New Musical Pt 1. (Introduction and What's in a Title)

So I put the musical I was writing on unrequested postponement. It wasn't going to be used for the purpose which I was writing it for, so I didn't feel the need to finish it. I also had too many melodies and not enough plot content. Unwilling to make another Dreamgirls, I set it aside in order to better use my creative talents. I decided it would be beneficial for my audience if I outlined the steps that I went through, for those of you who are in need of general help in writing.

I can't help you come up with an idea. My idea just came to me. It's the story of a concert violinist, who at a young age was gypped out of his father's prize violin by his treacherous younger brother, in a Jacob and Esau sort of allusion. When he is older, he is thrown out of his orchestra after a while because the violin he uses simply doesn't match up to the tone of the other violinists and it sticks out. Instead of getting a new one, he sets off to reclaim the one owed him by birthright.

Now that's just the basis. The next step for me is to come up with a working title. Which leads to the article

WHAT'S IN A TITLE?
A lot of people underestimate the importance of a good title. A lot of uninformed people only have your title to go off of. If a title sounds interesting, you will get more viewers. Otherwise it just won't stand out in a crowd. It's important to always consider the length of your title. Quickly think of the longest musical title you can. How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying comes to mind for me, but the only reason is because of it's length. It's hard to generate lots of buzz about a longer title, simply because it takes more effort to mention it, and lots of people are lazy. On the flipside, shorter names don't go very well either. You pretty much have to make up a word or use a very uncommon one. Otherwise it just sounds like a brand of perfume.

You'll want to make sure that your title doesn't mislead people about the content of your musical. Most of the time this will scare away people as opposed to drawing them in. If I named my musical The Battle of Redsboro, when it's about two clothing lines trying to draw customers away from each other, I'm going to have a double dip in attendance. People who don't really like war aren't going to look at it and won't go. People who are into war will look into it, find out it's actually about fashion, and won't go. Real musicals that I believe fall in this category? I couldn't find any examples off the top of my head. However, just wait and I will think of one, just like how I just remembered A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum has a longer title.

A lot of the time it will be better to have a title which could also be a title of the song in the work. Camelot, Sound of Music, and The Producers all have songs in them that are titled the same as the work. So when people think of Camelot, instantly they think of the song Camelot too. Which, if you do that you have to make sure the song based off the title is good.

Now let's look at the titles for my previous plays:
1. Ballad of Theylus Mignon- Not altogether descriptive of what happens. There is a song in it with the same title though, so we'll give it props. Vague, but won't scare or attract specific groups of people.

2. Jamodyssey- You know there is going to be an adventure in it. Lots of English professors will be attracted by the possibility of allusions. It doesn't scare anyone away, and generates a lot of buzz as a title, hypothetically.

3. The Show Must Not Go On - The subject matter is vague, but you know some matter of show will be happening. People may be drawn in by the fact that the protagonist clearly doesn't want the show to happen. There is a song with the same title.

Anyway, I have determined that the title of my next work will be The Ebony Violin. This alludes to The Red Violin, a famous named violin.

Next time, I'll tell you how to create a main character. And maybe the plot layout or something.