Why has Williams steared clear of overtly electronic music/sounds in his scores?

[AI 0]

Of course Williams has used synths in his scores, but always very subtely. And I for one, wonder why he does this.

It makes him unique, compared to any other film scorer. Is the Cat just that good?

What do you think about the way John Williams makes his decisions, shapes his music world?

[GoodMusician 56]

Personally, one of the things I love about a lot of WIlliams work is how immortal it is. You can listen to things like Star Wars or other great scores of his and just not (except by the overal sound quality or maybe one of his passages that he's been evolving through his work that pin points the work to a certain era) able to tell when it was composed.

A lot of the pieces have this almost timeless manner about them, although some are specific to a time period (Penelope), and others are augmented from their time period (Minority Report, Catch me if You Can).

Synth music always seemed to stick out to me. The specific sounds change over time, and the over usage of them can sometimes really date something. Like say... the unused part of the cue from Jurassic Park "Raptor in the Shed." There was a bit of synth in that piece and it dates it pretty specifically to the 90's. Stealing the Embryo's kinda can have that effect, but definately not to the extent of the other.

That's one reason.

The other, I've noticed, is that John Williams is areally a poet at heart. He loves the idea of live performance. In the interview for Episode I called "Capturing a Moment in Time," John Williams speaks to this.

"The recording process is really, still, even with all the electronics we have available today, with orchestra, is still the process where we want to capture a moment in time. And the moment, the number of minutes, is a performance: good, bad, or indifferent.

Actually, that's something that the machines, the computers, and the synthesizes can't give to us. We may do 3 takes of the same scene, and the effect of the three takes from take to take is very different. And the third one may have a face on it that may seem that's just right or it may seem alive in a way that the other two may seem still borne like any performance of anything we do. Actors do, artists do, musical performance from night to night would be very different and thats the fun of it and the magic of live performance that we never do the same thing exactly the same twice.

And I think if we capture a great performance by orchestra and by cast and put it on the soundtrack of a film, the audience is experienceing something that is organic, and alive, and not synthesized and not manufactures by machine..."

Excerpt from New Ingredients

"The only thing we added this time: some electronics, synthesized keyboard sounds. Materials that actually technically weren't available in 1977. I havn't used a lot of that, but there is some electronic work."

So it seems that he purposely (obviously) choose to use synth in the Jedi Temple in Episode I... and that to him, the usage of it as a full frontal instrument as he did in Episode I is not something he thinks about often and his development of his synth technique is lax compared to other composers like Jerry Goldsmith.

But it begs the question of what is the criteria or what is he saying by using synth instead of the real choir... which may help us understand why he uses it when he uses it... and why he doesn't use it in general.

My guess... he may feel it to be cold and hearless... almost robotic and unreadable. There is no emotion just this cold, erie ambiance.

Like in the scene:

Yoda: How feel you?

Anakin: Cold sir.

So judging by the interview, he really loves the idea of capturing a moment in time. Film is really just capturing a moment in time and even with allthe CG and such, the actors and the real elements actually existed somewhere... and theirfore, you are still capturing that specific moment in time... be it visual, audio, or musical... and it has much more depth, reality, breath, and spark to it that the synth cannot have.

Where as CG or Synth have their places. It's perhaps that synth doesn't really give JW that spark that a live performance can give.

I have seen the keyboard player in with the orchestra however (which I guess makes sense) but it's kinda interesting that they do it then... it may be JW's way of bridging the two.

Like for War of the Worlds, the opening is veary cold and heartless and just... almost robotic... maybe even forboding. The performer however plays WITH the orchestra.

I know he uses synth in a very minute and hidden manner... making instrument groups sound fuller and such (like the arrival at the island in JP)

Past that, I don't know what to say except that he prefers reality... that serendipitous performance of the cue that's perfect and hits the emotional cues and is just right... over the cold, static, "perfect" version the computers give. But even then, it still has it's place as eaither an almos subconscious help in making the sound better or by a completely obvious approach and making things seem cold, emotionless, or foreboding.

