A hum is a sound made by humming a wordless tone with the mouth completely closed, forcing the sound to emerge from the nose. To hum is to produce such a sound, most often with a melody. It is difficult to hum with your nose pinched closed for more than a few seconds. It keeps the volume at a low level, so humming is rarely used in musical productions, with some exceptions such as scat singing and vocables. Humming is sometimes used to keep the melody when the singer does not know the lyrics.

A hum has a particular timbre (or sound quality), usually a monotone or with slightly varying tones. There are other similar sounds not produced by human singing that are also called hums, such as a sound produced by machinery in operation or by an insect in flight. The hummingbird was named for the sound that bird makes in flight.

Meaning

Prior to the 18th century, singing was used in England as a form of applause. Whole crowds would hum to show their approval of a public statement, a sermon, or a piece of news. We still use humming as a signal of approval during everyday communication (for example, when talking on the phone, we often produce humming "Uh-huh" to show our approval). An informal research conducted by the London zoo found out that humans mostly hum when they feel very well Humming can also upset listeners, particularly if the humming is out of tune. Humming can also be attributed to being bored. The person who is bored makes an ostentatious show of humming to indicate their impatience. Humming might also be a sign of being in an uncomfortable situation in which, out of nervousness, a person starts humming. Humming can also be used to show feelings of emptiness.

Humming in human evolution

Joseph Jordania suggested that humming could have played an important role in the early human (hominid) evolution as contact calls Many social animals produce seemingly haphazard and indistinctive sounds (like chicken cluck) when they are going about their everyday business (foraging, feeding). These sounds have two functions: (1) to let group members know that they are among kin and there is no danger, and (2) in case of the appearance of any signs of danger (suspicious sounds, movements in a forest), the animal that notices danger first, stops moving, stops producing sounds, remains silent and looks in the direction of the danger sign. Other animals quckly follow suit and very soon all the group is silent and is scanning the environment for the possible danger. Charles Darwin was the first to notice this phenomenon on the example of the wild horses and the cattle (Darwin, Descent of Men, 2004:123). Jordania suggested that for humans, as for many social animals, silence can be a sign of danger, and that's why gentle humming and musical sounds relax humans (see the use of gentle music in music therapy, lullabies).

See also

The Hum - an apparently widespread phenomenon involving a low-frequency hum of unknown origin, inaudible to most people

Mains hum - an electric or electromagnetic phenomenon that causes a low frequency (50 or 60 Hz) audible signal.

References

Notes

External links

Humming makes you happy! - News - ZSL London Zoo - ZSL

Category:Noise Category:Singing

Name	Runa Laila
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Runa Laila
Born	17 November 1952 Sylhet, Bangladesh
Genre	Ghazal, pop, fusion music
Occupation	Playback singer
Years active	1969-Present
Instrument	Vocalist
Notable songs	Dama Dam Mast Qalandar, Ranjish e Sahi

Runa Laila ( (born 17 November 1952) is a playback singer of the subcontinent who lives in Bangladesh. She is effective in Ghazals also. She made a hit pair with famous singer Ahmed Rushdi after replacing Mala. She also has done numerous playbacks for movies in Bangladesh, India and Pakistani film industries during late 60s,70s and early 80's. Her best known number is Dama Dam Mast Qalandar, a song covered by many artists.

