Mark Mothersbaugh Quotes

My only real hobby is playing music. I write a lot of music on guitar and keyboards and hope one day to make a record or maybe even write the score for a film.

Let me say that I've never thought to conduct because the conductor has to think to the music before the orchestra. And the orchestra comes later. For me, it's terrible.

When I do the music, I make the musicians listen to what's happening in the film. That way they treat the dialogue as if it was a singer.

I actually played violin on 'E.T.' I used to be a violinist.

As a screen composer or film-music writer, I need something that I can work with in the body of the score. Like 'Charade,' 'Moon River,' 'Wine and Roses,' 'Dear Heart' - they were all just themes that grew out of the picture.

My whole life, I've been watching conductors. I was 7 the first time I played with a conductor. Seeing the ones that do it well, it's an amazing thing.

I've been writing music since I was a teenager. I play keyboards. I'm not much of a player, but I can write. That will come along. I'd like to do a musical.

Does film music really matter to the average moviegoer? A great score, after all, can't save a bad film, and a bad score - so it's said - can't sink a good one.

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

I'm not afraid of being thought of as someone who is associated with film music. Why not? If it's a good song, what does it matter?

When you're working on film music, you're only working on 20, 30-minute sections at a time.

There's the soundtrack to The French Connection II'I think It's my favorite soundtrack. It hasn't been released. I actually had to go and get the film and just make a recording of it to get the music.

Generally, I like Indian music because the melodies are usually not too complex, which is how I like music, and that's the way I write music.

I'd love to do a whole soundtrack to a movie.

I approach everything as chamber music. Even with Beethoven symphonies, I lead from the violin and basically encourage the orchestra to think of it as a giant string quartet.

Ah, 'Pather Panchali' was the most inspiring film that I wrote music for, and it was so spontaneously done. I saw the film, composed on the spot, along with myself and only four other musicians, and everything was done within 4-1/2 hours, I think an all-time record anywhere.

I have done songs here and there. But I have never scored a film. That is something I would like to do at some point.

Normally, when people compose for film, you give them the film, and they look at it, and they compose it.

Music is half the film.

Composers love to write for symphony orchestras because the symphony is the Rolls Royce of musical instruments.

A Beethoven symphony should be rehearsed like chamber music, only for a lot more people.

I actually write film music because I'm classically trained on the piano so as well as songwriting I also write actual film music that could be used for movies like war movies and love movies.

I'm pretty proud of my film music in general.

To me, score is really important. I would rather not have any score if it's something that's going to detract from the film. So often when I watch films, the score is what really bothers me.

I hear these melodies. I hear horn lines and string lines. That's what's fun about recording with an orchestra.