If you go to see a musical with a live orchestra, you’ll notice that the woodwind players always seen to be playing loads of different instruments, while the other instrumentalists usually just play one. It’s not immediately obvious why this would be, so I thought I’d do some research into it and find out the reason.
Continue reading “Why do woodwind players have to double in orchestra pits?”
One of my favourite musicals ever is Legally Blonde. Earlier this year, I got to play in the pit for it, on the reed 1 part. I thought I’d talk a bit about the reed parts – which instruments are played on which parts and where the hardest bits are. This is to help people out when picking instrumentalists for the parts – you don’t want your best flautist to end up with the easy flute bit and all the horrible clarinet solos!
Continue reading “Are the Reed Parts Hard for Legally Blonde?”