"Pop" scores

What elements of a show's score take it from regular musical theatre to "pop"?

I always thought shows like Wicked (which is called pop every 10 seconds) were just regular broadway music, with a few more modern instruments just to spice things up.

I think the "pop" mostly comes from the vocal style. A song like "Defying Gravity" would never be found in a Rodgers and Hammerstein show. The vocal production is very modern and edgy, similar almost to a power ballad from the 80s.

"Pop" also, largely, comes from within the orchestrations as well as the vocals. It is somewhat of an overall sound. The instrumentation of an original Rogers and Hammerstein is nothing like its comparison to something that Steve Margoshes or Doug Besterman would construct. Obviously there is a visible difference with the use of guitars (specifically electric), as well as the use of a standard drum set. The vocals, as Zoran912 said, are also a large part of the definition between pop and a classic musical theatre sound. Whereas solo vocals tend to be quite edgy, the harmony within the chorus is also extremely modern. "Pop" tends to refer to a style of song which usually consists of a verse, and a repeated chorus. A composer who is known for pop can usually be known for a show which in some important form incorporates an electric guitar, bass, drums, and vocal with a loud/strong catchy chorus or hook, I guess you could say. With many "pop" composers in musical theatre, art is of course a large part of the writing, but something that is true pop is usually written for the the primary goal of an audience-pleasing sound..... To be perfectly honest, pop, is really the easiest style of music to sell, mainly because is is a bit maintsream, pleasing to the ear, and sounds a lot like music we have all heard before. Of course, most of us love that sound as many composers such as: Schwartz, Wildhorn, Schoenberg, Elton John, etc. are all great at composing in that genre! I am a huge admirer of many styles, and I think that pop has and will forever have a large influence over the sound of the Broadway musical...It already has, lol. That is the great thing about musical theatre though, there is room for so much interpretation, that's what keeps things interesting!

Later!

Phantom05

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Updated On: 10/12/05 at 02:28 AM