Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Ed Littlefield

1 min read

Ed Littlefield's setup for the Seattle Children's Theatre production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Seattle, Washington.

"This show used mostly drum set and auxiliary percussion with some bell parts added for certain scenes. The Musical Director asked for a toy bells feel so I got the standard student model bell set and used hard brass mallets to get the sound he wanted.

The floor tom was only used for timpani like rolls and in 'Bombie Samba', so I tuned it low to sound like a Brazilian surdo. The auxiliary instruments were two LP Jam Blocks, cowbell, ratchet, and a triangle with The Miller Machine!"

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - Regional - Ed Littlefield
November 2015

Ed Littlefield's setup for the Seattle Children's Theatre production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in Seattle, Washington.

Articles

Conducting a National Tour by Danny Taylor

"Conducting a National Tour is incredibly challenging, but so rewarding. Stepping on to the podium with a new orchestra every few weeks really keeps you on your toes. Every player responds differently so you are constantly adjusting to get the desired result. I would compare it to playing a multi-percussion piece where the instruments are constantly moving."

5 min read

Reporting from the Broadway Trenches by Jon Berger

"After a grueling four years at SUNY I still had one theory class left to finish. I was really depressed. A classmate of mine recommended me for a tour of a Broadway show. This completely changed the course of my life."

7 min read

Drumming for "Ain’t Too Proud" by Clayton Craddock

"When I first got the call to start working on Ain’t Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations, I was curious about which era the show was going to focus on. Their career began in the early 1960’s and they’re still releasing albums today."

7 min read

More Setups

The Little Mermaid - Brian Kirk

"The timpani tunings are the real challenge of The Little Mermaid. Changing pitches must be done by feel, that was my biggest challenge. Memorizing the mallet parts was also very necessary."

2 min read

The Little Mermaid - Alec Wilmart

"As you can see in the pictures, I prefer to have as much 'stuff' right in front of me, as close as possible. Because there are so many instruments close in, I have mounted a music stand off of the tom mount.

2 min read

Kevin McNaughton's setup for the National Tour of Pretty Woman at the Old National Centre (formerly the Murat Theatre) in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Pretty Woman - Kevin McNaughton

"Different from the tour, the original Broadway production had acoustic drums, an acoustic set of timbales, and an acoustic tambourine - the tambourine is now programmed in the SPD-SX."