Book is being written on the Film music of Close Encounters!

[filmmusic 1,941]

Searching the net for theses or dissertations concerning John Williams, i found somehere this:

"[Dr Mark Brownrigg]..is currently writing [...]a monograph on John Williams’ music for Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) for Scarecrow."

now, i believe this would be for the film score guide series of Scarecrow Press which has released other film music analyses such as Batman, English Patient, Adventures of Robin Hood, ice Storm etc.

I'm looking forward to reading this!! ( i already have read Batman and English Patient)

[Joe Brausam 216]

How are those books? I've wanted to pick some up.

[filmmusic 1,941]

How are those books? I've wanted to pick some up.

they are good. there aren't many books such as those out there.

half the book is about historical stuff (about the film, about the composer) and the other half is analysis of the music which is addressed to musicians, musicologists and generally people who know music..

It says about the motifs, the themes, how they are used in the film with written examples etc..

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,282]

Sounds boring.

[Joe Brausam 216]

How are those books? I've wanted to pick some up.

they are good. there aren't many books such as those out there.

half the book is about historical stuff (about the film, about the composer) and the other half is analysis of the music which is addressed to musicians, musicologists and generally people who know music..

It says about the motifs, the themes, how they are used in the film with written examples etc..

Oh, good. I was hoping that they would be geared toward the musically literate,I'll have to look into them!

[John Takis 222]

Doug Adams' The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films should put all these books to shame! But still ... it's been the only series of its kind for a long time. I only hope Dr. Brownrigg knows his stuff!

[Ollie 1,069]

So these books aren't something us musically illiterate fans would be able to enjoy?

[filmmusic 1,941]

So these books aren't something us musically illiterate fans would be able to enjoy?

Well, just the first half of it with the historical stuff..

Doug Adams' The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films should put all these books to shame!

I haven't understood what is this book about. Is it gonna be a musicological analysis, or a description of the score for the musically illiterate?

Oh, never mind, i just saw the site for this book, and from what i understand it's perhaps the second..

[John Takis 222]

konstantinos: Doug's analysis of the music is deep and insightful enough to satisfy hard-core musicologists, but is clearly presented, and not so dense as to be impossibly confusing for the musically illiterate. In other words, everyone should be able to take plenty away from the text, no matter their background or level of music education. I'd go so far as to say that an attentive novice might even get MORE out of the text ... in the sense that while someone with advanced knowledge of music theory might have their appreciation of the score increased somewhat, a novice's appreciation has the potential to increase by leaps and bounds!

The thing is, music theory isn't some kind of impenetrable alchemy, accessible only to a few. The basics are well within the powers of ordinary folks to understand without too much headache. Most people simply don't take the time to educate themselves, or aren't exposed to the proper resources. That's not a slight; some people are perfectly happy with their existing level of knowledge. But no one should shy away from seeking a deeper understanding of music on the grounds that they won't be able to understand it -- not without giving it a try, anyway! It can open up new worlds of enjoyment and appreciation.

[filmmusic 1,941]

konstantinos: Doug's analysis of the music is deep and insightful enough to satisfy hard-core musicologists, but is clearly presented, and not so dense as to be impossibly confusing for the musically illiterate. In other words, everyone should be able to take plenty away from the text, no matter their background or level of music education. I'd go so far as to say that an attentive novice might even get MORE out of the text ... in the sense that while someone with advanced knowledge of music theory might have their appreciation of the score increased somewhat, a novice's appreciation has the potential to increase by leaps and bounds!

The thing is, music theory isn't some kind of impenetrable alchemy, accessible only to a few. The basics are well within the powers of ordinary folks to understand without too much headache. Most people simply don't take the time to educate themselves, or aren't exposed to the proper resources. That's not a slight; some people are perfectly happy with their existing level of knowledge. But no one should shy away from seeking a deeper understanding of music on the grounds that they won't be able to understand it -- not without giving it a try, anyway! It can open up new worlds of enjoyment and appreciation.

Thank you very much John for your details on this.

My intent of course was not to say that film music analyses are only to be addressed to those who know music. It's just that academic musicological analyses of film scores don't exist (except for a couple of examples) and I believe people like me who have studied music for a lot of years, would be anxious to read such books for educational reasons (details about the construction of themes, the musical connection between them, the tonalities used and what they do represent, if there is a tonal plan and what does it want to show etc.)

Aspiring to be a film composer, I really would love to read more books on this subject that would help me understand more.. that doesn't mean of course that I discard any other effort that is not addressed to musicians..

[John Takis 222]

konstantinos: Don't worry, my comments on music education weren't addressed to you particularly ... just using the opportunity to promote music literacy. My prediction is that Doug's book will be right up your alley...

[fommes 154]

Nice. Keep us posted when it'll be published!

[Maglorfin 196]

( i already have read Batman and English Patient)

This sounds really interesting, I'm a diehard fan of deeply detailed musicological analyses of classical and film music! Where can I find Batman and where will the CE3K book be available? Are these books by any chance sold on Amazon?

And I've been waiting so hard and for so long for this book of Doug's, the publishing date just seems to slip further and further into the hazy future ...

[gkgyver 1,647]

The thing is, music theory isn't some kind of impenetrable alchemy, accessible only to a few. The basics are well within the powers of ordinary folks to understand without too much headache. Most people simply don't take the time to educate themselves, or aren't exposed to the proper resources. That's not a slight; some people are perfectly happy with their existing level of knowledge. But no one should shy away from seeking a deeper understanding of music on the grounds that they won't be able to understand it -- not without giving it a try, anyway! It can open up new worlds of enjoyment and appreciation.

I second that!

As much as I look forward to Doug's book, I wouldn't spit on the Close Encounters book either.

[filmmusic 1,941]

( i already have read Batman and English Patient)

This sounds really interesting, I'm a diehard fan of deeply detailed musicological analyses of classical and film music! Where can I find Batman and where will the CE3K book be available? Are these books by any chance sold on Amazon?

And I've been waiting so hard and for so long for this book of Doug's, the publishing date just seems to slip further and further into the hazy future ...

You can find the film score guide series in amazon. just type the keyword "film score guide" in books.

The Close Encounters book hasn't been written yet.

Upon my contact with the author of the book, he says there's an effort for the book to be more oriented to those who have not a musical background..