How to Write A Musical (STEP-BY-STEP) - Book, Music, and Lyrics

there are infinite number of ways to write a musical no one way is the right way and I feel like we've proven this time and time again that being said there are a few crucial components that you do need to have in place in order to actually write the thing step one the idea well that seems pretty straightforward doesn't it you do need to have an idea if you're going to write something well it's also a little more complex than that it definitely depends on what type of musical you plan to write but I'm getting a little ahead of myself now sometimes you might really just want to write a musical but you don't know what you want to write yet that's totally okay what that means is that you have to do a little bit of searching to find the story that calls to you and you have the entire realm of stories open to you that's super exciting if so then I would suggest taking a deep dive back into that story to determine number one if it's still the story you want to be telling and number two that you have a good reason to musicalize it AKA a reason that musicalizing it would enhance the story not just because it's a popular property or maybe don't have to come up with an idea at all because somebody approached you about writing a specific piece now I think this happens pretty rarely in most early musical theater writers careers but it does happen and then it's up to you to decide if you like that story enough to write it whether or not you feel like you have something to say in writing that story and what kind of environment or collaboration would ideally make it easiest and best for you to tell that story okay now we've got our idea so it's time for step number two who's involved that means a lot of different things but let's start with the question of who will be writing this musical is it you alone do you have collaborators do you already have those collaborators or do you need to find them what piece of the writing will you be responsible for this is super important to get set and correct before you dive too far into actually writing the piece if you go into writing an adaptation super excited to be just composing and your normal collaborator goes into this project super excited to just write the book and you're both assuming the other's gonna write lyrics well then you have a problem and it isn't advisable to begrudgingly enter into writing any part of a project because the work will tend to suffer okay well who else could be involved depending on the story that you choose to write there may be people already attached to that story with whom you need to speak this could be about attaining the rights to adapt that property especially if it's a book play or movie or maybe it's about trying to get those people on board as collaborators or Partners sometimes these people will be very happy to give you a set period of time in which you can exclusively work with that material for the adaptation this could be big movie studios or well-known authors sometimes they may want to advise you or speak with you throughout the process which is pretty common with non-fiction stories but sometimes they may want to come on board as actual writers like Tina Fey did with Mean Girls or perhaps the original authors are deceased in which case you won't be speaking with the writers but instead with the states that hold the copyright these tend to be more negotiations and collaborations and you're definitely going to want to speak with legal representation about how to handle these situations or maybe your story is in the public domain in which case your collaborating author may have left behind notes or information that would be worth your time to dig up and research the other category of people that might be involved are on the production side perhaps a theater commissioned you to write this piece specifically and you'll be speaking with them throughout the process or maybe a producer or a movie studio came to you with a project that they want to have turned into a musical or maybe there's a director who has a story if they really really want to tell but they need someone to actually write it there are plenty of ways that this could look alright we have our idea and we know who's involved so it's time to write it right almost by the way if this video has been helpful to you so far please give it a little like so it can spread to more people like you thanks step three the frame before pen meets paper or finger meets instrument you have to have a good sense of where you are headed what will the end product likely look sound and feel like now I'm not talking about divining the final product out of The Ether oh that would be cool no I'm talking about having a good sense of the show's structure musical sound and a very clear why structurally musicals can look very very different from basic questions like will this be a one act no intermission or a three-act epic adventure or will this story be following a linear plot or something a little more conceptual or do any of the existing structures out there actually apply to this story or will you be inventing something brand new oftentimes the original work can point you in the right direction for adaptations but not always you can always put your own spin on it as for musical sound there are a lot of things to consider is the music original or found music does it need to evoke a certain time period or place will this sound more like show show music or pop music or is music entirely flexible what kind of orchestration do you have in mind will you write it on your instrument of choice or directly onto paper will the composition be horizontal or vertical are there going to be Applause breaks dance numbers Ensemble songs is it entirely composed through you don't need all of this decided in order to write a first draft but considering these questions will be extremely helpful and the most important piece to consider the why why this story why now what do you want this piece to say what do you want the audience to take away with them what is the audience that you're writing for without the answers to these questions you're likely going to flounder around in the developmental process which will cost years of time and a lot of money Clarity here will provide Clarity everywhere else step four the first draft it's time to tackle the first draft both exciting and nerve-wracking some writers like to dive right into the blank page While others like to take a step back and outline however you like to do it just know that you are doing it correct and also now that it's probably going to suck and that's not only okay that's great getting all the ideas down without judgment is super important here because only then can you sort through the muck and find the gold and although that might sound even scarier than the idea of writing to begin with don't forget that most writing happened in the rewriting and revision process everything before that is mostly just research and ideas and yes this process may take some time especially the first pass of a score but that's totally normal take the time you need to get the first draft out because then the fun begins step 5 listen and revise congrats you wrote a musical it may not be the best musical in fact at this stage it might even be the worst but hey you did it now is the time that you need to do one of the hardest and most vulnerable things that a writer can imagine read it and listen to it of course make a pass or two at it yourself first but once you've done that the best way to learn about your piece and what it needs next is to get together a reading of that material definitely start this out casual and low stakes but in doing this revision time AKA writing time can finally commence if you need some help with or information about readings and the different types I highly suggest that you watch this video next otherwise thank you all for being here with me today and I'll see you again soon cheers [Music]

Channel: Musical Theatre Writer Guy

Views: 18,792

Keywords: musical theatre, musical theater, musicals, song, theater, theatre, writer, writing, lyric, lyricist, libretto, librettist, composer, composition, perform, performer, singer, actor, director, designer, producer, audience, Michael Radi, MT Writer Guy, story, storytelling, Broadway, broadway, west end, musical theatre moments, how to, how to write a musical, musical theatre writing, musical theatre writing programs, musical theater writing, musical theater writers

Id: 1wX0dCyFKZs

Length: 7min 29sec (449 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 23 2022