Orchestra sizes vary tremendously; there's no "right" size. Sometimes a small combo is perfectly fine...I've also had a student orchestra of almost 40.
Note that many student musicians are not great at playing softly (especially brass), so unless your actors are properly mic'd, they can overpower the singers/lyrics.
Don't skip on percussion; that's essential for keeping amateur singers on the beat.
It doesn't matter if the musicians play all or only some of the numbers...as long as they can stay quiet and not distract during the numbers they're not in.
A CD certainly makes it easier for rehearsals, and gives you better quality control, but it's a mixed bag for a performance. It can work out fine, but if something goes awry, there's no way to vamp, or slow down, or jump a verse, etc. (Yes, some of the fancier systems, like RehearScore, have this capability, but they're not used in performance. I don't know if music from MTPit.com can be modified on the fly.)
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Douglas "Chip" Rome
Theatre Consultant
Educational Stages
Burke VA
http://bit.ly/EdStageshttp://bit.ly/RWTEOview------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 04-28-2020 08:54
From: Leon Kalayjian
Subject: Instruments for a musical
HI All,
I've written a musical and getting an orchestrator, and before I do, wondering about the size of the orchestra. I am contemplating using four pieces... piano, violin, cello, drums... or even no drums.... But wondering about the usual size of an orchestra in high schools. If I added tuba and accordion, are they instruments that are hard to get players, and if they don't play on all the songs, should such instruments not be used? What about making a really good CD of the piece and no live instruments? Is that common in high schools and it makes it easier for rehearsals and you don't need a band.
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Leon Kaye
Playwright for the Ages
Lhk@koa1.com
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