Student: Dallas Crane
Mentor: Ray Smith, Commercial Music
Introduction
Johnny Williams (well known in the film world as John Williams) created a masterful
record, Rhythm in Motion, in 1961. Though not well received commercially, it is a
powerful testament of the creativity that flowed through Hollywood and jazz. I
studied two scores from this album, both arrangements of famous tunes: Whatever
Lola Wants (Lola Gets) and Surrey with the Fringe on Top. Both of these provided a
deep look into the techniques and thought processes of Hollywood orchestrators,
something that prepared me to compose my own original songs for Watch Out,
Dave!, a cartoon I’m directing through BYU.
Methodology
I have several contacts in and around Los Angeles who would have access to John
Williams’ scores. I contacted them and their referrals and was left with no leads.
Because of the commercial failure of the album, it’s assumed that the scores were
never distributed and remain in John’s personal collection.
Following this, I transcribed the scores manually. Music transcription involves
accurately notation the rhythms, pitches, harmonies, and other musical decisions
into music notation that would allow for its study and duplication. To do this, I
digitized the files and imported them into a DAW (digital audio workstation). I used
a software algorithm called “beat mapping” to accurately map the real time pulse of
the song (which shifts, as live musicians are never as steady as a metronome). I
then separated the track into its individual instruments, using digital audio
processing to clear out unwanted noise. From there, I listened and notated the
musical pitches as I heard them, carefully listening in to hear even the faintest
harmonies under the melody.
Once the painstaking process was complete following revisions and proofreading, I
converted the pitches (recorded in the DAW on raw MIDI piano roll data) and
imported it into my music notation software. I prepared a blank score following the
handwritten tradition of Hollywood orchestrators: large time signatures, invisible
bar rests, bolded text, and condensed parts on a landscape-oriented sheet.
I cleaned up the MIDI data (essentially rewrote it) to conform to notational
standards set up and followed in Hollywood. I added articulations (musical diacratics
that define the manner in which a pitch is to be played) that would have needed to
be there during the original recording session. I also added stereo placement data
for relevant parts (e.g. the two coconutists in Surrey with the Fringe on Top). After
a professional score was realized, I created a separate analysis page that could be
printed on clear plastic pages and inserted in between pages of the score.
I composed 5 original pieces of music in the style of the music I transcribed (of
varying lengths, totaling roughly 10 minutes of music) and recorded them at BYU
with BYU students and professional musicians. The music was mixed by a
professional BYU alumnus.
Results
2 full transcriptions, professionally engraved and analyzed (previously unreleased)
Analysis sheets for both scores
~10min of original music, composed and recorded in the style – scores, parts, and
audio files
Discussion
I will continue to seek out grant opportunities that allow me to transcribe masterful
yet forgotten music. I learned an incredible amount of information that prepared
me to compose my own music and seek my own career in Hollywood. Because of
the grant, I was able to prepare myself and see what professionals have done. I
have seen the high level of craft expected of such a career and the techniques to
sustain that.
Conclusion
Thank you for funding this ORCA project. Audio files, scores, analysis, and the
original music I composed is available upon request: dallascranemusic@gmail.com.
From here, I have connections with a popular online music history content
distributor who I will contact regarding proper dissemination of the materials for the
benefit of jazz students everywhere.