WORD FROM THE PROFESSIONAL COMMUNITY

“I calls ‘em like I sees ‘em, and this book is a home run.”

— David Newman, Composer/Conductor

“If you have ANY interest in what music “means” in film, get this book. Andy Hill is among the handful of penetrating minds and ears engaged in film music today. If you don’t know Andy, read this book. I know that after you have closed it, you will seek him out.”

— Conrad Pope, Composer/Orchestrator

“Andy Hill’s ‘Scoring the Screen’ is, like its author, thoughtful, incisive and full of solidly interesting insights into the technique, craft and emotional magic of film scores and the composers who create them. If this is your subject, this is your book.”

— Bruce Broughton, Composer

“Andy Hill has created a book on film music that gives unparalleled information on how it is created, integrated with film, and then… perceived in the context of the film once it is “out there”. For composers, orchestrators, musicians, filmmakers, historians and fans of film and film music, every “piece of the puzzle” is here… the book is indispensable. In addition, Andy has shared all of this in a fresh, innovative and charismatic way… I could NOT put the book down… (!)”

— Mike Lang, Hollywood Session Pianist

“In this remarkable new book, Andrew Hill displays the comprehensive knowledge, wisdom, and reverence required to provide informed and practical insight into the art and craft of composing screen music. His background as a practicing musician, Disney studio music-executive, and college-level educator enables him to intelligently—and sometimes amusingly—reveal the magic behind the film-composer’s curtain. I believe this to be the only book in which large numbers of significant and original film-score manuscripts have been culled and presented for analysis and celebration. It certainly merits the attention of composers, students, and all serious fans of this increasingly popular genre.”

— Daniel Carlin, Professor & Chair/Director, Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television, Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California

“Andy Hill has the ability to deconstruct and explain the process of writing film scores with extraordinary clarity, all the while imbuing the subject with a fervor that should, in my opinion, be reserved only for European football matches and Baptist revival meetings.”

— John Powell, Film Composer

“You MUST read this – in the ever-growing pantheon of books on film music, this one is very special. While most analytical books are written by academics, Andy was right there in the thick of things as a member of the Disney music department, while the majority of the scores in the book were actually being recorded. Not to mention, it is so alive with his mad passion for film music.”

— Christopher Young, Film Composer

“With his book SCORING THE SCREEN, Andy Hill has made an important and truly invaluable addition to an all-too-barren landscape of great literature about great film music. He presents his case that the finest composers to have worked in film over the last eighty years have contributed genuine masterpieces of music and drama to our culture. A film score must excel at both to be successful, and this is so beautifully illustrated in Hill’s elegant prose. From the selection of scores discussed to the cues within them, and the musical phrases and bars highlighted, I read the book from a very personal point of view. Having produced new recordings of To Kill A Mockingbird — with Elmer Bernstein — and Patton — with Jerry Goldsmith — and examined these and other scores in great detail with the composers themselves, I found myself very moved by Hill’s like-minded analysis. Part of the film composer’s art is in fact to conceal the effort and the intellect that goes in to the creation of their scores. Hill thankfully lifts the veil. I am thrilled to see such a rare spotlight illuminating the artistry behind these masterworks.”

— Robert Townson, Film Music Producer (Varèse Sarabande Records and Varèse Live)

“In has capacity as Music Supervisor, Andy Hill’s contribution was central to the late 20th century renaissance of Disney animation and the animated musical particularly on films like The Little Mermaid, and the international phenomenon The Lion King.”

— Don Hahn, Producer (The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast)

“I had the good fortune of working with Andy Hill during the second “golden age” of Disney Feature Animation beginning with The Little Mermaid and continuing through The Lion King and many other live action and animated films. We both got a master class’s exposure to the making of film musicals as well as how musical underscores can elevate a motion picture. Andy supervised and collaborated with an amazing list of great composers and songwriters including Hans Zimmer, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, and Randy Newman, among many others. He has studied the field as extensively as any author, and there is so much material here for the aspiring composer as well as the film music aficionado!”

— Chris Montan, President Walt Disney Pictures Music (1986-2016)

"The most erudite and dramaturgically hip teacher on the internet today."

— John Robert Wood, Composer/CCC Client (John's credits include Psych: The Movie and TV series; Sparrowhawk, and the short film Weltschmerz)

"Les sessions avec Andy m’ont aidées à évoluer grandement en très peu de temps. Il a une oreille attentive qui reconnait les failles et mauvaises habitudes tout en révélant les trésors cachés qui m’aident à développer ma voix unique comme compositrice."

— Nathalie Bonin, Composer/Violinist (Nathalie is currently working with composer Christopher Young. She has been a featured performer on many Canadian feature films and TV programs, a soloist on over 60 pop and classical recordings, and is now adding the title of 'composer' to her stellar résumé)

"Andy es un excelente mentor, no solo por su vasto conocimiento en los temas del cine y la música, sino por su gran entendimiento del drama y de las fortalezas y debilidades de sus alumnos. Su capacidad de guiar sin perder de vista la voz del propio compositor es su fortaleza mas grande."

— Edy Lan, Composer (Los Parecidos, Parallel)

“Andy has an energy which always leaves me feeling completely empowered and focused as a composer. I've seen substantial growth in my work as a result, especially in finding my own unique “voice” for the scene. In terms of training, Andy is the closest person I am aware of to a real-life Jedi!"

— Teo Weldon

“As we worked through the structured assignments together Andy was able to identify the areas that I needed to focus on in order to expand my repertoire and start producing music worthy of placement directly from my DAW. The results speak for themselves as within 5 months, whilst still on the program, I had scored my first short film and received my first IMBD credit.”

— Tim Seymour

“Los conocimientos de Andy en los campos del cine y la música así como su experiencia en la industria, son amplios y profundos. Esto se hace evidente en cada una de las sesiones donde, lejos de imponerse, se adapta a los intereses particulares de cada artista, prestándole ayuda en la consecución de sus propias metas. Andy es además un humano muy humano. Trabajar con él ha sido, es y será siempre, una suerte. Una suerte buscada y encontrada que no me cansaré de recomendar.”

— Natalia Laguens

“I met the Maestro during my graduation in film scoring and immediately became passionate about his teaching method. We continued our lessons after graduation and I can only say that before him I was struggling not only to find my voice as a composer but also to name my way of composing. With his help today I am able to better analyze the projects I happen to compose, find the right version of me as a composer, and give my best.”

— Joseph Sfregola

“El Dr. Hill es un hombre como pocos: su amplitud de visión extremadamente única, su gran sabiduría y su conocimiento muy profundo del Cine, la Industria Cinematográfica y la Música Cinematográfica lo convierten en EL hombre ideal para quien desee profundizar y desarrollar tanto su propio lenguaje como compositor como la comprensión y decodificación del lenguaje audiovisual al que está subyugada la Música Cinematográfica y que es FUNDAMENTAL para un compositor comprender.”

— Gonzalo Ramos