Rick Beato's Film Music Analysis

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Has anyone else watched his videos?

 

While I find some of his theory nomenclature a tad questionable (I'm splitting hairs, I know) and his interpretation can be a little too vertical, as a jazz cat and performer he brings an interesting perspective. It helps that's he's a genuinely nice dude and knows how to effectively teach.

 

Watching through his breakdown of Shore's Main Titles from Silence of the Lambs it suddenly hit me like a ton of bricks how much Shore's jazz background informs his writing and sense of melodic line. Not necessarily that jazz fusion of Lighthouse, but ECM jazz--Eberhard Weber, Pat Metheny, Terje Rypdal, Ralph Towner, and modal jazz--Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter. On the ECM label there was also a number of works by John Cage, Elliot Carter, Arvo Pärt, Steve Reich and John Adams, plus early composers like Tallis, Gesualdo and Palestrina--all of which have an influence on Shore, to varying degrees. I bet you if we raided Howard's vinyl collection we'd find dozens upon dozens of ECM records.

 

 

Here's his video on James Horner.

 

 

Thomas Newman

 

 

 

[karelm 2,913]

I've seen a few of these.  I think what is more important than what he teaches is how he analyzes the scores to break them down to elements and that is something each composer should know how to do in their way.  We won't all agree on the break down but should have a way of analyzing other music to learn from it and that is what I find most interesting on the videos of his I've seen.  He clearly has a very good ear and his kid is unbelievable.

 

The thing that annoys me greatly is when someone makes a 20 minute video called "how to write like John Williams" and talks about open fifth or something very rudimentary which he and others who make similar videos stray in to. To me that is like saying "how to write like the Beatles" and talk about writing a I-IV-V chord because some of their hits did that.