Practical Tips for High School Musical Pit Orchestras
Here are practical tips for band directors, music directors, vocal teachers, and high school music programs to enhance their pit orchestra performances during the fall and spring musical seasons. These tips apply to educational institutions at all levels, from middle school and high school to collegiate and higher education.
Budget Considerations for the Pit Orchestra
One of the biggest challenges many schools face is budgeting for their musical productions. When hiring pit musicians, directors must decide: Should you use live players? A pre-recorded soundtrack? Professional musicians? Students? A hybrid approach?
In an educational setting like high school, allowing students to play in the pit orchestra provides invaluable learning experiences. Even if they aren't the strongest players, working through a large volume of music in a short time helps build confidence, develop sight-reading skills, and improve adaptability to on-stage action.
Even if students feel anxious, it’s essential for them to develop the skills to handle high-pressure environments like a pit. Many students who participate in high school pit orchestras go on to seek similar opportunities in their post-secondary careers, which can be very rewarding and an enriching part of their adult lives.
In 2007, my high school licensed the original version of Little Shop of Horrors for the spring musical. The revival cast album had just been released, but the new orchestrations were not yet available for licensing. My high school music teacher asked if I could transcribe additional parts by ear from the cast album to expand the orchestra beyond the original score and to include other students in the pit.
Over three months, I transcribed the orchestrations by ear, quickly learning about transposing instruments and concert pitch—like how the alto saxophone sounds a major sixth lower than written and the xylophone sounds an octave higher. Though challenging, this experience provided an invaluable education, allowing more students to participate in the pit while helping me grow as an orchestrator, transcriber, and copyist.
Professional Musicians in the Pit
If your school can budget for it, hiring a few professional musicians to play alongside students as mentors can be incredibly beneficial. They can teach students how to navigate a musical score, understand vamps, follow cues, and adapt to changes in real-time.
For example, when I music directed Chicago a few years ago, we had three students in the reed section. The reed books required multiple instrument doubles, which was a lot to ask of high school students. We split the parts so one student played just clarinet, another played alto sax, and we hired a professional for the low reed parts. Our professional reed player was a high school band teacher who knew how to teach and work with the students. This helped them build confidence and refine their playing and by the end of the show, they couldn't wait to play the next musical.
Limited Budgets
Not every school has the budget for professional musicians or a full student orchestra. What happens if your school is performing Beauty and the Beast, which is scored for a 16-piece orchestra, but you only have funds for three players?
In my blog post "How to Downsize a Large Orchestra for Musical Theatre", I outline strategies for reducing orchestrations while maintaining the sound and intention of the score. If you can only hire three musicians, I recommend prioritizing a solid rhythm section—piano, bass, and drums—as they provide the foundation and core that keeps the show together.
Pit Orchestra Layout
A pit orchestra layout for musical theatre differs from that of a concert band or wind ensemble. In modern musical theatre—dominated by rock, pop, and jazz styles—the rhythm section is the core foundation and backbone of the show and they need to be together.
When building your pit layout:
Place the rhythm section (piano, bass, drums, guitar) center as a rhythmic anchor.
Position percussion farther away, as instruments like timpani, xylophone, and crash cymbals can be loud.
Keep players who rely on each other close together to maintain a tight groove.
I've played in school pits where the orchestra was spread out awkwardly: keyboards on one side, drums on the other, and bass in the middle. While this setup might work for a concert band, it creates timing and cohesion issues in a musical. Last year, I visited a school performing The Addams Family with this setup, and different sections of the orchestra were frequently out of sync, rushing, or just in a totally different timezone! Closing the gap between the rhythm section components can prevent these issues so you can focus on the other important elements; the show!
Pre-Recorded Tracks
Some purists believe musicals should always use live players, but the reality is that not every school can afford them. Many licensing companies, including MTI and Concord, offer high-quality, customizable backing tracks recorded with live musicians in a recording studio. MTI, for example, provides an app called MTI Player that allows tempo adjustments, key changes, and vamps to be modified, added, or changed to your specific production needs.
However, pre-recorded tracks come with drawbacks. If a student skips three bars or forgets a vamp, the track won’t adapt and could derail the performance. On the other hand, younger students—who often learn in a more structured, concrete, and predictable way—might benefit from rehearsing with a track weeks before the performance.
That said, if you’re on Broadway—like the 2023 production of Here Lies Love, which attempted to use only pre-recorded tracks—it’s a different story. That production planned to perform to pre-recorded tracks and ended up clashing with the AFM Local 802’s collective bargaining agreement. They ultimately reversed course and hired all live players, but it just goes to show how professional theater operates under different standards and conditions.
Agreeing on the Source Recording
When preparing and rehearsing a high school musical, ensure that the entire creative team, cast, and orchestra are referencing the same recordings. Different productions—Broadway, touring, regional—often contain different variations in orchestration, cuts, arrangements, keys, and tempo. Shrek, for example, has a recorded video staged version where even the order of the songs are not the same as the licensed version!
I’ve seen choreographers rehearse to the wrong version of a show, teaching dance numbers to a revival recording while the school was performing the original Broadway score. This led to major confusion, having to alter the score and choreography, and wasted a ton of rehearsal time. The solution? Hold a production meeting before rehearsals begin and agree on a single reference recording. If one doesn't exist, then create a practice track recording of the show or ask your licensing company if they offer resources for rehearsals that match the version you are using.
In conclusion, a well-organized pit orchestra can elevate a high school musical from good to great. Whether you're working with a full orchestra, a small ensemble, or backing tracks, thoughtful planning and adaptation can ensure a successful performance. With the right approach, even a modestly resourced pit can provide an incredible learning experience for students both on and off the stage.