Halloween Theme by John Carpenter (Cover)

[@jamescapozzoli6979]

Being a fan of the original work and recently recorded a short version of some of the music you did a stunning cover and rendition of this master piece. Thank you….

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks for your comments! I'd like to do some more Carpenter music at some point.

[@MiraiTracks]

Probably my favorite version of the Halloween Theme (not kidding). Beautiful, beautiful work... So organic. Keep the 70's vibes!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks so much for your comments! I was playing around with Escape From NY a couple nights ago and should probably work on that. But it has so many sounds!

[@harleyjackson3708]

John Carpenter is the only person who has ever made a basic smiley face Jack-O-Lantern seem actually unnerving.

[@TaurusTarkus]

My 27 year old son, who's a big fan of the series, carved that Jack-O-Latern at the end.

[@RubyInferno]

The grand piano is cool enough...but then you throw in the Prophet REV2 for that epic analogue synth magic - this cover has now achieved the "legendary" title. THAT is a cover of all covers for this theme. HOLY S***!!!!! You played it flawlessly too!!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks so much for your comments. I appreciate it!

[@HarryThanesFilmsProduction]

Cant stop watching

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks! Can't get a better comment than that!

[@HarryThanesFilmsProduction]

@@TaurusTarkus np man!

[@piff_badazz]

I don’t think people realize how hard this theme actually is no other horror theme will ever be as iconic

[@TaurusTarkus]

It is surprisingly easy to mess up. Truly iconic.

[@eddiezzz100]

Brilliant and very cleverly done!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thank you so much!

[@endparalyze3142]

Best cover ever!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks! That means a lot!

[@eddiezzz100]

watched this a lot and love it.my son who is 12 has learned the main keys.i learned it all starting on a casio pt30.ill keep it going with him till its mastered.this is the best tutorial!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks! I remember playing around with this when I was a teenager, and it's really fun music. I've considered trying to do something else from Halloween, but I guess there's nothing else like it. I did a cover to Unsolved Mysteries that has some similarities.

[@aspenmonaghan6167]

That sounded so good i love it

[@TaurusTarkus]

Many thanks!

[@SuperMarvel1977]

Bravissimo, musicista eccellente!!!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Grazie!!

[@ah-hx2uc]

Friggin excellent

[@TaurusTarkus]

Many thanks!

[@FeFiFoFumist]

My God! You are one amazing guy.

[@TaurusTarkus]

That's very kind of you.

[@andrewgarner734]

Another awsome cover,!!!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks! Easier than most but still very fun!

[@eddiezzz100]

i'll need to post my version.not so good but to join you in our love for the theme.ive watched this a lot.makes my day.got myself a montage 7,access virus ti.not including my gigging boards.

[@TaurusTarkus]

The Montage is so powerful; I use the included Cubase as my DAW and the audio in to record my other instruments. I so love the touch of the Access Virus keyboard! I wish that keyboard/keybed was an option on other keyboards.

[@eddiezzz100]

@@TaurusTarkus I don't use daw. I've montage, access virus ti, yamaha mox6, moxf8. Love yamaha

[@TaurusTarkus]

@@eddiezzz100 Yamaha is great. I had a DX7 back in the 1980's and had the S70/XS that you see sitting on the Hammond until fairly recently. Now it lives at my brother's house.

[@thehorrorvoid]

Awesome cover! Is there a download file for this theme?

[@TaurusTarkus]

Many thanks! I think there are ways to download from KZbin, but I'm really not sure.

[@danielealaimo5478]

Bravo! Chapeau.

[@TaurusTarkus]

Many thanks. Merci!

[@ElioDeAngelis-76-]

perfect

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks!

[@roberthaynes8830]

Wonderful. Played very well. So close to the original too.

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks! I sometimes think about playing something else from this soundtrack.

[@tremore100]

bravo!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks!

great job!keep rockin

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks!

[@marcusn1504]

Beautiful! I'm impressed that you manage to play the sequences without making a single error. I am a great John Carpenter fan, especially The Thing (although its soundtrack is not that interesting, despite being composed by Ennio Morricone).

[@TaurusTarkus]

Fortunately, I don't have to share my first take! Although, this one wasn't difficult given that I've been playing it for a long time. I've always loved this soundtrack and also love John Carpenter's Escape From New York soundtrack. I just realized that I can't remember seeing The Thing; I shall have to remedy that. I do have the soundtrack, since I have so many by Ennio Morricone. Yes~ Not one of my favorites by him, but I can't say anything bad about Morricone. Thanks!

[@marcusn1504]

@@TaurusTarkus Yes, I completely forgot about Escape from New York! There are some very nice covers of the main theme here on yt. You should definitely see The Thing. What makes it so great are the analogue special effects. You won't believe your eyes. I agree with you on Mr Morricone, he was such a versatile composer.

[@TaurusTarkus]

@@marcusn1504 I had thought about covering some more Morricone, but I think perhaps his fans are looking more for versions with traditional instruments. I would also enjoy doing Escape from New York, but as you say, there are numerous versions already.

