Wonderful YouTube Documentary

[Aymara]

This is ironic, isn't it, considering that in music, a lot of pop these days seems to have the vocals a lot more dominant than it was in, say, the late 70s and early 80s?

No, that isn't ironic at all, but my personal experience, and not only mine.

But maybe this problem is a German problem, caused after "translation" of the dialogues?

PS: But when I use English dialogues, the problem is the same.

 

[YaniDee]

Some people without theory knowledge might focus on atmospheric sounds, but people can know a lot about theory intuitively without formal training, too

Totally agree. I don't feel that the only valid musicians are the ones that know music theory..look at Paul McCartney, and countless others, who produced incredible and lasting music. Or take Joe Pass..he didn't know anything about theory, but certainly knew the difference between a C chord and an Eb7b9, and could produce unbelievably rich harmonic solos out of thin air. These musicians played at least one instrument. To have neither any notion of music elements or be able to translate your thoughts via an instrument. leaves one at the mercy of whatever comes out when you press a key in Kontakt with a loaded library. Yes, you can piece something together that sounds great. I think some of the people in the video feel "guilty" because, without the musical phrases provided via these libraries, they could not write music from a blank slate. It's not necessarily bad, or "wrong", I guess it's the end result that counts.

Regarding my John Cage comment, I was kind of being funny, but I find the notion that "every environmental sound is music" , to be a bit vague.

 

[dcoscina]

I stopped listening to a lot of mainstream media music years ago because it just didn't do anything for me. No indictment just my own personal choice. I've been discovering more music by concert composers from the 20th century like Petaris Vasks, Arvo Part, Lutoslawski, as well as doing deeper dives into Bartok and Berg's music. Also Xenakis and Ligeti. Oh, I really dig the music of Unsuk Chin who was a student of Ligeti's.

Wishing for better music in film is like trying to punch a tsunami. You won't win that. And there's no point. Producers are the ones dictating the type of music. When the market opened up thanks to technology that reduced overhead costs (less live musicians, faster turn arounds meaning tighter deadlines) it signalled the end of Silver Age film scoring. Some modern music still embraces tenets of bygone eras but for those of us weened on music from the Golden and Silver Age of film music, much of today's material is just not terribly engaging. But there is a whole new generation that thinks so and that's the wallets that most production companies are looking to dig into so it is what it is...

The benefit of this age is that there has never been a better time to find legit resources for bettering one's composing skills for little to no money. I follow a few composition professors on YT and enjoy what they cover. Additionally, there is a wealth of music from the 20th century just waiting to be listened to. And let's not forget publishers like Omni Music and @chrissiddall who are releasing amazing books from beloved film scores of the past.

 

[PeterN]

Like Mike Verta said, if you call these people "composers" you have to invent a new term for people like John Williams.

Is there a 'Verta rant' out there somewhere on this theme?

With regards,
Mike Verta Fan Club

 

[chrissiddall]

Yea, just the other day I was listening to his "silly" Gremlins 1 and realized it's a fricking masterpiece... with a synth that goes meow meow.

There are places in that score that literally blow my mind and are way more epic and breathtaking than all those modern huge blockbuster pieces. And it's music for a movie about weird ludicrous monsters who went goblin mode.

One of my fave parts:


Or I like how music about being late for work is vastly more elaborate than all the pieces about quantum physics and worlds colliding and ending and whatnot.


I fricking guarantee NONE of the guys who win Oscars these days could put together a piece like this if you pointed a Winchester right at their nuts.


Because these days people think things like rap are "music". People barely know any good real music anymore. (And I don't care how snooty that sounds. The whole society is slowly degrading from reading good books to reading facebook snots all day. It's a cultural decay wherever you look.)

@YaniDee is 100% right there. Mediocre is good enough these days... Or even worse, mediocre is DEMANDED as something great these days.


To me it's about compositions. I don't mind any instruments, but I hate the modern shallow boring nothingness people call "composing".

Glad you enjoy this score! I had the pleasure of engraving it for publication last year and studying all the synths which were used was a blast. I can tell you that the "meow" sound you referred to is a Roland Jupiter-6 factory patch, however the JP-6 patches didn't receive names unfortunately (it's just "F1"). Jerry did use a patch called "Cats Under Pressure" on the Sequential Circuits Prophet T8 though in the cues "The Injection", "The Wrong Time", "The Plow" and "High Flyer". There's also a fun one called "Box o' Pups" on the Oberheim OB-8 which Jerry used at the end of "A New One". If you're interested in checking out the full score, it's still available on my store:

Conductor's/Study Scores

Professional music preparation

www.chrissiddallmusic.com

 

[Dylanguitar]

Interesting thread. I hope I don't get dog piled, but I could also point out that as worthy a craftsman as John Williams was, much of what he did was reappropriated material from other older classical composers.
I'm always suspect when anyone portrays themselves as arbiters of what is "real art." I see it all day long on my FB feed, and I usually roll my eyes at the closed-mindedness of it all, and I am really glad I don't think of art in such a narrow way. But even with this open mindedness, there are limits to the whole "eye of the beholder" bit. I don't think the Macarena has the same artistic merit as a Beethoven symphony.
An interesting (to me) note..... After listening to pretty much the same collection of music for the last 25 yrs, I've been on a quest for over the last year or two to listen to new music every day and catalog the things that I like so I can build a newer and more expansive collection of things I enjoy or can learn from.
One thing that I've noticed is that while I love a starkly beautiful string drone that conveys some sort of bleak Nordic landscape (or some version of that), its become evident to me how pointless it is to keep saving these sorts of things to add to my collection. I mean, how many hours of ambient drones can you actually listen to? I realize this is subjective and maybe there are people that can sit down and get enjoyment to listening attentively to drones for lengths of time, but the things that grab and are enduring for me are still tied to a melody. Either that or something that has a sonic impact that is new or unique that is interesting enough to stand on its own merit, even though it's not something I can hum.

 

[BVMusic]

Yes, you are a composer once you start expressing your images in music and using your selected tools and palette as best you can.

There are many reviews about music albums or movies for example which got a not-so-good rating as expected. That does not mean that is a kind of universal decision . There are many classics today that in the past were seen differently. I am sure you get the drift.

Same as entering into competitions for example which I am personally enjoying a lot lately. The many judges need to pick up a select few, or a select many. This does not mean that you have to quit because your piece of art was not selected or start doubting yourself. You know that the music is in you.

I listen to many compositions here , and they are just outstanding.

Instead be proud of what you have done, after doing your best that is. Although probably there is always more one can do after one finishes his piece or realizes it later. But at some point one has to say, it is finished, and then release it.

Everyone is unique as a human being and I believe everyone ends up transferring his signature as an artist into his music.

As in regards to making money, social network likes, recognition, etc. Yes everyone likes that a lot, and working towards that. But that is another story that can dangerously discourage you if you make music based solely on all that, and what if the figures are not good , you end up blaming yourself or your music?

I would also be disappointed if someone says for example that to be selected on a film composer's roster, you have to have a Facebook page with thousands of followers, etc, as for me, artistry does not equate to thousands of likes but how it communicates emotions even if just one person writes to you that.

Being an artist is something very intimate in which I spend hours, days, months, or even years producing something as near perfect to what I wanted as much as possible.

Doubts happen in life, but I think one has to be careful about how to deal with it and what decisions one makes.