Browsing by Author "Muller, Kelsey Kylie"
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- ItemOrchestration trends in a sample of successful musical theatre works(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Muller, Kelsey Kylie; Ross, Barry; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social sciences. Department of Music.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Orchestration is a vital yet under-appreciated part of musical theatre. Literature on this topic is scarce, with no comprehensive study having been written, nor any guide to orchestration in musical theatre. The purpose of this study is to make a preliminary study of orchestration trends in musical theatre. Thirty musicals were selected, and three divisions became apparent: full musical theatre instrumentation (Type 1), small musical theatre instrumentation (Type 2), and rock band orchestration (Type 3). These musicals were studied, and common orchestration techniques were compiled. 121 examples were selected as typical of musical theatre orchestration practices. These trends can be broadly summarised as follows: (i) the solo voice is not typically accompanied by a full orchestra; (ii) when the vocalist sings softer, fewer instruments are used; (iii) when the orchestrator uses the full orchestra, fewer instruments are used on voice entry; (iv) when different vocalists are used in different parts of a song, each vocalist’s accompaniment is orchestrated so that each voice is clearly heard; (v) when simple rhythms and simple melodies are used, then simple orchestration is also found; (vi) when vocal clarity is required, orchestrators decrease the activity in multiple instruments; (vii) when the full chorus is used, only then is the full orchestra used as accompaniment; (viii) when the orchestrator uses polyphonic vocal lines, he or she first presents each vocal line separately; and (ix) when the orchestrator does use the full orchestra with a solo voice, then the orchestration is bare. These trends in orchestration can be identified in this sample, and provide a survey of techniques that have traditionally been found to be successful in musical theatre.