I always kinda scoff at ppl that are like “I’m so glad the drummer didn’t overplay” cause it’s like damn just let them have fun it’s music. But this performance felt like the *perfect* amount of drums. So tight and full but not very complicated. Good shit
This is musicianship at another level. Playing to a click is one thing, but you also have to know chart, be spot on with your fills & time and play in a cramped, unknown-to-the-audience location for multiple shows a day. Kudos to you who have obviously done this for a minute.🤘🏻🤘🏻
I’ve been been a theatre drummer since 2017, it’s hard and stressful career. Although I’ve made friends through it. It is a really hard job, sometimes playing for 6-8 hours a day can be tiring. All of it, every show is done to a click and sight read.
Pulling out the book is a dope move though. I guess playing angry birds in breaks gets boring after a while ^^ Great job. Also thanks for including the clicks. It's hard to imagine how all of you would stay in sync otherwise. Another mystery solved...
I remember sitting in the front row for Mamma Mia in Toronto and looking into the pit to see one of the keyboardists reading a magazine between her parts and was amazed how easily she moved back and forth between reading and playing.
I have played many show on trumpet and if the pit is deep and you can't be seen by the audience it's normal for a book or even a deck of cards to appear in long dialogue parts lol
Rob F yes thats right but i play in october the Broadway from mamma Mia and the director she that the last seccons that i Will do a solo from the drum. 😂😂
That's awful. I don't suppose it's any different in the UK. What do you do when the run ends ? do you try and set yourself up with something just before the run finishes ?
Lots of shows these days are complex enough from a technical perspective that they have to be on a click track so the lights, flies, and stage turtles can be digitally synced directly to the music and cue everything all at once, perfectly.
I helped set up this production when it rolled into a city close to where I live. Each musician has a closed circuit video monitor at their station. One is a close up of the music director. I don’t remember if the other one is a wide shot of the stage. You can see the monitors on the upper left corner of this shot. The sound for this show was pretty amazing since every instrument was running direct. There were no amps at all in the pit. But it was mostly due to the fact that the musicians are top-notch.
Hi Daniel, How does one go about auditioning for playing in a pit band as a musician? Assuming that they have the necessary skill set (Sight Reading, Proficiency etc.) E.g. Are there websites to look at with listings?
I like it when you started reading. This reminds me of the musicians in the tip in Milan, Italy, when I saw the musical. When the first act was over, they started reading
Interesting that he doesn't even have the music on the stand. Obviously, it wouldn't be tough to memorize after a few weeks, but I thought industry standard was to at least have the music THERE, just in case.
Yeah most often the monitors are conductor and stage - I've sat in a few pits and that tends to be the way. On a lot of musicals it's unlikely consider playing completely without a pad eg Wicked or something more complicated. But on pop/rock jukebox musicals then especially for a drummer who arguably will have the easiest part, the sheet music can end up being more of a distraction once you have it down and there is really no real risk of forgetting your part.
A whole show like Mama Mia most of professional musicians can easily memorise after few days of learning. Once I had a contract on the ship as a showband musician (bass) where I had to learn choreography, - for we had to move a lot with the cast, - and all the music for 2 long shows (50 minutes each), and I had only one week to prepare, besides that I also always had time to get pissed in the crew bar :)
Hi Derek. Yours is the best arrangement and playing for Mamma Mia, that I have found on RU-vid. (Why is everyone playing different parts when they have the charts in front of them?). I am due to play for Mamma Mia in January. I have a TD30 too. Do you mind telling me how you set up your user kit(s) for the show?
Yes, they'll be times when an artist will be sat waiting to play for up to 15 minutes, as long as you don't miss your cue you're gonna want to read to avoid getting bored and fidgety...
I've played in productions where the brass players were knitting during the show, I personally like to read ahead the music of any changes that may have happened,
@@FinesthandmadeMusic After you've been playing the same thing over and over 8 times a week for months and months, believe me, you won't want to stare at the paper to read the music.
harry_mwalker you’re most likely right. when i wrote this, i wanted to have it listen to how he played each song. well fast forward to present day and i’ve already done a production of mamma mia (that unfortunately got cancelled due to corona) but now i know all the songs lol🤷🏽♂️.
