John Williams

film_score_reel

I’ve had an affinity for music all my life. Not just any music, mind you. Film scores.

By the time I was ten, I could play entire soundtracks on the 100-year-old upright piano my supportive parents purchased from an Old West saloon in New Mexico. I had a knack for playing by ear and a photographic memory for music, which both infuriated and delighted my music teacher. There was no sheet music for what I wanted to play, so I stopped reading notes and surrendered to the scores of music stored in my head.

Even as a child, films pulled me in, not by the storyline or special effects, but by the power of their music! It was the musical genius of composers that brought movies to life! My imagination thrived on a steady influential diet of Hans Zimmer, John Williams, James Horner, James Newton Howard, Thomas Newman, Alexandre Desplat, Ennio Morricone, Jerry Goldsmith, Howard Shore, John Barry, Rachel Portman and Danny Elfman, to name a few.

Even now, the music of motion pictures stirs my creativity, each line of prose lured by the siren song of instruments whispering stories. Apparently, I’ve acquired a fondness for the sound of ivory keys striking antique strings, since I still play scores by ear, on a 1935 baby grand.

When Alex J. Cavanaugh asked the writing community to recommend their favorite “treasures”, I couldn’t resist sharing a few of my most cherished musical journeys.

A treasure trove of inspiration awaits!