1. Mike Oldfield and Tubular Bells
Johnathon Evans
MUSC 1010
Instructor Craig Ferrin
Fall 2011 Semester

2. Table of Contents What will be discussed in the presentation.
Mike Oldfield – Early Life
The beginning of “Mike Oldfield”
Tubular Bells
Instruments in Tubular Bells
Mike Oldfield on “Tubular Bells”
Discography
More Discography
Discography continued
Mike Oldfield on his music
Mike Oldfield says...
Fun Facts
Mike Oldfield is a talented musician because
Listening Guide to Tubular Bells
Listening Guide continued
More Listening Guide
Listening Guide Continued
Last of the Listening Guide
What will be discussed in the presentation.

3. Mike Oldfield – Early Life
Born in Berkshire, England on May 15, 1953
Been playing instruments his whole life
Played in a folk duo “Sallyangie”with his sister Sally at age 15
Played in the band “Barefoot” with his brother Terry
Guitarist for the band “Kevin Ayers and the Whole World” for two years
Michael Gordon Oldfield was born in Reading, Berkshire, England on May 15, Mike has been playing music for practically his entire life. He and his sister Sally started a folk duo named “The Sallyangie” when Mike was only 15 years old. The Sallyangie had two singles and went on a national tour. The duo was successful for about two years and then failed. Mike then formed a band named “Barefoot” with his brother Terry. Barefoot did not last long. A year later, in 1969, Mike joined the band “Kevin Ayers and the Whole World”. Mike played the guitar in that band for two years.

4. The beginning of “Mike Oldfield”
Started work on “Tubular Bells” in 1970
“Tubular Bells” rejected by record companies for not being a “profitable” type of music
Accepted by Richard Branson
Recorded after hours, mainly late at night
Became Virgin Records first major release
“Tubular Bells” has sold over 16 million copies to date!
Although Tubular Bells was released in 1973, Mike started writing it in Mike originally recorded a demo tape of Tubular Bells where he played all of the instruments by himself. He recorded the instruments separately and then layered them together. Mike took his demo tape to the major record companies and they all turned him away. It was repeated from the record companies that Tubular Bells was not marketable. Mike got a tip to talk to Richard Branson, who was starting up Virgin Records at the time. Richard allowed Mike to record Tubular Bells at the studio when it wasn't in use, which meant a lot of late nights.
Tubular Bells was the first record to release from Virgin Records. It proved to be a huge success, both immediately and over time. Tubular Bells reached number one on the UK charts, and was replaced by Oldfield's next album, “Hergest Ridge”. Tubular Bells has sold over 16 million copies worldwide. Not too bad for Virgin Records first release that the other record companies said was not marketable.

5. Tubular Bells Mike Oldfield's first major release
Number one on the UK charts
The whole album is one 48 minute song, divided into two parts
Oldfield has released several versions of “Tubular Bells” over the years
Tubular Bells was the first record to release from Virgin Records. It proved to be a huge success, both immediately and over time. Tubular Bells reached number one on the UK charts, and was replaced by Oldfield's next album, “Hergest Ridge”. Tubular Bells has sold over 16 million copies worldwide. Not too bad for Virgin Records first release that the other record companies said was not marketable.
Tubular Bells is the name of the album and is divided into two tracks on the album: Tubular Bells Part 1 and Tubular Bells Part 2. The two parts make the whole album that is Tubular Bells. The total length of the album is 48 minutes and 48 seconds.
Tubular Bells has been so successful and such a favorite of Oldfield that he has released “The Orchestral Tubular Bells” in 1975, “Tubular Bells 2” in 1992, “Tubular Bells 3” in 1998, and”Tubular Bells 2003” in 2003.

6. Instruments in Tubular Bells
Grand piano, glockenspiel, farfisa organ, bass guitar, electric guitar, speed guitar, taped motor drive amplifier organ chord, mandolin-like guitar, fuzz guitars, assorted percussion, acoustic guitar, flagolet, honky tonk, lowrey, concert timpani, guitars sounding like bagpipes, piltdown man, hammond organ, violin, mandolin, spanish guitar, moribund chorus, and of course tubular bells.
There are many instruments in Tubular Bells. They are listed above.

7. Mike Oldfield on “Tubular Bells”
“Everything on Tubular Bells was done on the first take. It was lovely, so spontaneous. I had such a long time to prepare it, and I had just one little chance to do it, and now I listen to it and it has a lovely spontaneous energy. It's got mistakes, and I could easily have cut them out, but I left them on”
Mike was very proud of Tubular Bells. It was his first major release and he spent a lot of time working on it. This is what he said years later about Tubular Bells.

