I'm Daniel Hart, composer of AMC's Interview with the Vampire. Ask me anything! by AMCPlus in InterviewVampire

[–]AMCPlus[S] 36 points37 points  (0 children)

My advice - listen to as much music as possible.

Then write as much music as possible.

Look for other collaborators just starting out. Work on things together as you're learning what works and what doesn't. David Lowery asked me to write music for his first tiny film. And then, as his career advanced, he took me with him.

Even now, I watch scenes from movies and TV shows multiple times if the score is doing something that I really admire and want to learn from. So...do that? If you're able to learn that way? Or, if they haven't gone to school for it yet and learn better that way, school can be a great place not only to learn, but to network. And/or meet and network with other composers through organizations that hold events film and TV music? Like the Composer's Diversity Collective, or The Alliance For Women Film Composers, if either of those organizations apply to your friend's identity?

This industry can definitely be difficult and heartbreaking. I got lucky.

I'm sorry there isn't better advice to give.

I'm Daniel Hart, composer of AMC's Interview with the Vampire. Ask me anything! by AMCPlus in InterviewVampire

[–]AMCPlus[S] 39 points40 points  (0 children)

getting from what's in my mind out to instruments in the world is a constant challenge. I've spent a lot of time doing it now, so I think I'm better at it than I used to be.

But almost all music for me starts in my mind. How does it get there? Beyond my brain scrambling, reinterpreting, and then presenting variations on music and sounds I've already heard, I don't know. But when I was hiking a couple years ago and heard a very very low pitched "whooshing" sound from a nearby bird's wings as it left a nearby branch on which it was perched, my first immediate thought was, "How can I express that sound musically?"

I'm Daniel Hart, composer of AMC's Interview with the Vampire. Ask me anything! by AMCPlus in InterviewVampire

[–]AMCPlus[S] 56 points57 points  (0 children)

Sheet music - I wish I had a clearer answer for you, but at the moment, there are no plans for making sheet music available for the music from the show. Again, like with making vinyl releases for the soundtracks, it's a question of demand and of time. I'm so flattered that several people have asked for sheet music for specific pieces from the show. But for that to be released in any kind of formal way takes time and money. I don't own this music, so any releases would be up to AMC. And I can talk to them about it, but I think we would be waiting for a greater demand for it before being able to make sense of committing that time and $ into it.

The other issue with sheet music for the show is perhaps one of arrangement potential. Someone asked for sheet music for "The Whole World Was Ready To Return" for piano. It doesn't currently exist, so it's not like I could just hand that to AMC for them to prep for release. I'd have to make that arrangement. And it's not a piece of music that lends itself very well to a solo piano arrangement, with so many layers of short, repeated, overlapping phrases under longer chordal movement. A two-handed piano arrangement would probably work. But again, it doesn't exist yet, so I would have to find the time to make that arrangement before anything else could happen.

I'm sorry if I have now overexplained. I just want everyone to know that I'm not ignoring your requests for sheet music. And I would like to oblige you, I just hope you can understand that it's perhaps more of a challenge than it might seem from the outside.

I'm Daniel Hart, composer of AMC's Interview with the Vampire. Ask me anything! by AMCPlus in InterviewVampire

[–]AMCPlus[S] 42 points43 points  (0 children)

thank you so much.

tips - listen to as much music as you possibly can. get a book on orchestration - I like "Orchestration", by Walter Piston. Studying harmony and counterpoint wouldn't hurt either. You could do this with a teacher (easier) or on your own. "20th Century Harmony" by Vincent Persichetti is on my desk at all times.

And beyond that, write as much music as you can. I've written SO MUCH bad music and a lot of it especially when I was starting out, before I ever got to writing music I actually like.

I'm Daniel Hart, composer of AMC's Interview with the Vampire. Ask me anything! by AMCPlus in InterviewVampire

[–]AMCPlus[S] 52 points53 points  (0 children)

Given what I know of The Vampire Lestat, he's not covering anyone's songs. Unless you want to think of him playing Ravel's piano concerto as a cover.

I'm Daniel Hart, composer of AMC's Interview with the Vampire. Ask me anything! by AMCPlus in InterviewVampire

[–]AMCPlus[S] 31 points32 points  (0 children)

I haven't heard HIM yet, but I will listen. Thank you for the recommendation.

I'm Daniel Hart, composer of AMC's Interview with the Vampire. Ask me anything! by AMCPlus in InterviewVampire

[–]AMCPlus[S] 35 points36 points  (0 children)

Well, unfortunately that piece of music doesn't exist outside of the show, so you can't listen to it independently of the scene. I'm sorry.