The Underscore Thread

[alexx]

Here's Don/Marilyn's wedding theme. I might have overdone it a bit with the strings and bass, but I'm happy with it. I didn't include that high pitched string-swell/ transition piece that finishes the original, because it works better without it imo (since it's not transitioning to anything )

Love it. It's such a romantic piece. Though one of the things I liked and miss about the old H&A underscores is that they always swelled to a climax. I do like this piece though, for a 1996 score it was quite piano based and early-years influenced.

Great Andrew! And your instruments sound very very similar in tone and everything, to the ones used back then. I used to wonder what software they were using back in the 90's. Back then MIDI/VST instrument libraries had made huge leaps, when it comes to realistic sounding insturments. cadyctslover, as Andrew said, you can use any keyboard that has a midi-out at the back of it - and then hook it up to your computer with some midi based software. My piano was very expensive, but it's also a stage piano, you don't need one like that for computer based recording.

That swelling to a climax became really typical of Home and Away scores/Mike Perjnaik's style - I don't think I've ever heard any other TV show or film score doing this on such a regular basis, probably 80/90% of tracks finish with that transition up the scale. I'm a fan of it too because he ended with a choice of very poignant notes, harmonizing with each other as the scene would linger on it's final shot.

Yeah, I remember at the time it stood out to me as being quite 'Early Years' because the piano was hardly ever used, apart from maybe in dramatic scores where you would hear a really loud crash of the low end.

There are also some really nice, but quite short 'transitional' pieces too - you know the 10-15 second ones that would end a scene and transition to the next - a lot of those pieces would really set the tone in an episode and keep it all flowing.

Blaxland 89 - I think I know which score you are talking about (the Lachie score) - but it isn't any of the ones I listed. I'm sure that piece was also used in 2000 though, around the time Celia had returned. The other one, I also remember liking because I had it on tape up until a few years ago, but I can't remember it being used again - it probably was at some point.

Throughout the year 2000, piano melodies would pop up in amongst the orchestral music, presumably to get us ready for the show going completely piano based the year later (which was a disappointment to me).

[Blaxland 89]

I just think its great that other people know all these pieces and in some cases play them too!

It just goes to show they must have been pretty strong.

[beau_t]

For me the underscore was a big part of Home and Away. It (the show) never felt quite the same for me when they finally moved away from musical pieces to more subtle scores. As Alexx said, no other TV show really had this style of music and I think the continuity or "reliability" of this style over the years - although they changed instruments it always had the same melodic feel to it and swelling climax - very much created the feel of Summer Bay to me.

It's great to see others share this interest in the music.

[cadyctslover]

Thank you for taking the time to tell me a more about it Alexx/Andrew .

[beau_t]

............ :(

[alexx]

............ :(

?

[Jamie!]

I edited the scene where the River Boys pay their tribute to Rocco by adding Sophie's Theme in the background. I'm by no means a fan of the River Boys, but I think it works well. Sadly, the site I've uploaded it on will only have it available for seven days. If Alexx sees this, he can put it on his YouTube channel if he wishes:

Home and Away - Rocco Tribute

[Light of the Bay]

I love Sophie's theme and while I appreciate the work you put in, it just feels out of place to me. Sadly that makes me think that the classic underscores would not work in the current show.

[beau_t]

I love Sophie's theme and while I appreciate the work you put in, it just feels out of place to me. Sadly that makes me think that the classic underscores would not work in the current show.

I absolutely think they would work in the current show, but I agree it wasn't right for that scene.

[alexx]

Jamie - I always like seeing what past underscores sound like in modern H&A, thanks for the upload. I think if perhaps if it was a slowly pace, and more subtle with modern/ghostly sound effects etc. it would work well. The version I did was made to deliberately sound dated/like it as recorded back in the 90's, so that's probably why it appears a bit jarring. Btw, I like the freeze frame at the end!

I placed it over a scene the other week too, it was just a very run of the mill conversation scene between Gina and Jet, but it immediately made the conversation more meaningful. (I didn't edit it, I just played it at the same time as watching the scene).

LaMurray123 - Like any incidental music, it has to underscore the flow of dialogue or images for it to be effective. I think the classic underscores would sound great if they updated them all obviously, with a modern sounding piano etc. It's like during Carly's last scene, they chose an underscore which in itself is a great piece of music, but putting it over that scene was a wrong decision as a few of us picked up on, it sort of ruined the scene - so it's all about placing certain melodies and sounds with the right characters and storylines.