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Pit Orchestra Blues



 
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hpkhilma
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Joined: 03 Jan 2002
Posts: 67
Location: Salt Lake City, UT

PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2002 2:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello Friends,

First off, I hope that this topic is appropriate to the 'commercial' side of this forum. If not, you can send your hate mail to me through the private message feature Anyway.... I am fortunate enough to have several opportunities each year to participate in pit orchestras for various shows that play in town. My concern is that although I usually enjoy the music performed, I frequently have a negative experience with it because of the accoustical properties one experiences when playing in a pit. 85% of my total playing is done in concert settings from a stage where the sound can leave the trumpet and develop into something nice. This is very much unlike playing in a pit where the space is so confining that the sound just seems to fall out of your bell like a cold linguini noodle on a winter's afternoon. The result is that I usually tense up which I'm pretty sure doesn't help my sound out. Do any of you out there also get psyched out when playing in pits? Do you have any suggestions on how to overcome this?

Any comments will be appreciated.

Thank you,

Kevin Hilman
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Quadruple C
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Joined: 28 Nov 2001
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2002 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-09-29 14:22 ]
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Jeff
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Joined: 01 Dec 2001
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Location: U.S.

PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2002 6:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I know this sounds insane, but whenever I have a show I try to avoid warming up in a room that sounds good. I'll point my bell in a closet, etc., anything that sounds more dead than the pit. Then when I take my place in the pit I don't get that initial "shock" of "ohmygosh this sounds terrible." That shock can really wreck your nerves, or at least it can mine.

Then again, some guys I know simply suggest either a couple of beers or beta blockers before the show. I'll stick with the warmup thing because my tongue slows down after a few beers.
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Yoinks
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 18, 2002 8:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yeah, mostly it is a head game. You have to realize, that in pits, usually the audience IS hearing what you are used to, you just aren't because the sound doesn't bounce back right. Just play confidently, and you will eventually get over this.
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vivace
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Joined: 06 Nov 2001
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2002 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I guess I am lucky.

The show I am in, we are playing in this old opera house, about 100 years old. The acoustics in there are so great, no one needs a microphone (well, if they can sing good enough). There is no pit, so we are pretty much in the audience, and we get a decent sound.
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barryj1
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Joined: 12 Nov 2001
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Location: Attleboro, MA

PostPosted: Sat Jan 19, 2002 4:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a pit orchestra horror story. The incident happened this past December. I was playing in an auditorium with awful acoustics and a decimated orchestra (i.e. it was an amateur production and being so close to Christmas we couldn't get a full compliment of musicians to volunteer their time).
A week before the actual production I came down with the flu and a double ear infection so, as bad as the acoustics were - and they were pretty gross! - I couldn't even hear myself.
The production was a huge success and I'm sure that, despite my infirmity, the trumpet section sounded just fine. I agree with Yoinks: you play your best without getting too neurotic about the artistic end result. Just blend with the other intruments and focus on interpretting the score.
Barry
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_Don Herman
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Joined: 11 Nov 2001
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Location: Monument, CO, USA

PostPosted: Sun Jan 20, 2002 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

FWIW, while I encourage taping oneself to hear we sound, I prefer taping with the mic a goodly difference away. There are changes in tone and technique you may use while mic'd, like tounging more softly, that are not appropriate for the "open world". It may be a good idea to have a player or two go up and listen to the sound in the hall just so you know what to do (or not).

FWIW - Don
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John Mohan
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Joined: 13 Nov 2001
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 23, 2002 3:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

In my situation I balance my sound by using my music stand as a sound reflector (to hear myself) and also kind of as a sound "deflector" (to send the sound up and out of the pit). We are all miked. My mike is mounted on a elastic string-type isolation system onto my music stand about 4 inches below the music (and tilted up toward my bell). So I kind of aim my bell toward the bottom of the music with half the bell under the bottom of the music. If I aim lower then that I can still hear myself, but I get complaints from the string players on the other side of the pit. Aiming partially at the music gives me more feedback, sends some of the sound up out of the pit, sends plenty to the mike, and reduces what travels across the pit to attack the string player's precious ears (you want to protect their hearing at all costs - they don't play more in tune when they're deaf).

Hope this helps,

John Mohan
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Emb_Enh
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Joined: 29 Oct 2002
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 24, 2002 6:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

John Mohan wrote...

''In my situation I balance my sound by using my music stand as a sound reflector (to hear myself) and also kind of as a sound "deflector" (to send the sound up and out of the pit).''

Yes! ...I used to do that too!! --it's a good idea....some of the theatres have really thick lush red curtains all around the inside of the pit walls....great (not) for deadening the sound and destroying the ego.

PS... TOP THEATRE TIP = sign up for the National Geographic!

Roddy o-iii<O
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clarion89
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Joined: 11 Dec 2001
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Location: Northeast Ohio

PostPosted: Thu Feb 21, 2002 7:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I couldn't agree more with themes of all the above posts. As a principal trumpeter for over 30 productions and various theaters, in and out of pits, you just have to do it and with confidence. Yeah, pits and backstage areas can be dead, but you just have to overcome and trust your musical senses.

If you are fortunate enough to have a capable music director, he or she can guide you in balancing with the orchestra and the actors on stage.

Best of luck!
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walter
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 17, 2002 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

[ This Message was edited by: walter on 2002-09-20 07:26 ]
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