8. Discography Tubular Bells – 1973 Hergest Ridge – 1974 Ommadawn – 1975
Incantations – 1978
Platinum – 1979
Five Miles Out – 1982
Tubular Bells was number one on the UK charts until Mike's next album, “Hergest Ridge” was released in 1974 and took over the top of the charts over Tubular Bells. Mike released another album, “Ommadawn” in 1975.
In 1978, Mike released a double album entitled, “Incantations”. He later released an album named, “Platinum”. He released “Five Miles Out” in During this time, Mike went on several tours throughout Europe.

9. More Discography Islands – 1987 Earth Moving – 1989 Amarok – 1990
Heaven's Open – 1991
Tubular Bells 2 – 1992
The Songs of Distant Earth – 1994
Voyager – 1996
Mike composed the score for the movie “The Killing Fields”. Mike released the album, “Islands” in 1987 and the album “Earth Moving” in 1989.
Earth Moving was different from every other Oldfield album because it was not an instrumental album in any shape or form. Every other album had been either completely instrumental or at least mostly instrumental. The irony in this is that Virgin Records made Oldfield use vocals as a means to make “commercial chart toppers”, but the result was that Earth Moving was the lowest selling Oldfield album to date.
Mike released “Amarok” in 1990, which was more like his original albums. He released “Heaven's Open” in 1991, “Tubular Bells 2” in 1992, “The Songs of Distant Earth” in 1994, “Voyager” in 1996,

10. Discography continued
Tubular Bells 3 – 1998
Guitars – 1999
The Millenium Bell – 1999
Tr3s Lunas – 2002
Light + Shade – 2005
Music of the Spheres – 2008
“Tubular Bells 3” in 1998, “Guitars” in 1999, “The Millennium Bell” in 1999, “Tr3s Lunas” in 2002, “Light + Shade” in 2005, and “Music of the Spheres” in Oldfield has had a total of 23 albums released so far. You can see that Tubular Bells is a major part of his career just by looking at the names of his albums. He has redone the Tubular Bells a total of three times so far. A greatest hits album was released in 2009.

11. Mike Oldfield on his music
“All I want to express with my music is my feelings. I think it's the purpose. To show images, landscapes, love, hate, fury”
Mike is a very original artist. Unlike many artists today that are strictly in the music business for the money, Mike is in it for the actual music. Mike said, “All I want to express with my music is my feelings. I think it's the purpose. To show images, landscapes, love, hate, fury”. One can easily see through listening to Oldfield's music that he is very passionate about what he does.

12. Mike Oldfield says...
“I'd like to see somebody come and play differently from everybody else, not using the Blues scale, not turning into jazz, but making something new out of nothing”
He was regretful about the album Earth Moving because the record company had forced him to make something that he wasn't fond of so that it would sell more. To respond to this he released the album Amarok, which was a return to his roots. Mike also said, “I'd like to see somebody come and play differently from everybody else, not using the Blues scale, not turning into jazz, but making something new out of nothing”.

13. Fun Facts Had a minor planet named after him in 1995
Played all of the instruments on the original Tubular Bells, then layered them together
Released 23 albums to date
Tubular Bells released 10 days after Mike's 20th birthday
Mike's sister, Sally, played on the original Tubular Bells recording
I really respect Mike Oldfield and the music that he makes because of the exact quote that I just mentioned. He makes music that is both creative and original, it's not just a copy of a million other songs that have been made before it. He composes music that is hard to categorize because it is so many styles combined into one piece of music. One other point that shows how Oldfield cares more about the music than the money is the fact that Oldfield plays multiple instruments. For example, his original recording of Tubular Bells has Mike playing every one of the instruments. He recorded the instruments one at a time and then layered them together.

14. Mike Oldfield is a talented musician because
Plays multiple instruments
Creative and original
Plays multiple styles of music
Writes his own music
I really respect Mike Oldfield and the music that he makes because of the exact quote that I just mentioned. He makes music that is both creative and original, it's not just a copy of a million other songs that have been made before it. He composes music that is hard to categorize because it is so many styles combined into one piece of music. One other point that shows how Oldfield cares more about the music than the money is the fact that Oldfield plays multiple instruments. For example, his original recording of Tubular Bells has Mike playing every one of the instruments. He recorded the instruments one at a time and then layered them together.

