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The Power of John Williams.


UCFKevin

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Would Jaws have been so scary without that bonechilling theme song? Would millions of people have been frightened to go into the water that summer without the infamous score?

Would Superman be able to convincely fly up, catch Lois Lane and stop a helicopter from killing the onlookers below without his triumphant theme playing to his every move?

Would Indiana Jones have lived through each of his adventures without his heroic fanfare? Would he become one of the most beloved action heros of all time without it?

Would E.T. be able to lift Elliot's and the other's bikes into the air without his tearjerking theme?

Would we have been able to communite with the mothership in Close Encounters without those five fateful notes?

Without Williams, these films wouldn't be anywhere near as revered as they are, I don't think. This is why I believe John Williams is one of the most brilliant people to have ever walked this earth, and I thank God whenever I hear one of JW's theme songs for giving him the talent he shares with all of us.

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You know,

That is exactly what I think and that's why I felt it was so important for my students to know all about him. I made sure they knew a bunch of his pieces, knew how to play some, knew what a composer and a film score was, and knew what it was like to watch a movie with and without music.

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Excellent. What do you teach, where, and to whom? I would love it if my band teacher held your same opinions and techniques when I took band.

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I teach elementary music in Maine. And not like I'm a great teacher or anything but before I got there the kids were like "aren't all composers dead?"

They know much different now!

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I've often wondered about that too.

Sometimes i think "nobody other than Brad Fidel could of done the Terminator score" for example. Same with Horner's Brainstorm. But when it comes to it, i still think those films such as close encounters were also largely a sucess because of excellent direction and story and still woudl of been hits :(

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i would love to take a class to study the composition style of JW. There is something about his writing that sounds like no other.

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We've seen the likes of this thread many times before, but you're absolutely right. These films are classics only because of the excellence of their various individual components, not the least of which were John Williams's musical scores.

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Yeah.

The kids have yet to realize how often they hear JW's music.

They had no idea that when they listen to the news. . . .

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:(

Well, hell, up until a few years back, neither did I...

Hopefully you'll help in creating a new batch of Williams fans. Maybe someday instead of hearing Eminem's new song blaring out the windows of a passing SUV, I'll hear the Raider's March. Hasn't happened yet...

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Would Jaws have been so scary without that bonechilling theme song? Would millions of people have been frightened to go into the water that summer without the infamous score?

NOPE

Would Superman be able to convincely fly up, catch Lois Lane and stop a helicopter from killing the onlookers below without his triumphant theme playing to his every move?

UH-UH!

Would E.T. be able to lift Elliot's and the other's bikes into the air without his tearjerking theme?

I get teary-eyed thinking about it now

Would we have been able to communite with the mothership in Close Encounters without those five fateful notes?

Da-daa-daa-duh-daaaa

Without Williams, these films wouldn't be anywhere near as revered as they are, I don't think. This is why I believe John Williams is one of the most brilliant people to have ever walked this earth, and I thank God whenever I hear one of JW's theme songs for giving him the talent he shares with all of us.

AMEN... Preach it Brother

Big Ken: who finds much of JW's music almost a religious experience :(

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Yeah.

The kids have yet to realize how often they hear JW's music.

They had no idea that when they listen to the news. . . .

Well, personally, I watch ABC World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, although I sometimes tune into NBC just to catch the classic JW fanfare...

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You would have cracked up to see their faces!

I just kept playing all this JW stuff and they were like "he wrote this TOO!"

And then they were like THIS IS THE NBC SONG!!!!! HE WROTE IT! COOL!

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That's why I love our Johnny boy.

Okay, let's see if this is fair:

Max Steiner, Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Miklos Rosza=

Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig

John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner=

Barry Bonds, Sammy Sosa, John Rocker :roll:

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The T-Rex and Raptors in Jurassic Park wouldn't have scary, the brachiosaurs would not have been majestic, and the island wouldn't be anythink like it was without the music. I have always held the opinion that movie music makes the movie. I find it to be the best style, though style is very broad in this case which makes it very cool, of music out there.

~Conor

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I didn't think this movie was that great, actually. I cared more about the characters in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, for example, than I did about the mathematician, Dr. Grant, the children, etc.

Especially in this case, the movie music doesn't make the movie.

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But there's that awesome eight minutes in the film that would not be the same without it, so the music certainly made that part of the film. :)

~Harry

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What a great topic! I totally agree. He has a gift that no one else has even begun to reach and there will never be another like him.

Ren - how cool! Congrats on being a teacher....very admirable profession.

Hector -- that was hilarious! "John Rocker :roll:"

Dan - who likes most of his elementary teachers

:( "The Beyondness Of Things" from "The Beyondness Of Things" (Barry)

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Hector -- that was hilarious!  "John Rocker :roll:"

:( "The Beyondness Of Things" from "The Beyondness Of Things" (Barry)

I know! But I never thought someone here would understand it LOL

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When will people realize that teachers need to be paid a lot more? We can reduce the actors pay, and we can increase the salary of the teacher. Or even better, teachers should act like actors and be stubborn about the money.

