Today I started my task on global issues, I decided that I'll talk about injustice.
I'll will be comparing two songs with two different genres, I'll analyse the songs, their messages and their impact on society. At the end I'll say which one was more successful and why on my opinion.
Thursday, 22 September 2016
Sunday, 22 May 2016
Monday, 2 May 2016
The Secret Wedding - Music
My class was just given the task, of learning and playing a piece of music that has been played in a movie, to change that same piece or to compose a piece of music to a small piece of a movie.
I choose to learn how to play a piece of music. This piece is called, "The Secret Wedding" and its the soundtrack of the movie "Braveheart" by James Horner.
So far I'have had two lessons to work on my piece.
On the first lesson, I went through a few tutorials and over a couple of videos of other people playing it.
On the second lesson, I tried learning how to play the begging of the music with the help of a tutorial that I watched on Youtube. However, I had a little bit of difficult doing this, because the video didn't specify the left and right hands and also it was pretty fast.
Towards the end of the lesson I searched for the sheet of the music. However I did not find a free version of it. Therefore I asked my teacher which website was better for me in order to pay online for a copy of the music.
The tutorial that I watched:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbZyxv0lHy0
Orchestra Video, full song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3nwwajqlmQ
Piano Version, Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFFRzug1wfY
I choose to learn how to play a piece of music. This piece is called, "The Secret Wedding" and its the soundtrack of the movie "Braveheart" by James Horner.
So far I'have had two lessons to work on my piece.
On the first lesson, I went through a few tutorials and over a couple of videos of other people playing it.
On the second lesson, I tried learning how to play the begging of the music with the help of a tutorial that I watched on Youtube. However, I had a little bit of difficult doing this, because the video didn't specify the left and right hands and also it was pretty fast.
Towards the end of the lesson I searched for the sheet of the music. However I did not find a free version of it. Therefore I asked my teacher which website was better for me in order to pay online for a copy of the music.
The tutorial that I watched:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbZyxv0lHy0
Orchestra Video, full song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3nwwajqlmQ
Piano Version, Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFFRzug1wfY
Sunday, 1 May 2016
Composer Research Task 3 - James Horner
From the previous pieces that I listen to, the one I enjoyed the most was "The Secret Wedding" by James Horner
James Horner:
Farmed for his lush, sweeping scores for films including Braveheart, Apollo 13, and of course Titanic, the prolific composer James Horner was born in Los Angeles on August 14, 1953. He began studying piano at the age of five, and trained at the Royal College of Music in London. After receiving a bachelor's degree in music at USC, he earned his master degree at UCLA and tough music theory there. He landed his first motion picture assignments during the 1970s, scoring B-movies like The Lady in Red, Humanoids of the Deep, and Battle Beyond the Stars for producer Roger Corman's New World organization.
By 1982, Horner had moved on to major studio fare including 48 Hrs. and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and four years later he notched his first Academy Award nominations for his score to the science fiction classic Aliens as well as for the song "Somewhere Out There," from the animated picture An American Tail. In 1989, Horner earned a second Oscar nomination for his score to Field of Dreams, that same year winning a Grammy for his work on the Civil War drama Glory; in 1995 he was honored with two more Academy Award nominations, for Braveheartand Apollo 13.
Horner finally struck Oscar gold in 1997, taking home statuettes for his score to the blockbuster Titanic as well as the film's original song "My Heart Will Go On," a hit for Celine Dion. After writing scores for movies like Commando and The New World, Film Music Masterworks: Original Soundtracks, which contained pieces from some of Horner's best-known work (Apollo 13, Braveheart, Willow, and of course, Titanic, among others), was issued in 2006. Horner's output in the 2000s was not nearly as prolific as in the 1990s, but he continued to produce sterling work, earning three further Oscar nominations for A Beautiful Mind (2001), House of Sand and Fog (2003), and Avatar (2009), the colossal success of which almost rivaled that of Titanic. He also wrote the theme to the CBS Evening News program, heard daily by millions of Americans. He continued to be an in-demand presence in film well into the 21st century, scoring big-budget box office smashes like The Amazing Spider-Man and Ender's Game. The year 2012 saw the release of a lavish, four-disc, 25th anniversary edition of his most popular work, Titanic -- the most successful orchestral score album in history. Horner died on June 22, 2015 when the single-engine turboprop aircraft he was piloting alone crashed in California's Los Padres National Forest west of Santa Barbara. He was 61 years old.
Analysis:
The song "The Secret Wedding" was composed by James Horner, this song is played in the movie "Braveheart", when there is a secret weeding at night in the middle of the woods. This song is about 5 minutes long, and it has a nice romantic start.
The main melody and the start of the song is played with the violin, and is followed by a violoncello, a flute and a piano.
The whole piece is a calm piece, with no dramatic change, it also transmits hope and a romantic spirit.
James Horner:
Farmed for his lush, sweeping scores for films including Braveheart, Apollo 13, and of course Titanic, the prolific composer James Horner was born in Los Angeles on August 14, 1953. He began studying piano at the age of five, and trained at the Royal College of Music in London. After receiving a bachelor's degree in music at USC, he earned his master degree at UCLA and tough music theory there. He landed his first motion picture assignments during the 1970s, scoring B-movies like The Lady in Red, Humanoids of the Deep, and Battle Beyond the Stars for producer Roger Corman's New World organization.
By 1982, Horner had moved on to major studio fare including 48 Hrs. and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, and four years later he notched his first Academy Award nominations for his score to the science fiction classic Aliens as well as for the song "Somewhere Out There," from the animated picture An American Tail. In 1989, Horner earned a second Oscar nomination for his score to Field of Dreams, that same year winning a Grammy for his work on the Civil War drama Glory; in 1995 he was honored with two more Academy Award nominations, for Braveheartand Apollo 13.
