The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #26

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    Cirque is a great example of a partially tracked show. They have some incredible musicians behind the scenes. There are sections that are largely tracked with synth and ambient tones, and also parts that are orchestral sounding. There's a click that is started and stopped by the music director and then he or she will also que the tracks to run along with the live band. On my third ship contract, our stage manager had previously done two touring contracts with Cirque. I was interested in that gig for awhile but he talked me out of it. It sounds like even worse living conditions than on ships. At least on ships you can unpack and don't have to live out of a suitcase all the time.

    In the past on ships I've seen them use Pro Tools and Ableton for running the tracks and automation for the live band.

    Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. This has been equally informative for me! I've never done a cover band gig before

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  3. #27

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    Thank you for creating and posting this. Very, very interesting.... candidly, after watching the video of you playing, my thought was how in the world would you do that without a click track in your ear?

    I am consistently in awe of the players who perform in pit bands/orchestras. It seems incredibly demanding, regardless of the scale of the production. Full disclosure: my son is a music director/keyboard player in NYC (or he is when the theaters are open), and has done his share of cruise productions. Hopefully, all of you guys can get back to work in the not too distant future.

  4. #28

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    Just as an aside, historically, there have been two contracts for touring of Broadway Shows: a Bus and Truck contract, and a Production contract. The Production tour pays the same scale as the actual Broadway show, and includes the same number of musicians. The production may travel by plane, from one large city to the next; these usually play in each location for a month or more.

    A Bus & Truck contract (the cast travels by bus, the sets & equipment by truck) is cheaper, and will usually have a full complement of actors, but may cut down on music personnel. Under this contract, the company may only stay in one place for a few nights or a week, and it uses a different scale than a production contract (the minimums are lower).

    It seems, however, that Production contract tours are largely a thing of the past. My friends who are still performing tell me that nowadays almost all tours are bus & truck, so the number of music personnel may well be limited to what is necessary beyond electronic reproduction.

    Long ago, I was in a summer production of Brigadoon for a theatre in California. This theatre had a practice of recording all the musicians in advance (full orchestra), and then the conductor, listening to the recording over headphones, would conduct the actors via a monitor strategically located where the actors could see him but the audience could not. The sound was really first-rate, and I doubt that anyone could tell from listening that it was a recording; but if something happened, there was no going back or skipping to another part.

    One night an actress skipped one whole short scene in the middle of the reprises near the end of the show, leaving me to stand alone on stage with nothing to do, as the music cues came and went; meanwhile the cast members in the background scrambled to figure out whether they should follow the cue of the lines spoken on stage or what the music was telling them to do. The director, who happened to be in the audience that performance, was furious, but I thought it was hilarious, even if I was hanging out to dry.

  5. #29

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    Ukena - thank you for the insight! I don't know much about land touring but that is good to know. I had never heard of the production touring you had mentioned - maybe because I'm young and still pretty fresh to the game. That sounds like it would've been much better than a bus and truck contract. I can't imagine living out of a suitcase from hotel room to hotel room and having to sleep on a bus sometimes. That would be rough. Then again, there are plenty aspects of ship life that are equally as terrible.

    I've definitely developed a similar attitude to you though. When **** hits the fan in a performance, I'm usually the one laughing about it.

  6. #30

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    Why do we even have musicians at all anymore? With all of the backing tracks and computer power,as well as an audience who doesn't care! Or even know what it takes to actually learn music.

    We sorely need an audience that has some serious musical appreciation first and foremost.And then keep the music education funding in all schools.
    Why is it Japan ,Europe,etc are so far ahead of us in the music America originally created? Profit Driven and Bean Counters need to not be Music Producers in any shape or form!

    Rant Over!

  7. #31

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    Smiling out of both sides of my mouth for this one. "Marginalized" may not be the best word to describe Keef, but I can't think of a better one. Not sure what to think about the drum, bass and synth tracks. TMI, I suppose.


  8. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by lammie200
    Smiling out of both sides of my mouth for this one. "Marginalized" may not be the best word to describe Keef, but I can't think of a better one. Not sure what to think about the drum, bass and synth tracks. TMI, I suppose.

    I like Charlie's kit.