[Guest macrea]

I think he's fully aware of what a synth can do and he always knows it's available. I just think he writes for it when it occurs to him to do so. Sometimes it's sparingly used for key moments, as in Superman and The Empire Strikes Back, and other times it's appropriate to have it prominently featured, as with Presumed Innocent and Heartbeeps. It doesn't seem like he's done that many projects where a synth-heavy score seemed to be an obvious choice.

[A24 4,331]

Because people hire Williams to get that Williams sound ... just as they would hire Vangelis for that Vangelis sound.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yep.

[Ollie 1,059]

Choices 1 & 3.

It's not his style.

[Jediwashington 59]

He does use synth more often than we think, but not in an overt way. it's usually to replace a certain instrument, such as the celeste parts in "Harry Potter" are always synth, but he has them play live with the orchestra. This I think is the true Williams way. He always talks about the organic sound of and orchestra as being gold. I think he's still fascinated with how an orchestra can make itself sound incredibly different by itself and is still experimenting there. Once in a while I think he'll rely off of a synth part for symbolism purposes, but I think he enjoys orchestrating for live players enough that he doesn't feel the need to use a keyboard that often.

~JW

[Goldsmithfan 6]

He's just not the kind of guy to overtly use synths in very many scores. Like previous stated, he usually uses them to augment or substitute an orchestral sound and that's usually it. It's not that he's not good with them though. I love the synth material for Luke's arrival at Jabba's palace. It's perfectly ominous for what the audience knows (or imagines) is about to happen.

Not to compare myself to a film composer, but I enjoy playing around with compositions, as do many others here. Because I don't have access to an orchestra, everything winds up electronic, but I find myself sticking to the orchestral sounds about 95% of the time. It's not that the more "out there" effects don't have anything to offer. I just love the sound of the orchestra. And besides, I lack the music skills to properly insert certain effects without them seeming like they're a little too much.

It's all in your style and mood I guess.

[Red 75]

1 & 3.

Synths are a tool, just like anything else. They can be put to good use, but unfortunately most of the time they are not.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Option 2.

[John Crichton 4]

1 and 3 for me as well, but more 1 than 3.

[Jeshopk 8]

I chose 1. Because he can easily write for synths, but he clearly doesn't like those harsh analog sounds, such as those Jerry used in Legend's goblins music. Anytime Williams uses synths, it seems to be for an orchestral purpose. Mainly soft synth sounds. I used to hate Jerry' synths, but like coffee, they are an acquired taste.

Sometimes I am annoyed by Williams' synths too. They don't seem to be necessary. I sometimes want to turn the synth track off, like when they are just doubling the strings or a cluster, I want to hear the orchestra!

[Henry B 50]

I think John Williams undervalues synthesizers. They have unlocked a vast, new musical world. I'm not talking about samples, or imitative synthesizers, but those that create deliberately original sounds. The former are very threatening to the survival of the orchestra and other performing groups, though they have their uses. The latter foster creativity.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

where is electronica sounds awful and John knows it, listen to that wretched piece in AOTC

[King Mark 3,631]

I think that...wait,I admit it,I'm not thinking anything

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

where is electronica sounds awful and John knows it, listen to that wretched piece in AOTC

There's awful synth in AotC?

Did I miss that bit?

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

He probably means that electric guitar which is actually quite nice.Whoever composed it.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Ah yes. I confused synth with electronic instruments in general.

But it was cut from the final film version anyway.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

and it was horrible,

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

It was cool.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

It was alright.

- Marc, who hasn't heard that cue in ages.

[Ollie 1,059]

I don't know if it was cut, more like Burtt drowned it out with sound effects.

The speeder had a very similar sound to the guitar.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

I'm quite certain it was cut.

[Ollie 1,059]

I don't remember, I haven't seen AOTC since the year it was released.

[Jeshopk 8]

I don't remember, I haven't seen AOTC since the year it was released.

The guitar was written as a "use it or lose it" overlay (Lucas and Williams discuss this in a webdoc). On the album, it was used. In the film, it was not. But the same orchestral music is still there from those measures.