Hans Zimmer - Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow

[JBacal]

Here is my performance of Hans Zimmer’s “Jack Sparrow” cue from the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean.” As I worked on this piece I began to think of it as a pirate-flavored cinematic cello concerto. 😊 The solo cello in the opening perfectly depicts the drunken swagger of Johnny Depp’s pirate captain character.

Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow - mp3

Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow - YouTube video

Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow - Cubase Project

This mock-up turned out to be one of my wife's favorites. She described the experience of listening to it as a "fun rollercoaster ride." My only reply was "I guess Hans Zimmer kinda knows what he's doing!" 😁

For the solo cello I used the cello 1 from the Solo Strings plus MIR Pro for placement. The Solo Strings may be one of the older VSL libraries but it remains one of their absolute best! I use it on almost every piece I do.

The percussion was indeed a challenge here, but I did my best to capture the spirit. Processing drums in not one of my strengths, so I approached the sound more from an orchestrator's perspective than an audio engineer. To give certain hits more power I layered different drums together-- for example adding taiko for low end boom and snare for snap.

I used the following VSL libraries:

Synchron Woodwinds
Synchron Brass
Synchron Percussion
Synchron Duality Strings - Regular
Synchron Elite Strings
VI Series Jazz Drums
SYNCHRON-ized Vienna Choir
Synchron Basso Profundo Choir
SYNCHRON-ized Solo Strings

As always, please feel free to post a comment or ask a question.

--Jay

[Retni]

@JBacal said:

Here is my performance of Hans Zimmer’s “Jack Sparrow” cue from the blockbuster “Pirates of the Caribbean.” As I worked on this piece I began to think of it as a pirate-flavored cinematic cello concerto. 😊 The solo cello in the opening perfectly depicts the drunken swagger of Johnny Depp’s pirate captain character.

Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow - mp3

Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow - YouTube video

Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow - Cubase Project

This mock-up turned out to be one of my wife's favorites. She described the experience of listening to it as a "fun rollercoaster ride." My only reply was "I guess Hans Zimmer kinda knows what he's doing!" 😁

For the solo cello I used the cello 1 from the Solo Strings plus MIR Pro for placement. The Solo Strings may be one of the older VSL libraries but it remains one of their absolute best! I use it on almost every piece I do.

The percussion was indeed a challenge here, but I did my best to capture the spirit. Processing drums in not one of my strengths, so I approached the sound more from an orchestrator's perspective than an audio engineer. To give certain hits more power I layered different drums together-- for example adding taiko for low end boom and snare for snap.

I used the following VSL libraries:

Synchron Woodwinds
Synchron Brass
Synchron Percussion
Synchron Duality Strings - Regular
Synchron Elite Strings
VI Series Jazz Drums
SYNCHRON-ized Vienna Choir
Synchron Basso Profundo Choir
SYNCHRON-ized Solo Strings

As always, please feel free to post a comment or ask a question.

--Jay

[Retni]

Hi JBacal.

Listening to that solo cello, it seems like listening to the "bad" player of the entire orchestration, according to my conception in listening to classical music and soundtracks, the "bad" player has always been OBOE... Not having that VSL preset library , I took the Tina Guo cello plugin off the counter to replace it...

I take this opportunity to ask you, if you will have the opportunity to publish some Howard Shore Lord of the Rings Mockups in the future? There are two chapters that, every time I listen to them, give me goosebumps..
Stone foundations and prophecy. it's a mix of emotions between choirs and orchestra!

[JBacal]

Hi Retni,

Thank you for listening and commenting.

I would love to do a Howard Shore Lord of the Rings piece if I can ever get my hands on an accurate score.

As for the solo cello being a "bad" player, my conception was that the solo cello was attempting to portray a drunk pirate and not a virtuoso cellist. 😄

Best wishes,

Jay

@Retni said:

Hi JBacal.

Listening to that solo cello, it seems like listening to the "bad" player of the entire orchestration, according to my conception in listening to classical music and soundtracks, the "bad" player has always been OBOE... Not having that VSL preset library , I took the Tina Guo cello plugin off the counter to replace it...

