SHORT TAKES : Composer Decries State of Art

Allyn Ferguson, veteran composer of movie scores, laments the low estate of background music in films and TV these days.

“The arrival of rock ‘n’ roll changed the entire industry,” he said in an interview. “The technology of amplification, keyboard instruments and synthesizers is such that young musicians don’t have to go anywhere to learn their craft.

“Operation of the machines has become so important that it overwhelms the music itself. So a group of musicians sit down and behave as though they’re making music, written and performed by people who can’t write or read music.

“Today, some film scores are recorded without a written note involved. The screen credits sometimes don’t use the term written for a score--it reads ‘performed by’ or ‘realized by.’ ”