Chet Ricord pounded out the tempo for the band on a pair of stones used to simulate the sound of bones drumming against a tombstone. For the bagpipe sound, Gordon Schoenberg played an oboe out of tune, and then the track was overlaid with the same track played backwards. In the final show, only Cappy Lewis' trumpet and Art Smith's flute tracks are played backwards, while Doris Hultz Johnson's eerie harp performance is played normally.įor the band bagpiper, Baker wanted to use a real bagpipe, but the instrument proved too hard to control melodically for the song. Each of the various instrument cues were recorded separately at least three times, including reversing them backwards. Jimmy changed the shape of his mouth to alter the pitches of air escaping from a balloon held close to his lips, creating a musical "wind".įor the swinging accompaniment in the graveyard, Baker hired a small selected group of talented jazz musicians: rhythm guitarist Allan Reuss, bass guitarist Al Hendrickson, contrabassist Jess Bourgeois, percussionist Chet Ricord, and jazz organist Marvin Ash.īaker insisted that the graveyard band must omit some of the most unearthly musical sounds ever heard. Sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald created the etherial, airy variations heard in both the Portrait Hall and the Séance Circle by using his mouth as a reversed ocarina. When playback was reversed, the natural resonation of string plucks or breathy exhalations of a woodwind instrumentalist were surrealy inverted, resulting in a normal melody line with a most abnormal sound. A musician played the score sheet as written but began with the final note, proceeding right to left and up the page to the top. In fact, a majority of the music heard, besides the Grand Hall, was performed in reverse. The organ part that can be heard in the song is the recording played backwards, so the melody plays forwards. Also for the Foyer, Carter actually played the song backwards to achieve the discord that the composer intended. Sabransky then improvised from Carter's attempts. For the Grand Hall, however, Carter was taking too sensible an approach for Baker's tastes, so he took a transcription of Carter's improvisations to William Sabransky. When recording for the Foyer, the resonant, melancholy theater organ's output was so intense that the recording microphone was moved away from the instrument, and into the hallway to avoid distortion. Recording for the organ took place at Lorin Whitney Studios on a Robert Morton theater organ IV/34. The organ pieces heard in the Foyer and Corridor Of Doors were recorded with the help of veteran silent film organist, Gaylord Carter. Recording began in April of 1969, with over 40 tracks recorded, a majority of which were recorded for the Graveyard. The melody then modulates back to A-minor after repeating a dissonant chord six times. The song modulates to B-flat minor thus: Am, E7, F7, B♭m and on to B-minor via B♭m, F7 and F♯7. This underlying chord progression provides a macabre mood for the Haunted Mansion attractions. Typically, each chord lasts for two beats of 4/4 or three beats of 3/4. The following chord progression is used for all versions: Am, B, Am, B♭, Am, F, Am, F7, Am, E7, Am. Different variations use 4/4 or 3/4 for the meter. "Grim Grinning Ghosts" features Buddy Baker's melody, usually in the key of A minor. The minor key melody spanned the performance spectrum - it became a dirge, a valse macabre, and ultimately a "contempo-retro" graveyard jamboree. ‘ Grim-grinning ghost, earth’s worm, what dost thou mean?" Hateful divorce of love,’-thus chides she Death,. ‘Hard-favour’d tyrant, ugly, meagre, lean, “And, sighing it again, exclaims on Death. The title of the song itself is taken from the William Shakespeare poem Venus and Adonis: Just as "Yo Ho (A Pirate's Life For Me)" was written to turn a band of bloodthirsty cutthroats into more family-friendly, fun-loving swashbucklers, "Grim Grinning Ghosts" was written to uplift what was an already dark and dreary mood.Īrmed with his thesaurus, X wrote a series of fast paced stanzas filled with singable alliterations like "when the crypt door creak and the tombstones quake" and "weird glows gleam where the spirits dwell," and presented them to the attraction's musical director, Buddy Baker. So hurry back, we would like your company Background When you hear the knell of a requiem bell Now don't close your eyes and don't try to hideĪs the moon climbs high o'er the dead oak tree Grim Grinning Ghosts come out to socialize When the crypt doors creak, and the tombstones quake
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |