1950s (jan 1, 1950 – jan 1, 1960)

Description:

Until the 1950s, orchestra pits remained relatively similar: reeds, brass, strings, ‘rhythm’ section, around 20 musicians
Around 20 players- around 4 reeds: flute, oboe, clarinet I, clarinet II or bassoon; 5 brass: 2 trumpets, 2 horns, 1 trombone; 7 strings: 4 violins, 1 viola, 1 cello, 1 base; 4 others: piano, harp, guitar or other plucked instrument and percussion, many musicals exceeded the minimum, especially if there was a famous composer.
During the ‘Golden age’ of Broadway pianos became less important and were limited to chords, offbeats and fills, electronic pianos begin to be used more.
Within the same genre, the timbre of music and specificity of the setting posed different demands, e.g., South Pacific (30- 5 reed, 9 brass, 14 strings, harp, drums)
Number of reeds and brass increase, strings decrease; saxophone becomes popular

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