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Howard GoodallQuote:We all respond to music – whether clicking our fingers, humming along or dancing – there’s something out there for everyone. In this series Goodall looks at melody, rhythm, harmony and bass to establish how music is made and how it comes to reflect different cultures.Setting out on a journey that spans the globe and moves through the centuries, Goodall uncovers the elements that are shared by all styles of music. Following a trail of diverse musical talents from Mahler to David Bowie; the blues to Bulgarian folk songs; medieval choral music to disco; he reveals the tried and tested tricks of the composer’s trade.Episode 1 – MelodyWhy does melody affect us so deeply, from the moment we are born? Tunes touch our deepest emotions, and are capable of inspiring love, sorrow, faith, and hope. But how does a melody actually work?In this film composer Howard Goodall looks at melody’s basic elements. Why are some melodic shapes common to all cultures across the world? Can successful melodies be written at random? If not, what are the familiar melodic patterns composers of all types of music have fallen back on again and again, and why do they work?Episode 2 – RhythmFrom the moment our hearts start beating, rhythm is integral to us all. From walking to dancing, from clicking our fingers to tapping our toes, we are all programmed to respond to rhythm. In this film Howard looks at the common rhythmic patterns that have been used by musicians from all cultures, from Brahms to rappers, from the founders of Cuban son to Philip Glass, from Stevie Wonder to Fats Waller.Why do some rhythms make us want to dance, while others make us feel tranquil? How does rhythm ‘work’ when there is no obvious pulse, as in much classical music? What links African drumming to J S Bach? Why do virtually all popular singers sing ahead of the beat?And how is it that a tiny Caribbean island has produced a rhythm that dominates popular music the world over?Episode 3 – Harmonyn the late middle ages western harmony started on a journey that would take it in a completely separate direction to that of the music of other parts of the world. It discovered chords, and, over the next seven centuries, began to unlock their harmonic possibilities. In this film Howard looks at how western harmony works, and how, in the present day, it has fused with other forms of music to create new styles.Chords led to chord progressions, and Howard looks at how familiar patterns of chord progressions give all kinds of music – from classical to popular – their sense of forward movement. Why do the same chord patterns appear again and again, from Renaissance Italy to the latest chart hit?Musicians have always liked to tamper with the basic chords, and experiment with dissonance. We see how these tricks of the trade actually work, and the emotional and musical effect they have. From the folk musicians of the middle ages to Bach, Beethoven, and Wagner, from Chuck Berry to David Bowie, Hendrix to Coldplay, the same harmonic techniques surface again and again.Episode 4 – BassMusic is usually broken down into melody, rhythm and harmony. But what about the very lowest notes in music, that can have an impact on all three? In this film Howard looks at the abiding fascination musicians and composers have had with the bass.For half a millennium instrument makers have been trying to construct instruments of all shapes and sizes capable of thudding, sonorous low notes. Only with the arrival of the synthesizer did they succeed in producing a rival to the mighty organ. With disco, dance, and drum ‘n’ bass, the bass has arrived centre stage.But bass notes have another, crucial role. Far from just plodding away in the background, bass lines can have a critical effect on the whole structure of a piece of music, helping to drive the chord progressions.Howard looks at the dark horse of the musical family, and its use in the hands of such diverse musical talents as Johann (and Richard) Strauss, John Philip Sousa, Stevie Wonder, Elton John, Albinoni, Bach and Motown’s resident bass maestro, James Jamerson.Howard Goodall – BioHoward Goodall is one of Britain’s most distinguished and versatile composers. Almost everyone knows at least one of his popular TV themes for Blackadder, Mr Bean, Red Dwarf, The Catherine Tate Show, Q.I. or The Vicar of Dibley. Film scores include the EMMY®-Award winning Into the Storm (2009) , BAFTA-nominated The Gathering Storm (2003), Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie, Bernard and the Genie, Blackadder Back & Forth and Mr Bean’s Holiday (2007).In the theatre his many musicals, from The Hired Man (1984) to Two Cities (2006) have been performed throughout the English-speaking world, including London’s West End and Off-Broadway, and won many international awards, including Ivor Novello and TMA Awards for Best Musical.He is a prodigious writer of choral music, his settings of Psalm 23 and Love Divine are amongst the most performed of all sacred music, his works have been commissioned to mark several national ceremonies and memorials, and he has contributed songs to several platinum-selling CDs. 2008-9 saw the début UK tour of his Eternal Light: A Requiem by the Rambert Dance Company, a choral-orchestral ballet & concert work commissioned by London Musici, simultaneously released on an EMI Classics CD which has earned Howard a Classical Brit award for Composer of the Year 2009. Howard is Classic FM’s Composer-in-Residence and his most recent Classic FM CD, Enchanted Voices, a setting of the Beatitudes, occupied the No. 1 slot of the UK Specialist Classical CD Chart for 23 weeks after its release. It is followed in November 2009 with the release of Enchanted Carols.Howard hosts his own weekly show on Classic FM, Howard Goodall On…, appears regularly on BBC TV music programmes and writes and presents his own highly-successful TV documentary series on the theory and history of music for Channel 4. For these series he has been honoured by a BAFTA, an RTS Judges’ Prize and over a dozen other major international broadcast awards.He is a tireless advocate for music education and a passionate believer in young people’s inherent musicality, receiving the 2007-8 Sir Charles Grove/Making Music Prize for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, a British Academy of Composers & Songwriters Gold Badge for exceptional work in support of his fellow composers, Honorary Doctorates of Music from Bishop Grosseteste University College, Lincoln, and Bolton University, the Voice of the Listener & Viewer Naomi Sargant Memorial Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Education in Broadcasting’ and in January 2007 he was appointed as the UK’s first ever National Ambassador for Singing, leading a 4-year programme (Sing Up) to improve the provision of group singing for all primary-age children.He is married to classical music agent Val Fancourt.