside of musical theater and film?
Absolutely. I have done song arrangements for recording artists like Beyonce Knowles, Toni Braxton and Mandy Patinkin. I orchestrated two ballets for choreographer Susan Stroman, one for the Martha Graham Dance Company, and the other for the New York City Ballet. And I have written symphonic arrangements for the Hollywood Bowl, the Boston Pops, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestras.
I have also worked in the video game industry, creating and adapting music for Mulan (Disney Interactive), and Shadoan (Virtual Image Productions).
Through the course of your orchestration career, have you continued to write your own music?
Yes, I’ve continued to compose, and it the last couple of years, ever since moving out to Los Angeles, I’ve been more interested in songwriting and composing. In the last year or two, I’ve placed three songs in two shows (“Summerland” and “One Life to Live”) and one film, The Punisher. I enjoy writing – both songs and scores – and I would love to do more of that.
Do you have your own studio?
Yes – Mighty Music Productions, located in Los Angeles. I have a ProTools HD3 Accel system – I use Logic, Reason and Finale software – and I am set up to sync to video as well. I can create everything from orchestral synth mockups and demos to final tracks.
How did you get your start as an orchestrator?
It might sound strange, but I was aware that there were jobs called “orchestrator” and “arranger” from the time I was in my early teens. I grew up outside of New York City, and my family and I were big fans of musical theater – my parents loved Broadway shows, and would bring myself and my brothers to see shows as kids. At a certain point – I think it was probably the musical A Chorus Line – I noticed that there was music under the singing, and that it was interesting. My ears started to pick out that there were things happening under the singers, and they had a lot to do with the style and the tone of the show. So I really started to explore and investigate what that was, and how you did it.
By the time I was ready to go to college, I was pretty sure I was going to go into the music industry in some way – I was a pianist, and a French horn player, also. I ended up doing a dual program at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Rochester – so I was trained at a conservatory, and I was really fortunate at Eastman to study with a guy named Rayburn Wright. Ray had been the chief arranger at Radio City Music Hall in the 1950s, so we had a lot in common in terms of his experience, and my interest. Ray gave me a very clear understanding of how the music industry worked, what an arranger did, what an orchestrator did, and the mechanics of how you did that job in the industry. Somehow I walked away from Eastman feeling like I really understood how that all worked.
While I was in school, I studied Jazz Arranging, Film Scoring, Orchestration, as well as a conservatory curriculum in Music History and Theory. For a time, I toyed with being a professional horn player – being in conservatory, that’s a great place to really explore all those things. But by the time I left college, I knew that I was heading in a direction of musical theater. It was something I loved to do, I had worked semi-professionally as a rehearsal pianist and music director, and I felt like this was something I could do to earn a living, and be in the music industry, and see if I could move forward as a composer or as an arranger.
I got to New York in 1986, and started working as a rehearsal pianist and assistant music director, wrote arrangements for people, played auditions – then in the early 1990s I just had a lucky break – I met Danny Troob, who is a great orchestrator on Broadway, and had done a lot of film work with Alan Menken. Danny and I worked on a project together, and he asked me to help him with some orchestrations. Then an opportunity to do an off-Broadway show for Alan Menken came up, and Danny wasn’t available – so he recommended me. My phone rang at 9am one morning, and it was Alan. He said, “Danny says we should meet – grab a demo, and come up to my house.” That’s how my career as an orchestrator started.
You moved to Los Angeles in late 1990’s – how is it working on Broadway shows from LA?
I commute back and forth – I have a lot of frequent flier miles! It’s kind of ironic – I moved to Los Angeles, because I was getting busier doing basically what I do for Broadway, but for film. That was the end of the heyday period of the animated musical – I worked on Mulan and Anastasia long distance, from New York. So I moved out here to catch that wave – and because I was interested in being in LA and living in California – and a year after I came out there, I won my first Tony Award and got very busy in New York.
But in the last couple of years, there’s been a resurgence of interest in the Broadway musical on screen. Between Chicago and The Producers, for me it’s a very convenient calling card – in terms of doing more work in the film industry. I don’t think people in LA know that I’m in LA – they think of me as a New York guy!
