On with the Show!

So what specifically can arrangers do in commercial notation that will help their players? The Norton Manual of Notation would be a good starting place. These are the specific suggestions I have that would ensure a good performance of a show. Production Shows on ships can be involved musically or not so involved. What I mean by that is they can utilize "tunes," or they can use full blown arrangements or copies of theater and orchestral works. Carnival Cruises uses both. They have direct lifts of many movie themes and classical favorites. Aaron Copeland would probably be turning over in his grave if he knew excerpts from his ballet Rodeo were in Carnival's Living in America. I always wondered whether they paid royalties or not. If they operate in "international" waters and the ships are flagshipped in Panama, my guess would be no. Likewise the Beatles and Michael Jackson might be miffed to know their music is being used daily including direct audio clips. That is not my concern. My concern is the formula for which to achieve a successful performance of a show both with pre-recorded tracks and a live orchestra. In school I learned how to write with track. It is easy. Put the "beat" on the track. Let their ALWAYS be a discernible pulse on the track, if it is going to be the musical anchor. Drum set would normally provide this role, but not on Carnival. The majority of their shows use the drummer as an effect. He splashes and washes and brushes, but rarely does he play a good groove. Drummers get comfortable playing behind the track, because they monitor it with a hot spot or with "cans." It isn't that difficult to listen to a studio recording and play slightly behind it. That is a crutch in my eyes. If the band gets comfortable playing behind the track, then it certainly will not sound good. Most ships use a ratio of track to live band that ideally ends up about 60/40. I have been on ships where the band actually sounded horrific. They are so isolated in a balcony, no one really knows what they are doing. It is a daunting task to say the least to play well. A click track is provided for the benefit of the band, but many times the recorded tracks are not in sync with it. You must learn when the click track is not accurate, and compensate for that live performance by playing ahead or behind. If the click track is accurate, then the job becomes easier. The approach for playing a Production Show can vary from ship to ship according to the sound engineer. If you know what he is doing, it is also easier. If you know before a performance he is going to run track, then mentally prepare for another musician being audible playing your role. This can be frustrating, but then again they continue to hire and pay Showbands. In this situation it is best to go through the written music with the track running and let your creativity be a guide. What would you normally play in this situation? Do you know the tune? If so try playing what you normally do. Many times I have found this works well. I have spent weeks going through a particular show writing my own parts. If I am stylistically correct, rarely do I get negative feedback. Usually the show becomes better because people recognize authentic styles of music. In certain situations this may not work. If the rhythmic feel has been drastically changed on the track, then you have to come up with your own rhythm through your instincts. I just listen to the track and my education tells me what to play. Then I write that in on the part. What I am forgetting is, eventually the band will have to reckon with the singers and dancers. Either they will be open and receptive to accurate and stylistically correct performances, or they will be adamant that the track is the only way to play the music. This usually happens when they are new or insecure about their own roles. If they don't feel comfortable about the "beat" or don't know the songs themselves, new material may be distracting to them. This is a huge downfall, because you could be wasting good musicians. Try to remember that the tracks are almost always sequenced, and that means there is little human feel in the rhythm section. On the majority of ships I have done, the piano track is almost completely sequenced. That means there was never a live keyboard player playing the part. You as a band member have many stumbling blocks. First the music is poorly copied, and often what you should play is not thought out. The arranger should have asked himself, "Will the musicians be playing live with the track?" If so he can write chord changes for the player to improvise with. This allows the musician the freedom to come up with a part of his own. If the goal is to not run the track, then exact notation is needed if these parts are wanted. Personally I don't see the point in writing an elaborate piano part that a machine plays, then expect a player to duplicate this live. When playing live there are many factors at play. The ship is moving. The orchestra pit is dark. The tracks can be deafeningly loud. The audience can be noisy. Other players in the band may not be playing their parts accurately. There are a myriad of things that make playing a simple part difficult. If the dancers get used to hearing the sequenced track, what is the point of having a live orchestra? It would be what I saw depicted on the Carnival website, a band that are merely mannequins. I'll never forget watching the video of Denny Brunk, a Carnival fly on entertainer. Denny was a good singer and a great jazz trombone player. When I heard the band on the video tape I could not believe how good it sounded. Oddly enough the band was sitting in the dark, stoic. No one was moving, yet the music sounded phenomenal. Then he sang Stardust and featured the piano player. It sounded like Bill Evans himself at the ivories. All during this time the band was dark, and I finally realized they were not playing. It was his track playing produced in a studio in LA or Vegas. I have yet to see a Showband performance yet that mimics a real live Broadway show, because the arrangers that are producing the tracks aren't providing a suitable product. The majority of the time the arranging is good, but the rhythm section parts and the rhythm section tracks are not up to a professional standard. In pop music I have discovered over time the lead vocal sells the song. The same is true in ship production shows. If there are soaring strings, voices, and French horns, then no one notices the groove. I have played shows with the track in one ear and the click in the other. It is grueling work. I prefer to study and learn the music and play it with the click the way I feel it. Why else would a cruise line hire me?