Sound and Music for the Theatre, 3rd Edition

Introduction to the First and Second Edition

A contemporary definition of music I’ve always liked is “organized noise.” It’s often hard to say where one element ends and the other begins, hence such new terms as “sound score” and “soundscape.” In this new ball game of hi-tech and hi-fi sound systems, the sound designer—whether working on a play with incidental music and effects on tape or on a full-blown Broadway musical—has become a critical player in the theatre world.

The sound designer has a tremendously creative role to play in any production. The old days of a couple of mono tape decks and two or three speakers are long gone. Audiences now used to rock concerts, discotheques, multitrack cinema sound, and their own stereo systems are too ...