A List of Some of the Composers that Doug Besterman has Collaborated With
Mel Brooks
Phil Collins
Randy Courts
Stephen Flaherty
Michael Gore
John Kander
Robert Lindsey-Nassif
Melissa Manchester
Howard Marren
Alan Menken
David Newman
Stephen Schwartz
David Shire
Alan Silvestri
Carly Simon
Kathy Sommer/Nina Ossoff
Stephen Sondheim
Charles Strouse
Jeanine Tesori
Danny Troob
Matthew Wilder
Frank Wildhorn
THEATER PROJECTS THAT DOUG BESTERMAN HAS ORCHESTRATED
*Note: This is just for theater. He has many more projects he has composed for television, film, and interactive game software.
BROADWAY/WEST END: Tarzan (Richard Rogers Theater, NYC) – spring 2006
– Phil Collins, music
Guys and Dolls (Piccadilly Theater, London)
Dracula (Belasco Theater, NYC) – Frank Wildhorn, music
Thoroughly Modern Millie (Marquis Theater, NYC) – 2002 Tony Award &Drama Desk Award, Best Orchestrations
The Producers (St. James Theater, NYC) – 2001 Tony Award & Drama Desk Award, Best Orchestrations
Seussical (Richard Rodgers Theater, NYC) – Stephen Flaherty, music
Music Man (Neil Simon Theater, NYC) – Drama Desk & Tony Award nominations
Fosse: A Celebration in Song and Dance (Broadhurst Theater, NYC) – 1999 Tony Award, Best Orchestrations
King David (New Amsterdam Theater, NYC) – Alan Menken, music
Big (Schubert Theater, NYC) – David Shire, music – Drama Desk Award nomination
Damn Yankees (Marquis Theater, NYC) – Drama Desk Award nomination
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Lyceum Theater, NYC)
OFF-BROADWAY/OTHER NEW YORK THEATER: A Christmas Carol (Theater at Madison Square Garden, NYC) – Alan Menken, music
Weird Romance (WPA Theater, NYC) – Alan Menken, music
Christmas Spectacular (Radio City Music Hall Productions, NYC)
Jack’s Holiday (Playwrights Horizons, NYC)
Johnny Pye and the Foolkiller (Lambs Theater, NYC)
REGIONAL: I Sent A Letter To My Love (North Shore Music Theater, MA) – Melissa Manchester, music
Captains Courageous (Ford’s Theater, Washington D.C.)
Paramour (Old Globe Theater, San Diego, CA)
Eliot Ness in Cleveland(Denver Center for Performing Arts, Denver, CO)
Jeanne La Pucelle (Place Des Arts, Montreal, Quebec)
Setting up multiple movements in a single file with notation software.
The things you need to look for are:
1. Measure atributes: final double bar at the end of a movement
2. measure attributes, begin a new stqaff system
3. measure attributes: hide cautionery clefs, key and time signaures. This will give you a clean end of movement and a new system for the next one.
4. Attach the movement numbers as score expressions to the first measure of the movement and assign it to a staff list showing top score staff and top parts staff. That way it will show where you need it, you will just have to drag it to the centre of the page each time. This is more reliable than using a text block.
5. Use the page layout tool to indent the first system of each movement. This will require manually dragging it in the score and parts, but it looks much clearer, especially if you begin a movement halfway down a page in the parts.
6. Set up staff styles that have no change, except the abbreviated staff name is the same as the full staff name. You will need one for each staff, and apply it to the first measure of each movement. This will give you full instrument names on the first system of each movement.
Using all of these makes parts much more flexible, layouts can include new movements half way down a page, repagination and changing page turns does not affect numerous files, but flows within a file, and the start of each movement is clear and easy to see.
“It is nonsense to say what a musical should or should not be. It should be anything it wants to be, and if you don’t like it you don’t have to go to it. There is only one absolutely indispensable element that a musical must have. It must have music. And there is only one thing that it has to be – it has to be good.” – Oscar Hammerstien II
as quoted by Stanley Green in The World of Musical Comedy (New York: Ziff Davis Publishing, 1960), p. 7.
What makes an accent real, and what makes it phony? What is really a Southern accent in the United States and what is someone doing a vocal caricature. What is a true cockney accent and what mistakes do Americans typically make with English accents on stage?
