Music. It’s more than something we play on our iPods. It touches our emotions, animates the imagination and becomes something beyond what we can see. Music plays a significant role in the movies we watch.
Max Steiner composed the first full Hollywood soundtrack in 1933. The movie? King Kong.
Think about your favorite movie. Without the music, would it be the same? The opening of Star Wars, the finale of E.T., O Brother, Where Art Thou? Paranormal? Gone with the Wind? Wall-E and Ratatouille? They all have such amazing soundtracks that made scenes stand out.
Music, in a sense, becomes a character. It allows us the emotional ups and downs of a film, the fear, the excitement, the anticipation of the storyline and its characters.
One day last month, while in Los Angeles for the #NeverbeastBloggers event, we stopped by DisneyToons and had the opportunity to learn about the score and music in Disney’s newest Tinkerbell movie, Tinkerbell and the Neverbeast. We met with Music Supervisor Brett Swain and songwriter/artist Bleu.
Brett Swain, Music Supervisor (Left) and Bleu (Right) talk about the music of Tinkerbell and the Neverbeast
We had heard the name Bleu when we spoke to Director Steve Loter. We learned that on the way to work each morning Loter would listen to Bleu, from there, a green light was given for Tinkerbell and the Neverbeast and Bleu was involved in creating music for the movie.
I was fascinated as we listened to Bleu share how all new sounds needed for the Neverbeast. You might be surprised to learn the source of new music came from a nationwide building and garden store. With planter pots, water drains, garbage cans and ordinary pipes a movie score was created.
Years ago, as a romantic gesture to my mother, my dad built her a dulcimer. My mother learned to play, and each night, we’d listen to the music that loves created coming from the dulcimer. Aside from the western North Carolina hills, I had never heard the word dulcimer, and I have not seen one since…until this day when Bleu share with us an instrument he created, the Dulcitar. A combination of a dulcimer and a guitar. It takes two people to play, and it’s so worth the music.
Bleu explained he has a background in acoustic stringed instruments, but didn’t want an acoustic guitar score because it has a particular connotation with folk or country music.
Watch the fascinating presentation below where Bleu talks about the various instruments for each character and how they created the music with ordinary things.
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