Early life

Runa Laila was born in a middle class family on November 17, 1952, in Sylhet, Bangladesh. Her father was from Rajshahi, Bangladesh. A music ustad would visit the family home, to teach classical music to Runa's elder sister Dina Laila. As younger siblings are wont to do, Runa too would sit down and pick it up effortlessly. But the energetic youngster's heart was in dance, and she was enrolled in a school where she learnt Kathak, Bharatanatyam, and Kathakali. Her early music training was done when her family lived in Karachi, Pakistan, Federal B area in 1960. Ustad Qader, later known as Piya Rang, was her teacher. Runa Laila was a bright youngster brought up in the typical Bengali mould, where the arts, like other fine things of life, were nurtured with just as much enthusiasm as to keep them buzzing happily within the family circle. Besides her classical training, she recalls gratefully the influence of Manzur Hussain on her career, since, instead of pampering her as a child, he told her that while her voice was good, it had certain flaws he needed her to work on. In those days, recording a song meant meeting a crowd of people in the studio, singing along with the orchestra and, should anyone make a mistake, starting over again from the beginning. She started learning classical music at a very early age and received vigorous training from Ustad Habibiddin Khan. She made her first public debut as a singer at the age of six and cut her first disc for a Pakistani film called "Jugnu" at the age of twelve. She had a great inspiration from famous playback singer Ahmed Rushdi as she followed his way of expressing emotions during singing and also made a hit pair with him later on.

Career

Runa's career as a singer came about by accident. It was her elder sister Dina who first got the break, but on the day of her performance, she developed a sore throat and Runa was asked to stand in. She was so little that she could not hold the 'Tanpura'. She held it horizontally and sang a 'kheyal'. She started appearing on the 'Zia Mohyuddin Show', a Karachi TV stage show (1972–74)and later did songs for numerous Pakistani films in the 70s. "Umra Jan Ada" (1972) was one such super hit film in which all but one song were sung by Runa Laila.

Sister Dina (once married to Pakistani politician from Sindh Makhdoom Amin Fahim) would have followed in her footsteps but had to give up singing when she married. She later died of cancer. In memory of her sister, Runa held six concerts in Bangladesh and donated the entire proceeds to a children's hospital in Dhaka to build a cancer ward which has been named after her sister.

Films

She sang playback for many movies in Bangladesh and India and, before the independence of Bangladesh, in Pakistan. She is known for her songs "Dama Dam Mast Qalandar" and "Mera Babu Chhail Chhabeela Main to Nachoongigi", which have been sung by other artists.

She made a sensational entry into the Hindi filmdom with Ek Se Badkar Ek in 1974. Music lovers all over India were swinging to the rhythmic beat of Dama Dam Mast Qalander.

Her songs in "Gharonda", which was released later, also did well with the audience. After that she withdrew from Mumbai but is still popular in India. Some of the music directors she has worked with are Jaidev, Kalyanji Anandji and Bappi Lahiri.

She is equally popular in the Bengali pop music space with songs like "Sadher Lau Banailo Morey", "Shilpi ami, tomaderi gan shonabo" and "Bondhu Tin Din Tor Barite Gelam".

Personal life

Runa Laila has an older sister named Dina Laila and a younger brother named Syed Ali Murad. She married thrice and has a daughter named Tani Laila.

Filmography

Some of her Pakistani films are

Commander

Phir Subah Hogi

Gharonda

Hum Dono

Anjuman

Man Ki Jeet

Ehsaas

Dilruba

Bollywood

Gharonda

Ek Se Badhkar Ek

Yadgaar

Agnipath

sapnon ka mandir

jaaney bahar

Awards

Bangladesh

* Independence Day Award,

* National Film Award, Bangladesh (twice)

India

* Saigal Award, India

Pakistan

* Nigar Award (twice), Pakistan

* Critics Award

* Graduate Award (twice)

* National council of music gold medal

References

External links

Runa Laila Biography

Runa Laila's Singing in West Pakistan

Runa Laila Casts a Magic Spell

Bangla Music: Runa Laila Songs

Runa Laila Urdu,Hindi Song -Link help by Shohel Rana

Bangla song

Category:1952 births Category:Bangladeshi singers Category:Bengali musicians Category:Ghazal singers Category:Living people Category:Nigar Award winners

Name	Mohammed Rafi
Background	solo_singer
Born	December 24, 1924 Kotla Sultan Singh, Punjab, British India
Died	July 31, 1980 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Origin	Indian
Instrument	Vocalist
Genre	Indian classical, ghazal, playback singing
Occupation	Hindi and regional playback singer
Years active	1944–1980

