Hello:

Do you know what keyboard model was used for the original production of “Aida”? There are sounds listed (Pyramiding Glints of Dawn, Royal Bam, Punch) that I have no idea what they sound like.

I have access to a Motif and Clavinova. Any suggestions?

Thank you!

Jim

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Hi Jim,

Yes, you should be fine with a Yamaha Motif and Clavinova. To my memory there are 3 keyboard parts though for Aida: Piano, Keyboard 2 and Keyboard 3. So you might need another synth.

To my knowledge there is no such patch as “Pyramiding Glints of Dawn” or “Royal Bam”. It’s kind of a geeky keyboard player joke. Most of the sounds used for AIDA are pretty standard; like you could cover the whole show using an older Roland D-50 if you needed too.

You’ll want to listen to the soundtrack for a little guidance on picking patches. You can also search my blog for many other posts on the AIDA musical orchestration and music tips.

An email received with questions about performing the music for AIDA by Elton John.

EMAIL:

I am the pit orchestra director for an upcoming High School prodcution of
Aida.  This is my first experience working with a more contemporary style
pit.  I noticed that you have experience with conductn the show.  I’d
appreciate any help or advice you might have for working with instrumentation -particularly with regard to the keyboards and percussion.

I realize it’s been a while since you worked on the show, but any guidance
from someone who’s “been there” would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks so much for your time.

*************

Happy to help out. First of all at the beginning of this post you’ll see a pit photo from the production of AIDA I did in 2006 at McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon, WA. I did the conducting and keyboard 1 part so you see the keyboard array around the conductor’s platform.

I’d appreciate any help or advice you might have for working with
instrumentation -particularly with regard to the keyboards and percussion.

In front of me (conductor position) is a weighted 88-key keyboard which I used for just piano and electric piano. If I play piano then I like to have a real piano touch. To my right is a Hammond B3 clone on bottom and a general synth on top for a few synth patches. To my memory I didn’t have to use that top keyboard very much, but I enjoyed very much having a good B3 organ sound for the uptempo rock sections. To my left is a single keyboard triggering Kontakt software on a laptop. I regularly use Kontakt to program a virtual synth for sound effects and specialized patches. Very useful for custom sounds that are not available on synthesizers. I think the sound techs also appreciated not having to run any sound effects for the shows since it can all be done from the pit in Kontakt. As a musical director/conductor it gives me peace of mind to know that the sound effects won’t get messed up, which as you probably know can really make your blood boil if you’re in the middle of a show.

I also used a dedicated keyboard 2 and keyboard 3 player. Really I think any of the modern synthesizers will work fine for this show. Most of the score calls for pretty straight ahead patches. Any contemporary synth by Roland, Yamaha or Korg will work fine.

We will need to rent 2 keyboards.  What might you recommend?  Seeing as I have never worked with keyboards in a pit before, are there any tips or tricks to programing the various voicings and patches in the keyboards?

My first recommendation is to make sure you approve all the patches the keyboard players use and to hear them in combination with each other. Some player choose a patch that sounds good in their living room but they don’t really have a feel for how the patch lays in with the orchestration and mood. There are lots of great moments in AIDA where a synth pad with percussion effects can create a perfect underscoring to the dialogue without being invasive or distracting. Make sure the frequency ranges are well represented so that a synth pad is not taking up all the low end or interfering with any high frequency cymbal work the percussionist is doing.

Did you have to make any accomodations with the drum and percussion books?

I like to give the percussionist a lot of room to experiment and “be free” with the score. Our percussionist did a lot of underscoring effects with scraping cymbals during the water scenes. If you give a percussionist a long leash they will usually surprise you; in my experience.

Did you use the elctronic drums or was it all played on the drum set?

For our production we used all live drums. I may have had some drum effects that I triggered on Kontakt – but I don’t remember that detail now. AIDA has that whole Egyptian and Nubian theme going on so I think the acoustic percussion works well.

Were you able to locate all the unique ethnic drums used?

No. I let the percussionist cover as many of the parts as possible and let them substitute with what they didn’t have.

Here are links to other articles on my blog that may help you with AIDA. You can also search “AIDA” on my blog to find more.

Enhancing AIDA transition music:
http://www.conradaskland.com/blog/2008/12/enhancing-aida-transition-music/

AIDA band and pit photos:
http://www.conradaskland.com/blog/2006/05/aida-band-and-pit-photos/

I wondered if you knew of some great orchestration companies or tracks to enhance  our production of Elton Johns Aida. We have a small venue and could really use some tracks specifically for transtitions.

Any information is helpful. Thanks!

MY REPLY:

I’m not exactly sure what you mean – do you mean orchestrations of Elton John’s AIDA music, or other music? I supposed you could always use some transition music from the original CD soundtrack. There is a lot you could do with ethnic percussion if you had people double up on percussion during transitions – that’s one way to beef it up, but still keep it legit and live.

