Introduction: Why Music Fundamentals for Musical Theatre Students?
When I was first asked to teach a college course for musical theatre students that incorporated music theory and sight-singing, I began searching for an appropriate textbook. I did not find a book or series of books that covered what I thought was necessary and instead began creating worksheets for my students. The worksheets and assignments eventually developed into the text you see today. As a musical theatre performer, you need to be able to read music and communicate effectively with pianists, coaches and music directors. Actors are often required to learn large amounts of music in a short period of time. Whether it is a call-back packet containing four songs to learn in twenty-four hours or a twenty-nine-hour reading of a new show. In both scenarios, you not only need to learn the music, but are also expected to make character choices based on the material in front of you. Learning to analyze a piece of music quickly is an invaluable tool for a musical theatre performer. Many music theory books and courses focus on classical music. In most music schools, music majors take four to eight semesters of music theory and sight-singing classes. They have time to delve into Handel, Puccini and Tchaikovsky. While this is a necessary skill for students that are performing this material, it is a luxury that many musical theatre performers do not have. Actors, whether studying in a conservatory, university, or on their own, have to devote an equal amount of time to training as an actor, dancer, and singer. Therefore, I have chosen to focus the book on the basics of what you will encounter and use on a daily basis. Whether you are learning the material on your own or as part of a class, you should be able to hone your musical skills and walk in to any audition or rehearsal situation with confidence.
How/What Will You Learn?
The book covers rhythm, major and minor keys, intervals, triads, seventh chords, phrasing, sight-singing, dictation, and song analysis. All of the musical excerpts come from the musical theatre repertoire spanning George Gershwin to Jason Robert Brown. The first nine chapters of the book focus solely on learning to hear and perform basic rhythms and intervals. I use moveable “do” solfege for sight-singing. I find that it is the easiest way for you to incorporate the theoretical knowledge of intervals into performance. The syllables are comfortable to sing and are easily adjustable for minor keys and accidentals. If you, the student or teacher, prefer a different method, it is possible to perform all of the examples in any format. As a singer, it can be difficult to “see” and hear a melodic or harmonic line. I use the piano keyboard to give you a visual representation of each interval as well as musical theatre song examples to offer an aural representation of each interval. The constant reference to the piano keyboard also (without discussing piano technique) creates a familiarity with the piano, giving you the ability to “plunk” out parts and basic chords if necessary. As each chapter progresses, new intervals and rhythms are added to the sight-singing exercises. The website provides examples in each chapter to give you a guide to work with while learning. There are also suggested songs to work on and listen to from the musical theatre repertoire.
In Chapter 10, triads are introduced. As we work through identifying and writing triads, chord progressions, and inversions, there are numerous song examples to look at and listen to as well as choral sight-singing examples. If you are in a classroom setting, you can sing through the choral examples as a group to hear how the individual parts fit together. If you are working as an individual, you can sing through each part, analyze the chords, and listen to a recording. Although the theory focus shifts to chords and harmony, there are still plenty of melodic sight-singing examples to work on. The examples get progressively harder and incorporate new rhythmic concepts every few chapters.
As you work through each chapter, you will see sections titled SONG ANALYSIS. Each of these sections combines the skills you are learning with insight into using those skills to analyze the music. You will learn to interpret different aspects of the music for clues to character development and emotional arc. Each new song analysis section gives you new tools to dig deeper into the “how” and “why” of the music. The song analysis sections culminate in Chapter 24, where you use all of the tools you have learned to analyze larger and more complicated musical examples.
In addition, at the end of each review chapter, you will find performance tips to help you navigate and understand your sheet music more fully. Although they are located in the review chapters, they each contain very important new information that you don’t want to miss!
How Does all of this Knowledge Help Me as a Performer?
This may seem obvious, but knowing how to read music gives you the ability to learn your music on your own. As a performer you will be given a considerable amount of music to learn over your education and career. Ideally you don’t want to have to rely on someone else to teach you every note; it is expensive! Your time with a coach is better served shaping and crafting your piece, not learning the notes. When you can read music, you have the tools to: clap and count through the rhythms; speak your lyrics in rhythm; learn the melody (or harmony) using solfege; play the melody or chords on the piano; interpret musical markings.
Next, you will be a more confident performer in your auditions if you can read music. Auditions are often a stressful process, but if you are confident in your music, your cut, talking to the pianist, and learning callback materials, you will be taking away many of the factors that are often a worry to performers. Using your music theory knowledge you are able to: create a 16, 8, or 32 bar cut; check to see if you are singing a complete phrase; look at the chords to see if your cut resolves or ends on tonic; talk to the pianist about tempo; talk to the pianist about any special markings; learn music quickly for a callback (possibly even out in the hallway while waiting to be seen again)!
Finally, when you are cast in a show, you often have a lot of material to learn (possibly in a short period of time). It is always best to come into music rehearsals with your melodies learned so that the music director can work with you on shaping the music instead of playing out your part. You also have the benefit of being able to: learn your harmony lines faster; be flexible when changes are made to the music; understand rhythm and counts to help with dance steps; analyze your music to gain a deeper understanding of your character’s emotional state and conflict and resolution points.
As you work through the book, take your time. Some chapters may take a few days to master, while others may take weeks. Use the website to listen to examples of the material and to work on listening and dictation. Although you may not ever need to transcribe (write what you hear) in your career, it is a tremendous help to train your ears and become a stronger musician.
Practice sight-singing every day. Use the examples in the book, but also use material you are working on for a voice lesson or an audition. Learning to sight-sing takes time. The best way to train your ears and your voice is with consistent practice. Don’t be afraid to work on very short sections at a time. If necessary, sing one measure and then check your starting pitch and your final pitch with the piano. Record yourself doing each exercise and then play it back to find your mistakes. If you are having trouble with a particular interval, try singing up or down the scale to find the note and then jump back and forth between the two pitches until you are comfortable. Work on the more difficult parts and re-record. Finally, use a metronome while working on rhythm and sight-singing—it will help you feel the division of the beat within a steady tempo.
In my experience, musical theatre performers with a solid background in music theory and sight-singing are more confident in auditions and music rehearsals. They are valuable cast members because they are flexible, able to learn harmonies quickly, and delve into deeper work right away. There are so many aspects of the business of musical theatre that are out of your control as an actor, but being able to read music is not one of them. The process of learning to read can be fun but also challenging and frustrating at times. It is important to remember that it is worth it! This is the language of your field. You will be a better musician/ performer/actor once you are able to fully understand and analyze the material of your chosen profession. Good luck and happy singing!