If you go to see a musical with a live orchestra, you’ll notice that the woodwind players always seen to be playing loads of different instruments, while the other instrumentalists usually just play one. It’s not immediately obvious why this would be, so I thought I’d do some research into it and find out the reason.
The woodwind parts for musicals are usually split into high, middle and low pitch. Due to the small size of most orchestra pits, it isn’t usually possible to fit one player for all of the different instruments and each individual instrument is played quite rarely, so it makes sense for players to double.
An orchestra pit will have a reduced version of a full orchestra, and the orchestration will vary depending on the show that is being performed. The musical style of the show will affect the orchestration, for example, a traditional show will typically use the standard orchestral instruments, just in a condensed format. A more modern, jazzy show, however, may leave out double reed instruments, or even the whole string section, in favour of larger numbers of brass and saxophones.
It’s definitely the case, however, that it’s common for the woodwind players to be required to double. The woodwind parts are usually referred to as reed parts, although these also include flute music. The instruments required for each part are dependent on the show, but players can often expect to play five or even six instruments in one part.
How are reed parts split?
There isn’t really a standard orchestration for reed parts in musicals. The parts can be split however the orchestrator decides. There are some line-ups that are more common than others, though. It’s usually the case that the reed 1 part is the higher instruments and as you go through the reed parts the instruments get lower. The reed 1 part doesn’t usually refer to the most difficult part. There is usually some overlap between instruments as well, e.g., reed 1 and 2 might both have clarinet parts.
Another common orchestration is to have the main flute part in the reed 1 part and the main clarinet part in the reed 2 part. This means that reed 1 often contains the upper harmonies for the flute parts and the lower harmonies for the clarinet parts. Reed 1 will often have the majority of the flute solos and reed 2 the majority of the clarinet solos. If there is a piccolo part, this is usually also in the reed 1 part.
It’s not often expected that woodwind players should be able to play double reeds in conjunction with any other woodwind instruments, although there are some exceptions to this. There will often be an oboe and cor anglais part that is separate to the other reed parts, if the style of the music is more orchestral. If the music is more modern, there may not be an oboe part, or it might be doubled in one of the other reed parts, but with the option to be played on the clarinet.
Why aren’t reed parts split by instrument?
One of the main reasons the reed parts in an orchestra pit aren’t split by instrument, is that the size of the orchestra pit is usually very restricted. There are lots of different combinations of woodwind instruments required for different pieces, for example, one piece might be written for three flutes, and another for three clarinets. Having a player for all of these instruments in the pit together just wouldn’t be feasible.
If, instead, there are three reed parts, and each part has both flute and clarinet written for it, then it’s possible to play a piece that requires three flutes and a piece that requires three clarinets with the same three musicians. Woodwind instruments, in general, have similar fingerings, so learning another woodwind instrument isn’t necessarily too difficult, although it does require lots of skill and dedication from the players.
Another reason that the reed parts aren’t split by instrument is that some of the instruments are used so rarely that it would be a waste to get a player in just for that one small part. This is particularly true of less common instruments like alto flute (which appears briefly in sister act, for example), which may only have one or two short passages in the whole show. It’s better for the players if they don’t have to sit and watch in every other piece (and also cheaper for the people running the show).
Although it’s important to be able to play each of the instruments in the part to a high standard, most pit orchestra musicians will have a specialist instrument. This helps to decide who plays which part. Someone whose first instrument is the flute, for example, will probably prefer to play the reed 1 part, whereas someone who specialises on the baritone sax will probably ask for one of the low reed parts.
Why don’t other instrumentalists have to double?
It makes sense that some musicians in an orchestra pit might have to double, for the reasons listed above, but why is it almost always the woodwind section? You don’t see violinists playing the viola as well, or trumpeters playing the trombone, so why is it common to do this for woodwind players?
While it’s true that it’s mostly the woodwind players that double, there is a bit of doubling in some of the other parts. At least one of the trumpet players will often have to double on the flugelhorn, which is used in some pieces, but quite rarely. However, with the brass and string sections, they are more often than not playing as a full section with all instruments playing together. This leads to more difficulty with doubling than with the woodwind.
There is more variety of sound between different woodwind instruments than strings or brass. You can have lots of different combinations, e.g. flute and oboe is a very different timbre to sax and clarinet. This is less true for the brass and string section. This bigger variety leads to each of the woodwind instruments being played more rarely. Again, this means that the most feasible option is for the woodwind musicians to double.
Are there opportunities for woodwind musicians that don’t double in pit orchestras?
If you’re a woodwind musician looking into this line of work, but you only play one instrument, you need to think very carefully about it. Opportunities to play a single woodwind instrument do come up in musicals, but they’re quite rare. If your instrument is the oboe, you might have a bit more chance of getting a part where you don’t have to double. However, there are quite a few (usually more modern) musicals where there is no oboe part at all.
There are quite a few musicals out there where the woodwind parts are split by instrument. However, these are usually the older, more traditional musicals, for example The Sound of Music and Carousel. It’s worth noting that even in these musicals, one of the flautists is expected to double on piccolo and the oboist on cor anglais.
Another option to consider is playing in operas, rather than musicals. This is a similar line of work, but as operas are generally more classically focused than musicals, it’s more likely that it will be more of a traditional score and the parts will be split by instrument. It’s still quite likely that you’ll need a piccolo as a flautist, an A clarinet as a clarinettist or a cor anglais as an oboist, but this kind of doubling is usually more manageable.
As a saxophonist, you may have less options. The most common style of playing used in pit orchestras where the parts are split by instrument rather than doubling is classical. Often in classical music there isn’t a saxophone part, meaning that the opportunities for a saxophonist who doesn’t double will be limited. It might be necessary for a saxophonist to consider a different area of music or take up a second instrument, although this can take time and is often more difficult the later you start.
Summary
To sum up this post, if you are a woodwind player, and want to play in orchestra pits, there are some things to consider regarding instrumentation. In most musicals, particularly modern ones, the woodwind players are required to play multiple instruments. The exceptions are more traditional, classical musicals and operas, but the options will be more limited for a single instrumentalist, particularly a saxophonist.