Pit Band
Ana Shore
Every year in the spring, the high school puts on a musical. There are many ways to take part in the musical including being in the pit band. For the school, the band consists of anyone who wants to play no matter what instrument they know. In a professional band there would typically be a woodwinds section, like flutes and clarinets, a string section, and a small brass section, including trumpets, french horns, and trombones. When professional musicians work on a show, they can be playing the same music for as many years as the show stays popular. It is for this reason that pit musicians usually have another job in the music field.
It is quite different in high school though. The sheet music for the show arrives around two months prior to the debut of the show. From here, there are usually practices after school once a week. During each rehearsal, one or two songs out of about thirty are worked on. In the last two weeks before shownight, pit rehearsals are scheduled every night of the week in the auditorium with the cast. These rehearsals go from 6-9pm as trouble spots are worked on and the music is put together with the cast’s work. It becomes very difficult for everyone involved to stay on top of school work and get a decent amount of sleep the last few weeks. However, the hard work is worth it when everything comes together during the performances!