Mohammed Rafi (, }}; December 24, 1924 – July 31, 1980), was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades. He won 5 National Awards and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

In a career spanning about 40 years, Rafi sang over 26,000 film songs. His songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans, and from slow melancholic tunes to fast fun filled songs. He had a strong command of Hindi and Urdu and a powerful range that could accommodate this variety. He sang in many Indian languages including Hindi, Konkani, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Oriya, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi, Kannada, Gujarati, Telugu, Maghi, Maithili and Assamese. He also recorded a few English, Persian, Spanish and Dutch songs.

An article in Times of India, published on July 24, 2010 sums up his voice as, "If there are 101 ways of saying "I love you" in a song, Mohammed Rafi knew them all. The awkwardness of puppy love, the friskiness of teen romance, the philosophy of unrequited love and the anguish of heartbreak - he could explore every crevice of ardour. It wasn't just love, his voice could capture the navras of life - a failed poet's melancholy, a fiery unionist's vim, a debt-ridden farmer's despair, really anybody at all.Rafi, whose career spanned nearly four decades, was a singer for every season and every reason."

Early years and background

Mohammed Rafi was born the youngest of six sons of Hajji Ali Mohammad at Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near Amritsar in Punjab (British India). Rafi, whose nickname was Pheeko, started singing by imitating chants of a fakir in his village. It was his brother-in-law Mohammed Hameed who spotted the talent in Rafi and encouraged him. Rafi learnt classical music from Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwanlal Matto and Firoze Nizami.

Rafi's first public performance came at the age of 13, when he was allowed to sing at a concert featuring K. L. Saigal. In that same year, Rafi was invited by All India Radio Lahore station to sing for them. He made his professional debut in the Shyam Sunder-directed 1941 film Gul Baloch and the Bombay film, Gaon Ki Gauri, the following year.

Rafi also did brief roles in movies like Laila-Majnu (1945) and Jugnu. In Laila-Majnu, he was seen singing ‘tera jalwa’ as a part of the chorus.

Advent in Bombay

In 1944, Rafi moved to Bombay (now Mumbai),The brothers took up a ten-by-ten-feet room in the crowded downtown Bhendi Bazar area. Here poet Tanvir Naqvi introduced him to some of film producers including Abdur Rashid Kardar, Mehboob Khan and actor-director Nazeer.

In 1948, after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the team of Husanlal Bhagatram-Rajendra Krishan-Rafi had overnight created the song ‘Suno suno ae duniyawalon, Bapuji ki amar kahani…’. and "Khabar Kisi ko Nahiin, woh kidhar Dekhte (Beqasoor, 1950), etc.

Recording career

He associated with many music directors of his time, most notably Naushad. In the late 1950s and 1960s, Rafi worked with other composers of the era such as O. P. Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan and S.D. Burman.

Association with Naushad

As per Naushad, Rafi came to him with a letter of recommendation from Naushad's father. Rafi’s first song for Naushad was "Hindustan ke hum hain" ("We belong to Hindustan") for the film Pehle Aap in 1944. The first song for the duo was the soundtrack of the movie Anmol Ghadi (1946). Before Rafi, Naushad’s favorite singer was Talat Mahmood. Once Naushad found Talat smoking during a recording. He was annoyed and hired Rafi to sing all the songs of the movie Baiju Bawra.

Rafi's association with Naushad helped the former establish himself as one of the most prominent playback singers in Hindi Cinema.

Association with S D Burman

S. D. Burman patronized Rafi as the singing voice of Dev Anand and Guru Dutt. Rafi worked with Burman in movies like Pyaasa (1957), Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), Tere Ghar ke Saamne (1962), Guide (1965), Aradhana (1969), and Abhimaan (1973). S. D. Burman was also another music director besides Naushad who used Rafi prolifically to sing for most of his songs.