I take this opportunity to ask you, if you will have the opportunity to publish some Howard Shore Lord of the Rings Mockups in the future? There are two chapters that, every time I listen to them, give me goosebumps..
Stone foundations and prophecy. it's a mix of emotions between choirs and orchestra!

[LGeist110]

@JBacal said:

Hi Retni,

Thank you for listening and commenting.

I would love to do a Howard Shore Lord of the Rings piece if I can ever get my hands on an accurate score.

As for the solo cello being a "bad" player, my conception was that the solo cello was attempting to portray a drunk pirate and not a virtuoso cellist. 😄

Best wishes,

Jay

@Retni said:

Hi JBacal.

Listening to that solo cello, it seems like listening to the "bad" player of the entire orchestration, according to my conception in listening to classical music and soundtracks, the "bad" player has always been OBOE... Not having that VSL preset library , I took the Tina Guo cello plugin off the counter to replace it...

I take this opportunity to ask you, if you will have the opportunity to publish some Howard Shore Lord of the Rings Mockups in the future? There are two chapters that, every time I listen to them, give me goosebumps..
Stone foundations and prophecy. it's a mix of emotions between choirs and orchestra!

Jay, here you go: all scores I have from The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps that helps.
<Moderator Edit>Removed the link in this and subsequent posts<Moderator Edit>

[JBacal]

@LGeist110 said:

@JBacal said:

Hi Retni,

Thank you for listening and commenting.

I would love to do a Howard Shore Lord of the Rings piece if I can ever get my hands on an accurate score.

As for the solo cello being a "bad" player, my conception was that the solo cello was attempting to portray a drunk pirate and not a virtuoso cellist. 😄

Best wishes,

Jay

@Retni said:

Hi JBacal.

Listening to that solo cello, it seems like listening to the "bad" player of the entire orchestration, according to my conception in listening to classical music and soundtracks, the "bad" player has always been OBOE... Not having that VSL preset library , I took the Tina Guo cello plugin off the counter to replace it...

I take this opportunity to ask you, if you will have the opportunity to publish some Howard Shore Lord of the Rings Mockups in the future? There are two chapters that, every time I listen to them, give me goosebumps..
Stone foundations and prophecy. it's a mix of emotions between choirs and orchestra!

Jay, here you go: all scores I have from The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps that helps.

Cool! Thank you very much!

[LGeist110]

@JBacal said:

@LGeist110 said:

@JBacal said:

Hi Retni,

Thank you for listening and commenting.

I would love to do a Howard Shore Lord of the Rings piece if I can ever get my hands on an accurate score.

As for the solo cello being a "bad" player, my conception was that the solo cello was attempting to portray a drunk pirate and not a virtuoso cellist. 😄

Best wishes,

Jay

@Retni said:

Hi JBacal.

Listening to that solo cello, it seems like listening to the "bad" player of the entire orchestration, according to my conception in listening to classical music and soundtracks, the "bad" player has always been OBOE... Not having that VSL preset library , I took the Tina Guo cello plugin off the counter to replace it...

I take this opportunity to ask you, if you will have the opportunity to publish some Howard Shore Lord of the Rings Mockups in the future? There are two chapters that, every time I listen to them, give me goosebumps..
Stone foundations and prophecy. it's a mix of emotions between choirs and orchestra!

Jay, here you go: all scores I have from The Lord of the Rings. Perhaps that helps.

Cool! Thank you very much!

You‘re welcome!

[Andreas8420]

We'd be thrilled to hear mock-up renditions of this piece from you and others in the community, @William! 🙂 Everyone is welcome to post here in our forum!

[LAJ]

Hi Jay,

well done. Thank you for your Inspiration. And Great that you like the Master Hans Zimmer, who not only creates the most innovative music but also is responsible for some great VSTs outthere. I also read that he invested in the BBC Studios … for 10 Mio. !! WOW.

BTW: VSL … I appreciate and use the Ignore-function too 😊 … thanks Ben!