When I did the show I let the musicians open up a lot on the transitions and underscore music. Lots of great textures from the percussionists. I do remember the drummer using the edge of his stick to scrape the cymbals during the scenes by the river bank – and also one of the percussionists even blowing on an empty plastic soda bottle to get eerie distant wails. I was quite surprised how effective that plastic bottle was.

Check on your contracts for what is allowed and what is not. There are great opportunities in this score to pull from a lot of different tribal sounds and World percussion elements.

And just so no one overlooks the obvious – since you probably have one or two keyboardists in the pit, they can also do thick synth pads and effects.

Conrad

This production of AIDA was produced by the Theatre Arts Guild of Skagit County. Directed by Jane Skinner and Produced by Roger Ragusa. This band kicked butt. Thank you all for a fantastic show and incredible music. I’m still hearing compliments about how well you all did. I’ll be sending you all an email shortly about upcoming shows as well.

AIDA Band 2006 – McIntyre Hall
Conductor, Keyboard 1 – Conrad Askland
Drums – David Bridgman
Bass – Peter Bridgman
Percussion – Coulby Styles
Kebyoard 2 – Lisa Temcov
Keyboard 3 – Kelly Siebecke
Oboe/English Horn – Rebecca Wright
Flute – Stephanie Bethea
Guitar 1 – Chris Eger
Guitar 2 – Paul Dutton

Kontakt 2 software will be used for the Northwest Premiere of Elton John’s AIDA. Developed by Berlin, Germany based Native Instruments, Kontakt 2 is a virtual synthesizer software application used primarily for high end audio production and sampling.

Elton John and Tim Rice’s AIDA plot is based loosely on the original opera by VERDI written more than a hundred years ago. Elton John’s updated musical includes a rock score incorporating multiple guitars, percussionists and traditional orchestral instruments.

“We have a pit group of 10 musicians that includes seven keyboards performed by three players”, says musical director Conrad Askland. “Kontakt 2 will be utilized for performance of specialized world percussion, music effects and industrial foley.”

Askland says tech support at Native Instruments has been extremely helpful in assisting with utilizing the software on a laptop for the performances. Sound files used for the production will include sound effects from the Sony Music Library as well as Canada based foley effects provider SOUND IDEAS.

“The production of AIDA takes place in Egypt and calls for very detailed soundscapes during scene changes, dances and interlude music. Even with our small army of pit musicians including a dedicated world percussionist, they are hard pressed to deliver all of the sounds needed for a world class performance. Kontakt 2 will allow us to fill in with detailed samples of world percussion instruments and authentic native performances that would have been cost prohibitive to deliver with real instruments, ” says Askland.

The Northwest premiere of AIDA is produced by the Theatre Arts Guild in Skagit County, Washington and will run at the new McIntyre Hall from March 24th to April 9th, 2006. Ticket and venue information at mcintyrehall.org

All musicians need to bring complete gear, ie: guitar players need to bring amps. McIntyre is not accustomed necessarily to rock shows of this nature, and provide only sound reinforcement.
DRESS – Please wear all black, details are up to you. Stands, chairs and music stand lights will be provided.

REHEARSALS
MV Pres is Mount Vernon Presbyterian Church – located in Mount Vernon on 15th across from Skagit Valley Hospital.
Thurs 3/02 – 9pm – RHYTHM SECTION ONLY – MV PRES
Sat 3/04 – 10am on…. – All Day – MV PRES
Tue 3/14 – 6-9pm Music – MV PRES
Wed 3/15 – 6-9pm Music with vocalists- Cascade Commons
Sun 3/19 – SOUND CHECK – 4pm-8pm McIntyre Hall
Wed 3/22 – At McIntyre HALL 6pm
Thurs 3/23 At McIntyre – Dress Rehearsal 6pm
Please arrive 45 minutes before downbeat.
SHOWS
3/24 7:30 Friday
3/25 7:30 Sat
3/26 2pm Sun
3/30 7:30pm Thur
3/31 7:30 Fri
4/1 7:30 Sat
4/2 2pm Sun
4/6 – 7:30pm Thur
4/7 7:30 Fri
4/8 7:30 Sat

AIDA is the adaptation of Verdi’s original 1871 opera by Sir Elton John and lyricist Tim Rice. Conrad will be in production with the crew starting mid-January 2006. Rumor has it he will also be performing keyboard parts along with the show.

OVERVIEW
Elton John and Tim Rice’s AIDA is a contemporary musical take on the grand classic tale of the love between a soldier and an enslaved princess – a love that condemns them to death, but ultimately transcends the vast cultural differences between the two warring nations, heralding an unprecedented time of peace and prosperity.

With a pop-rock score that features stirring ballads and rousing choral numbers, Elton John and Tim Rice’s AIDA is a modern crowd pleaser that embraces multi-cultural casting and exuberant dancing, staging and singing.