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shock
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: Oct 23, 2003
Member#: 3465
Posts: 380
Location: Switzerland
   
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 Posted:
Mon Oct 25, 2004 3:58 am Post subject: How important is the "sound" of a score? |
 
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I had quite an argument with a friend of mine over that:
Do you think that the sound quality (=the way the music is recorded, mixed and mastered) affect your appreciation for a score? My friend doesn't care about sound quality at all, he isn't even paying attention to it - "all what counts is the music, not the technical mumbo jumbo."
In my opinion, a bad sounding album can definitely lessen the impact a score has on me, even if it's well written. On the other hand, I can appreciate a mediocre score that sounds great.
For example, "Men in Black" by Danny Elfman sounds fantastic - sweet brilliant strings and thundering timpani, very transparent and well balanced, nice reverb, electronics blend in perfectly etc. Not my favorite music though.
I'd be interested in how you guys think about that.
(And: What is, in your opinion, the best sounding score out there? What is the worst?) |
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 thuringwethil
Captain
Joined: Jul 30, 2004
Member#: 7505
Posts: 1871
Location: Deep in the heart of Texas, formerly from the Heart of Dixie
  
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Posted:
Mon Oct 25, 2004 4:39 am Post subject: |
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Of course quality counts. It can ruin a great piece of music. And, like you said make a mediocre piece sound great. Heard one on here the other day, but can't remember the name. The quaility wasn't that great and it made a huge difference. I am not sure what the best is. LOTR sounds pretty awesome but so do many others.
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Jazzman
Lieutenant
Joined: Jul 20, 2004
Member#: 7365
Posts: 100
Location: Utah, USA
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Posted:
Mon Oct 25, 2004 9:39 am Post subject: |
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I think recording quality makes a big difference. I listen to a lot of jazz, and while it seems like the bands of (many) years gone by had incredible players with an incredible tight sound playing music from great composers and arrangers, it is very difficult to hear all this through the horrible recordings we have of them. They are still listenable because of the great music, but I can only listen to so much before my ears get tired.
Nowadays, though, the recording technology is good enough that you really need to work hard to get a bad recording that affects the listenability of the music. |
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schroddie
Commander
Joined: Jul 30, 2004
Member#: 7501
Posts: 574
Location: Baltimore,MD
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Posted:
Mon Oct 25, 2004 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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I also think sound quality is crucial. Just take an old soundtrack (vinyl) and listen to it and then listen to the same soundtrack on CD for example. It's so much better!
To me, it's the same type of effect as listening to music when the sound volume is low or high. They are almost two different musics.
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JERIC 
Fleet Admiral (Proprietor)
Joined: Feb 12, 2002
Member#: 1
Posts: 4939
Location: Richmond, VA
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Posted:
Tue Oct 26, 2004 8:26 am Post subject: |
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I think it is especially critical with scores because we tend listen to the details. When those details are harsh or omitted it makes a difference on how long it can be withstood. I also think sound quality makes a big difference in metal. Those two genres have something in common; the vocals are not the focus of the creative work. That could be why sound quality is more important and possibly why they’re my favorite genres.
I think sound quality means less to people who sing along to some Pop 40 hit or 80s tune.
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Firefly
Cadet 1
Joined: Aug 28, 2004
Member#: 7781
Posts: 3
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Posted:
Wed Nov 10, 2004 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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on the big screen quality SHOULD count. a big shot calls for a big sequence of music. thats the classical way of writing music to a film. modern times now have proved to throw away alot of the classical guidelines for writing a good score. to me, good classicaly trained composers are MR williams goldsmith and the really old people. i think that classical guidlines for a movie score are what makes a good score. beleive me im all about going forward in the genres of film score, so long as it doesnt suck  |
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shock
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: Oct 23, 2003
Member#: 3465
Posts: 380
Location: Switzerland
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Posted:
Wed Nov 10, 2004 3:04 pm Post subject: |
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Woah. You completely missed the point. |
