The new Musical Store from Vocal Process

I've just created a new addition to the 200+ pages on the Vocal Process website.

Since we're a company that specialises in Musical theatre (theater) training, I thought it would be a good idea to create a one-stop shop for resources on Broadway and West End musicals.

The new Vocal Process Musical Store has 3 departments:

1. Musicals Recordings has almost 500 CDs of soundtracks, original cast albums and possible audition songs. You can search the department for your favourite cast album or just browse for ideas on songs or artists that you can use as audition songs. I've included a number of anthologies and pop/rock/contemporary artists as I encourage my private coaching clients to look at pop songs for musicals audition repertoire ideas.

2. Songbooks and Scores has almost 500 books of music related to theatre singing and musicals. I've included a few classical albums since actors are occasionally called upon to sing more classically, depending on the type of musical. One of the roles in The Light On The Piazza needs a more operatic sound, so I've included a couple of tenor aria books and a few opera scores for that purpose. The majority of the scores and songbooks are linked to musicals and productions including the latest shows in the West End and on Broadway. You can search this department for your ideal vocal score, or just browse to get ideas for shows and songs you can use in your singing auditions.

3. Recommended Reading has a handful of high-level background reading books. This is where I've put all the anatomy and physiology, acoustics and performance skills books that Gillyanne and I have read and recommended. I've also asked a few of my voice trainer friends to suggest titles for this section. If you have any ideas for technique/voice science books that you think would fit the section, just add a comment or send me an email via the Vocal Process website.

The Vocal Process Musical Store is powered by Amazon (the British version) and updates every day. Let me know if you think I've missed anything off, or if there's a new department you think I should open.

Click on any of the above links to visit the Store, or go to the Vocal Process website, click on Products and then click on Vocal Process Musical Store. The store will open in a new window, and will be the most up-to-date version.

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How To Find Work As A Professional Theatre Pianist

What kind of work can a professional pianist expect to find?

Obviously you can work as a recitalist, or join an orchestra as their resident orchestral pianist. But there's a hidden area of work that is both satisfying and fun.

I worked for almost 20 years in London's West End as a rehearsal pianist, and this article focuses on what a rehearsal pianist is, and how to become one.

A rehearsal pianist plays for the rehearsals of West End or touring shows, in the weeks of production before the band arrives. Any show that contains live music will need a rehearsal pianist, but the most famous examples are the big musicals. I worked on Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Me and My Girl, Carmen Jones, and a host of productions both in the West End and on tour.

The contract usually runs for four to six weeks, from 10am to 5pm five or six days a week. During the technical week (the week before opening night or the first preview, when all the sets and costumes are added) the hours can extend quite dramatically - I would sometimes be working 12 or 13 hour days

As a rehearsal pianist you have to be very patient, and to enjoy watching the process of performance creation. In addition, you should be able to perform musical numbers repeatedly to a consistently high standard. And you need to like working with actors! You may or may not have a conductor there, and occasionally you are given the task of training the singers, or playing for the dance calls.

Most productions will have a minimum of two rehearsals each week. You may be called to work on the production during the run, particularly if there is no piano player in the orchestra.

How do you begin working as a production pianist?

When I moved to London in the late 80s I wrote 750 targeted letters asking for employment. Although most of the production companies no longer exist, the methods of contact I used are still valid.

Remember first that you're looking for companies or organisations that produce events, musicals, plays with music or short films, that would need a musician. In the UK, the place to start is the British Music Yearbook, published by Rhinegold and usually available in a good local library. Once you've exhausted the BMY, then Contacts, published by The Spotlight, has a good up-to-date list of repertory theatre companies.I also wrote to film and production companies (with the emphasis on Production) offering my services and asking them to keep my details on file for when they might need a film pianist.

Dance studios like Pineapple Studios in London are constantly hosting production rehearsals, and may be worth contacting. They won't provide you with employment but they have so many production companies hiring their space that they might be able to put you in touch with people needing your brand of skills. It may be worth approaching all the similar rehearsing venues in the area.

Another alternative, often forgotten, is to contact the West End Orchestral Fixer. An orchestral fixer will liaise with the producers of a musical to book the musicians for the run of the show. They will sometimes employ or recommend pianists for the rehearsal period, even if they are not booked for the performances. Once I was established on the scene, I got a great deal of my work from one West End fixer, who knew about or was involved in lots of productions. I didn't necessarily play in the production itself, but was hired for the rehearsal period and the "overlap time" between the bandcalls (in the final week of rehearsal) and opening night. There is an exclusive list of orchestral fixers approved to book West End musicians - if you are having trouble finding it - contact the Musicians' Union.

In a nutshell, think out of the box. I got the contracts by writing to as many people as I thought had the budget to pay me.

Did my mailout all those years ago get any results? Out of those 750 letters I received 49 replies, and one interview for a job in the West End which lasted for a full 8 months and led to a busy 20 years in and around London's Theatreland.

Good luck!

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Jeremy Fisher trains singers and performers to find and maintain their best. He's the author of Successful Singing Auditions, creator of the UK's first endoscopy video ebooks, and is fascinated by bringing technology and innate skill together. http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk

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Visit http://www.vocalprocess.co.uk/ for the latest downloads:
the Vocal Process eZINE (free electronic magazine)
86 things you never hear a singer say (free ebook)
The Voicebox Videos DVD website tells you all about the Looking At A Voice endoscopy video series
The Vocal Process website has a series of free articles on vocal technique and style, memorising and different musical genres.