next »

[MikeBMiller]

Hello out there in trombone land. Just wondering if anyone has played the "Titanic" musical and, if so, whether it is a fun show to play. Our community theatre is doing it in about 3 months. They haven't called me yet, but I have done 3 out of the last 4 musicals, so there is a good chance they will. I looked up a few clips on youtube and it looked like some pretty boring tunes. Is the trombone book any good?

Thanks for any info!

[LongmodelF]

Yes, its a nice pad. Don't know what you play but if you have a bass then trom2 has some really meaty bits!!

[denny seifried]

I have played the 2nd book (bass trombone) on two different occasions. It is, of course, a pretty "dark" musical and there is some pretty "symphonic" styled playing involved with this musical. I did it with a 1st trombone player (Steve Schoppert) who used a symphonic tenor and I really enjoyed the blend we had with the horns. I also did it with a tenor player who used a Jiggs-horn. I think Steve's horn and style were a good choice for this musical.

Hope you enjoy the show.

[MikeBMiller]

I haven't actually been hired yet. I suspect that they will just use 1 trombone, as the pit and budget don't really have room for a big orchestra. About 10 people is all it will hold. When we did "Annie" in September, they had one guy covering 5 reed books.

[LongmodelF]

If they are only using one bone then book2 (bass) is the most useful. There are a couple of small bits in book1 that are not in book2 but I think they are cued.

John

[MikeBMiller]

Well, I have acutally been hired now, and they are only using one bone, as I suspected. So I need to go through the books and figure out when to play which part.

I hope the orchestra for the show fares better than the band on the ship. Even if I screw up, hopefully I won't drown at the end.

[Jeff Smith]

Well, I have acutally been hired now, and they are only using one bone, as I suspected. So I need to go through the books and figure out when to play which part.

I hope the orchestra for the show fares better than the band on the ship. Even if I screw up, hopefully I won't drown at the end.

Probably not the last joke of the thread...

[LongmodelF]

When is it? - or how was it?

[MikeBMiller]

First rehearsal was today. They have a keyboard covering the 2 horn parts and bass bone. I am playing 1st bone. From the looks of the book, I thought I was going to be bored to death, but once we started playing, I thought it was pretty good. The show really moves along with not a lot of break between tunes. So you have to pay attention even during the tacet tunes to make sure you don't miss the next entrance. The set is pretty impressive. They have a 3 story set. I have been assured that there will be no water pouring into the pit during the show. Our local theatre does a great job with a show for a town of 50K population.

http://www.spartanburglittletheatre.com/

[LongmodelF]

Mike

Must be an impressive keyboard if it can cover the bass bone part in Titanic!. Unfortunately in this day and age costs play a big part in musical performance choice. Fortunate to be doing it with full orcheatra later this year (on bass bone). Hope your show goes well. Enjoy!!

John

[MikeBMiller]

It's a small pit. No way a full orchestra could fit in there. We will be squeezing hard to get 13 people in.

[Andrew Meronek]

I just got back from a rehearsal of this musical. Overall, it's a pretty easy book to read, and it's a lot of fun to honk out those trombone power chords. I was playing the first book, with my friend David Busch on the bass 'bone part.

I'm sure that it helps to have a bit bigger orchestra than what MikeBMiller seems to have had to work with. It's not a full-ish orchestra, but I think that the major parts are indeed covered, including a string quartet covering string parts.

Because there is so much 'pad' playing, I look at it as a chance to practice really locking in time and intonation.