Getting in on the ground floor of a musical is a fantastic experience. If you are fortunate enough to be asked, you’ll get to see the development of a show from its beginnings; up to opening night and beyond. One way to be a part of this process is to play in a reading and, hopefully, a workshop.

What Is A Reading?

A reading is a one to two-week process of putting a new Broadway musical together for the first time. Usually, there is a small cast and maybe just the musical director and a drummer. The cast reads through the script and sings the songs while sitting in front of their music stands.

If you are part of the show’s formation, from the idea to the scriptwriting to the songs, you may even get a recording of that demo. If that’s the case, you may have the piano and vocal only. Sometimes you may have drum grooves or other rhythmic ideas the composer may want sketched out. If there are drums on the demos, you may have time to transcribe the parts so you’ll have them in the reading. You’ll be a few steps ahead if that’s the case.

If there are no demos for a song, you’ll be provided a piano vocal. Then, you’ll have to sight-read the piano-vocal scores or lead sheets. It’s rare to be given drum charts before you begin the process.

The musical director or composer might suggest the song style, and then you’ll start playing. This is where drummers get to be creative. It’s also where your years of playing many styles of music come into play. You can reach into your lexicon of grooves and pull one out that fits the theme or era of music. I find this to be one of the more fun aspects of the process. It’s creative, engaging, and challenging.

If you are creating the drum parts, you are, in truth, orchestrating your chart. However, these grooves can become the basis for the entire orchestration of the show if it moves to the subsequent phases of production, so make it fun!

During a reading, the drums have to be played very softly. Why?

Read more HERE: https://broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/p/what-are-readings-and-workshops

Clayton Craddock, the drummer of the hit broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University’s School of Business and is a 28 year veteran of the fast-paced New York City music scene. 

He has played drums in several hit broadway and off-broadway musicals, including “Tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, and Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill. Also, Clayton has worked on: Footloose, Motown, The Color Purple, Rent, Little Shop of Horrors, Spongebob Squarepants, The Musical, Evita, Cats, and Avenue Q.

Follow him on Instagram, Twitter or read more on his website: claytoncraddock.com