Association with Shankar-Jaikishan

Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan was a partnership in the Hindi film industry. Under Shankar-Jaikishan, Rafi produced some of his songs for actors like Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar. Out of six Filmfare awards, Rafi won three for S-J songs, viz., "Teri pyari pyari soorat ko", "Baharon phool barsao", and "Dil ke jharokhe mein". The song "Yahoo! Chahe koi mujhe junglee kahe" was sung by Rafi, only to be matched a fast-paced orchestra and a composition by Shankar Jaikishan. S-J made Rafi give playback for Kishore Kumar in the film Shararat ("Ajab hai daastan teri yeh zindagi"). Rafi sang a total of 341 numbers (216 solo) for Shankar-Jaikishan.

Ravi and Rafi produced several other songs, in the films China Town (1962), Kaajal (1965), and Do Badan (1966).

Association with Madan Mohan

Madan Mohan was another composer whose favorite singer was Rafi. Rafi's first solo with Madan Mohan in Ankhen (1950), "Hum ishq mein barbad hain barbad rahenge". The song "Jawaaniyan yeh mast mast" and the title song "Yun to humne lakh hansee dekhe hain, tumsa nahin dekha" of the film Tumsa Nahin Dekha. They were followed by songs like "Taareef karoon kya uski jisne tumhe banaya" from Kashmir ki Kali.

Association with Laxmikant-Pyarelal

The composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal (L-P) also patronized Rafi as one of their singers, right from their very first film, Parasmani (1963). Both Rafi and L-P won the Filmfare Awards for the song "Chahoonga main tujhe saanjh savere" from Dosti (1964). Rafi sang a total of 369 numbers (186 solo) for L-P. He sang for many male stars in Hindi films. In 1965, he was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Sri award. Rafi recorded two Hindi songs in English on 7" release in 1968. He also sang a song in Creole while on his visit to Mauritius in the late 1960s. Later, at the insistence of S. D. Burman, the two decided to reconcile and sing duets.

Guiness World Records

During his last years, Rafi was involved in a controversy over Lata Mangeshkar's introduction in to the Guinness Book of World Records. In a letter dated June 11, 1977 to the Guinness Book of World Records, Rafi had challenged the claim that Lata Mangeshkar has recorded the maximum number of songs ("not less than 25,000" according to Guinness). After receiving a reply from Guinness, in a letter dated November 20, 1979, he wrote: "I am disappointed that my request for a reassessment vis-a-vis Ms Mangeshkar's reported world record has gone unheeded.".

In an interview to BBC recorded in Nov 1977, Rafi claimed to have sung 25,000 to 26,000 songs till then. According to the available figures, Rafi has sung 4,516 Hindi film songs, 112 non-Hindi film songs, and 328 private (non-film) songs from 1945 to 1980.

At the same period Kishore Kumar's popularity increased due to the songs he sang, controversially, for the film Aradhana in Mohd Rafi`s absence during Rafi's Hajj pilgrimage in 1969. The music for Aradhana was composed by S. D. Burman, and he had used Rafi as the male playback voice for the first two recorded duets, "Baaghon Mein Bahaar Hai" and "Gunguna Rahen Hain Bhanwre". Some of Rafi's songs of the early 1970s were with music directors like Laxmikant Pyarelal, Madan Mohan, R. D. Burman and S. D. Burman. These include "Tum mujhe Yun Bhula na Paoge" (a signature song of Rafi in 1971) from Pagla Kahin Ka, "Yeh Duniya Yeh Mehfil" from Heer Ranjha (1970), "Jhilmil Sitaron ka" from Jeevan Mrityu (a duet with Lata Mangeshkar, 1970), "Gulabi Aankhen" from The Train (1970), "Yeh Jo Chilman Hain" and "Itna to Yaad Hain Mujhe" from Mehboob Ki Mehndi (1971), "Mera mann tera pyasa" Gambler, "Chalo Dildar Chalo" from 1972 released Pakeezah, "Chura Liya Hain Tumne" from Yaadon Ki Baarat (a duet with Asha Bhosle, 1973), "Na tu Zameen Ke liye" from 1973 released Dilip Kumar movie Dastan, "Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho" from Hanste Zakhm (1973), "teri bindiya re", from Abhimaan(1973) and "Aaj mausam bada beimaan hai" from Loafer (1973).

