The Art of TV Music with Dominic Glynn

Follow Your Curiosity

My guest this week is Dominic Glynn, a prolific composer for film and television. Dominic got his start working on Doctor Who, and has provided music for titles as diverse as Red Dwarf and The Simpsons. Dominic tells me how his career began in the mid-80s as a self-taught musician, how incidental music works, what it’s like to write for an orchestra, and more.

Read this week's article, on why you should make bad art, here.

Want to Reignite Your Creative Spark? Contact me here.

Episode breakdown:

00:00 Introduction.

04:55 Member of band transitioned to solo career.

06:25 In the 80s, got obsessed with affordable synthesizers.

10:22 Confidently sought job with Doctor Who in 1984.

13:24 Affordable technology enabled music production from home.

18:27 Editing music reel with time-coded leader tape.

22:00 Working on music synchronization for VHS episodes.

24:50 Luck played a part in minimal changes.

27:40 Excessive music in TV/films can ruin impact.

30:31 Music can enhance storytelling in low-budget productions.

32:41 Cartoon character's appearance affected by budget constraints.

35:50 Electronic music lover disappointed in orchestral shift.

41:31 Doctor Who's evolution from theater to cinema.

44:00 Creating music similar to popular soundtracks for music libraries.

45:29 Unexpectedly finding music in beloved TV shows.

51:06 Creating music that emulates the 50s-60s hits.

54:24 Composer entrusts scoring to orchestra, marvels at musicians' skill.

Check out the full show notes at fycuriosity.com, and connect with me and fellow creatives on Substack.

Please leave a review for this episode—it’s really easy and will only take a minute.

If you enjoyed our conversation, I hope you’ll share it with a friend.

Want more? Here are handy playlists with all my previous interviews with guests in Doctor Who and music.