A pickup group is a group of professional musicians, which may be session musicians who are hired to play for a limited time period—ranging from a single concert or

sound recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording ...

session to several weeks of shows—before disbanding. Pickup groups are formed to play in pit orchestras for musical theatre performances,

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s, or operettas, accompany jazz singers or instrumental soloists, and act as a temporary

backup band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such a ...

for a pop singer for a tour. As well, pickup groups are hired to perform at social events such as weddings or holiday parties. The size of these ensembles ranges from a three- or four-member rock ensemble or jazz group (e.g., a rhythm section,

organ trio An organ trio is a form of jazz ensemble consisting of three musicians; a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and either a jazz guitarist or a saxophone player. In some cases the saxophonist will join a trio which consists of an organist, guitarist, ...

backing band A backup band or backing band is a musical ensemble that typically accompanies a single artist who is the featured performer. The situation may be a live performance or in a recording session, and the group may or may not have its own name, such ...

) or classical chamber ensemble (e.g., a string quartet) to a 20-piece jazz

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

, a 20-27 member pit orchestra for a Broadway musical or a 30-100 member

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

Terminology

A pickup group may also be called a "pickup band", "pick-up group", "pickup orchestra", or "jobbing band".

History

In the 1960s, recordings of New York soul singers were not typically backed up by longstanding "house bands" which worked on a permanent basis for the record label, as was the case in many Southern US types of

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

. Instead, New York soul accompaniment parts were usually recorded by session musicians who were hired by a music contractor to play for a single recording. Since the musicians playing New York soul were not a regular

that played together all the time, the playing was not as loose and spontaneous as a typical Southern US "house band", in which the members played together all the time.Freeland, David . ''Ladies of Soul''. Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2001. p. 135-136 Nevertheless, since the NYC session players were experienced musicians, they played with a professional style.

Considerations

When a music promoter is organizing a multi-city or multi-country tour for a

lead singer The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

or solo instrumentalist (e.g., a solo guitar player or solo flute player), she needs to hire accompaniment musicians to play the

chords Chord may refer to: * Chord (music), an aggregate of musical pitches sounded simultaneously ** Guitar chord a chord played on a guitar, which has a particular tuning * Chord (geometry), a line segment joining two points on a curve * Chord ( ...

, bassline and harmony parts which are used to support the lead performer. Similarly, if a touring

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

group is performing a series of shows in cities across a country or around the world (e.g., several weeks of shows in each location), the organizer needs a pit orchestra to accompany the singers who are performing. The promoter needs to make a decision as to whether to hire an existing, longstanding

music ensemble A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

or hire a "pick-up group" in each city or country. There are advantages and disadvantages to each approach. Using a longstanding ensemble will provide a group which has extensive experience performing as a musical ensemble. This can help the group to play with a more unified sound and style. If the backing band or backing ensemble required for a show is small (e.g., 3-4 musicians), it may be worth the cost of paying for the travel, hotel and food for a longstanding group. However, if the backing ensemble is large–for example, a 20-piece

for a jazz singer or a 27-member pit orchestra for a travelling musical, the cost of travel, hotels and meals for the backup group may be prohibitive. Alternatively, in each town or city, the producer or promoter can pay a local music contractor to hire a local musicians to form a "pickup" orchestra or a "jobbing band". If a promoter decides to hire a pickup group in each town or city, this means that the promoter does not have to pay for the travel, hotels and meals for these musicians, since they live in the town or city where the show is taking place. There are some disadvantages; using a pickup group requires contractors to pay for a series of rehearsals for the new musicians in each town, so that they can learn the songs/pieces. As well, since the pickup group will not have experience playing together and since they may not have experience performing the songs/pieces in the show, a pickup group may not play with the same "tight" ensemble as a longstanding group which backs up a soloist or musical theatre/opera company on a permanent basis.

As occupation

Although the work provided by these ensembles is intermittent and of short duration, these ensembles are an important source of income for freelance musicians and session musicians. Since playing in "jobbing bands" and "pickup groups" only provides a limited amount of work per year, a performer that plays in these types of groups will typically have to have other sources of income, such as teaching music on her instrument. As well, playing in these ensembles give local performers an opportunity to work with well-known national- or international-level touring soloists and conductors.

Orchestras

When a

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

production, operetta, or

is performed in different cities, the production company may hire local musicians in each town for the performance.

Jazz, rock and pop music groups

When a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

singer or instrumental soloist, pop singer(s) or a

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and conc ...

production that is accompanied by a rock band, pop group or jazz group is on tour, they may hire a band of local musicians (e.g. a

horn section A horn section is a group of musicians playing horns. In an orchestra or concert band, it refers to the musicians who play the "French" horn, and in a British-style brass band it is the tenor horn players. In many popular music genres, the te ...

or additional rhythm section members) in each town that they play in. In some cases, the singer, soloist or production will have a core few musicians that travels with them, such as a piano player, who also acts as a bandleader (or a violin

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

for an orchestra) for the performances. The core group that travels from town to town may include the essential instruments of a rhythm section: a musician playing a chordal instrument (

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

, Hammond organ, etc.), a bassist (

electric bass The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

) and a drummer. Additional rhythm section members (additional chordal instrument, additional percussionists, etc.) can be hired in each new town or city to add to this core group and provide a fuller sound. Some singers may also hire a small pickup string orchestra in each town that they play in, to perform backing string arrangements.

References

{{Reflist Types of musical groups Occupations in music Popular music Sound recording Temporary employment