INTRO SESSION SHENANIGANS
The studio guitarist’s guide to happiness and personal fulfilment, as related by our resident session ace. This month: Bearly Adequate.
In recent years, the enthusiastic concert-goer may well have observed a growing trend. Namely, the opportunity to watch movies whose original score is performed by a live orchestra on stage, while the action plays out on a giant screen suspended overhead. Ironically, it’s a scenario that Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd would have recognised over a century ago, notwithstanding that technology has advanced exponentially from the Silent Era. There’s nothing new under the sun, eh? Or the screen, to be fair. Which leads me to Paddington Bear, the eponymous 2014 film.
Titter ye not. I am here to report that it’s a wonderful example of a work that operates on two levels and explores themes (immigration, prejudice, acceptance, and inclusion) that are as relevant today as ever. All wrapped within the framework of a delightful entertainment for kids. And trust me, if you’re gonna have to perform it 11 times in concert halls around the UK, the undertaking is made a deal more tolerable by being involved in such a heart-warming project.
Of perhaps more relevance to the above average GT reader, the score (Nick Urata) is terrific, incorporating elements of calypso, soul and pop, as well as more conventional film cues. An added bonus is the inclusion of some solo classical guitar bits.
“Very interesting. But what of the mechanics of the thing?” I hear you cry, doubtless between mouthfuls of the marmalade sandwich recommended by all wise bears and stored under one’s hat in case of emergency.
The orchestral rehearsals comprised two, three-hour sessions followed the next day by an early morning dress run at The Royal Festival Hall, plus two performances. So far, so knackering. But hey, that’s why I get paid the medium bucks.
My setup consisted of an old Takamine steel-string acoustic plus a Taylor electro-Spanish guitar, both independently linked to an AER acoustic amplifier and fed to the front-of-house sound system. My mission was to faithfully reproduce the contents of the guitar booklet, lovingly bound and containing catchily entitled ditties such as “1M5” and “3M4”. Clicks are provided for each cue, fed through my in-ear monitors. The orchestra isn’t
