Expert Testimony: Given by Composer David Schwartz '74

Adventurous TV scoring

Berklee alumni have long provided the scores to many top television shows, from honorary doctorate recipient and 1966 alumnus Alf Clausen to Alan Silvestri ’70, who, while known primarily for film scoring, recently won two Emmy Awards for his work on the documentary series Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey. Among these alumni veterans of composing for television stands David Schwartz ’74.

Schwartz broke through as a TV composer of note with the theme song to Northern Exposure, which earned him a Grammy nomination in 1993. He followed up with work on Wolf Lake and Deadwood, drawing Emmy nominations for his main title themes. In addition to film scoring, more recently, he scored the comedic cult sensation Arrested Development, which earned him a 2013 Emmy nomination.

His scoring career has often included musical choices that might seem anachronistic on paper but that prove pleasing when paired with picture, from Caribbean-style steelpans in the opening title of a show set in Alaska to an opening title bridge featuring an Armenian duduk for a western. Part of Schwartz’s edge lies in his willingness to consider sounds from all over the world in search of a match in mood, even if the choices defy expectations. Perhaps in part due to his versatility on both the upright and electric bass, Schwartz is also a flexible composer who is as comfortable working with a band to create a score that sounds like a record as he is working with an orchestra on a more traditional score.

Schwartz recently chatted with Berklee today after finishing up an intense period of scoring—at a breakneck pace of 12 episodes in five weeks—for a forthcoming USA comedy series Benched, scheduled to air in 2015.

Tell me about your work on the new series Benched.

It’s a terrific and laugh-out-loud funny show. The creators of the show were fantastic to work with, so that made the intense deadlines easier to deal with. I got the call on a Friday night, and they wanted to hear music Monday morning—and there was a main title involved. It’s unusual to demo a main title. They called on a Tuesday to say I had the job, and I started scoring on Wednesday. I prefer to spot with the producers in person. Then, if possible, I like to attend the final dubs.

It’s unusual for a composer to attend the dub these days, but I think it’s valuable for composers who are coming into the field to do so. There’s often little communication and even less face time between composers and producers and directors these days. So if I can be there on the stage—which is often impossible because I have so much work to do—I can see what their real opinions are, how they’re using it, what they’re editing, where they needed options, or what they don’t like. It really gives you perspective and allows you to build relationships with the show’s creators.

Is it unusual for composers to attend the dub because they don’t ask to, or are producers hesitant to have the composer in the room?

I think often [the latter] is the case. If so, that’s their call. If I do attend, I’m never defensive about the music. I’ve even been known to ask them to lower the volumes of a cue if I feel it’s too loud. I like to think we all have the same goals in making the best film or TV show possible.

Arrested Development featured a lot of music cues in any given minute—way more than the norm in other TV shows. Has that work served as a calling card to show that you can handle anything?

I wish that it did. Arrested is in a category of its own. People are always impressed by it, but they often don’t see how that style will relate to the show they are currently looking to hire a composer for. You’re only as good as your last job. I still often have to demo to get a new series, as do most composers.

The silver lining is that it’s about getting a job by writing rather than just who you know or your credits. I’ve almost always said yes to everything. One of the great questions in a freelance artistic career is when to say no, if ever. Early in my career, I was up for last season of the John Larroquette Show. Some people advised me not to do it, but had I turned it down, I wouldn’t have met [Arrested Development creator] Mitch Hurwitz. That meeting turned out to be the start of the most important relationship in my career—and a lifelong friendship. So say yes if at all possible.

Some of the pieces you’re most known for include some unconventional choices in instrumentation. Is it hard to convince producers that it’s OK to consider something that isn’t necessarily seen as common to the genre?

Sometimes the response is, “What’s that? That sounds like a monkey. Can we lose the monkey?” Other times, they’ll say, “That’s amazing! What is that?” A lot of it comes down to what I’ve been listening to, and then as I’m writing a piece, I’ll think, “It would be tremendous to have Indian tabla drums on this,” or “This would be cool with a button accordion, or a vox organ.” Color is just one of the ways you can create mood, and using the whole world, especially if you don’t have a symphony orchestra at your disposal every day when you’re writing, is a way to include things that generate emotion. It’s like painting and using a different color that just stands out from your everyday palette.

In addition to your composing, you coproduced your daughter’s 2013 album, Timekeeper. Are there some unique challenges to balancing the roles of producer and parent?

You would think, but my daughter is a very unusual person. Lucy has a way of getting what she needs without people disagreeing with her. She has worked with some A-list producers like Mitchell Froom and Larry Klein and it’s been sort of the same thing. There were times when we disagreed, but more times we agreed. It’s her album and it’s not in my nature to say, “It’s my way or the highway,” and that’s one of the nice things about going between producing and scoring. In scoring, the final decision is mine but I’m glad to get people’s opinions. You want people to say, “Can we try it this way?” I’m always encouraging that.

Looking back to your work on Northern Exposure and comparing it to what you’re doing today, how do you think the game has changed and what has stayed the same?

When I started in the early ’90s, there was what was called a “locked cut,” which meant that when they sent it out to the composer, it wasn’t going to change. Well, that’s a rarity now. Things are constantly changing and you’re often chasing the cut. Before, you’d have more time and there was less music because that was all you could physically do. Now, with computers, you can show everybody every change and constantly fix everything and the turnaround is much quicker.

On Northern, I got to use an orchestra when it was appropriate, and a lot of shows were still having the orchestra show up every Monday. They’d cut the score and mix simultaneously, and it would be done. The show that started, I think, around the same month as Northern Exposure was The Simpsons. And interestingly, Alf Clausen [the composer for The Simpsons] still has that orchestra showing up every week and he gets to score it that way and he’s terrific at it. But there’s not another story like Alf’s now. So a lot of things are different and a lot of things are the same. When I first started, it seemed more personal and there were fewer people doing it, but there were also fewer opportunities. Now we have cable, Netflix, video games, promos, Internet projects—so there’s more places that music can be and that you can get hired for.

Mike Keefe-Feldman is an editor and writer for Berklee’s Digital Strategy and Communications Department.