The Bassment Level - Intro

I have been performing in musical theater pits (and stages, and lofts, and basements, and prerecordings) since college, where my first show was Company. While I have played in countless other situations, including studio work, orchestras, jazz groups, and rock bands, theater has remained my favorite playing situation. Theatrical work is its own animal - sometimes you play fully orchestral scores (Nine), sometimes it’s all electric rock/funk/soul (Pippin), and sometimes it’s both and more. My experience in all of the previously cited playing situations has helped to inform my ability to walk into any theater gig knowing how and what to play.

My hope in running this blog is that some of the information contained within will help some players out there either learn more about the craft, gain insight into playing specific shows, or more. I would like to thank my Seattle theater colleague Anthony Pooley for the genesis of this idea. Anthony is a busy guitarist who blogs on the STRUMpit, a resource for musical theater guitarists. I have largely modeled my format here on his, and thank him for the wealth of knowledge he provides.

My assumption if you read these is that you know your instrument already, and therefore I will usually skip basic explanations (i.e, “arco” means “with the bow”). Should you require any elaboration on anything I discuss, I welcome you to contact me with any questions.