From: ensalada@cats.ucsc.edu (Kevin Charles Rubio)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.drwho
Subject: Re: Theme Music
Date: 21 Jan 1993 11:28:08 GMT
Organization: University of California; Santa Cruz
Reply-To: keeper@deeptht.armory.com
NNTP-Posting-Host: si.ucsc.edu



 
>I cannot locate an authentic version of the original William Hartnell
>theme music (the so-called "original" theme music distributed by the BBC
>is obviously a re-make), and I cannot locate the remix that was used for
>the opening of Carnival of Monsters.
 
The Delia Derbyshire remake is true to the original, though.  Its background
noises etc. are as they are in the original, rather than as the remix used
in the '70s.
 
(Of course, it does have the TARDIS noise added, which technically it
 shouldn't, but so what, eh?)
 
The Carnival of Monsters remix as far as I know is not available on record.
I do have a videotape of the closing credits for one episode.  Unfortunately,
I gather that none of the episodes had the bridge part of the theme on them.
I wonder if a bridge part was recorded at all ...
 
>However, I'm even more interested in other versions of the theme music,
>produced by independent sources.  This includes computer-generated music,
>instrumental music, etc.  Any suggestions?  (Yes, I've already got the
>Variations on a Theme CD and the music from the Curse of Fenric CD.)
 
 
Besides the KLF version, there is the 1980 disco version by Mankind,
a long-play remix of which is included in the record/tape of the 1986
theme version by Dominic Glynn.
 
But your article reminded me that I should post some email that I wrote
to someone a year or two ago ...
 
 
The original version and the 1986 version are in Phrygian mode for
the main theme, and in G major for the second theme.
 
Basically, this is it.  First, the opening bass (all letters are natural notes):
(lowercase letters are in a lower octave than their uppercase counterparts)
 
 E EE D | E EE D | E EE F | G GG D | E EE D | E EE D | E EE F | G GG D |
 
 EEEE D | EEEE D | EEEE F | G G FD | EEEE D | EEEE D | EEEE F | G G FD |
 
Then the melody starts (I'll write the bass underneath)
 
(the first two notes come in at the last measure I showed above)
 
b C | B      |        |        | D  b   | B      |        |        |        |
    | EEEE D | EEEE a | bbbb a | b b CD | EEEE D | EEEE a | bbbb a | b b CD |
 
    | B  G   | b    c | d    c | b      |     a  | b      |     c  | b      |
    | E EE D | E EE F | G GG a | b b CD | E EE D | E EE a | b bb a | b bb a |
 
Now the alternate theme (now F's (both `f' and `F') are F-sharps):
 
    |        |        |        |        |        |    C   |
    | b bb C | D D Ca | b bb a | b bb a | b bb C | D D Ca |
 
    | B      |        |        | G  B   | A   GF | G      |        |     D  |
    | gggg f | gggg f | gggg f | gggg C | D DD f | gggg f | gggg f | gggg b |
 
    | E   DC | D  G D | E   DC | D  G B | A      |     GF | G      |      ...
    | CCCC f | gggg b | CCCC f | gggg a | bbbb a | b b CD | EEEE D | EEEE ...
 
 
This is from memory (I know the notes are right, but I may have skipped a
measure of solo bass).  The bass is on triplets, or you just play with
six beats to a measure, playing the melody on a dotted rhythm.
 
Where I break the uppercase/lowercase on the treble and on the bass staff
there are at different points, to whichever best suited the given staff's
notes for this ASCII transcription, but you know the tune, so figuring it
out from what you see here should be no problem.
 
(I've also transcribed the themes to "Red Dwarf" and "Mr. Bean," by the
 way.)
 
Oh, one other thing to mention -- the G's in the alternate theme in most
versions of the DW theme (apart from the original and 1986 themes) are
an octave higher (the same G as in the main theme).  Of course, those other
versions are in a different key.  Other versions also have some alterations
in the rhythm of the bass, but what you see here is how the original version
went.  (Even in the 1970s, the theme was altered slightly, with some redoing
of the bass.)
 
As for harmony; quite simple.  The harmonising notes are just B, A, G and
F-sharp.  Start with B ... then do an A-B when the melody does its
D b B.
  a b <-- there's where the harmonisers go.
 
Then in the alternate theme, it starts on G.  When the bass hits the D,
the harmoniser goes down to F-sharp, but back to G when the bass returns
to G.  When the transition back to Phrygian mode happens (when the bass
hits B again), the harmoniser is at A.  Then the alternate melody does its
G-F#-G as the bass moves back up to E.  At that point, the harmoniser moves
up to B.
 
Those three voices are all that's really playing.
 
I did put a little A-B of the harmonisers into the melody of this ASCII
transcription.
 
--
Email replies must be sent to keeper@deeptht.armory.com

Newsgroups: rec.arts.drwho
From: dave@yoyodyne.demon.co.uk (David Bisping)