Alan Menken! More thank likely.......a part of your world.
Each person has a personality when it comes to being a singer. Some have the look and sound of an Opera Singer, some are suited to Pop or Hip Hop, some like myself are more suited to genres like Musical Theatre. I don’t know how this comes about, perhaps its a combination of nurture and nature, potentially worth looking deeper into it (Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below, or if you are familiar with any such study.)
Without a doubt, I believe that Disney and especially the influence of Alan Menken have a huge part to play with the ‘nurture’ part of my musical personality. If I mention song titles ‘A Whole New World,’ ‘Under The Sea,’ and ‘Colors of the Wind,’ regardless of the age, most people can at least sing a long with the tune. Each song has been crafted by none other than Alan Menken, the prolific writer and composer for Disney Studios and winner of 8 Academy Awards ( nominated for a further 11.)
The movie Aladdin had a huge impact on me as a kid and as I grew older I watched a lot of disney, a love I shared with my brother. I played an array of music styles and eventually got into the highly acclaimed Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. It was here that I discovered more and more the impact of Alan Menken and just how well known he was among lecturers and students across different disciplines of musical study. My lecturer Mike Eastman, talked about the likes of Hans Zimmer, countless classical composers and none other than Alan Menken as some of the best composers to draw inspiration from, even when writing pop music. For some reason I took a real liking to what Alan Menken did. He has a great ability to craft a song which would help give identity to a film. I would often watch a Disney movie,just to watch the Alan Menken in the extras section of the DVD. I was fascinated with, alongside most people interviewed in these DVD extras segments, Menken’s ability to come up with melody at the drop of a hat, a certain kind of melody which was just perfect for what was needed. I was studying more of a contemporary pop style at WAAPA, however I have spoken to a number of Musical Theatre Students who are also all mesmerised with this man’s ability. My brother loved him, and he was in a punk rock band.
Check out this song. Did you know it was by Alan Menken?
In this series about who my favourite artists are, it’a clear that i’m affected most by the melody and mood of a song. Certain words may grab me at times, but I never really remember lyrics.
Have you ever wandered what grabs you most in a song. Is it Music, lyrics, rhythm or perhaps even music production techniques? Regardless of your preference, i’m sure you’ll find Alan Menken’s got it covered.