How I Programmed the Theremin Sound On Michael Jackson's Thriller
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Published 2023-05-20
In this series Anthony breaks down some of the most icons synthesizer patches that he programmed for Michael Jackson’s Thriller
Anthony's musical touch as both composer and performer is connected with some of the most influential creative minds over the last 40 years. He’s composed and conducted original orchestral scores for over 80 feature films including Young Guns, Internal Affairs, The Man From Elysian Fields, 15 Minutes and Planes, Trains & Automobiles, been commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for his symphonic work "In the Family Way", written over one thousand TV commercials in a myriad of musical styles, co-founded Levels Audio Post (LA's premiere post production facility) and performed and arranged on big-box-office films and influential hit records such as Michael Jackson's Thriller.
His extensive work as a young arranger, orchestrator and performer for Quincy Jones, Jack Nitzsche, Lamont Dozier, Arthur Rubenstein and Giorgio Moroder was vital in launching his own career. His early years pioneering modular analog synthesizers along with his wide-ranging music scholarship positioned Anthony at the center of the music technology revolution. He attended the University of Southern California School of Music as a piano and composition major.
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All Comments (21)
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Wow I never realised how important the ARP 2600 was in the creation of this song. I'm a primary school music teacher and tried to recreate the song myself a couple years ago for my students. Wish I had these videos then lol. Always assumed it was a real Theremin and that the bass was a mini-moog. This series is blowing my mind. Thank you.
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You've been killing it with the uploads lately! I hope your channel grows. So many people are interested in this.
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Next video: "How the Synth Bass on Billie Jean was made" please
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Background stories on how iconic music was made and shared technical knowledge about synths is a double win. Loving your channel, Anthony. Best of luck!
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Much love from Burundi 🇧🇮. You’re just a genius
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Anthony, thank you so much for opening your amazing history book and be the natural teacher you seem to be. Your love and dedication are palpable!
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Another brilliant upload 👏 It seems like the ARP 2600 was your favourite synth a really versatile Synth The Thermin you explained had to controls a horizontal metal loop on the left and an "Vertical Antenna " ...attached to a box similar to a record player...the loop on the left controlled volume, and the vertical antenna would control pitch brilliant video
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I hadn't heard of a theremin until seeing one pop up on my feed a few years ago. That sound was used on MJ's "Off The Wall" intro also. I absolutely LOVE this channel!
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This Channel & "Stories in the Room" are 100% Priceless ...
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Loving these historical deep dives. Thank you so much for demonstrating the patches on the Arp 2600. Loving recreating them on my mini 2600! More famous Arp 2600 sounds from famous songs would be fantastic!
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Anthony, your sound has been a HUGE inspiration on my life. Your secrets unveiled to me is like gold. LOVE YOU!
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What an incredible privilege it must have been to be a part of such a talented team making that album! The atmosphere of creativity must have been so exciting.
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Wow. I always figured it was an actual theremin. A student at my recording school had downloaded the thriller stems and the part was labeled as a theremin. These videos are so cool. Thanks for sharing.
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I could listen to you all day. I love your work and you are such a kind man. Greets from Germany
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This is amazing to listen to a legend explain the odds and ends of one of the most iconic songs in history !!! 👏🏾
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Ah man, I love to watch this. Keep those video's coming Mr. Marinelli. There's no better way than starting my Sunday morning breakfast and watching your video's.
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Thanx for those wonderful videos! Do you remember a bit more on how all those synths were mixed? 25y ago I asked Bruce, but he said he couldn’t remember all the details about which reverb was on the synths. He told me that he had H910, Ecoplate, L224 and EMT250 around. What were the chorus FX, CE1 pedals?
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Thank you for walking through these step by step. It's great to see as a synth enthusiast how things are done on an actual HUGE album and from a historical perspective.
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This is awesome to see! Thank you for making these videos!
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So cool to see how many people worked to make a record happen back then, and now a days, if a producer used a sample made by 3 other producers, labels don’t want to be bothered with all the extra paperwork….