Later years

Rafi made a comeback as a leading singer in the mid-1970s. In 1974, he won the Film World magazine Best Singer Award for the song "Teree Galiyon Mein Na Rakhenge Qadam Aaj Ke Baad" (Hawas, 1974) composed by Usha Khanna. His last song was "Shaam phir kyun udaas hai dost" (Aas Paas), which he had recorded with Laxmikant-Pyarelal few hours before his death. He was survived by four sons (Saeed Rafi, Khalid Rafi, Hamid Rafi, Shahid Rafi), three daughters (Parveen, Nasreen, Yasmin) and 18 grandchildren.

Rafi was buried at the Juhu Muslim cemetery. It was one of the biggest funeral processions Mumbai had ever witnessed, with over 10,000 people attending.

In 2010, his tomb was demolished to make space for new bodies. Fans of Mohammed Rafi who arrive twice a year at his tomb, on December 24 and July 31, to mark his birth and death anniversary, use the coconut tree nearest to his grave as a marker.

He was a teetotaller, a highly religious and extremely humble person. He was a devout Muslim. Once, when a lesser-known composer Nisar Bazmi (who had migrated from Pakistan) didn’t have enough money to pay him, Rafi charged a fee of one rupee and sang for him. He also helped producers financially. As Laxmikant (of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo) once observed – “He always gave without thinking of the returns”.

Legacy

The government of India announced a two-day public holiday on his death, honouring him.

Rafi's song from the film Gumnaam (1965), "Jaan Pehechan Ho", was used on the soundtrack of Ghost World (2001). The film opens with the lead character dancing around in her bedroom to a video of Gumnaam.

His "Aaj Mausam Bada Beiman Hai" is featured in the 2001 film Monsoon Wedding.

His song "Mera Man Tera Pyasa" (Gambler, 1970) has been used as one of the soundtracks in the Jim Carrey-Kate Winslet starrer Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). This song is played in the background in Kate Winslet's character's home while the lead pair are having a drink - at approx 00.11.14 runtime.

Several of Rafi's unreleased songs will be used for an upcoming film titled Sorry Madam.

A documentary about Rafi’s life is under production by The Films Division of India.

In the summer of 2008, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra released a double CD entitled Rafi Resurrected comprising 16 songs by Rafi. Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam provided the vocals for this project and toured with the CBSO in July 2008 at venues including the English National Opera in London, Manchester's Apollo Theatre and Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

The Padma Shri Mohammed Rafi Chowk in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai and Pune (extending MG Road) is named after Rafi. The same Poll voted "Man re, tu kahe na Dheer Dhare" (Chitralekha, 1964), sung by Rafi as the #1 song. Three songs tied up for the #2 place and two of them were sung by Rafi. The songs were "Tere Mere Sapne Ab Ek Rang Hain" (Guide, 1965) and "Din Dhal Jaye, hai raat na jaye" (Guide, 1965).

This poll was published in Outlook Magazine, the jury of which included many people in the Indian music industry; Abhijeet, Adesh Srivastava, Alisha Chinai, Anu Malik, Ehsaan, Gulzar, Hariharan, Himesh Reshammiya, Jatin, Javed Akhtar, Kailash Kher, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Khayyam, Kumar Sanu, Lalit, Loy, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Mahendra Kapoor, Manna Dey, Prasoon Joshi, Rajesh Roshan, Sadhna Sargam, Sameer, Sandesh Shandilya, Shaan, Shankar, Shantanu Moitra, Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam and Talat Aziz.

