It seems this is a year with insane amounts of activity for me! No idea why...life be lifing :p
Mutes ARE interesting, though they suck haha. Nobody likes 'em. But modern pit orchestras have only between 7-10 musicians. This means most of us have to "double," or play multiple instruments, plus we have backing tracks and samples of instruments not present in the pit (I always find myself playing along with a phantom bass trombonist.) Mutes are a way to change my sound such that I can be more similar to a French horn, bassoon, tenor sax, or 3rd trumpet. A reduced, pit orchestra trombone part often includes actual portions of the parts originally written for these instruments, chopped up and distributed between myself and the tracks or samples. It's totally weird, it's cheaper than hiring a full actual orchestra, and at some point it'll go too far and I'll be out of a job, womp womp.
But yeah...cup mutes are great for sounding French horn-esque. Bucket mutes can be used for that as well but they're a bit stuffier so they're good for faux bassoon too. Straight mute and harmon are better for matching trumpet sounds. And plungers are for effect!
I'd avoid the parks too if I didn't work here. It does seem like people assume that if you spend any kind of time in Orlando, you must be familiar with the theme parks. For a lot of people I think there's no other reason to visit Orlando at all.
For Epic, I wouldn't care so much except that it's incredibly rare to be a part of the construction and opening of an all-new theme park. In that way it's meaningful to me, and it's a huge privilege to experience the park before it opens to the public. Disney is meaningful to me in a different way...more as a musician, more as a part of my childhood, and what Walt Disney stood for in the entertainment industry. Working at Ringling Brothers, a circus with a 146-year legacy founded by one of the greatest showmen of all time, and then getting to work for Disney, one of the most successful entertainment brands of all time founded by an absolute pioneer of the industry...well, it means an awful lot :)
Epic is great and appreciated, but Disney walked so Epic could run, as the saying goes!
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Date: 2025-03-31 01:13 am (UTC)Mutes ARE interesting, though they suck haha. Nobody likes 'em. But modern pit orchestras have only between 7-10 musicians. This means most of us have to "double," or play multiple instruments, plus we have backing tracks and samples of instruments not present in the pit (I always find myself playing along with a phantom bass trombonist.) Mutes are a way to change my sound such that I can be more similar to a French horn, bassoon, tenor sax, or 3rd trumpet. A reduced, pit orchestra trombone part often includes actual portions of the parts originally written for these instruments, chopped up and distributed between myself and the tracks or samples. It's totally weird, it's cheaper than hiring a full actual orchestra, and at some point it'll go too far and I'll be out of a job, womp womp.
But yeah...cup mutes are great for sounding French horn-esque. Bucket mutes can be used for that as well but they're a bit stuffier so they're good for faux bassoon too. Straight mute and harmon are better for matching trumpet sounds. And plungers are for effect!
I'd avoid the parks too if I didn't work here. It does seem like people assume that if you spend any kind of time in Orlando, you must be familiar with the theme parks. For a lot of people I think there's no other reason to visit Orlando at all.
For Epic, I wouldn't care so much except that it's incredibly rare to be a part of the construction and opening of an all-new theme park. In that way it's meaningful to me, and it's a huge privilege to experience the park before it opens to the public. Disney is meaningful to me in a different way...more as a musician, more as a part of my childhood, and what Walt Disney stood for in the entertainment industry. Working at Ringling Brothers, a circus with a 146-year legacy founded by one of the greatest showmen of all time, and then getting to work for Disney, one of the most successful entertainment brands of all time founded by an absolute pioneer of the industry...well, it means an awful lot :)
Epic is great and appreciated, but Disney walked so Epic could run, as the saying goes!
(sorry this was so long)