In What Ways Can Music Be Used in Theater?
Newsletter: Calculation Music to Plays
FEB
28
Putting the Audio of Music in Your Production
By Edith Weiss
Edith Weiss is the author of several published children's plays, including vi with Pioneer Drama Service. A lot of Edith's writing time goes into her stand up-up comedy routine, which has taken her all over the country and on three overseas armed services tours. Also writing, she besides acts and directs in both children's and adult theatre.
Want to add together something special and different to your production that costs next to zip? Sound too expert to be true? Not at all! Make your product much richer and more than professional past adding music.
No, I'g non talking well-nigh producing a musical; I'k talking almost adding music to your non-musical production to make it original, exciting and truly yours.
Music tin exist added before the play e'er starts. Choose pre-show music that helps put the audition in the mood you want them in and that suits the play yous're doing. It doesn't accept to be loud; in fact it specifically shouldn't be. People should exist able to easily talk over it. They might not even consciously detect the music, merely information technology notwithstanding helps define the tone of the show they're virtually to encounter while enriching your environment.
You can use music within a play in two ways. One way is to add it as underscoring, as is done in movies. Underscoring is music played very quietly nether dialogue. Again, information technology enhances the mood you are trying to create while existence well-nigh subliminal in its presentation. Of course, y'all must be careful that the audience can still hear the dialogue clearly.
The other technique for adding music to a not-musical is to utilize it during moments of the play without dialogue: the top of the show, scene changes, chase sequences, scenes that have more action than dialogue, pall call, etc. Just be careful you don't overdo it because you don't want to shift focus away from the play or overshadow your actors.
Adding music in this 2d way helps define the time period of your show. Say you are doing Cinderella. Are you putting her in the eye ages? Then find some renaissance music written in the 14th, 15th or 16th centuries. This music might work well to beginning the evidence, to introduce the Fairy Godmother, at the ball and at the end of the play. You can use the same or dissimilar music for the drape telephone call. Doing a testify that uses kings and queens from "one time upon a time" and want to set it in the 17th century? If you lot use Baroque music, you immediately give the season of those times, as well every bit a little education for your audition.
Too defining an era, music can assist establish place. For instance, if y'all're doing something set in Africa or Asia, employ authentic music that comes out of those regions to add together to the integrity of your production.
Using either of these techniques with music can fix the tone and emotion of particular scenes. For instance, in Cinderella, the music can exist light and energetic every bit the stepsisters go off to the ball, which would dissimilarity with Cinderella'due south mood and poignantly show what is denied her as she is left behind. Fading out on upbeat music and immediately fading upwards on more somber music is hugely effective at carrying a change of tone and emotion onstage. This becomes all the more constructive if you don't have sophisticated lighting to convey the shift in mood.
One discussion of caution: make certain that any music yous use is in the public domain, is labeled "royalty free" or is an original composition. Contemporary music played on the radio is strictly copyrighted and cannot be played at a public performance without permission. You do not have the right to play Embankment Boys music simply because your play is gear up in the 1960s. Instead, be creative. Chances are y'all accept some talented fellow member of your ensemble who has e'er wanted to write original music! Or, cheque with Pioneer Drama. They already sell a CD of Royalty Complimentary Theme Music with a fairy tale genre, and I know they plan on developing similar royalty free CDs with other themes in the very virtually futurity.
Every bit long as you lot make sure your musical additions complement the performance without upstaging the actors, you lot can greatly enrich your non-musical production with very fiddling, if any, cost. If you don't take the time, yous tin can involve another student or parent in the production by appointing a "music director" to be responsible for finding suitable music selections and recommending places in the script to enhance with music.
Become artistic and have fun adding the sound of music to all your productions from here on out!
Source: https://www.pioneerdrama.com/Newsletter/Articles/Adding_Music.asp
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