Horner finally struck Oscar gold in 1997, taking home statuettes for his score to the blockbuster Titanic as well as the film's original song "My Heart Will Go On," a hit for Celine Dion. After writing scores for movies like Commando and The New World, Film Music Masterworks: Original Soundtracks, which contained pieces from some of Horner's best-known work (Apollo 13, Braveheart, Willow, and of course, Titanic, among others), was issued in 2006. Horner's output in the 2000s was not nearly as prolific as in the 1990s, but he continued to produce sterling work, earning three further Oscar nominations for A Beautiful Mind (2001), House of Sand and Fog (2003), and Avatar (2009), the colossal success of which almost rivaled that of Titanic. He also wrote the theme to the CBS Evening News program, heard daily by millions of Americans. He continued to be an in-demand presence in film well into the 21st century, scoring big-budget box office smashes like The Amazing Spider-Man and Ender's Game. The year 2012 saw the release of a lavish, four-disc, 25th anniversary edition of his most popular work, Titanic -- the most successful orchestral score album in history. Horner died on June 22, 2015 when the single-engine turboprop aircraft he was piloting alone crashed in California's Los Padres National Forest west of Santa Barbara. He was 61 years old.
Analysis:
The song "The Secret Wedding" was composed by James Horner, this song is played in the movie "Braveheart", when there is a secret weeding at night in the middle of the woods. This song is about 5 minutes long, and it has a nice romantic start.
The main melody and the start of the song is played with the violin, and is followed by a violoncello, a flute and a piano.
The whole piece is a calm piece, with no dramatic change, it also transmits hope and a romantic spirit.
Film Composer - Task 2
Over decades, the film music history, had great composers, such as:
Bernard Herrmann:
Known for his great compositions for motion picture, he was born in New York City, in 1911, however his parents were originally from Russia.
Herrmann's formal music education began in 1927 at DeWitt High School, were he learnt all the basics of his craft with his first composition teacher, Gustav Heine.
In 1941 he won the Academic Award for music score of a dramatic picture.
Bernard Herrmann:
Known for his great compositions for motion picture, he was born in New York City, in 1911, however his parents were originally from Russia.
Herrmann's formal music education began in 1927 at DeWitt High School, were he learnt all the basics of his craft with his first composition teacher, Gustav Heine.
In 1941 he won the Academic Award for music score of a dramatic picture.
- John Williams
- Ennio Morricone
- John Barry
- Elmer Bernstein
- Maurice Jane
- Max Steiner
- Hans Zimmer
- James Horner
I listened to "Rose" from the movie "Titanic', by James Horner, "For the love of a princess", also by James Horner and "The Secret Wedding". Also, "Now we are free, from the movie "Gladiator" by Hans Zimmer.
Thursday, 28 April 2016
Film Composer Research - Task 1
Film music wasn't always what we have now a days. It changed through time.
Before 1930's, before movies started having sound, they were completely mute. Music was already common in theatres.
Actors, in order to perform well and have the public's attention, would have to express themselves by face expressions and
The most common reasons for movies to be silent, was because cameras with sound were to expensive and/or didn't already exist, also, actor had not only to be good with face expressions and in order to have the public's attention, they would have also to sound good.
By 1930, with all the new talking pictures (movies with sound), music established itself as a vital element in the film industry.
In 1940, composers refined their expertise even more. One of the most important and influential composers was Bernard Herrmann, who broke many barriers and traditions to create music that greatly enhanced the films for which he wrote. With the development of Jazz, in the 1950s, Jazz made its way to be a great influence in the film industry. Even tho it was manly used for musicals and animated films, it made a because fewer musicians were needed, therefore less money would be spend.
However, during the 1970s, there was barely any change in the film music history, most people spent the decade perfecting things they had learnt from the last decade.
From 1980 until the 1990s, the first used of synthesised sounds in films happen in the 1980s, this lead to a major revolution. For the first time, it became theoretically possible to score an entire film with only one performer - using the synthesiser to produce the sounds of many instrumentalists.
Now a days, with the daily development of new technology and the general knowledge gained from the past, film composers have the ability to create perfect score, accenting the movies's plot and characters in such a way that it enhances the film and turns it into an experience.
Before 1930's, before movies started having sound, they were completely mute. Music was already common in theatres.
Actors, in order to perform well and have the public's attention, would have to express themselves by face expressions and
The most common reasons for movies to be silent, was because cameras with sound were to expensive and/or didn't already exist, also, actor had not only to be good with face expressions and in order to have the public's attention, they would have also to sound good.
By 1930, with all the new talking pictures (movies with sound), music established itself as a vital element in the film industry.
In 1940, composers refined their expertise even more. One of the most important and influential composers was Bernard Herrmann, who broke many barriers and traditions to create music that greatly enhanced the films for which he wrote. With the development of Jazz, in the 1950s, Jazz made its way to be a great influence in the film industry. Even tho it was manly used for musicals and animated films, it made a because fewer musicians were needed, therefore less money would be spend.
However, during the 1970s, there was barely any change in the film music history, most people spent the decade perfecting things they had learnt from the last decade.
From 1980 until the 1990s, the first used of synthesised sounds in films happen in the 1980s, this lead to a major revolution. For the first time, it became theoretically possible to score an entire film with only one performer - using the synthesiser to produce the sounds of many instrumentalists.
Now a days, with the daily development of new technology and the general knowledge gained from the past, film composers have the ability to create perfect score, accenting the movies's plot and characters in such a way that it enhances the film and turns it into an experience.
Thursday, 21 April 2016
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)