Does JW talk in detail about how he does what he does?

[Serafino 8]

Williams is either very good at speaking at the level of his audience's comprehension about music, or he has so automatized what he does that he would have to sit and think for a while to self-analyze his musical process.  Which is it?

 

If he's just good at speaking to someone else's context, are there places one can find him speak in technical terms in detail about his composition?  I don't mean general procedural things but the specifics about choices of motifs and harmony and what thought processes he uses in his pursuit of living up to his own standards of good composition.

 

I know there are some pretty deep students of his work out there.  How, outside of going back to school, would one go about becoming a very deep student of Williams' work?  Thanks!

[Bespin 8,480]

Sure he knows. But he also have the abilities of speaking to "real" people, he learned that too!

[Serafino 8]

I changed the title to reflect the fact that one can 'know' things non-verbally. 

[Brundlefly 2,385]

1 hour ago, Serafino said:

Williams is either very good at speaking at the level of his audience's comprehension about music, or he has so automatized what he does that he would have to sit and think for a while to self-analyze his musical process.  Which is it?

 

Both. He is used to what he has been doing for decades now, thus he doesn't even have to think about the techniques he uses. He just uses them and works very intuitively. When talking to the masses John Williams is clearly simplifying the process and skips details which he is very well aware of, but to a certain extend he would have to do a self-analysis to understand "what exactly did I do there?".

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

He tells us all the time how Spielberg needed a better composer for Schindler's List.

[artguy360 1,843]

I've never seen Williams go deep into his writing process or speak to his own particular musical sensibilities. My impression is that he just doesn't like to talk about his work in those terms but who knows.

[karelm 2,912]

He doesn't really think there is any magic to this so is perplexed by the question and interest.  It is sort of like asking anyone who is at the master level of their craft to explain how do they do that "magic" and the answers are probably all the same.  Work their asses off, study, apply themselves.  The goal is not to be a great composer but to be better today than you were yesterday.  JW still studies music and still finds fascination in it.

[Serafino 8]

So I propose that although perhaps his intelligence, and certainly his work ethic have contributed to the quality of his work, the real difference between him and most other composers has been his particular set of musical values, i.e. the things he thought were important enough to pursue and learn.

 

Any evidence anyone can point to for their conclusions on this issue would be very much appreciated, even if you want to keep it private that you've talked to him, I would appreciate a pm and will keep the info. behind my teeth, as Ian Fleming claimed the Greeks would say.

[Jay 37,346]

Where'd you disappear to for 11 months?

[SteveMc 2,674]

I disappeared for 26 months.

 

via GIPHY

 

[Thor 7,493]

He used to be good at this decades ago. But in the last 2-3 decades, I've read very few interviews with him that probe particularly deep into the matter.

 

But he's a million times better at it than Goldsmith ever was.

[Serafino 8]

1 hour ago, Jay said:

Where'd you disappear to for 11 months?

 

Where have I been?  I uh, ...  um ...   I find that question difficult to answer.  I vaguely recall revisiting baroque music around that time, and developing a mad crush on a Russian violinist.  I might possibly have listened to some film scores by other composers a bit, although I will have to deny that if asked to formally own up to it.

[Oomoog the Ecstatic 314]

I imagine any composer will know JW's answer "How you do what you do" if they first apply it to themselves. It will sound more-or-less vague, because it's a process of creativity. For instance, I would probably respond like "I had a few ideas, and while working with them, I thought one in particular stood out as both fitting the context of the film and the ideology of the film (in the following ways.)" I think it's an intuitive response.

[karelm 2,912]

3 hours ago, Thor said:

He used to be good at this decades ago. But in the last 2-3 decades, I've read very few interviews with him that probe particularly deep into the matter.

 

But he's a million times better at it than Goldsmith ever was.

 

What are you talking about?  Your sources are from interviews?

[Jay 37,346]

3 hours ago, Serafino said:

 

Where have I been?  I uh, ...  um ...   I find that question difficult to answer.  I vaguely recall revisiting baroque music around that time, and developing a mad crush on a Russian violinist.  I might possibly have listened to some film scores by other composers a bit, although I will have to deny that if asked to formally own up to it.

 

[Thor 7,493]

9 hours ago, karelm said:

 

What are you talking about?  Your sources are from interviews?

 

Yes, where else would it be?

[Jurassic Shark 12,054]

The internet? 

 

On 5/15/2019 at 11:47 PM, Serafino said:

I vaguely recall revisiting baroque music around that time

 

C'mon, JW's not that old!