What Keyboards to use for Seussical?

Question received about what keyboards to use for Seussical the Musical.

I am musical directing an upcoming production of Seussical TYA, and we are trying to figure out what sort of keyboards to rent. We are doing the production with two keyboards in the pit. On the Instrumentation page on the Musical Theatre International website, I’ve noticed that there are some very specific instruments (ie: “Doing” or Bird Fart) to be played on the keyboards. What brand and model of keyboard(s) would you suggest using?

Thanks.

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Hi,

As I remember it, there are two main keyboard parts for STM for two different players.

  1. Piano – any 88 key weighted keyboard.
  2. Synthesizer – Sounds needed are typical to any mainstream synth by any major manufacturer (Roland, Korg, Yamaha, etc.)

There are sound effects for Seussical and I have a download pack available for free here on my website. Use the search function on my blog for “Seussical Sound Effect”. I triggered the sound effects using a virtual keyboard on a laptop using the Kontakt software. I love setting that up, but most people find it super geeky. You could also have someone run these sound fx on CD. I also have detailed notes on Seussical sound fx here on my website. (I’m not posting links to all those things because links on my website change over time – please use the search function).

I’ve done a fair amount of musicals and I have to say that Seussical was the most challenging, and also the most fun, of any musicals I have done. The orchestrations are wonderful. I also have detailed notes on the person who did the orchestrations. Check out the “Seussical” section here on my website.

Rock on!

Conrad

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