Elfman sheet music/concert scores

[Anonymous]

Hello –

I’m composing music for an official short film based on the upcoming Spiderman sequel and LEGO figures. I need to approximate Elfman’s excellent score to the first film. Does anyone know of any sheet music or even better orchestral sheet music from the first film?

I’m going to attmept to get ahold of Scott Smalley through my LA connections, but any links to Steve Bartek would be appreciated as well. I want to do Danny justice with the score – it will be live orchestra and chior. I did another short based on an alternate ending to Empire Strikes Back a few years ago:

http://www.spiteyourface.com/hansolo/index.html

Thanks a lot.

Jason

BTW, if anyone has some sheet music (especially orchestral from Spiderman or any other Elfman scores I’ve got bunches of it myself to trade. Mostly Williams but some Elfman as well…)

[Anonymous]

Regarding Spider-Man: There’s a version for full orchestra (containing “Farewell” and “Main Titles”) available at

http://www.halleonard.com

(just search for “elfman”).

It’s arranged by John Wasson, but it’s very close to the original.

[Anonymous]

I forgot: I liked the music you did for the Lego Star Wars! Just a thing: There’s a little too much reverb on the orchestra, and the reverb sounded very cheap. I suggest you should try Sony’s DRE-S777 or Lexicon’s 960 – they sound amazing!

[Anonymous]

Um, well, everyone probably knows what I am going to say: Just use the theme, but not anything else. Make it your own, because as much as you want it to sound like Elfman, it won’t.

Knight (Blah)

[Anonymous]

Like Nin I liked the music for your Empire send up as well. It was wonderfully timed to the action. Will you be using any electronics in your Spider-man score (like in Danny’s score)?

Didn’t you also score a Star Wars fanfilm? I think it was Seeds of Darkness if my memory serves me correct…?

Good Luck, and may the web be with you.

Nat

[Anonymous]

Umm, right Nat. I did do the Seeds fan film a few years ago, which ended up getting me the gig for the LEGO thing soon thereafter (funny, huh?). You have a scarily good memory! I’ll probably incorporate a few electronics a la Elfman…it totally depends on the on-screen action. As you probably noticed I spent as much time syncing the music for Han Solo Affair to the action on-screen as I did composing it. Lucas wanted “John (Williams) meets Carl Stalling” (and that’s a direct quote) so that demanded a lot of animation-style writing.

Nin – I was aware of the $80 arrangement of the Spiderman themes for purchase, but hadn’t gotten any feedback on the authenticity of the orchestration. Thanks for that! Lucas ended up wanting more verb on the orch by the end of the project – it was alittle wet for my taste as well. I used the Altiverb, which is the best sounding verb for the money (I don’t have 12k to spend on just a verb, or I would LOVE a 960L!).

Knight – Can’t use the theme, just the orchestration and “sound” of the theme to suggest Elfman. Hence the desire for well orchestrated scores to pour over. My job is to make it as Elfman sounding as possible, so hopefully I’ll be able to come closer than you think…

Thanks folks.

Jason

[Anonymous]

I’ve been reading this web site and I think that it’s great to have a way to discuss about the composer. I’m a composition major in some College in Miami. I have been tought about Bach,Beethoven, etc … now Ives, Cage, SHOENBERG %^%$^%((*# we don’t have freakin’ american film music. My music teacher hates tonal music. We cannot have any more arguments. We’ll end up killing each other. I say Danny Elfman and she says Webern… I say Williams and she says Ligerty. I think that is important to learn those tools of non tonal music, but who the h.. will want to go to a concert for two hours of that stuff? How am I gonna make a living out of music writing that crazy stuff. The oint is that there are people who love tonal music. There are people who write amazing music who should be tought in music schools as much as Webern. I just wanted to share my feelings with people in the industry. One day I’ll become one of you. I hope!

PS: After I’m done with my bachelor (although it is not in film scoring) how do I get in the music industry?

Thanks a lot

Danny Rocks

[Anonymous]

Hey Erick there is a cool quote by Alan Hovhaness (one of the greatest modern American composers who died a couple of years ago) about the use of atonal music..(I can’t remember the actual quote but it goes something like this)…

“Atonal music is fine in small doses.”

Hovhaness was a very tonal composer, but check out his “And God Created Great Whales” for his wonderful use of atonal music in “small doses”. The same could be said of Ives.

Nat

[Anonymous]

thanks for that answer Nat. In fact, I have used atonality in small doses and it works out. I think that atonality is an important tool. I see it this way. There’s pure and clear tonality (let’s call it clarinet for instance), there’s impresssionism (let’s call it the violin), there’s minimalism (let’s call it the marimba), there’s atonality (let’s call it the piano). And there’s the orchestra (let’s call it music.) Atonality is part of the music not the other way around. Do I make myself clear?

I am happy that I have the chance to discuss these matters with people that care about it. Thanks a lot.

[Anonymous]

I’m a composer who’s very interested in someday writing for films. I love Jerry Goldsmith and I desperately want to study his orchestrations. I’ve been looking for scores for Goldsmith’s “Planet of the Apes”, “Alien”, and “Poltergeist”, but I don’t even know where to begin. If anyone could help me out, I would much appreciate it. Thank you.

[Author]

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