In an article in Times of India, Rafi is described as "a versatile singer, who could render classical, rock and roll, indeed any kind of song with ease, he was Hindi film's favourite male voice through the 1950s and 1960s". Music director Rajesh Roshan, who composed some of the songs with Rafi, remembers him as "a warm-hearted simple person with no ego".

Music lovers have appealed to the Government of India to honour the singer, posthumously, with Bharat Ratna (India's Highest Civilian Award)

Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor said, "I am incomplete without Mohammad Rafi. I used to often go for the recoding of my song, which was sung by Mohammad Rafi, only because I used to like telling him how I would perform on this song on screen so that he can sing it that way. Even he liked my involvement".

On September 22, 2007, a shrine to Rafi designed by artist Tasawar Bashir was unveiled on Fazeley Street, Birmingham, UK. Bashir is hoping that Rafi will attain sainthood as a result.

Singers like Shabbir Kumar, Mohammed Aziz and, more recently, Sonu Nigam, who made a name by adopting his style, perhaps owe their entire careers to Rafi.

After his death, seven Hindi movies have been dedicated to Mohd Rafi; Allah Rakha, Mard, Coolie, Desh-Premee, Naseeb, Aas-Paas and Heeralal-Pannalal.

Personal life

In 1945, Rafi married his cousin Bilquis, in his village. He was very much a family man, following a recording-room to home to recording-room itenerary. He never attended filmy parties, did not smoke or drink. He used to perform his riyaz (musical practise) from 3 AM to 7 AM without fail. His only indulgences were playing carom and badminton and flying kites. Rafi has rendered the maximum number of songs for the music director duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal—a total of 369 numbers, 186 of them being solos. The song “ajab hai dasta teri ae zindagi…” was first given to Kishore Kumar to sing and he sung the first half of antara but in the second half, he faced some trouble and after many retakes, he was unable to give the effect that Shankar Jaikishan wanted, and finally the song was given to Rafi to sing. A man, sentenced to be hanged until dead, was asked what his last wish was. The man asks that he be allowed to listen to “O duniya ke rakhwale, sun dard bare mere naale; jeewan apna wapas lele, jeewan dene wale“. During a concert in Raipur with Shankar-Jaikishan, the audience kept on demanding "once more".. Even the musicians in the orchestra were tired. Finally, Rafi sang five songs with just Harmonium as a musical instrument. Then, he sang the National Anthem In the earlier years, Filmare used to have only One Best Singer Award (no distinction between a male or female singer). Rafi won it six times.

Awards

; Honorary 1948 - Rafi received a silver medal from the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, on the first anniversary of the Indian Independence Day. | "Chahunga Main Tujhe" | Dosti | Laxmikant-Pyarelal | Majrooh Sultanpuri |- | 1966 | "Babul Ki Duaae " | Neel Kamal | Bombay Ravi | Sahir Ludhianvi |- | 1977 Winner: {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Song ! Film ! Music director ! Lyricist |- | 1960 | "Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho" | Chaudhvin Ka Chand | Bombay Ravi | Shakeel Badayuni |- | 1961 | "Teri Pyaari Pyaari Surat Ko" | Sasural | Shankar Jaikishan | Shailendra |- | 1964 | "Chahunga Main Tujhe" | Dosti | Laxmikant-Pyarelal | Majrooh Sultanpuri |- | 1966 | "Baharo Phool Barsao" | Suraj | Shankar Jaikishan | Shailendra |- | 1968 | "Dil Ke Jharoke Mein" | Brahmachari | Shankar Jaikishan | Shailendra |- | 1977 | "Kya Hua Tera Wada" | Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin | Rahul Dev Burman | Majrooh Sultanpuri |}