Christ, reminds me of the few months I did sessions for bumpers/jingles and the times you'd do demos with MIDI only keyboardists. That constant click in one ear; I finally got it to be a kick sample on one & then hi hats on the rest for my sanity. This cat is a pro, no stressing at that gig grabbing a book, lol.. probably like his 80th show or something... Very comfortable with the material...
He's right under the front lip of the stage. It's either his video of Voulez Vous or Under Attack that you can see fog from fog machines on stage pouring into the pit. In terms of this being from the broadway production, not a clue.
@@hmcvm Thats correct, but i compared his playing to recordings of other professional performances and they were not identical. Thats why im asking. I think they all have the sheet music, but develop some parts differently.
@@dazzduo I'm basically quoting someone from a Wicked drum cam comment when I say this, but a good pit drummer will often use what's written as a guide for what to play. How much they change will vary from song to song and show to show. There are also some shows where you're not gonna want to make any changes, but other shows like this, or Wicked since I already referenced it in this comment, have a lot of room for interpretation.
Your playing is outstanding and I wish I could see you play the entire show. I'm gearing up to play this musical and I have a Roland TD-50 and they don't sound nearly as awesome as your digital kit. Can you please help me with what kit you are using? I would greatly appreciate the help! I'm killing myself to get them dialed in.
That was interesting to watch, thank you for sharing! :) 0:17 That warning message from the speaker went over my head; was it supposed to be a joke, or was it a genuine warning...?
adam4757 the MD still does have the overall control as he gave me the cues for when to begin the click. You sorta treat it like just playing another instrument
JustLeo I’m playing in my high schools production on keyboard 4(we are an arts school, so it’s not as bad as you’d think for a high school) we have it play in voulez-vous, overture, mamma mia, the mega mix at the very end, our last summer and i believe that it
Skylar Niang after watching these types of videos I wish more than anything my high school’s musicals would use live musicians. Our music program and director are definitely good enough to arrange parts and perform but they use backing tracks instead (although i do go to a public high school so that explains it)
@@FlyBoyMT ebb and flow with a click track and a chart to play? I understand that each night's performance would be slightly different with a live drummer, but in most cases the audience is not comparing one night to another. sequences sound robotic? you could record the exact performance in this video and play it back from a sequencer. I'm not talking about a sequence with everything quantized to a grid.
If you are referring to the show in general, it calls for x4 keyboard, x2 guitar, bass, drums, percussion. No idea for this specific performance. Check out the page on MTI for more specifics.
@@ALTFlying I think this production might have three guitars. I'm guitar 2 in my school's upcoming production and there are some parts here and there I don't recognize.
ALT2870 Nah I mean there a literally just some guitar parts I hear that nobody has in our production. Namely the octave double in the Mamma Mia melody guitar solo. I’d look for a time stamp but I can’t play the video without discarding the comment on mobile
Do you still have all the backing tracks and clicks? Is it on Audacity? I would buy them from you. We are doing Mamma Mia in April 2020. I'm on the drums. (I have Roland TD-50KV too) Thanks! Steve
I'm all about live performance. I'm a drummer too. I wish there were logistics that made a real set possible, that's all. Electronic drums sound too perfect to me. Personal taste.
@@Arsinoe22 Agreed. The same could be said for the software that the electronic drums run on. Acoustic avoids all of that. Acoustic Drums > Electronic Drums > Recorded Drums. But I'm not trying to start an argument or anything. :)
Electronic or Acoustic, you still need to play them. You could equally record acoustics. One big benefit I can see for electronics, is how much quieter they would be in the confines of the pit. BTW I played for a local production of Mamma Mia, and was able to do things like map Timpani to a couple of pads, because they could not afford to have real ones.
Matheus Neves live theatre relies on performers being able to adapt to mishaps on stage or technical issues, which a prerecorded track isn't able to do.
Do you also object to live musicians using keyboards instead of acoustic pianos? How do you feel about electric guitars? Are they just supervising playback, too? Don't be ludicrous.
lekoman it’s not just for the drummer tho! It’s also to keep the whole band in the pocket of the groove so every show is consistent. Shows have many technical elements that all have to work together with the music. And often lighting and set automation is tied into the click tracks. I guess you could think of it as the heart beat of the show, not just for the band/orchestra.
