Writing Musical Theatre
I've been thinking a lot recently about the difference between being a songwriter and being a musical theatre composer. There was a time when I thought the two things were the same, but the more I look at how my process has changed as I've shifted from one to the other, I can see that it is a different way of looking at music. It's been on my mind recently as it seems to be in vogue for big-budget new musicals in Scotland to bring in song-writers who have never written musicals before, and I think that at times it can be clear why certain songs may work on albums but don't work on stage - and vice versa. This got me thinking back to my own journey. I have always written musicals, and I have always written songs for rock bands, and until fairly recently the two things were the same for me. It wasn't until I started working with professional directors and dramaturgs that the differences between the two became clear. Towards the Moon A singer-songwriter s...