Nominated: | Dosti | Laxmikant Pyarelal | Majrooh Sultanpuri |- | 1966 | Arzoo | Shankar Jaikishan | Hasrat Jaipuri |}

;Sur Sringar Award

Winner {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Film ! Music director ! Lyricist |- | 1964 | Chitralekha | Roshan | Sahir Ludhyanvi |}

References

External links

Mohammed Rafi at the Internet Movie Database

Category:1924 births Category:1980 deaths Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Indian Muslims Category:People from Amritsar Category:Indian male singers Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Punjabi people Category:Indian musicians Category:Indian singers Category:People from Mumbai Category:Marathi-language singers

Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Instrument	Guitar, Bass Guitar
Name	Dave Weiner
Born	September 24, 1976
Genre	Heavy metal, Hard rock, Progressive rock
Associated acts	Steve Vai touring band, solo career

Dave Weiner (born on September 24, 1976) is an American guitarist, most widely known for being one of Steve Vai's touring guitarists. He also posts instructional videos, called the "Riff of the Week", every Wednesday on Youtube, iTunes and his own website, he also gives online lessons.

Joining Steve Vai

Weiner first joined Vai's band when Weiner went to Los Angeles to go to GIT. During his time there he got a job as an intern for an office, and his boss at this office knew Steve Vai. He would deliver paper to Vai's house, and Weiner got to know him personally and subsequently gave him a demo. About two weeks later his boss got a phone call from Vai and was asked to come over to Vai's studio, learn fourteen songs, and go on tour with him. . Weiner continues to tour on Vai's personal tours as well as with G3.

Solo

Weiner has also released two solo albums. The first, entitled Shove the Sun Aside was released originally in June 2004 on the Meyer Jane Music label and re-released in March 2005 on Favored Nations. It is an instrumental album on which Weiner primarily plays a seven string guitar. Weiner continues to tour with his own band. His second album "On Revolute" started shipping on May 25th 2010.

Discography

Shove the Sun Aside (2004)

Shove the Sun Aside (Re-release) (2005)

''On Revolute (2010)

External links

Official Website

Steve Vai's Official Website

GUITAR GODS: Dave Weiner interview

Riff Of The Week

Category:1976 births Category:Seven-string guitarists Category:Living people

Name	Ben Burtt
Imagesize	200px
Birthname	Benjamin Burtt, Jr.
Birthdate	July 12, 1948
Birthplace	Jamesville, New York, United States
Deathdate
Occupation	Film editor, film director, sound designer and screenwriter
Yearsactive	1975–present

Benjamin "Ben" Burtt, Jr. (born July 12, 1948) is an American sound designer for the films (1977), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and WALL-E (2008). He is also a film editor and director, screenwriter, and voice actor.

He is most notable for creating many of the iconic sound effects heard in the Star Wars film franchise, including the "voice" of R2-D2, the lightsaber hum and the heavy-breathing sound of Darth Vader.

Early life, education and early career

Burtt was born in Jamesville, New York, and graduated with a major in physics from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.

In 1970, he won the National Student Film Festival with a war film Yankee Squadron, reputedly after following exposure to classic aviation drama through making an amateur film at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, a living aviation museum in Red Hook, New York, under guidance from its founder, Cole Palen.

For his work on the special-effects film Genesis, Burtt won a scholarship to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, where he earned a master's degree in film production.

Sound designer

Burtt pioneered modern sound design, especially in the science-fiction- and fantasy-film genres. Before his work in the first Star Wars (now known as Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope) in 1977, science-fiction films tended to use electronic-sounding effects for futuristic devices. Burtt sought a more natural sound, blending in "found sounds" to create the effects. The lightsaber hum, for instance, was derived from a film projector idling combined with feedback from a broken television set, and the blaster effect started with the sound acquired from hitting a guy-wire on a radio tower with a wrench.

