Why am I a Composer?: Let me guess?

What a great word 'guess' but how does it relate to music? Well my point in today's blog is that it doesn't or rather shouldn't relate to music ...

Yesterday I explained how I might be approached and asked to write in the style of a certain composer. And that, with long dead ones like Mozart, it's generally more satisfying for the audience and film makers to use an actual piece of Mozart rather than a pastiche.

But what if the director wants it to sound like John Williams who is very much alive? Of course I can't just use a piece of his music in your film that would break way too many copyright laws ... So do I ... guess? Do I sit down at the piano and pick out the theme to Jaws or ET or that cool bit in Star Wars? Constantly restarting the CD at 2:46 because that is the production company's favorite bit?

Ha ha, no of course I don't, because the secret to sounding like John Williams isn't idly picking out one of his melodies on an instrument - no matter how much fun that may be. No no, the only way to sound like John Williams is to orchestrate like John Williams, in many ways the melody is secondary to this.

'In the Classical world and in the world of film scoring even John Williams knows that melody is the slave to the all mighty power of rhythm'.

Every composer has a personal style of orchestration, like Hanz Zimmer and Ennio Morricone and the only way to really understand what is going on is to get hold of their music scores and look at their orchestration.

What is Orchestration?

Let's just say that it's a style of instrumentation particular to a period or a composer. But, for dense compositions like John Williams' work it's very hard to guess what it is that every instrument is doing at a given time.

But, because knowing what every instrument is doing at any given time is SO fundamental to a pastiche (style imitation) sounding like a particular person or a particular genre, it cannot be guessed at. So, I would sit down with a John Williams score (no matter how daunting that may sound) and study his orchestration and his use of articulation and dynamics. I would then make a template based on my observations. The only thing I do not copy is the music itself. But what about the melody?

I love melody, oh how I love the tunes that we hear in the world today ... they are all around us like the whistle on the MacDonald's advert. You might think I am being smart here but I'm not, I really love melodies but when it comes to film making, the only problem with melodies is they are intrusive.

The exact reason the MacDonald's advert uses that little whistle melody is to be as intrusive as possible. Just think of it now, hum it to yourself now imagine it in your film - played backwards so as to disguise it a little. The question is how much melody can your audience stand before they walk out on your film?

Those three little notes over and over again.

The truth is that in the Classical world and in the world of film scoring even John Williams knows that melody is the slave to the all mighty power of rhythm. It's rhythm that drives every aspect of our lives from the moment you wake to the moment you sleep ... I know it's kinda gross but think of the rhythm of your bowel movements (sorry for making you think of that). Once a day maybe? But there is a 'rhythm' to it even if it's tied to a 24 hour cycle.

As humans we generally thrive on routine so if the rhythms of our lives are interrupted we can often feel unwell. So, just as our own lifestyle rhythms cannot be quantified by a three note melody, that takes a second or two to hear. Neither can our life plans and routines, which function on a much, much larger scale. Even if we don't notice them!

And really, that is the key to a great score - you don't necessarily notice its presence but its absence makes you feel uneasy. After all, melody must bend to rhythm and rhythm must always be the driving force in your film's score.

- David C. Hëwitt

For more info: http://dchewitt.com