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Obi-son
Captain
Joined: Sep 10, 2002
Member#: 211
Posts: 1897
Location: Winchester,Va, USA
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Posted:
Wed Nov 10, 2004 10:54 pm Post subject: |
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hey shock you said "Woah"
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 doodle
Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined: Jul 12, 2004
Member#: 7277
Posts: 94
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Posted:
Thu Nov 11, 2004 6:56 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I think sound quality means less to people who sing along to some Pop 40 hit or 80s tune |
Well, that would explain ringtones...
Personally, I've never found a better way to listen to a score than with a good comfortable pair of earphones. So much easier to pick up on the little nuances in a track, like a quiet violin or sometimes an irregular beat. Wonderful when you find one, and the next time you listen you might never get it.
That for me is one of the beauties of soundtracks, and for that the quality is everything. |
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thuringwethil
Captain
Joined: Jul 30, 2004
Member#: 7505
Posts: 1871
Location: Deep in the heart of Texas, formerly from the Heart of Dixie
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Posted:
Thu Nov 11, 2004 7:01 pm Post subject: |
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uhm, my ringtones sound great, i download LOTR songs and the quality is great (of course my phone has an actual mp3 player)
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'He looked at her, and being a man whom pity deeply stirred, it seemed to him that her loveliness amid her grief would pierce his heart.' —Faramir's thoughts on Éowyn |
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doodle
Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined: Jul 12, 2004
Member#: 7277
Posts: 94
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Posted:
Thu Nov 11, 2004 7:11 pm Post subject: |
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Ah well, I'm obviously talking about those monophonic/polyphonic nightmares, thuring... |
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Hurr78
Commander
Joined: Feb 12, 2004
Member#: 5061
Posts: 739
Location: Toronto
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Posted:
Fri Nov 12, 2004 5:43 pm Post subject: |
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For the most part, I agree that good sound quality is really important. But even so, sometimes I enjoy listening to an old score that isn't in fantastic shape. For example, I have the original soundtrack to Vertigo. There's a newer re-recording that sounds much better (and I like it too), but sometimes I enjoy the atmosphere created by an old, imperfect sound. |
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zirael
Commander
Joined: Feb 05, 2004
Member#: 4924
Posts: 795
Location: North Carolina
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Posted:
Sun Nov 14, 2004 6:03 pm Post subject: |
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I usually go for the music itself, but there is a point where sound quality can get so bad that it distracts from a beautiful score. And no matter how good the sound quality is for a musically mediocre score, I'm probably not gonna listen to it.
In the case of older scores, I prefer the original scores with poorer sound quality so I can hear how the composer intended it over a re-recorded version conducted by someone else that has better sound quality. But many times the originals are out of print and not available so I'm grateful for the re-recordings.
For me, it's a difficult trade-off between musical interpretation and sound quality. I agree with Jeric that scores with poor sound quality could become harsh or grating over time, especially with repeat listens. I was thinking that for broadcasters, it may be preferable to keep the sound quality consistently high so they may lean towards re-recordings. Hopefully, listening to re-recordings make people curious about the originals. |
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alberich
Ensign
Joined: Feb 14, 2002
Member#: 4
Posts: 28
Location: Manassas, VA & DC
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Posted:
Fri Feb 18, 2005 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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i get your point Shock, but the poor sound quality of Prokofiev's original score for Eisenstein's film 'Alexander Nevsky' (1938) is very affective, even after all these years...
..anyway, i just couldn't stand the horrendous sound quality of the recent film 'Alone in the Dark'.... i even went to the management of the theatre to ask to have the Nuclear Blast sound turned down, and it was still horrible...oh well...
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 Armand
Lieutenant Commander
Joined: Jul 19, 2004
Member#: 7352
Posts: 490
Location: CPH
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Posted:
Sat Feb 19, 2005 8:26 am Post subject: |
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| Obi-son wrote: |
| hey shock you said "Woah" |
Ahahahaha 
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Seeing me like that made you laugh.
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