Harold Budd Quotes

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.

I find when I'm more awake, I tend to think more of the structure and movement of a tune, abrupt transitions, etc.; things becoming more composed.

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

It's about the stories. If I write 14 stories that I love, then the next step is to get the environment of music around it to best envelop the story, and all kinds of sonic goodness - sonic goodies.

My songs are more arrangements than they are songs.

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

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.

It's hard to decide how to match words to music. It's not like it's twice the work. It's always difficult for me to explain to the composer what I'm looking for. I'm not a professional; I lack even basic knowledge about writing music.

You can find the whole world of a film in one instrument, or you can find a world of sound in the orchestra.

I've always been a composer dependent on texts.

I love making music. I love being involved in arranging music. It's very natural to know what I want to hear next and come up with ideas that are variations of what might be good.

I write music visually.

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.'

I've got so many melodies in my head.

We really like having songs where we think the arrangement is just as important as the melodies, even though they're typically not.

I played a lot of keyboards, but I really wanted to produce the sound that was in my head that I was trying to emulate on the keys. I wanted to do it for real. And it makes me look at the keys in a different way. So it's like I'm looking at the guitar and bass more like meat and potatoes and keys like coloring over top of it, you know.

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

Most things that I write are in very specific forms. A score will have a shape and profile, and then the more emotional and intimate moments will come.

I started writing music as a composer in school, in the classical tradition.

There's been a great development with scale on TV, but my approach is always the same across projects, whether it's a video game, a movie, or a TV show: I always try to set up my sounds and my themes. I really try to stay with the characters and do the storytelling through the music.

I used to do most of my composing at a little table in a cafe. Composing for 52 instruments, I had to figure out how to accommodate myself to the small table.