I went to the cinema yesterday.
Me and my uncle saw part 2 of the Movie Dune.
I read the book about 8 years ago when Archie was a baby and loved it.
And funnily enough, there is already an old movie adaptation of Dune.
And guess who starred in it?
“Sting,” from The Police, of all people.
Anyway, one thing that was super interesting for me in this new movie was the soundtrack.
For me growing up, movies were like a “gateway” for me for getting into music.
I’d watch classic movies and fall in love with the soundtrack as much as the visuals.
So, for a long time now, when I watch a movie, I can’t help but pay close attention to the soundtrack.
In Dune, the music was, well…
A little weird.
It was like “anti-music” in some ways.
And in total contrast with the older style Hollywood movies, such as Indiana Jones, Star Wars, etc…
Those movies, for instance, had John Williams creating the soundtrack.
And they were full of memorable melodies, catchy hooks, and signature motifs.
Modern movies seem to have shunned that sort of thing in place of ambient textures and tense noise.
In Dune, the soundtrack was pretty cool and intensely powerful.
Lots of blasts of extremely loud, electronic, dissonant noise…
Often followed by the most subtle of gentle synth string sounds.
In short, there is a lot of contrast going on here.
Loud and soft.
The movie is nearly 3 hours long.
During one of the slower sections of the movie, I was dozing off for about 10 minutes or so. (My excuse is that I had a hard workout before we went to the cinema!).
Good job we had those loud blasts of music to keep me awake.
Anyway, on the guitar contrast is also powerful.
Dynamics is probably the easiest way to use contrast.
…And you can apply it immediately.
For instance, you can try strumming and picking some notes louder than others.
…Such as from one section of a song to another. I.e. strum a chorus loudly and a verse softly.
…Or you can do this within a bar of music. I.e. pick melody notes loudly and pick the chord tones softly (this adds depth and is something I call the “3D Method”).
It is very powerful.
Contrast – it’s a powerful thing in music.
There are loads of ways to use it to good effect.
So, see where you can add some of this into your playing today.
I find it’s easy for most of us to play at the same volume…
…But if you want to add more “feel” into your playing, using dynamics is a great way forward.
For more help with the technical and musical side of playing Guitar, you might want to check this out.
There’s plenty of advice and help there – especially for beginners.
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Have a great day of practice, and as for the movie itself, I loved it.
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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