My First Musical . . .sort of

I just got the lead in a musical. I haven't been in a musical for almost 10 years, and then again I was always in the ensemble without so much as even a solo line. I don't even read music, I sing by ear. How can I approach this without seeming unprofessional? Do I tell them I sing by ear? How can I get over my stagefright?

I also sing by ear, and I always try to get the recording from our directors, because usually there is one. So you can try that. Good luck.

Miranda in "Forbidden Planet"

Diva007--I'm so glad you're asking this!

I'm a musical director and I know that it is just a major part of the job working in most theatres that some of the actors won't read music. What's frustrating to me is when those actors don't even attempt to look at the actual music. Like, they just say "These notes mean nothing to me, it's another language, I'll just listen to everyone else and copy them."

Besides the priceless suggestions already posted here like bringing a tape recorder and memorizing as soon as possible, I think it is also quite useful to devote like half an hour to learning the very basics of reading a melody line. Your MD or accompanist would probably love to spend that time with you, showing you how to follow along at least to the point of seeing when the notes go up or down on the staff, seeing what it looks like on paper when it's unison or harmony singing...that kind of stuff.

love meagan

Updated On: 7/28/05 at 12:51 PM