I have no idea. But here is a variety of information on accents for you to investigate further. Listen particularly to rhythm, intensity and articulation.
Listen to accents from all over the world to compare spoken word accents. What a great tool for studying speech. These recordings are real people, not stereotypes. A great reference for real world speech accents. On this website, each recording is someone from a different part of the world saying the following paragraph:
Please call Stella. Ask her to bring these things with her from the store: Six spoons of fresh snow peas, five thick slabs of blue cheese, and maybe a snack for her brother Bob. We also need a small plastic snake and a big toy frog for the kids. She can scoop these things into three red bags, and we will go meet her Wednesday at the train station.
Listen in to the diverse voices of the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man – from Shetland to Penzance. Eavesdrop on Rotarians in Pitlochry and Travellers in Belfast. Drop in on skateboarders in Milton Keynes. Overhear pigeon fanciers in Durham.
The clips are drawn from the Voices recordings – which capture 1,200 people in conversation. Some of the clips are people talking about language – slang, dialect, taboo words, accents. Other clips cover all sorts of subjects and simply offer a flavour of how we talk today.
“I think the US has always had a more of an emphasis on mobility which is why there hasn’t been a core of accent speakers to build a distict accent. Regional accents are changing in the UK now and in the south most of the old accents are dying out.”
Ever been baffled by the bard? Vexed by his verse? Or perplexed by his puns? London’s Globe theatre thinks it has the answer: perform Shakespeare’s plays in Shakespeare’s dialect.
The Globe, London (pic Donald Cooper)
The Globe will stage Troilus and Cressida for six weeks
In August the theatre will stage an “original production” of Troilus and Cressida, with the actors performing the lines as closely as possibly to the play’s first performance – in 1604.
By opening night, they will have rehearsed using phonetic scripts for two months and, hopefully, will render the play just as its author intended. They say their accents are somewhere between Australian, Cornish, Irish and Scottish, with a dash of Yorkshire – yet bizarrely, completely intelligible if you happen to come from North Carolina.
For example, the word “voice” is pronounced the same as “vice”, “reason” as “raisin”, “room” as “Rome”, “one” as “own” – breathing new life into Shakespeare’s rhyming and punning.
WHY ARE ACCENTS IN A PARTICULAR PLACE THE WAY THEY ARE?
Why are the accents a particular place like they are?
Separate development accounts for some accent variation. But sometimes we need to talk about the first generation of speakers of a particular language brought up in a new place. The first children to grow up in a new place are very important. The children who grow up together are a ‘peer group’. They want to speak the same as each other to express their group identity. The accent they develop as they go through their childhood will become the basis for the accents of the new place. So where does their accent come from?
The first generation of children will draw on the accents of the adults around them, and will create something new. If people move to a new place in groups (as English speakers did to America, Australia and New Zealand) that group usually brings several different accents with them. The children will draw on the mixture of accents they hear and create their own accent out of what they hear. The modern accents of Australia are more similar to London accents of English than to any other accent from England — this is probably because the founder generation (in the eighteenth century) had a large component drawn from the poor of London, who were transported to Australia as convicts. The accents of New Zealand are similar to Australian accents because a large proportion of the early English-speaking settlers of New Zealand came from Australia.
The mix found in the speech of the settlers of a new place establishes the kind of accent that their children will develop.
I’ve always wondered about accents and why we (North Americans) don’t sound like our British or (Insert country of origin) ancestors? When people moved over here from Europe they would have sounded British or whatever to start with, but obviously today they don’t.There are many different accents within the British Isles, and it’s likely that they have changed over the last centuries. Remember also that not all the ancestors of North Americans came from Europe.
WHY DON’T NORTH AMERICANS SOUND BRITISH?
I’ve always wondered about accents and why we (North Americans) don’t sound like our British or (Insert country of origin) ancestors? When people moved over here from Europe they would have sounded British or whatever to start with, but obviously today they don’t. How long does this process of dialect/losing or gaining accent take? And why does it happen? I suppose it has to do with language evolving and regional influences. It’s odd but people from the South Shore of Nova Scotia sound to me like they could be from Maine…..very similar accent…I love accents.
