The Artist and Making Silent Movie Music

I've been MIA for a few weeks now - every now and then life intrudes on music.   And every now and then they collide in a way you don't expect.

Last weekend Claire and I went to see "The Artist".   I don't go to movies too often these days as most cater to tastes very different than mine, but every now and then a "must see" movie comes along and we get out.   A silent movie always gets my attention - I have great admiration for the early silents - Keaton was my idol, and I love the Chaplin shorts from the teens - if you have not seen "The Cameraman" by Keaton or "Easy Street" by Chaplin you've missed some of the great comedies that filmmakers still draw on today.  

So I had high expectations when the film started to roll.   They were all exceeded.  The film paid tribute to the early silents, yet was fresh and original.    It was a satire in the form of "Singing in the Rain"  done like a Chaplin or Keaton might have.    Go see the movie.   The laughs keep coming.

What I also did not expect was the score - brilliant!   Perfect for the movie and I don't care that some of it was pulled from Vertigo.   It kept pace perfectly with the film, and added the needed punctuation to the action.   In the back of my mind  I also remembered hearing how traditional musicians like David Bromberg had done scores to silent films.

SIt got me to thinking - how would a mandolin work with one of the early greats shorts?   So I thought I would give it a try.    One of my all time favorite movies is "The Cure"  - perhaps because Chaplin does not play the tramp, but takes on the character of an overindulging rich person who does not want to give up drinking.   The film is rich in scenes that would fit a lot of the stuff I play - traditional American and Irish, and the action in not the non-stop chase.  It has Eric Campbell as the heavy and he's at his best, but this time a bit less menacing.   

So I put it on one night when Claire was out (I knew it would take me 4-5 times through to get something workable) and decided to play whatever came to mind while watching the film and hopefully make a soundtrack that would fit.   After two times through, drawing on about 30 tunes, I was getting close, but it was not easy to time it.   By the last time I had the genesis of what I wanted and a short list of tunes that would be the framework of the soundtrack.    It also inspired some tunes, or riffs of my own that would have to be used for some short sequences.   Hmm - connecting the music in your head to what you are watching - movement, emotion, action - what fun!   I have a bit more work to do but  one or two more sittings and I should have my own score to play along with it.  And a way to get some new musical ideas. 

I have  a new found respect for the theatre organists who go around and do this off the top of their heads - what a well they must draw from.   Can't wait to go to the next Capitolfest in Rome and watch these pro's first hand - here's a link for those that don't know what I talking about - http://www.romecapitol.com/capitolfest.html