[@Tangomangomanofficial]

It sounded just like the theme you did a good job

[@TaurusTarkus]

Many thanks!

[@MyNerfArsenal]

He was first being taught by his father, yet he unintentinally made a "little riff" which turned out being the sound of horror

[@TaurusTarkus]

Interesting; I hadn't heard that story. Is there any more that you can add?

[@MyNerfArsenal]

@@TaurusTarkus he was a young lad, his father was teaching him 5/4 time on the piano, when he sat down, he came up with a "little riff" yet unintentionally creating the sound of horror, The Halloween Theme

[@TaurusTarkus]

​@@MyNerfArsenal So he actually came up with the riff as a little kid? I had never heard that before. Interesting!

[@MyNerfArsenal]

@@TaurusTarkus he came up with it when he was 13 in 1961, then he completed the entire soundtrack in the NEXT THREE DAYS!

[@TaurusTarkus]

@@MyNerfArsenal Wow- Can you point me to the interview?

[@Tubeinnit]

Very cool 🎃👍

[@TaurusTarkus]

Many thanks!

[@ghostmysteries971]

Very good, it seems you got all the notes down good.

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks!

[@GraysOuttaContext]

Hey I’ve seen you before!

[@ghostmysteries971]

@@GraysOuttaContext Who are you referring to, me or someone else?

[@bradellebrecht5507]

Sounds good!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks!

[@TrentonWade]

Awesome job

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks!

[@MrHarrySkywalker]

So haunting, i love it!! Am I allowed to use your cover in my upcoming Halloween fanproject? Of course, I will credit you in the description with a link to your channel and in the video itself? Keep up the great work!!!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks! That sounds good. Yes, haunting is what I was going for!

[@MrHarrySkywalker]

@@TaurusTarkus thank you!!

[@musiomusic]

Great cover!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Many thanks!

[@knoxfilms6787]

Nailed it 🎃🔪

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks!

[@chuckmarble2365]

Nicely done! This John Carpenter track is iconic. One might say it's a "killer" composition (pun intended)! Q) Were any of the parts in this video pre-recorded then synched along with your live performance, or were all the parts in this video performed live? Re; I can see that you're playing the individual string pad notes in the final section on the Prophet, but I'm not seeing where the string pads in the middle section (1:18 - 1:40) are coming from. (It looks like you're playing the bass synth parts during that section on the Yamaha, but I'm not seeing how the strings in that section are being performed.) Thanks in advance. And once again, nice job!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks Chuck! You are correct. Most of my videos are live or close to live, but I did some overdubbing on this one. All of the strings are coming from the Prophets, which has better analog strings than the Yamaha. I could have come up with a slightly more live way to do it... such as having the Yamaha control the Prophet Module, which you can only slightly see sitting on the mixer. But I was already playing with a sequenced part (which I recorded first), and so it was never going to be completely live. I normally control the Prophet Rev2 Module via MIDI with the Prophet Rev2 and then pan one mostly left and the other mostly right. This creates a true stereo field and makes a huge difference with most sounds. I did a video recently talking about this, which you can find at the end of my Blade Runner End Titles video, as I'm talking specifically about that video, which includes a similar string sound. So I could have come up with a slightly more live version of Halloween, but it wouldn't have sounded as good. I did a completely live recording of Halloween several years ago with the Yamaha S70/XS that is sitting on the Hammond (which now lives at my brother's house). I literally played the shaker part with my left hand and got the bass drum by tapping my foot on a mic that was laying on the floor. I then used two volume pedals to bring the string sounds in and out. (In my Inferno video, I included a little video cut away so that you can see how volume pedals can be used to bring parts in and out.) But of course, that Halloween recording didn't sound as good... for example, I couldn't player the fast shaker part as fast, and I couldn't play it at all with the bass parts. :)

[@TerryWickham]

Would love to talk to you about using this excellent rendition in the next episode of my KZbin Show.

[@TaurusTarkus]

Hi Terry. That's fine with me. I just want people to see the videos and enjoy the music, so anything you can do to point people toward the channel would be appreciated.

[@FASprayPod]

Hi Taurus! This is superb. Would love to feature this in a podcast we are recording next week on the Halloween films as a way to spice up the show, with your permission. Of course full credit and a link back to your channel will be available.

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks. That sounds good. Best wishes.

[@roshowfilms6484]

Could I use this in my Halloween video review special this year? It sounds like just what I'm looking for, everything about it sounds excellent, I will of course give credit in the video.

[@TaurusTarkus]

Sorry for the delay; I've been traveling. Yes; no problem on using it. Please point people to my channel if possible.

[@roshowfilms6484]

@@TaurusTarkus will do 👍

[@sorcerykid]

LOL! I think you may have just outdone the original. Amazon should probably dub your cover over the opening credits on all their Halloween movies. Happy Halloween!

[@TaurusTarkus]

Haha! I was mostly trying to cover the original, but I really love some of what was added in the later films too. So I sort of blended them together. Thanks for your comments.

