Why is Spaghetti Western Music So Cool? | Reverb Learn To Play
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Published 2018-05-18
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Note from Joe: "Sorry Friends - In the video I say that Spaghetti Westerns had their origins in Northern Spain - I did mean Southern Italy and Spain. Sorry for the slip!"
Spaghetti Western music (such as Ennio Morricone's scores in Sergio Leone's trilogy of film classics: 'A Fistful of Dollars', 'For a Few Dollars More,' 'The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly') has an effortlessly cool and gritty feel. But what is it about these scores that made them so evocative? Joe investigates the song structures and helps us understand what makes them so good (but never bad or ugly.)
All Comments (21)
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I love that those low budget spaghetti westerns ended up being more memorable over time than the traditional westerns of that time.
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Just because Ennio Morricone.
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Surf music with long pauses in between riffs. Soul surf music.
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Ennio Morricone single handledly created the genre of the Spaghetti western sound. Tarantino uses it, its been used in mostly every big western since
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Ennio Morricone is the reason why it sounds so great, the guy is a musical genius.
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I think the sense of isolation in these films is underscored well by the simplicity in the instrumentation. One guitar surrounded by reverb / one small town surrounded by nothing.
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"They are not spaghetti westerns! You don't eat them! They are Sergio Leone westerns." - Ennio Morricone
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Morricone is the real successor of the great Italian composers. He isn't afraid of melody and unusual intruments/noises.
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This question can be solved in 2 words. Ennio Morricone. That guy is a fuggin genius. 'Nuff said
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Ennio Morricone is Innovative for his Time, totally different from the Old West Songs of the 50s: he mixed touches of Rock, Jazz, Mexican Music, Classical Music and additional sounds with Exotic Instruments and Specific Objects, in addition to the already Traditional and Striking Whistles. This man created a New Musical Genre that was later vastly imitated and influenced dozens of Composers in the Future. King of Western Music.
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"Ghost Riders in the Sky" (written 1948 and covered by artists including Johnny Cash) is the source of all Spaghetti Western music. Same galloping beat, same chord changes as "For a Few Dollars More".
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My dad is a classic western nut so I grew up watching these films. I ended up becoming an orchestra violist and have always recalled this style of music that initially inspired an interest in music. Thank you for digging deep here. You really struck a nostalgic vein with me and learning about this was deeply meaningful. Again, thank you.
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I guess most of these great spaghetti western musicians have since pasta way.
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Ennio Morricone is awesome! It's ironic that the music which best invokes the atmosphere of the Old West relies on a instrument, the electric guitar, which hadn't been invented yet.
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Keep in mind the influence of Spanish/Mexican music. I hear a lot of Mariachi riffs in those licks.
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I’m from Arizona ! Imma play some of this type of music on a long drive to feel like I’m in a old western😂😂
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Awesome work as always Joe! Loved this one.
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Morricone is just a god. He's still alive and makes appearances. He even scored Tarantino's Hateful Eight in 2015.
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Because Ennio Morricone. End of the video
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As someone who doesnt know much about music this is what i got from this : gotta have that gallopin twang
