http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... Id=4486840
A Bit of Electronic Music History
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- KVRAF
- 6937 posts since 4 Jun, 2004 from Utrecht, Holland
I think there were none at the time (apart from the Theramin) so they used test tone oscillators and whatever they could get their hands on. Truely modularhjack wrote:Forbidden Planet was the first major motion picture to feature an all-electronic film score
it'd be cool to know the machines used
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- KVRist
- 350 posts since 7 Sep, 2004 from UK
From the article:
Oh muse, your bank account is overflowing with $$££,
pay us a measly wage for thy electronic symphonies...or we'll sell our souls to the devil...
And what type of music does ???But avant-garde didn't pay
Oh muse, your bank account is overflowing with $$££,
pay us a measly wage for thy electronic symphonies...or we'll sell our souls to the devil...
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- KVRAF
- 1669 posts since 22 Oct, 2004 from Schmocation
Thanks for the link, Soniccat. It says in the article the guy built his own circuits, so I suppose that answers the question of which machines they used. Interesting to se that she (at the age of what, 75-80?) used "the latest in sound-generation technology" to write a piece a few years ago. Does that mean she used Reaktor or something? 
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- KVRAF
- 3588 posts since 13 May, 2004 from montreal
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- Skunk Mod
- 21249 posts since 10 Jun, 2004 from Pony Pasture
"Hi, everybody! I'm Archie Bell and the Krells from Forbidden Planet, Texas, and we don't only sing but we dance just as good as we walk. We just visited a moon of Saturn where they all do a little number called the Titan Up."dystonia_ek wrote:Ancient Krell Music
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- KVRAF
- 7879 posts since 16 Apr, 2003 from -on the outside looking in
Meffy wrote:"Hi, everybody! I'm Archie Bell and the Krells from Forbidden Planet, Texas, and we don't only sing but we dance just as good as we walk. We just visited a moon of Saturn where they all do a little number called the Titan Up."dystonia_ek wrote:
..what goes around comes around..
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- KVRAF
- 6496 posts since 26 Nov, 2004 from Frederick, MD
I missed this on Morning Edition, thanks for the link!
Yes, the Barrons built their own circuits. I've read where they said that often the most interesting sounding circuits turned out to be unstable, lasting only a matter of minutes or less before frying themselves. So, they would record the circuits, and then use manual tape manipulation, a'la musique concrete, to piece together the final compositions. From the sound of their tracks (the Forbidden Planet soundtrack is available on CD and is really, really worth buying, it translates very differently when presented without the film, which is also available on DVD and worth getting), it sounds like they had access to at least some pre-made gadgets like ring modulators, widely in use by the musique concrete composers around the same time, but little else was available to them without building it themselves.
From what I've read their circuits had no external controls. Tone, wave shape, volume and note articulation were all results of the circuits themselves, enhanced by tape techniques such as delay.
Another early electronic experimenter that's worth looking into, and one that's even more obscure/forgotten, is Hugh Le Caine http://hughlecaine.com/en/sackbut.html. Not only did he create the first voltage controlled synthesizer, but also the first analog sampler--the Multi-Track, developed in 1955 and which was very similar in concept to the Mellotron. He was also experimenting with additive systhesis back in 1959, and had created a polyphonic synth in 1970.
Yes, the Barrons built their own circuits. I've read where they said that often the most interesting sounding circuits turned out to be unstable, lasting only a matter of minutes or less before frying themselves. So, they would record the circuits, and then use manual tape manipulation, a'la musique concrete, to piece together the final compositions. From the sound of their tracks (the Forbidden Planet soundtrack is available on CD and is really, really worth buying, it translates very differently when presented without the film, which is also available on DVD and worth getting), it sounds like they had access to at least some pre-made gadgets like ring modulators, widely in use by the musique concrete composers around the same time, but little else was available to them without building it themselves.
From what I've read their circuits had no external controls. Tone, wave shape, volume and note articulation were all results of the circuits themselves, enhanced by tape techniques such as delay.
Another early electronic experimenter that's worth looking into, and one that's even more obscure/forgotten, is Hugh Le Caine http://hughlecaine.com/en/sackbut.html. Not only did he create the first voltage controlled synthesizer, but also the first analog sampler--the Multi-Track, developed in 1955 and which was very similar in concept to the Mellotron. He was also experimenting with additive systhesis back in 1959, and had created a polyphonic synth in 1970.
Last edited by emdot_ambient on Fri Feb 11, 2005 6:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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- Skunk Mod
- 21249 posts since 10 Jun, 2004 from Pony Pasture
While you're at it, don't neglect Raymond Scott. Most people who know of him think of Scott as the composer of lots of tunes that got adapted for cartoon scores, but he was also a gonzo audio engineering genius. Ah, if only he were here to see what's come of electronic music!
Meffy
Meffy
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- KVRAF
- 6496 posts since 26 Nov, 2004 from Frederick, MD
Oops, got sidetracked. My original thought was that the most amazing part about Forbidden Planet is that no Hollywood film would ever be this daring today.
Think about it; back in 1956 they took an experimental soundtrack and used it not only as the film's soundtrack, but also for most of the sound FX. And now, when computers and electronic music has become so ubiquitous in cinematic music, what do we hear them used for? Neo classical shmaltz for the most part. Am I the only one out here who is sick to death of movie soundtracks? The only ones that are anything close to exciting are ones that simply pillage the songs of underground electronic artists, like The Matrix using Juno Reactor tunes and the like. But when a dramatic moment comes around, or an emotional moment . . . out come the violins and weepy orchestration. Makes me bloody sick.
Sorry for the tirade.
Think about it; back in 1956 they took an experimental soundtrack and used it not only as the film's soundtrack, but also for most of the sound FX. And now, when computers and electronic music has become so ubiquitous in cinematic music, what do we hear them used for? Neo classical shmaltz for the most part. Am I the only one out here who is sick to death of movie soundtracks? The only ones that are anything close to exciting are ones that simply pillage the songs of underground electronic artists, like The Matrix using Juno Reactor tunes and the like. But when a dramatic moment comes around, or an emotional moment . . . out come the violins and weepy orchestration. Makes me bloody sick.
Sorry for the tirade.
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Joxer the Mighty Joxer the Mighty https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=4414
- KVRist
- 282 posts since 1 Nov, 2002
Yeah, Raymond Scott was another pioneer. There was a great article about him in Electronic Musician some time ago. More info at:
http://www.raymondscott.com/
http://www.raymondscott.com/
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- KVRAF
- 2323 posts since 4 Mar, 2004 from Portugal (Lagos)
Very interesting!
'The Bells From Atlantis', an actual reading by Anäis Nin.
'The Bells From Atlantis', an actual reading by Anäis Nin.
Eventually something intelligent will appear written here. Watch this space.