15. Listening Guide to Tubular Bells
We will start at 11 minutes 30 seconds (although I suggest listening to the whole piece)
11:30 An electric guitar softly joins in with chimes playing on a quintuple meter. A contra bass plays a drawn out note on the last note of each meter. There is a slow tempo. The melody is conjunct. There is a consonance in the harmony. The form is repetitious, repeating itself every 4 bars. The music is not very dynamic.
11:52 Everything stays the same except for the electric guitar, which changes its chords. The melody is still conjunct, there is consonance in the harmony, the form is still repetitious
12:14 A keyboard instrument joins in with the rests of the instruments. The melody is still conjunct, there is consonance in the harmony, the form is still repetitious The keyboard adds more texture and timbre to the song. The tempo remains slow and calm. The music is becoming more dynamic.
12:31 An electric bass joins the rest of the instruments already in play. The bass is playing in duple meter with simple division. The music is more dynamic with each instrument that joins. The form is less repetitious, because there are so many instruments playing and each one eventually changes its chords. There is dissonance building in the harmony as well. It is building very slowly in a way that is almost undetectable unless you are listening for it. The dissonance builds until...
13:29 The electric guitar completely changes its sound and chords. It plays strong and with a high pitch. There is a complete dissonant feeling. The electric bass also becomes much louder and more dissonant. The melody is conjunct, ascending and descending in an arch. The guitar is playing in common time. The music is less dynamic because only the electric guitar and electric bass guitar are playing.
13:49 The guitar and bass immediately stop playing and are replaced by a consonant piano and vocal humming choir. There are no lyrics to the humming, and they are are in unison and monophonic. The melody is conjunct. The vocal notes are long and drawn out. The rhythm is still in common time. The music is still not very dynamic because only the piano and vocals are playing.
14:08 The vocals and piano stop playing and are replaced by the electric guitar. After a few introduction note the tempo picks up dramatically. The rhythm is still in common time. The harmony is dissonant. The form is repetitious. The music is not very dynamic.

16. Listening Guide continued
14:37 A second acoustic guitar joins in, playing a similar melody to the other electric guitar. The first guitar continues with its repetitious form. The second guitar makes the music more dynamic and adds texture to the music. There seems to be a wide variety of timbre. The harmony is still dissonant.
14:53 The guitars fade out of their current melody and begin a new melody. An electric bass guitar joins in to make the music more dynamic and add range. The tempo is still fast. The harmony remains dissonant.
15:13 The electric guitar plays a solo that makes the song even more dissonant and disjunct. The other instruments continue playing in the same form, but the guitar creates a dissonant climax so that when the music returns to the form that it was in at 14:52, that form doesn't feel nearly as dissonant.
15:23 The music returns to exactly how is was at 14:53. However, The volume has increased as well as the overall timbre of the music.
15:43 All instruments play one hard and loud note and stop playing. The only music that continues is ambient noise with the occasional hitting of a deep bell and an occasional drawn out electric guitar note. The bell and guitar play the same repetitious note. The melody immediately turns conjunct as you feel resolution. The instruments all slowly fade out until there is silence. The music uses indeterminacy for a short time.
16:18 The acoustic guitar starts playing playing with contrast in common time. The melody is disjunct. The harmony is consonant. The tempo is slow, but slowly speeds up. The dynamics slowly build as well. The texture is monophonic.
16:41 A flute joins the acoustic guitar to add to the consonant harmony. The flute adds long notes to the music and plays in an inverted arch. The guitar continues to follow the same tune that it has been playing since 16:18. The dynamics continue to build until both the guitar and flute play their last loud notes and cut out.

17. More Listening Guide
17:02 The bass guitar begins to play a solo of its low pitch and harmony. It is playing in mixed measures. It plays with an upbeat tempo, with dynamics that go up and down. It plays a duple meter with simple division. It is joined by some ambient noise created by the organ that adds to the consonance of the harmony. The texture is monophonic.
17:22 The bass guitar starts playing at a much faster tempo. It plays melody in an arch. The dynamics are high. The ambient music continues to play long and conjunct notes. The harmony is still consonant. The form of the bass guitar becomes repetitious, repeating the same ten bars.
17:31 The music returns to using indeterminacy by using the same music that started playing at 17:22, but turning the dynamics down to what feels like a whisper. The ambient music can be heard almost as well as the bass guitar. The ambient music is conjunct, but the bass guitar is disjunct. The form is repetitious.
17:55 Although the ambient noise remains a prominent part of the music, the bass guitar is able to be heard a little louder. The bass guitar's dynamics begin to build very slowly. The harmony remains consonant. The form remains repetitious.
18:41 The same music continues to play but the organ starts to play some long, high pitched notes to join in with the harmony to create more consonance. The bass guitar's dynamics continue to build. The timbre continues to become more complex. The texture is polyphony. The form is repetitious.
19:14 The dynamics continue to build as the bass guitar gets louder and the organ can still be heard. As the dynamics build, the music becomes increasingly dissonant. The form is the same repetition it has been since 17:22. It is using mixed measures.
19:48 A voice says, “Grand Piano”. The organ and bass guitar continue to play the same repetition. A grand piano starts to play a different melody than either the bass guitar or organ. The grand piano plays a contrast form. The melody is conjunct. The tempo is fast. The piano makes the music more dynamic. The texture is polyphony. There is more timbre because of the increased number of instruments playing.

