# Is Hans Zimmer doing masterclasses?



## Christof (Aug 6, 2014)

I wonder if HZ is doing masterclasses to share his long time experiences with directors, editors and musicians, (not only for composing.)

Same question for other composers like John Powell, J.N.Howard or Thomas Newman and many others....

Christof


----------



## Rctec (Aug 6, 2014)

No! I've just been around for a bit... I consider John Williams and Ennio, James Newton-Howard and Randy Newman masters to hold masterclasses. But I always learn something from John Powell.
I just make it up as I go...
-Hz-


----------



## HD Audio (Aug 6, 2014)

Many months ago, James Newton Howard did a masterclass at my college. It was very inspiring. He played his demo cues from Hunger Games soundtrack!
I have attended classes from Edward Shearmur, BT, etc. Many famous composers are doing masterclasses at colleges in the states.

It's good to see you here Mr. Zimmer!
o/~


----------



## Allen Constantine (Aug 6, 2014)

Well, if Mr. HZ decides to do masterclasses, I'm in for sure. Cristof, would appreciate your feedback on my new song. I've felt inspired by Marvel characters.You'll find it in the members compositions section.


----------



## Gerhard Westphalen (Aug 6, 2014)

I believe the USC film scoring program regularly brings in composers. John Powell, J.N. Howard, and Thomas Newman are all on the list of past guests but HZ isn't. 

http://www.smptv.net/forum.php


----------



## José Herring (Aug 6, 2014)

I went to a JNH masterclass many years ago. Very good indeed. If he gives another no matter where in the world, you should definitely attend at least one. He's very brilliant and surprisingly well versed in music theory especially chord voicing and voiceleading. Has a simple but not stupid approach to melody writting. Not so brilliant at orchestration. But that's why he had Brad Dechter. 

As far as Hans, you'll learn more about music production and creativity in one day hanging around his studio, than I think he can impart in a series of masterclasses. Imo, he's a very hands on practical composer who doesn't rely much on a way of composing as much as he relies on a kind of creative brilliance in putting together musical elements that logically shouldn't at all go together, but somehow he can make it work, in drawing inspiration from just about any other creative field and in applying it to music. Also, he's got a technical brilliance that he can translate into musical expression like nobody I've ever been around.

Being around RC was like looking at music through a whole new viewpoint. Music as a creative effect where anything goes, where there were no "do's and don't" and where technology played just as much or more of a creative roll than the actual notes involved. Also, surprisingly nobody ever thought that what they where doing was great or right. Everybody just worked their ass off to make it as good as they could. If it took all night and then the next day to meet a deadline, then you didn't leave. Period. 

It's a tough standard to live up to. Also, one that's impossible to go alone.

I also realized that most of what they're doing is lost on more classically trained musicians. I learned that the hard way. A classical musician will hear a synth sound and assume that "it's just a synth". Pull up Omnispere and dial up a synth patch and you're good. Working there I realized that it wasn't a synth sound until you've been programming the thing from scratch until the wee hours of the morning. Come back it, realizes it sucks, go at it some more until the wee hours of the morning, record it, run it through some processing, eq it, bounce it back again, run it out in to the room, rerecord it, lather, rinse, repeat :lol:


----------



## Jaap (Aug 6, 2014)

José, you day very wise and true words about synths (as well as the rest of your post!). I am a classically trained composer though also with an electro acoustic education, but I always separated the two and thought indeed when I added some synth elements to my works, load up a preset, tweak a bit and off you go.
I have not added much synth to my latest work, but have been building alchemy and zebra sounds from scratch to incorporate them later when I am happy about my programming skills.


----------



## dcoscina (Aug 6, 2014)

For those of you who might have missed it, Scorecast Podcast had an excellent interview with orchestrator extraordinaire Conrad Pope. Talk about a masterclass! He illuminated a lot of aspects of the Hollywood system ranging from the differences in MIDI mock ups to live orchestra performances, the politics, some terrific anecdotes about his experiences with John Williams, dealing with MIDI composers, the psychology of the musicians in the orchestra as far as parts goes, it ran the gamut. 

I strongly urge anyone working in film or aspiring to work in the industry to check it out. It's one of the most informative interviews I've ever heard. 

http://www.scorecastonline.com/2014/06/ ... nrad-pope/


----------



## Jonas.Ingebretsen (Aug 6, 2014)

Thanks Dcoscina!


----------



## AlexandreSafi (Aug 6, 2014)

Well this is what i miss too.. This sort of real-time problem solving situations, happening in the room and the studio, and having the chance to experience it, BUT that being said, 
the thing is, even if one might not have immediate access to the knowledge i would go through my everyday life and treat pretty much everything as a "masterclass", that involves mainly the internet, youtube, this forum and its greatest participants, Mike Verta's courses & podcasts, Scorecast indeed, books [on talent, mastery, the business: these 2 classic books coming to mind--] 
http://www.amazon.com/The-War-Art-Through-Creative/dp/1936891026 (http://www.amazon.com/The-War-Art-Throu ... 1936891026)
http://www.amazon.com/Mastery-Robert-Gr ... 014312417X 
Also benefiting from the people around, modeling your heroes, being holistic about your knowledge, sucking and absorbing from anywhere, even and especially non-music related knowledge, AND knowing what questions to ask, based on knowing what your own limitations are, all that is being is self-aware, plus no need reminding we're the ultimate comparing social animal, we can't help ourselves...

