The Power of Music

The Power of Music

Those tapes, discs, LPs and electrical transcriptions contain more than music.

by Randy West

Music speaks directly to the heart. It can evoke profound emotional responses.

For example, familiar music from our high school years immediately takes us back to our prom night or other moment from the era, rekindling all the thoughts and feelings of that time. With that kind of powerful association, music can evoke clear memories and emotions of people, places and events that might otherwise be lost to time.

Music scored to accompany scenes of action or romance in a motion picture or television drama has the power to involve the viewer with what otherwise might simply be a series of visual images that would be experienced as an uninvolved observer.

Music composed for non-dramatic broadcasting uses creates emotional responses that enhance the viewer’s experience. A majestic theme imbues TV news organizations with an image of authority and credibility. Commercial music and jingles help sell product by creating a positive mood that makes the audience member receptive to the message while also making that message far more memorable. Sports themes set the stage for the action, drama and competition; you can almost smell the hot wings and suddenly feel thirsty for a beer.

Game show music says “FUN”! For those of us who love the genre, a game show theme from the past can make us smile and feel nostalgic for the bells, buzzers, sets, personalities and game play that made a day home from school a magical experience. For those of us of the video generation for whom TV was a vital part of our childhood, the emotional responses to the music we experienced is powerful.

While composing music for television and jingles for radio are serious enterprises, the fruits of those labors are not fully recognized, and sadly, are all too often lost to time.

 

Music composed for a specific broadcast use is more likely to pass without much attention and ultimately be forgotten for a myriad of reasons. For example, good production music plays to our subconscious as it is often created to accompany and reinforce the primary message without overshadowing it. Also, the specificity of the composition may make it less adaptive to re-use in another context. Add to those creative reasons the realities of the business of broadcasting that, for decades, thought of its live programming as disposable, without any residual financial or cultural value.

Even in the era of videotape networks regularly erased content, considering the tape stock to be more valuable than the images it was used to capture. Treasures were discarded when one facilities manager at NBC in New York discarded hundreds of old tapes to make room available to store newer material. On the West coast, barges loaded with old film and videotape were dumped into Santa Monica Bay.

As composers are primarily compensated for the music they create and not any particular recording of that music, the true asset is more likely to be considered the sheet music and not the tape, disc, LP or electrical transcription of any specific performance of that composition. As such, an individual composer’s focus on preservation is less likely to involve the cumbersome logistics and expense of properly storing masters that may never serve any future profit-generating purpose. After all, proper archiving is a complex undertaking for an individual composer as it involves protecting against both deterioration and obsolescence by regularly re-mastering old material in new formats.

 

The harsh reality now becomes apparent – so much of the music composed, arranged, orchestrated and performed for television is destined to be forgotten. Sadly, so much of it is already lost forever.

 

Personally, some of the most fulfilling moments of my career were those immediately after a director shouted in my headset, “cue music, cue announce”. With those great tunes in my ear, supporting and helping to guide the pace and energy of my delivery, I’ve intoned the show openings, described the fabulous prize showcases, and introduced the iconic hosts of some of America’s favorite game shows.

 

Only by listening to those music cues in the clear can I gain appreciation for what makes them work so well in context. Those great themes are built on simple melodies performed in major keys. In some cases I can hear the brass accents that help to punctuate the announcer copy. Other times I notice that they feature subdued lead instrumentations that allow a voice-over to dominate. I hear how instrumentation that includes strings can add a sense of richness and elegance. I can hear the key modulations that help to build excitement, And I hear how the music has changed over the years. Newer cues are recorded in stereo, often with more profound percussion and the increased use of synthesized sounds.

I’m proud to support the television production music museum and its efforts to collect, preserve and share these compositions and performances for entertainment and education.

Music is a potent catalyst for sense memory, capable of bringing back the sights, sounds, smells, thoughts and feelings from significant moments in our lives that might otherwise be long forgotten. When the recordings are gone, we lose more than just the music.

Thank you very much Randy. We couldn't have said it better!
Randy may be contacted through: www.tvrandywest.com

Randy's credits include:

TELEVISION PROGRAMS

ANNOUNCER / WARM-UP

 

“The Price Is Right” – CBS-TV / Fremantle Media (substitute)

“Deal or No Deal” – NBC-TV / Endemol / Lock and Key Productions

“The Big Spin” – Jonathan Goodson Prods. / California Lottery

“Game Show Moments Gone Bananas Vol 1 – 5” – VH-1 / Fremantle

“Weakest Link” (Prime Time) - NBC-TV / The Gurin Company

“Weakest Link” (Syndicated) - NBC Enterprises / The Gurin Company

“Supermarket Sweep” - PAX-TV / Al Howard Productions

“Hollywood and Crime” - CourtTV / TUK Media

“Twenty One” - NBC-TV / The Gurin Company

“Kids’ Choice Awards” - Nickelodeon / Teenasaurus Rox, Inc.