18. Listening Guide Continued
20:11 A voice says, “Reed and Pipe Organ”. The grand piano stops playing. The organ and bass guitar continue to play the same repetition. A reed and pipe organ starts to play the same chords the grand piano was playing. The reed and pipe organ plays a contrast form. The melody is conjunct. The tempo is fast. The reed and pipe organ makes the music about as dynamic as it was with the grand piano. The texture is polyphony. There is more timbre because of the increased number of instruments playing.
20:36 A voice says, “Glockenspiel”. The reed and pipe organ stops playing. The organ and bass guitar continue to play the same repetition. A glockenspiel starts to play the same chords the grand piano and reed and pipe organ were playing. The glockenspiel plays a contrast form. The melody is conjunct. The glockenspiel makes the music about as dynamic as it was with the reed and pipe organ. The texture is polyphony. There is about the same timbre.
20:57 A voice says, “Bass guitar”. The glockenspiel continues to play. The organ and bass guitar continue to play the same repetition. A different bass guitar starts to play the same chords the grand piano was playing. The bass guitar plays a contrast form. The melody is conjunct. The tempo is fast mixed with slow. The bass guitar makes the music more dynamic because the glockenspiel continued to play. The texture is polyphony. There is more timbre because of the increased number of instruments playing.
21:21 A voice says, “Double-Speed Guitar”. The second bass guitar stops playing. The glockenspiel continues to play. The organ and bass guitar continue to play the same repetition. A double-speed guitar starts to play the same chords the grand piano was playing. It plays in a higher pitch. The double-speed guitar plays a contrast form. The melody is conjunct. The stays about as dynamic as before. The texture is polyphony. The timbre continues to increase because of the increased number of instruments playing.
21:42 A voice says, “Two Slightly Distorted Guitars”. The double-speed guitar stops playing. The glockenspiel continues to play. The organ and bass guitar continue to play the same repetition. Two slightly distorted guitars begin to play the same chords the grand piano was playing. The guitars play a contrast form. The melody is conjunct. The harmony is nearing dissonance. The tempo is fast. The guitars make the music more dynamic. The texture is polyphony. There is more timbre because of the increased number of instruments playing.
22:06 A voice says, “Mandolin”. The two guitars do not stop playing, but play lightly in the background. The organ and bass guitar continue to play the same repetition. The glockenspiel also plays in the background. A mandolin starts to play the same chords the grand piano was playing. The mandolin plays a contrast form. The melody is conjunct. The mandolin makes the music more dynamic. The texture is polyphony. There is more timbre because many of the instruments we have heard are currently playing.

19. Last of the Listening Guide
22:28 A voice says, “Spanish Guitar and introducing Acoustic Guitar”. The organ and bass guitar continue to play the same repetition. The guitars play the same chords the grand piano was originally playing. Every instrument that has been introduced is now playing in harmony. The melody is conjunct. The music has become increasingly dynamic. The texture is polyphony. The timbre has also continued to build throughout the introduction of instruments.
22:53 A voice says, “Tubular Bells”. The tubular bells start to play the same chords the grand piano was originally playing. Every instrument continues to add to the harmony. The melody is conjunct. The tempo is fast. The tubular bells make the music the most dynamic it has been in the entire song. The tubular bells add dissonance. The texture is polyphony. There is also the most timbre we have heard in the entire song. The song has reached its climax.
23:19 Wordless female vocals enter the song as the rest of the instruments continue to play the same measures. The vocals have a repetitious form. The dissonance felt by the tubular bells is lessened due to the consonant vocals. The music slowly becomes less dynamic and the timbre begins to drop.
23:42 Some of the instruments begin to fade out as the music becomes less dynamic. The vocals continue, as due to tubular bells. The tempo begins to slow down. The harmony becomes more consonant.
24:01 The few instruments that are still playing fade out. Only the vocals and the acoustic guitar continue to play. The harmony is very consonant. The vocals have a repetitious form, as does the guitar. There is still polyphony. The music is not very dynamic, and the timbre continues to drop.
24:25 The vocals fade out, leaving only the acoustic guitar playing a new contrast form. The music is monophonic and conjunct. The harmony is consonant. It is playing in mixed meters.
24:52 The acoustic guitar continues to play by itself, but with different measures. It still plays a contrast form. It is still monophonic and conjunct. The harmony remains consonant.
25:11 The timbre and dynamics are almost non existent as the guitar begins to play softer and softer. There is a feeling of indeterminacy as the guitar is fading out, leaving practically no noise.
25:22 The guitar lets off one final strum as the song comes to an end.