Your question, at least to me, is probably a hunger for getting the right tools for maximum creativity in your own professional career...

Asking yourself again and again why him, why is he so good, why it's about damn time everybody acknowledges he deserves his spot up there, just like why are John Williams, Tom Newman, JNH, Elfman, Powell, Herrmann, Vangelis, Morricone, Horner, Goldenthal, Goldsmith, Bernstein, Desplat, Conrad Pope, M.Jackson, Bach, Ellington, Mozart, The Beatles, Meryl Streep, DeNiro, Nicholson, Scorsese, Spielberg etc, etc all so good? Answering yourself this question should lead to multiple answers and revelations about creativity, humility, having perseverance, having a mind of total fluidity and non-judgemental anarchy, being a professional, an artist, a visionary, a fire-burning consumer of life, of their curiosity, and people, and not letting it go extinct, etc, and then i believe it can only lead you to all the right answers and ultimately, in small steps, to the right path, again even if it's not immediate...
I'm a big-believer of imitation as a 1st step on the path to greatness and mastery, and the science (mirror-neurons...) seems to support my claim...

I have my own personal theory on what connects all these great composers, and asking why they keep nailing 99% of the time the core of a movie...It's for one, their obvious and upfront ability to be great melodists, creating themes and having strong intuitive yet logical vision expressed finally through their own medium of communication and expression: Music 
And then of course great skills on execution and putting it all together, and last but not least, the skill of being a great spiritual human being, the thing that will immediately enable us to react immediately emotionally and appropriately to the heart of a story or musical journey, that's the ultimate preparation...

But again, as this relates to the nature of creativity itself, it's very probable that this is debatable on where this greatness truly comes from...

Anyways, as related to HZ, from his best talks i've seen so far, you might want to check his ARTE bio-documentaries:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIPN38TEpBs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cUtwIDgMHs

well also just about every interviews of him you can find like these great ones...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1PcGSnFlUw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83oKG3W58ik
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi5adKU9gu4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rrXnbsTOTQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm8s90QBniM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QBC65HFGPE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lIkrXdrbEU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9PfqRf6nnk
http://www.musikmachen.de/Stories/Hans-Zimmer-im-Interview (http://www.musikmachen.de/Stories/Hans- ... -Interview)

or John Williams:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXjSL83O0g8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bE9IWvLz6Dk

or J.Newton Howard for that matter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z93gJ4BLpcw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pefwLO6cixo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6yS9TzDowA


In the end, i want to beam my thought on this by simply saying never to underestimate the "masterclass-like" effect life itself has, when "we" simply take the time to keep on using our senses, and our heart in observing our own flaws, and observing passionately the things and the ones we love the most even through smaller means than "official" education, or "official" masterclasses...
So yes again search through the internet, we're in a global "virtual" brain now... yet very real! Or... listen to the music itself, where should lie probably the most valuable wealth of information communicated for us musicians and for building our musical DNA and musical intelligence to communicate it back to the world...

Just my little semi-related contribution here.
Good luck to us all.


----------



## maclaine (Aug 6, 2014)

Well said, Alexandre. You've articulated perfectly some of things I think about a lot regarding creativity, learning, and the greatness of the artists we admire.

I've watched some of the videos you've linked to, and countless more like them, but thank you for exposing me to some new ones. Is there any chance there are English dubbed/subtitled versions of the HZ ones? I feel like I've seen clips from the first one here and there, but I'd love to watch the entire thing.


----------



## Piano & Strings (Sep 20, 2014)

dcoscina @ Wed Aug 06 said:


> For those of you who might have missed it, Scorecast Podcast had an excellent interview with orchestrator extraordinaire Conrad Pope. Talk about a masterclass! He illuminated a lot of aspects of the Hollywood system ranging from the differences in MIDI mock ups to live orchestra performances, the politics, some terrific anecdotes about his experiences with John Williams, dealing with MIDI composers, the psychology of the musicians in the orchestra as far as parts goes, it ran the gamut.
> 
> I strongly urge anyone working in film or aspiring to work in the industry to check it out. It's one of the most informative interviews I've ever heard.
> 
> http://www.scorecastonline.com/2014/06/ ... nrad-pope/



Wow! What an exciting share! Thank-you!


----------



## Leo Badinella (Sep 20, 2014)

Hey Alex, thanks for posting those links.
I agree 100% with your sentiments about what makes a great film composer. And about the "masterclass-like" quality of life; very true, there is no greatest master as first-hand experience, and life takes care of that for us.

o-[][]-o


----------



## Sebastien Baret (Sep 24, 2014)

Hans did one masterclass in Paris in 2012 during a film music festival, it was really interesting to hear about all his experiences with directors, musicians, etc...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASKXtjPkU7E


----------



## tokatila (Sep 24, 2014)

I think he is the master of keeping simple things interesting. Thus, you can learn a lot simply by listening songs repeatedly and try to follow what happens specifically in the background. (Concurrently a very good reason to tell your wife/spouse why you really need good monitors... :wink: )

There are so many little things going on that together they make this complex intertwining interesting tapestry of sounds. A very rich complex texture indeed. In my opinion that's why most of the orchestral covers sound so pale and bare compared to the real thing.


----------

