Space music

Remember those great old movie theaters. No stadium seating. Plush red velvet chairs. HUGE auditoriums. Usually a lot of cigarette smoke. You sat dow, with popcorn and soda (and possibly candy) in your lap. This is before "pre-movie" commercials, so you just waited. Maybe you talked to those around you, but usually you just waited. No cell-phone, no MP3, you just waited. A few previews, and then it started. You remember it, because the music started a split second before the titles ran. Trust me, you remember it. Think hard enough, and you can still feel it. That's the power of a movie soundtrack.

(Before I go further, I must explain that I actually majored in Music Theory in college and taught middle and high school music for 10 years before switching to teach science full-time. More on that later...)

He started out as a jazz pianist playing in LA night clubs, and played piano for Henry Mancini on the side. Eventually he moved in composition and got his start composing the soundtrack for a little known movie called "The Reivers." Then came 'The Cowboys" and a couple of other movie scores before eventually meeting and securing a long-lasting friendship with an up-an-coming filmmaker named George Lucas. 

Think back to the first time you saw Star Wars. I did not stand in line for the first viewing. In fact most did not. It was a movie not well reviewed, but grew on word-of-mouth. I went with a couple of older neighborhood kids and was beeming from the fact that they were taking me, not from me going to see a sci-fi movie. That all quickly changed. Most who talk about Star Wars memories reference the opening scene where the huge Imperial Cruiser overtakes the small Rebel Alliance blockade runner (okay my total Star Wars geekdom showing here - the fact that I actually know that off the top of my head). But for me, it was the first opening chord of the music. That was all it took. I was hooked.

I bought the movie soundtrack on a double vinyl LP record from Montgomery Wards. I played it over and over and over and over. It came with a great set of liner notes (they called them liner notes because they were written on the lp liner jackets that protected the records) and a good 5 page full color set of music notes by none other than the master himself - John Williams.

John Williams used the London Symphony Orchestra to record most of his soundtracks. He preferred the sound of a full symphonic orchestra as opposed to a smaller American orchestra. In the days before hi-tech, He would take the actual film strip and punch holes in it to help him keep track of upcoming cues. He would face a huge movie screen and conduct to the film while the orchestra played. It was recorded with very few takes and at times, you can hear coughs, pencils dropping, drum sticks clicking, and even foot-tapping.



We all have our music influences. But for me, I still am a fan of movie soundtracks. Technology has helped composers tremendously over the past years with the art of film composing. In 1993, I was able to visit Hans Zimmer's studio in Malibu and talk to him about his reaction to film composing. He credits Eric Korngold as his main influence. He was in the midst of composing and recording music for The Lion King and was very upset that Disney execs were refusing to let him fly to South Africa to record authentic African choir music. (He went anyway). And I was able to watch a group of highly trained percussionists record music for the "stampede" scene. But even Zimmer admitted that he would not be able to compose as quickly without his computer and digital keyboard.

I've seen Star Wars.., well let's just say alot. And now my children have watched all 6 movies and are big fans of Clone Wars and Star Wars legos. I think the success of the Star Wars franchise owes itself in part to the music used in the soundtrack. Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Jaws, Schlinder, etc. all have a musical identity in addition to a fiction storyline.

Thanks John