[@alexmartinezmartinez3067]

No existes rola 80-90 q inspire este terror igual X files ....

[@Terror_Kiara-1]

👏👏👏👏👏👏♥😍😘👍

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thank you so much!

[@Terror_Kiara-1]

Oi ❤♥😍😘👍

[@TaurusTarkus]

👍🏻

[@Terror_Kiara-1]

♥♥😘👍

[@Terror_Kiara-1]

Lol ♥

[@harleyjackson3708]

The notes sound just a little uneven. Gives it that "On the spot" feeling that the original soundtrack had. It sounded that way because Carpenter really DID record the soundtrack on the fly, too. The first cut had no music and studios seemed unimpressed. So he showed up to a pitch with a keyboard one day.

[@TaurusTarkus]

I loved reading that the initial edit of the movie wasn't especially scary, and so John Carpenter decided to save it with the music, which he certainly did!

[@miniaturtrain1698]

The mixer you see what brand / model is it ??? thanks

[@TaurusTarkus]

That’s a Soundcraft EFX 12. It has a lot going for it, including nice effects, although I think on this video all the Reverb is coming from a plug-in called Valhalla VintageVerb.

[@dj2bklyn]

I did a remix of this years ago dance techo

[@TaurusTarkus]

Good music can be done in many styles.

[@dbzdude2002]

Hold up. Two Rev2's?

[@TaurusTarkus]

The Rev2 module is sitting above the mixer, mostly out of the shot. I mostly use them panned hard Left and Right for a deep stereo field, which I have not been able to get any other way. I thought it was a crazy idea too... until I started experimenting and heard the difference.

[@dbzdude2002]

@@TaurusTarkus Makes it sound pretty massive! Very cool

[@TaurusTarkus]

@@dbzdude2002 Many thanks! The Rev2 allows you to easily do hard panning between the two layers, whereas, on its predecessor, the '08 required physically moving cables. It was with the '08 that I realized that it makes an enormous difference. I could probably get by with just one unit now because it is easier to pan, but I became accustomed to being able to have two different patches on the two layers. For example, the strings on this track have a slightly different (warmer) string patch on the second layer, which I have stacked. I then have a similar stack on the other Rev2 unit, but slightly detuned, etc.

[@justinw7323]

You must have spent thousands of dollars on this equipment wow

[@TaurusTarkus]

Priorities... I started saving for my first synthesizer when I was 14 and have never had a new car.

[@Fredsinator]

this ain't a cover haha, It's pretty much the real thing

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks!

[@DaftWullieFeegle]

it's off tune most of the time, but it's stil good

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks

[@DaftWullieFeegle]

Wasn't until now that I remembered the original theme was off tune slightly lol, great job still

[@dj2bklyn]

Gees anyone can do this

[@TaurusTarkus]

Yes; not an especially difficult piece. Pretty fun though.

[@johnryder557]

Is that anton lavey son on the keyboard just kidding yall but it sounds satanic...

[@TaurusTarkus]

Thanks! I've always loved how evil music can sound, and I think keyboards can do an especially good job at getting us there.

[@johnryder557]

​@@TaurusTarkuswell to be honest you did good with this but I seen this movie at 7 years old at the theater with my parents and they took me out on the first 30 minutes or so didn't realize how bad it was in 1977!True story I remember at 7 years old it was very disturbing 😳

[@TaurusTarkus]

@@johnryder557 Wow; I'm glad they took you out! My parents never took me to a single rated R movie. I was probably twenty something before I saw Halloween!

[@gemzappa1764]

Very nice but the beat is too much

[@TaurusTarkus]

The bass drum is too loud? No one has mentioned that before, but I just listened and think you might be right.

[@gemzappa1764]

@@TaurusTarkus In fact I especially think that it would be more interesting without bass drum^^but it s only my thought, i love Carpenter s works and i like your music

[@TaurusTarkus]

​@@gemzappa1764 Less drum would have brought the rest of it up better in the mix. Thanks. I've thought about doing something else by Carpenter. The beginning of Mr. Crowley was getting into that realm. Any suggestions? I thought about Laurie's Theme or maybe Escape From New York.

[@gemzappa1764]

@@TaurusTarkus There are many interesting and pretty themes in escape! I love it.. I try to do the principal theme with my synthé 30 years ago^^

[@A.J.1982]

They all play it wrong….

[@mattlemley3937]

tell me how the fuck thats wrong? its a cover.

[@A.J.1982]

@@mattlemley3937 missing some notes in the bassline

[@mattlemley3937]

@@A.J.1982 alright, upload a vid of you playing it perfectly. because i think this is just fine.

[@A.J.1982]

Not for free

[@mattlemley3937]

@@A.J.1982 yeah see i find myself questioning if you even could. he did it for free. and did it perfectly fine. he may have made some small mistakes but its a hell of alot better then most ppl can do. so unless you yourself can produce that. idk why you're sitting there saying "they all play it wrong" like you're just perfect at it.