Posted by popular demand, it’s the astounding “I LIKE CHOCOLATE” song. Marvel at the orchestration and complex counterpoint. Be in awe of the depth of the lyrics.
This is used for the end of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as lift. I always liked the movie “An American Werewolf in London” where they played “Bad Moon Rising” at the end. I wrote this piece to give that kind of feeling to the end of Charlie.
Email Question: Advice for a Budding Music Producer
Ok i have been talking about becoming a music producer for some time now i am 24 i have no music talent what so ever but i have a real passion for music and i know alot about it i wanna start my own record lbel and see what happens if you could give me some advice i would like that thanks for.
you time
Mike
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Hi Mike,
I have several responses to questions like this here on my website. You can find them by entering “Music Producer” into the search box. Or here are some links:
On my other responses I’ve talked about resources and approaches to learning the technical side of producing. This time I’ll answer your question in a different way by talking about the social interactions that I think will benefit you on your road to producing music.
The way you get your next project, is by exceeding the client’s expectations on the last project. Notice I didn’t say that you exceeded your OWN expectations – it’s all about pleasing the client. It’s important to understand what the client’s expectations are before you start so you know what your restrictions are. A big red flag is if you don’t know the client well and they say “Do anything” – if you start working on that then there’s a good chance you’re going to be re-arranging ad nauseum.
Music production is a design art, much like designing graphics, custom home building or interior design. You are taking your talents and experience to the table in order to bring the client’s vision to life. And EVERY client does indeed have a vision, even if it’s not very defined.
First step – talk with the client and just listen. Listen carefully to what it is they are looking for. Think the project through and think of all the elements needed to make it happen for them. Make sure you know you can bring the project together. If you can’t do it, don’t take the project. It’s more important to get a track record of SUCCESSFUL projects than it is to get a track record of lots of projects. “Successful” means the client is happy with the final project.
After you know what the client wants and you have an overall idea of what needs to happen to complete the project, then figure out what you need to make that happen. Make sure you have the funds, time and desire to do the project. There has to be something in it for you. If it’s a project that will give you notoriety or rare experience, you might want to lowball your price quote. If it’s something you’ve done dozens of times and you already have a rep for doing it, then stick to your price.
If there’s not something in it for you – you will do a poor job. At least that’s the way I work. For me a project either has to garner me Money, Experience or Fulfillment. If the project does not have at least one of these three elements, I don’t take the job.
Starting out you’ll want to take every job you can that comes your way. Think experience. Do your best on every project, and each one will have it’s own list of demands that will force you to learn new things. Important note: You cannot think your client is stupid. If you do, you can’t do your best work. Respect your client. I seperate a client’s vision from the client themselves – for me it’s not so important to “click” with a client as it is to “click” with their vision.
What if you seriously don’t like a client? Don’t take the job. With music production you are likely going to have a lot of interaction with this person. On the rare occassion where I truly and simply did not like a client and did not want to do anything for them, I just said “I don’t think I’m the best person for this project.” When they still press, which they will, then say “Your project will be done better by someone else.” I say this gently and respectfully. I’m saying the truth and not being rude. You are letting the client know that your #1 priority is that there project be the best it can be, whether or not you do it.
If you can click with the client’s vision, see a compelling reason to engage in the project and you have the tools and resources to deliver – THAT’S being a music producer.
TRUST – Once you have committed to the project it’s important to have the complete faith and trust of the client. That’s how I need to work anyway. Once working on a project if a client is second guessing me or jumping in and muddling things up, I’ll simply say to them “You hired me for this job, you need to let me do it.” or I’ll say “You need to throw me the ball.” I say this gently, because I am truly ASKING them for this. With rare exception, client’s understand this and step back to let the work carry on. I’ll usually tell clients upfront once we agree to go forward that I need the space and creative trust to do it. I would say that overall, to me this is the single most important part of working on a project. It doesn’t mean there won’t be changes from the client, it just means you have that creative wiggle room that makes you go “Ah, this is the best project ever!”
And a final note is on the term music “producer”. Music producers “produce” no matter what. There is no excuse. People want to know that you will get it done.