He is personally responsible for some of the sounds heard in films. In the Star Wars series, part of R2-D2's beeps and whistles are Burtt's vocalizations, also made using an ARP 2600 synthesizer, as are some of the squawks made by the tiny holographic monsters on the Millennium Falcon spacecraft. In (2005) he provides the voice for Lushros Dofine, captain of the Invisible Hand cruiser. The heavy-breathing of Darth Vader was created by recording his own breathing in an old Dacor scuba regulator.

Burtt also used a recording of his wife, who at the time was suffering from a minor cold and was sleeping in bed, for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. He created the "voice" of the title character and many other robots in Pixar's film WALL-E (2008), about a lonely garbage-compacting robot. Additionally, he is responsible for the sound effects in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

Burtt has a reputation for including a sound effect dubbed "the Wilhelm scream" in many of the movies he's worked on. Taken from a character named "Wilhelm" in the film The Charge at Feather River, the sound can be heard in countless films: for instance, in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when a stormtrooper falls into a chasm and in Raiders of the Lost Ark when a Nazi soldier falls off the back of a moving car.

One of Burtt's more subtle, but highly effective sound effects is the "audio black hole." In Attack of the Clones, Burtt's use of the audio black hole involved the insertion of a short interval of absolute silence in the audio track, just prior to the detonation of "seismic charges" fired at the escaping Jedi spaceship. The effect of this second or less of silence is to accentuate the resulting explosion in the mind of the listener. Burtt recalled the source of this idea as follows: "I think back to where that idea might have come to me...I remember in film school a talk I had with an old retired sound editor who said they used to leave a few frames of silence in the track just before a big explosion. In those days they would 'paint' out the optical sound with ink. Then I thought of the airlock entry sequence in 2001. I guess the seeds were there for me to nourish when it came to the seismic charges."

Burtt was among the golden ears that critically reviewed the various audio compression systems that were proposed for the ATSC digital television system.

A tongue-in-cheek homage to Ben Burtt appears in the 1997 Activision PC game - the spell 'Beburtt', which 'creates the illusion of inclement weather', plays dramatic thunderclap and rainfall sounds when cast.

Director, editor and writer

Burtt directed several IMAX documentary films, including Blue Planet, Destiny in Space, and the Oscar-nominated . He edited the entire Star Wars prequel trilogy, and several episodes of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. Burtt is also credited as the writer of several episodes of the 1980s Star Wars-based cartoon, .

Cameo appearances

He makes a cameo appearance in two of the Star Wars films as an extra. He appeared as in (the Imperial officer who yells "Freeze" before Han Solo knocks him off a balcony. Incidentally, his scream as he falls seems to be his own imitation of the Wilhelm that he popularized.) and in as (appears in the background near the end when Padmé Amidala congratulates Palpatine).

Awards

Academy Awards

Sound Effects Editing in 1982 for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Sound Effects Editing in 1989 for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Special Achievement for sound editing in (1977)

Special Achievement for sound editing in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Nominated for:

:* Sound and Best Sound Editing in 1983 for :* Sound Effects Editing in 1988 for Willow :* Best Sound Mixing in 1989 for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade :* Documentary Short Subject in 1996 for directing :* Sound Effects Editing in 1999 for :* Best Sound Mixing and Best Sound Editing in 2008 for WALL-E

Honorary awards

Burtt was awarded the Doctor of Arts, honoris causa, by Allegheny College on May 9, 2004.

The Hollywood Post Alliance awarded him with The Charles S. Swartz Award for outstanding contributions to the field of post production.

References

External links

Site detailing the history of The Wilhelm Scream

Interview with Ben Burtt on Silicon Valley Radio

Interview with Ben Burtt on Studio 360 about his career

CineSource Magazine - Ben Burtt and the Sound of WALL-E

Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:American actors Category:American film actors Category:Film sound production Category:University of Southern California alumni Category:Allegheny College alumni Category:Academy Special Achievement Award winners