“Hollywood Showdown” – Game Show Network / Sande Stewart Productions

“All New 3’s a Crowd” - Game Show Network / The Gurin Company

“Wild Animal Games” - MTM/Family Channel / Woody Fraser Productions

“Family Challenge-Ice Capades Special”- Family Channel / Woody Fraser

“The Challengers” - Buena Vista Television / Dick Clark-Ron Greenburg

“Hour Magazine” - Group W Productions / W-F Productions

“Trivial Pursuit” - MTM/Family Channel / Martindale-Hillier Productions

“Boggle” / “Jumble” / “Shuffle” - MTM/Family Channel / Martindale-Hillier

“Couch Potatoes” - Group W Productions / Saban Productions

“The Chuck Woolery Show” - Group W Productions / Eric Lieber Productions

“What The Blank!” – MG Productions/FreemantleMedia - FOX

“Card Sharks” (Pilot) - Pearson/FreemantleMedia/ Itsago Productions

“Fear Factor/Now or Never” (Pilot) - Endemol/FOX / The Gurin Company

“Shoot For Love” (Pilot) - Game Show Network

“Ransacked” (Pilot) - USA Networks / The Gurin Company

“Show Me” (Pilot) - ABC-TV / Kelle Productions

“Sweethearts” (Pilot) - Multimedia Television / Richard Reid Productions

“Perfect Match” (Pilot) - Warner Bros. Television / Eric Lieber Productions

“Hit The Deck” (Pilot) - The Travel Channel / Art Baer-Ben Joelson Prods.

“Call-In Café” (Pilot) - SONY – Game Show Network / Sande Stewart Prods.

PRINCIPAL

“The Jimmy Kimmel Show” – ABC-TV

“The Andy Dick Show” - M-TV / Polliwog Productions

“Divorce Court” (Pilot); Interviewer - FOX / Twentieth Television

“The Nanny” (“Finale”) – CBS-TV / Columbia-Tristar Television

“Smart Guy” (“A Little Knowledge”) - WB Network / Walt Disney TV

“It’s Garry Shandling’s Show” (“The Wedding”) - ABC-TV / Our Prod. Co.

“The Munsters Today” (“3 Munsters and a Baby”) - Universal / The Arthur Co.

“The Munsters Today” (“The Reel Munsters”) - Universal / The Arthur Co.

“Why Didn’t I Think of That” - Samuel Goldwyn TV / Martindale-Hillier

“What A Dummy” (“Unmarried With Children”) - Universal / The Arthur Co.

“The Lovely Carol” (Pilot) -SONY - Game Show Network

“STN – Shop Television Network” - J.C. Penney Shopping Channel

 

RECENT COMMERCIALS

Washington Mutual Bank; Ameritech/ATT; Nissan Maxima;

Mattel Robowheels; Nestles; Business Roundtable;

Mitsubishi Galant; Ore-Ida; San Diego Union Tribune;

McDonald’s; Coca-Cola; Buena Vista/Disney

 

PROMOS / INDUSTRIALS

Tommy Bahama’s; Mattel Robowheels; V.I.P.;

Family Feud; Nickelodeon “Big Help”; HBO Comedy Showcase;

Karaoke Showcase; Players Club; How Clean is Your House?;

Maxell Tape; Legend of Ultraman; Nix Check Cashing;

Bzzzz; Saved By the Bell; Family Home Entertainment

 

INFOMERCIALS

Powerwalk Plus (with Bruce Jenner): Best Selling Infomercial of the Year – NIMA

Quicksand Cat Litter; Miracle Chopper; True-Tip Golf; Mini-Max

Cap Records; Media Blitz; Stairclimber Plus; Grater Gourmet

 

RADIO

CBS NETWORK

“The Great 1’s”

“Memory Makers”

“Great American Summer”

“The Honor Roll of Rock and Roll”

THE CREATIVE FACTOR

“20:20 Musicworld”

“Concert Magazine”

GOLDEN WEST BROADCASTERS

“The Joey Reynolds Show”

STAGE

“The Price Is Right-Live” Stage Production; FremantleMedia / Harrah’s Hotels

“Daytime Emmy© Creative Awards”; Academy of Television Arts and Sciences

“Battle Of The Brands” - Host; AdAge / Assoc of Nat’l Advertisers Presentation

“Bonkers and Bananas” - Lead; (Cabaret show); Casey/Woody Productions

“The Mikado” - Pooh-Bah ; 1998 National Tour; Theatrical Arts International

“The Music Man” - Professor Harold Hill; City Players; New York. N.Y.

“Guys and Dolls” - Nicely Nicely Johnson; City Players; New York. N.Y.

Carnival Barker- Strange People Attraction; Coleman Brothers Shows