The Silent Film Music Podcast with Ben Model ep 61 - Improvising Themes for Re-Use and Development

In this episode: Ben shares his experiences accompanying the silent era blockbuster “The Big Parade”, the rare Italian film “A’ Santanotte”, Laurel & Hardy shorts, and others; he and Kerr discuss the practices of creating leitmotifs on the fly during a show, and then repeating them later in the film’s score; there’s some deep info and history on the different pianos at MoMA, and how the feel of playing these pianos - and the many others Ben encounters in his work - affect his playing and live-scoring; Ben’s New Year’s resolution for his silent film accompaniments (with a nod to Akira Kurosawa); and more.
Show notes for episode 61 can be found at www.silentfilm...
Ben Model's website: www.silentfilm...
The Silent Film Music Podcast with Ben Model - it’s the podcast that takes you inside the mind of someone as they prepare for, perform, and reflect upon performances of live musical accompaniments to silent films. Hosted by renowned silent film accompanist and historian Ben Model, along with co-host Kerr Lockhart, each episode includes discussion on the silent film composer-musician’s process, approach toward the films, practice in performance, and on silent film history. Ben and Kerr cover a range of topics unique to the perspective of someone creating a live score to help an audience enter the world of the film, and include excerpts of live musical scores Ben has performed at shows on piano and theatre or pipe organ.

[@garydmcgath]

I listen to your podcasts for ideas on how to improve my technique. There's always something I can learn here.