Henry Mancini Quotes

If you're going to start with melody you'll need some tympani, I think.

'Raaga' is one of those movies which is very special for any music director to compose music for.

I've never been very good at creating absolute music, which has no non-musical dimension to it. I think that is why filmmakers gravitated toward my work.

Any composer should be able to synthesize the primary feelings that the characters are going through in the movie.

I love getting time to write a piece of music that can settle in and set the tone of the show.

I write music to both the situations and the lyrics in plays.

My operas usually come from musical ideas rather than ideas about subject matter.

The bass line is the anchor for me. I started with the bass, and either doubled that and then added the harmonies, or sometimes added my own harmonies that I've always wanted to sing on the song. And then it just went on from there - singing violin parts and trumpet parts and just trying to emulate the sounds of the instruments.

We knew we wanted to put a lot of melody into it - a lot more than what we did on our first album.

When I think of Morricone, more than his using a specific instrument or a specific sound, it's his way of approaching music that sticks out.

Sometimes I write them down in musical notation as a trigger to remind me about certain directions to go. Or I can be specific about a sound I'm looking for.

I am about the arrangements and the layers of depth in the music.

I think a melody is a melody. And the way I usually start is I start writing my themes without even writing to picture to just try to find the tone for the movie or the TV show.

When I write the music for any of my songs, I write as a composer-lyricist in my head.

My films are musically inclined.

On 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' I must insist that the sounds of the instrumentation are crucial to reflect what the movie should convey in terms of energy and emotion. It's not just the melody or the tune.

If you're a film composer, you have the music tell the story of the character.

Composing music for 'Mungaru Male 2' is a big responsibility and challenge.

I think John Williams, him and his team, have been incredible orchestrators. By that, I mean how he chooses which instrument plays which note.

Composing music is hard work.

When I'm making music, I can hear all the parts, all the instruments. I can hear what it should be.

I didn't start writing with band arrangements until I was working on 'Tramp.'

I love writing music.

I think, for me, a way to really come up with new ideas and come up with new ways of writing music is to create a unique sound palette or soundscape for all the films I'm working on.

I had a really pleasant time composing music for 'Raaga.'