FWIW, I found a Hank Marvin video of this and then a YT vid of a guy playing it and even though in a different key felt like I have the gist of that run now. Wouldn't mind a little confirmation though from anyone who knows either version.

Surfersaurus wrote:

OK, I played guitar on this version and also did the arrangement. We were asked to record this tune for the Morricone tribute album.

For A Few Guitars More compilation; a phenomenal album, Dancing Bear release from 2002. (Soon as I heard that particular song I knew it was you guys.)

2x

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

JakeDobner wrote:

This kind of highlights the issue with the Spaghetti Western genre of guitar-based instrumental music. Morricone's songs are brilliant and covers of his work are always fantastic but when people try to create original guitar based spaghetti western music it forgets that there isn't always guitar and that the guitar can very often play a very small part. Now that part may be small, but it is very important because it is a shift in timbre. But when you have a main guitar part, a rhythm guitar part, and then third and fourth guitars playing these important flourishes it all gets lost. And then add to the fact that nobody on this planet writes better than Morricone.

The OP's question is about one of Morricone's tunes but I have a question for you, something I've wondered about. Do you think we'd even be having a dialogue about this 'genre' (you used it first ) if he'd initially been fully budgeted for the first films & able to work with the full range of instruments he can write for?

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

JakeDobner wrote:

We never even talk about the Once Upon a Time in the West theme, I mean what a piece of music.

I always thought was a nice piece, done very well on that album (and remember seeing the movie when I was in Jr High - wonder if the La Reina theater is still on Ventura Blvd).
Ah, well, back to work.

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Badger wrote:

The OP's question is about one of Morricone's tunes but I have a question for you, something I've wondered about. Do you think we'd even be having a dialogue about this 'genre' (you used it first ) if he'd initially been fully budgeted for the first films & able to work with the full range of instruments he can write for?

I'm not so sure that Morricone's choices were "limited by budget" as you seem to be implying.

You guys know BTW he finally won an Oscar, right?

I think that he's a brilliant composer. There may have been limitations (there always are) but if so, he did amazing things within those limitations.

But you know, I see the Dollars trilogy and similar films as an attempt by people in Italy - who maybe weren't that familiar with "American" music or "Old West" music, or whatever attempting to capture the "cliches" of what they though were "Western".

But there's a lot of trained Classical music there, but with "simple" chord progressions, and some "Spanish" (Mexican Old West) sounding elements - Andalusian Cadences, the Nylon String guitar, the whistles.

Also, at that time, the jazz elements (from back to Peter Gunn) had been steadily infiltrating Film scores, and by that time, the pop elements are creeping in as well.

So I mean, I think these were conscious choices - the perfect blend of "trained" and "primitive", and instrument choices to reflect those.

The mission bell.
The Whistle.
The Jaw Harp.
The Acoustic Guitar (Flamenco-ish)

He may have seen the "grunts" and "howls" as "Native American" in some way.

Honestly, it makes a lot of sense to me. But it stands out because they were quite different from a lot of other stuff going on.

Last edited: Mar 09, 2016 14:17:28

Film music is one of my favorite things to listen to. I was concentrating on Morricone tunes a couple years back and fell in love with Once Upon a Time, learning nearly the whole soundtrack on acoustic guitar. This kind of study directly feeds the composing animal which produced some original music from myself.

While guitar based music is exciting to listen to, we can really become more creative by learning musical vocabularies from outside our own sphere, interpreting vocal lines, piano and string arrangements to capture some of their complexity on guitar. for example, I worked out The Sicilian Clan in several versions and have yet to find an ensemble who can perform it with me (not bragging).

How about Nino Rota's music for Fellini films? The party scene in Juliette of the Spirits features an amazing tune sung by a throaty alto that is completely overlooked by rock musicians. We do well by stretching our playing, sacrificing some of our fixations to explore new exotic territories.

There is a lot

JakeDobner wrote:

No, we wouldn't be having this conversation. No guitar = no discussion. And that sucks...

One of his best scores is to The Mission, and we never talk about that. Cinema Paradiso... We never even talk about the Once Upon a Time in the West theme, I mean what a piece of music. I had the pleasure of watching Bill Frissel play and incredible version of that song right in front of me at the shop. We've become buddies over Morricone. He made me a couple mix tapes of his non-cinematic output and I made him a tape of my favorite more obscure songs like Chi Mai, L'Arena, etc...

Squink Out!