Much like in the West, Japanese silent films were often accompanied by live music (in addition to the "benshi"). However, unlike Western films, which tended to have a theatre organ as accompaniment, Japanese films had a score which supported the traditional Japanese instruments of a "kabuki" play. Since "benshi" performed without external amplification, they had to carefully coordinate with the orchestra to be heard. At that time, theaters typically seated 1000, so a trademark of successful "benshi" was the ability to project their voices into large spaces.