Name that instrument

Discussion on the music of Twin Peaks

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MusicInTheAir
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Name that instrument

Post by MusicInTheAir »

Hello everyone, glad to have joined this damn fine forum. I'm lucky enough to have watched TP back in the early 90's.

Here is my question: I am trying to find out what is the name of that characteristic (percussion?) instrument Badalamenti uses a lot in his magical TP music. It can be heard here from around 1:06 and here, right from the start. That 'turn/swirl' between 0:35-0:38 always gets to me.

Any kind of hint on this or similar instruments would be great. Is this digital sound? Probably not... thanks. :)
The Dream Man
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Re: Name that instrument

Post by The Dream Man »

What you're hearing is a drum brush being brushed across the snare drum. It's used a lot in jazz. It's not a digital sound, but can be found digitally in music production programs. Here is what you're hearing: https://youtu.be/lCHwRc_SUA8?t=50s
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MusicInTheAir
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Re: Name that instrument

Post by MusicInTheAir »

That's pretty amazing. Many thanks for the spot-on answer, Dream Man.
The Dream Man
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Re: Name that instrument

Post by The Dream Man »

Anytime, buddy!
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MusicInTheAir
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Re: Name that instrument

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I'll take advantage of your knowledge & kindness and ask another one which bugs me for years: what exactly is that Twin Peaks 'signature' sound (sample?)? I mean, how can one "invent" such a beautiful and interesting thing, so reminiscent of Nature? If it's digital, how on earth is this done from scratch?

I'm talking about this (very first sound/beat, then 0:03-0:04, 0:06-0:07 etc.). Also used here (0:12-0:13, 0:17-0:18, 0:22-0:23 etc.) and I think predates Twin Peaks (D.Lynch heard this and more and got quite inspired).
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hopesfall
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Re: Name that instrument

Post by hopesfall »

MusicInTheAir wrote:I'll take advantage of your knowledge & kindness and ask another one which bugs me for years: what exactly is that Twin Peaks 'signature' sound (sample?)? I mean, how can one "invent" such a beautiful and interesting thing, so reminiscent of Nature? If it's digital, how on earth is this done from scratch?

I'm talking about this (very first sound/beat, then 0:03-0:04, 0:06-0:07 etc.). Also used here (0:12-0:13, 0:17-0:18, 0:22-0:23 etc.) and I think predates Twin Peaks (D.Lynch heard this and more and got quite inspired).
The attached quote comes from the man who came up with the sound himself: Kinny Landrum...

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments ... _and_more/

So basically, it's a synthesizer playing the sound of a guitar, playing a sound in the bass spectrum! :shock:
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MusicInTheAir
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Re: Name that instrument

Post by MusicInTheAir »

Kinny Landrum! I remember this name from the soundtrack CD's. Amazing. Thanks a lot, hopesfall. I'll try to find that Kontakt file he mentions he had shared before, although a quick search brought up nothing.

What amazing talent these guys have. So much to learn, so little time...
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