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yeah,

sometimes i wonder. if they paid every teacher the same salaray as the person/people they've greatly influenced in their lives, we'd be WAY richer that Gates!

Think about the actor's who are doing what they love because a teacher helped them!

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Awww...cute, Ren.

Dan - who's always felt that Ren's "tree logo" was really really cool

:mrgreen: "Ice Chase" from The Living Daylights (Barry)

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I didn't think this movie was that great, actually.  I cared more about the characters in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, for example, than I did about the mathematician, Dr. Grant, the children, etc.

Especially in this case, the movie music doesn't make the movie.

Morn - Confused

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I didn't think this movie was that great, actually.  I cared more about the characters in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones, for example, than I did about the mathematician, Dr. Grant, the children, etc.

Especially in this case, the movie music doesn't make the movie.

Morn - Confused

The groundbreaking visual effects aside, I thought this movie was pretty weak. Williams's reverent theme can't save Spielberg's decision to film Michael Chrichton's far more interesting novel as a heartless popcorn flick.

Wow, look at that character development! Gradually, he learns to appreciate the children! How much more heavy-handed can you get?

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Well, of course it lacks character developement. Yet, the characters are still very likeable. Plus, the whole idea and method of bring dinosaur's back to life is extremely intriguing. The rest of the film is mostly just cheap action and thrills. But it's done far better than most similar type of stuff in the 90s and the film was quite unique. So, yes it might appear to be see through and thin, but I thought the who idea of bring back dinosaur's made up for it.

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I wish I had a teacher like Ren when I was in elementary school. I learned jack crap in my general music class. And all my teacher did was smile alot, play the piano, and acted like everything was just plain wonderful. She was just too happen, it was almost freaky. I haven't seen her in years, so I'm pretty sure she finally cracked, started talking to her dead relatives, and went to the nut house. If I had learned about film scores back then, I would have a much bigger collection now.

-Jason :baaa: Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique, Adagio Cantabile

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Hehe, way back in primary school my music teacher was just as cheerful. But she sometimes played fiddler on the roof, and funnily enough it is the only piece of music she ever used that I remember, before I even knew Williams existed. She also sometimes played Star Trek The Next Generation videos for the class.

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Thankfully, my music teachers (with the exception of my 6th grade science teacher and my 9th and 10th grade history teacher) were the best teachers I had.

Not only did I learn loads about music, but they all were John Williams fans, and I was able to conduct "Theme from Jurassic Park" in 8th grade....an experience I'll never forget.

Then, I left the band due to braces., :roll: and I joined the choir and that's where I met my best friend and my other best friend -- one of whom was my choir teacher. I turned her into a huge Johnny fan and a fan of film music in general.

For Christmas one year, I copied over 100 of my CDs, including the artwork, and gave her a huge (and heavy :( ) box of CDs that she still listens to.

Ren -- one of my good friends, is an amazing singer who used to be an Elementary school teacher in Georgia before coming down to Miami. She then moved down to Miami and taught computers, because she got really sick from singing and stuff. Well.......me, being the dream motivator, I urged her to pursue her true dream of being an actress and that's what she's doing.

Dan - who will see her in an upcoming Denzel Washington flick.

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wow! that's a lot of great music teacher stories.

I definitely think that without great teachers, we may never find out who we are and what we like. It doesn't have to be MUSIC teachers, but teachers in general. Students spend at least 8 hours a day with them, they are bound to have some major influence!

I had a bunch of music teachers. None of which were ASTOUNDING, they just really loved music and let me have a go and what ever instrument, song, etc that I wanted. I had a graduating class of 14 and our school band was 12. So needless to say, I got to play what ever instrument I wanted. I liked all sorts of music then, and I still do now. I distinctly remember playing jurrasic park in high school and i LOVED it!!!!!! (bari sax that day)

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I used to play alto sax for six or seven years, but had to sell it in order to pay for my car insurance. D'oh!

I kinda wanna buy a new one, see if I still got the chops...

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I play alto and tenor sax in band/jazz band, and I used to play bari sax last year. I love it, and it will be the instrument I major on when I go to college (I'm hoping to major in music education, and music performance).

-Jason

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I could not agree more with the original poster.

John Williams' contributions to cinema are nearly as important as those he has made to music. :music:

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You know, while we're on the subject of music teachers.

I used to have a high school music teacher. He yelled at his students a lot, even though they were better than he gave them credit for.

I didnt' like him that much.

Every year, he and his students put on a high school concert.

Well, the year that "Mr. Holland's Opus came out", was a great buzz for him; that same year the concert he put on was called, "Mr. Coultier's Opus".

:? Umm...I just thought it was kinda strange, in a egomaniacal way...

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What an ass.

Director - who attended a concert where his old high school band director was retiring and alumni got together with the school band and surprised him by hiding behind the curtain until it was raised and having him come up and conduct us with "Mr. Holland's Opus"

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BLAH?? You thought my story was "BLAH"? Why are you so mean, Ren? Do you not like me? What did I ever do to you?

:) LOL :) LOL :mrgreen: LOL :mrgreen: LOL

Director - emulating Jason and Harry (sometimes)

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