Playing in the Pits - Part 1
For about ten years now, I've been playing guitar in various orchestra pits for musical theater. This is a great way for a guitar player to really hone your chops - sight-reading-wise especially - but it's definitely different from any other venue you may be used to playing.
You really have to learn how to be able to follow your written music while at the same time following the conductor, who will be establishing the tempo, managing dynamics, and bringing the orchestra in or cutting you off depending on what's happening on-stage. For people who have been used to playing in orchestras or marching bands since school, that may all be second-nature...but it was a totally new world for me as a guitarist who would either lead my own bands or play with others in a more relaxed atmosphere.
I know a lot of guitar players may not read standard music notation, but this is a must for musical theater gigs. Too many young players these days rely on chord charts or (worse) tablature to navigate through a written piece of music. This won't cut it in the orchestra pit - there's no two ways about it. You have to learn how to sight-read, and learn it well. Sometimes you'll get the written part in advance so you can practice and learn the show you're going to play; but you need to be ready for anything. I've taught guitar to students (usually younger kids) who tended to nod off when we got around to the sight-reading part of the lesson - they just wanted to "rawk" - but I always tried to impress upon them how useful this ability can be.
You also have to be very comfortable - if not fluent - with all styles of music. During any one show, you may have to play songs in various styles: rock, country, latin, funk, jazz, and anything in-between. You need to be able to pull this off, regardless of how well you can read the notes; you can't fake good funk comping or jazz phrasing. It really helps if you are familiar with all of these styles so that when the score calls for it you can pull it off. I've heard players who think they can fake their way through these styles and it doesn't sound right. Start listening to some classic jazz players (Joe Pass, Barney Kessel, George Benson, Charlie Christian, Freddie Green), funk masters (Prince, any of the Tower of Power players, Jesse Johnson, etc), as well as the rock gods...but more importantly than listening to just the guitarists, listen to the bands they play in and how the players interact with each other. You'll start to pick up on specific phrasing or grooves that may come in handy when you need to start swinging through a jazz chart in a pit, for example.
I'm not the best at playing country music; can't stand listening to it, actually, but lots of scores call for some country-western tunes at some point. This is one area where I can use a little more work, admittedly...thankfully, only a couple of shows that I've played so far really call for that style of playing (and one show had everything written out so as long as I could dial-up a decent country patch on my effects board, I was able to slog through it - but I knew even as I was playing it that this was not my preferred style and I could tell it showed in my playing).
The gear you may use in a pit is going to be different than what you normally play through. No need to haul your cabinets and stacks around for this type of gig. A small amp is usually sufficient, as you will most likely be miked from the pit - and you shouldn't play too loud in the pit anyway (I'll write another time about some basic pit etiquette that I've picked up over the years). I usually bring a Strat, an effects board and my JC-120 amp, though I may downsize the amp soon (that sucker is heavy to haul around). Depending on the requirements of the show you might have to also play an acoustic, a banjo, a mandolin, etc., and switch between them a lot during the show...sometimes during the same song!
It helps also to generally have an understanding of how the orchestra adds to and supports the show you are playing and the best way to learn this is to just listen to (or go see!) some musicals. I've always loved musical theater ever since I was a kid and was able to play my parent's records of shows they loved (Sound of Music, Gigi, Camelot, My Fair Lady) - of course, none of these shows have a guitar part, but this is my point - I was exposed to lots of different musicals when I was younger and I could hear how the orchestra supported the singing on-stage and how the music set the mood or followed the action of a show in general. If you don't have a lot of experience with this, it helps to check out some musicals to hear this for yourself. Check out shows like West Side Story, Ragtime, Seussical or even Rent to hear how the music supports the action on stage or can set certain moods - a lot like the score of a movie can set the mood for certain scenes. Believe it or not, this will affect the way you play so that you're playing less as a soloist and more as a part of an ensemble.
Like I said earlier, playing in this environment is a different world than what you may be used to - but it's rewarding and will really make you a better overall player. Plus, it's a blast! It's fun to be able to contribute to the production of a live show. It's not always easy to get into these types of gigs - a lot of it depends on who you know - but if you're lucky enough to be a good, well-rounded player with some connections, I'd definitely suggest getting into the pits.
