Score Productions music cues question

[TenPoundHammer]

I have noticed some comments regarding Score Productions music cues, and how some of them were pitched differently at different times -- the most notable, of course being TPIR's theme, which was a half-step lower until 1983ish. Other themes that seem to have had pitch changes over time include Narz Concentration (half-step lower in 1st season, according to another poster); MG'7x (half-step lower in final seasons); and possibly FF'94 (apparently the on-air versions were faster than the versions available online).

My question is: Why was  such a practice done in the first place? Did someone at Score think that it really made that  big of a difference to play a theme in say, F-sharp instead of F, or at 122 BPM instead of 120?

[DYosua]

The differences in pitch were probably due to variances in the equipment used to play back the themes, not the themes themselves.  For instance, I've had audio cassettes that would sound OK on the machine that orginally recorded them, but slightly faster or slower on other machines.  I would imagine a similar phenomenon happened here (not an intentional change on Score's part), which would go away when either the theme's reel was replaced or the studio's playback equipment was changed.

[TimK2003]

[quote name=\'DYosua\' post=\'176984\' date=\'Feb 2 2008, 08:23 PM\']
The differences in pitch were probably due to variances in the equipment used to play back the themes, not the themes themselves.  For instance, I've had audio cassettes that would sound OK on the machine that orginally recorded them, but slightly faster or slower on other machines.  I would imagine a similar phenomenon happened here (not an intentional change on Score's part), which would go away when either the theme's reel was replaced or the studio's playback equipment was changed.
[/quote]


A good example is on the syndicated Match Games later in the run (as seen on GSN).  Johnny O would record new promotional consideration items (with a slightly slower theme playing) when that season's episodes were aired the second time.  Then when the updated segment was over, they went back to the original tape and the theme jumped back to regular speed -- usually a few beats off.

I vaguely remember that happening on Tic Tac Dough as well.

[davemackey]

[quote name=\'TenPoundHammer\' post=\'176983\' date=\'Feb 2 2008, 07:09 PM\']
Narz Concentration (half-step lower in 1st season, according to another poster)
[/quote]
Actually, it was a whole step. If you run the cue into Audacity and select Change Speed (affecting pitch and tempo) and take it down 10%, you'll pretty much have what it is.

Routinely, music producers would record production music at one tempo and play it back a little faster or slower to get the timbre and brightness they wanted, and oftentimes the result would be a little out of tune.

[JasonA1]

[quote name=\'davemackey\' post=\'177131\' date=\'Feb 4 2008, 05:14 PM\']
Actually, it was a whole step. If you run the cue into Audacity and select Change Speed (affecting pitch and tempo) and take it down 10%, you'll pretty much have what it is.[/quote]

Eew. I just did this, and it sounds awful. Sort of highlights how cheap and simple that music was.

-Jason

[Ian Wallis]

Routinely, music producers would record production music at one tempo and play it back a little faster or slower to get the timbre and brightness they wanted, and oftentimes the result would be a little out of tune.

Did anyone notice the difference in speed between Shoot for the Stars and Jackpot?  The version of the theme they used for the latter was way faster than it was on the former.  I wonder if sometimes they slowed down the theme to make it a bit longer....