Film Music Tips
Read these 12 Film Music Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Classical Music tips and hundreds of other topics.
Mark Isham
Mark Isham has earned a Grammy, an Emmy, and a Clio award, and multiple Grammy, Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. As a trumpet player, he has recorded with Bruce Springsteen, Willie Nelson, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones Van Morrison and others. Scores include A River Runs Through It, The Majestic, October Sky, Nell, Men of Honor, Save The Last Dance and Moonlight Mile.
Hans Zimmer
German born Hans Zimmer pioneered the use of digital synthesizers, computers and electronic keyboards in film. Oscar-nominated scores include Rain Man, Black Rain, Driving Miss Daisy and The Preacher's Wife. Other scores include GreenCard, Thelma & Louise, The Power of One, A League of Their Own, Toys, La Femme Nikita, Crimson Tide, Two Deaths, The Peacemaker, Gladiator and Pearl Harbor.
Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones, has succeeded professionally as film composer, TV producer, and Grammy-winning recording artist; and, personally, surviving a near-fatal cerebral aneurysm in 1974. He has scored 33 major motion pictures, earning an Emmy and 7 Oscar nominations. Film credits include In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice, The Color Purple and recently Austin Powers 3.
James Horner
James Horner is one of the best-known names in the world of film music. His best-selling and critically acclaimed score for Titanic touched the hearts of millions worldwide, and his scores for Apollo 13, Braveheart, Field of Dreams, Aliens, and most recently A Beautiful Mind featuring vocals from Charlotte Church, have all been nominated for Academy Awards.
Hans Zimmer
German born Hans Zimmer pioneered the use of digital synthesizers, computers and electronic keyboards in film. Oscar-nominated scores include Rain Man, Black Rain, Driving Miss Daisy and The Preacher's Wife. Other scores include GreenCard, Thelma & Louise, The Power of One, A League of Their Own, Toys, La Femme Nikita, Crimson Tide, Two Deaths, The Peacemaker, Gladiator and Pearl Harbor.
Randy Newman
Randy Newman was born into a family of movie composers (most notably uncle Alfred Newman, who also
composed the well-known 20th Century Fox theme). Popular for his socially satirical songs, Newman has earned one Oscar, and has been nominated for 16 others. Scores include Ragtime, The Natural, Parenthood, The Paper, Maverick, Toy Story, James And The Giant Peach, Pleasantville, Monsters, Inc.
Yoko Kanno
Yoko Kanno's name is synonymous with anime film scores. A self-taught pianist, her debut in anime came scoring Macross Plus, a sequel to the immensely popular Macross series. Other internationally popular hits include the scores to Visions of Escaflowne, Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, RahXephon and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
John Williams
John Williams is associated with two of Hollywood's great directors, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. He has composed for nearly 80 films, and has 5 Oscars. Credits include The Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter series; The Poseidon Adventure, The Paper Chase, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Home Alone, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, A.I., Minority Report.
Howard Shore
Howard Shore was hired to be Musical Director of the hit TV show Saturday Night Live in 1975, and scored his first film in 1978. The Lord of the Rings trilogy has earned him three Oscars and two Golden Globes. Other scores include Scanners, Videodrome, The Fly, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, The Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia, Seven, The Cell, Big, Mrs. Doubtfire, Ed Wood and Dogma.
Alan Silvestri
Alan Silvestri started as a guitarist, drummer and arranger in various bands and is now one of the world's most prolific and successful film composers. Credits include: Back to the Future Part I, II and III, Forrest Gump, Predator, Cast Away, Who framed Roger Rabbit?, The Mummy Returns, Contact, Stuart Little, The Bodyguard, What Lies Beneath, Romancing the Stone, and recently Lilo & Stitch and Tomb Raider 2.
Danny Elfman
Danny Elfman won a Grammy in 1989 for his theme to Batman. He was nominated for two Oscars in 1998, one for Men in Black and the other for Good Will Hunting. For The Nightmare Before Christmas, Danny wrote the songs, composed the score, and sang the leading role. Closely associated with director Tim Burton, Danny has also worked with directors Brian DePalma, Emilo Estevez, and Warren Beatty.
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith is one of the giants. Breaking into TV in the early ‘60s (he wrote the famous Dr Kildare theme) Goldsmith was awarded his first Oscar nomination in 1962, and won in 1976 for The Omen. Scores include Planet of the Apes, Patton, Star Trek-The Motion Picture, Papillon, Total Recall, Basic Instinct, The Mummy, The Russia House, Six Degrees of Separation, LA Confidential, and The Sum Of All Fears.
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