Hans Zimmer Brittany Nunley Music 1010

Biography of Hans Zimmer Born on September 12, 1957 in Frankfurt, Germany He played the piano as a child, but hated formal lessons Spent most of his teenage years in London where he attended the Hurtwood House School He claims music as his escape after his Father passed away

Click HERE to see the Music Video Biography He started early in his career playing Keyboards and synthesizers He can be seen in the one hit wonder “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles playing the Keyboard He worked with several other British bands through the 70’s and 80’s Click HERE to see the Music Video

Biography Zimmer’s first big break came when he was asked to Score the movie The Rainman The Rainman’s Score was nominated for an Academy Award He was then asked to compose Driving Miss Daisy, in which he used mainly synthesizers to create the score Composing the music for the movie The Power of One took him to Africa to study African Drums and Choirs The work of The Power of One was so strong, he was asked to do The Lion King from Disney, this won him several Awards, including a Grammy

Click on picture for video Composition “The Live in You” – The Lion King on Broadway The Lion King has wonderful, timeless music. As was mentioned before, it was an award winning Score. The movie was then adapted into a Broadway Musical, which has won Zimmer a Tony Award as well. Click on picture for video

Click on picture for video Composition “This Land” – The Lion King Click on picture for video

Click on picture for video Composition “Leave no man behind” – Black Hawk Down Click on picture for video

History Hans Zimmer’s History is still being written, as he is actively still a major part of Hollywood film scoring He has made history with several of his compositions and scores He composed the music for the Batman Movies and in wake of the terrible shootings in Aurora, CO he wrote a song dedicated to the victims titled “Aurora”

Listening Guide Found Here “The Battle” – Gladiator 0:00 – the song starts out very strong, you can feel as if something important is about to happen 0:21 – you hear more horns in the background and they are continually growing making it seem as if a hill is being climbed, again something great is going to happen 0:44 – you can hear very subtly in the background a note that continues to grow higher and higher until it is almost un hearable. 1:00 – a man’s voice starts to chant 1:19 – you can hear several instruments which to me sounds like thousands and thousands of swords being drawn 1:45 – the suspension continues to build 2:31 – the battle starts and starts strong 2:55-3:52 – you continuously hear different groups of instruments playing together, as if almost they are battling against one another – each representing a different group 4:13 – the battle has taken a turn, it sounds like one is starting to gain ground on the other 4:50 – yet it sounds like the other team is battling back just as hard 6:00 –the battle continues to wage, it seems like either side could win 6:26 – again, it sounds as if one side is starting to get the upper hand on the battle 6:56 – the battle is getting more intense, it sounds like there is so much at stake and neither side wants to give up 7:18 – the battle is slowly ending, it is ending with a bang, but slowly coming to a close 7:40 – the music calms down, yet you still hear it isn’t quite over yet 8:24 – this sounds as it is the final push for victory 8:41 – the battle is over, all seems eerily calm in the landscape 8:50 – you can hear the sound of a voice, almost serenading those that were lost during this battle, it is a very somber ending to this song 9:19 – some notes are played a little higher in this piece reminding us that even though battles are awful, sometimes they are necessary and good is still to come 9:58 – the song fades out on a very somber note

Listening Guide Found Here “Wheel of Fortune” – Pirates of the Caribbean: at worlds end 0:00 – the song starts out strong 0:04 – you feel as if a journey is beginning 0:23 – the cymbals are almost meant to grab your attention, like Look! 0:27 – Whatever this adventure is, it is starting right now 0:41 – the whole song picks up pace and you feel as if you are in a hurry 1:09 – this is where you hear part of the original score, it ties in this movie with the original Pirates movie 1:41 – I like the small cymbals in the background, it almost makes you feel as if you are on a timelimit 2:03 – the music abruptly stops, as if Jack Sparrow has walked off the ship, in a drunked stupor of course 2:18 – the music makes you feel as if something isn’t quite right 2:36 – it sounds like some sort of discovery is made 2:46 – something has reminded them of the past, the sound of the child jewelry box feels as if it is a flashback 2:56 – their flashback has been interrupted by something that has seemed to catch them off guard 3:14 – this is another piece that is from the original pirates movie, I think it ties it together so well 4:02 – is a very short piece that again ties this song to the original movie 4:34 – it feels like they are being chased or chasing someone 5:05 – 5:16 – the music continually gets higher and higher as if to plateau at something great 5:54 – brings in another piece of the original music 6:04-6:16 – almost sounds like an entrance ballad for the bad guy 6:18-6:46 – more inclusion of the original movie which brings this piece to a clean close

Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Zimmer http://www.hans-zimmer.com/index.php?rub=bio http://www.last.fm/music/Hans+Zimmer/+wiki http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwuy4hHO3YQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2OmNwx61Lc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_U4in8WeS0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcxQfCZ_9V8 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unb3FdsT5fQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76iayUZg73w&feature=related