Who composes the popular synthesizer new-age like christmas theme that
has sounds of bells mixed in that has been used countlessly for
several Verizon Wireless christmas commercials (I believe 2001 was the
year where this commercial was widely implemented)?  It is also used
for Dillard's Themes of Christmas CD, AMC's commercial spot for "AMC
20 Entertainment Holiday Movies", an Ashley Furniture Homestore
commercial spot, and a coffee machine.

This seems like a widely used song and its "new age" in genre with all
synthesizer/bells and no voice.

How can I purchase a copy of this music (composer/song title)?  Thanks.

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 24 Dec 2004 01:46 PST

Is this the theme that you have in mind?
http://www.mfiles.org.uk/downloads/sugar-plum-fairy.mp3

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 24 Dec 2004 03:59 PST

I notice that the link I provided above doesn't seem to work.

Here's a different one...
http://www.wildwooddistribution.com/series/christmas/media/the_nutcracker/20-dance_with_the_sugar_plum_fairy.mp3

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Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 24 Dec 2004 03:59 PST

Let me know if this is the tune you've heard.

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Clarification of Question by graupel-ga on 24 Dec 2004 11:29 PST

Nope.. that is not it.

It's a different theme and it's very "new-age" ish. It sounds like it
has a lot of keyboard synthesizer in itand it was used heavily on
Verizon Wireless holiday commercails during the year 2001 I think.

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Clarification of Question by graupel-ga on 24 Dec 2004 15:08 PST

To further clarify..

The tune is grouped into two melodies (called ABA form).

The first section (A) begins with a hint of bells and synthesizer
keyboard tunes.. which then transitions into the (B) section which has
full-fleged synthesizer-like sounds.. and then progresses back to A
with a slightly different pitch.

It seems to be appearing on more and more commercials.. at first I
thought it was composed solely for Verizon Wireless.. but it seems
like it isn't.  I first heard it on the Verizon Wireless holiday
commercials.

It's a unique theme on its own, having not recognized it or heard it
anywhere before I first heard it on Verizon's christmas holiday
commercial music.

Hope this helps. And thank you for helping me like this. I've been
looking for this song forever and I hope that we can come up with
something :).

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Clarification of Question by graupel-ga on 28 Dec 2004 21:39 PST

Let me know if you need any further clarification about the
instruments or tunes in this song.  One more thing I want to add..
this year's verizon commercials don't have that christmas theme on
it.. but I believe that it was either December 2001 or 2002 that was
playing this song.

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 29 Dec 2004 06:09 PST

graupel --

Do you remember any snippets from the melody of the song? Seven or
eight consecutive notes, at least, would be nice, but anything is
better than nothing.  If so, are you able to post those notes here
with their letter designations in a C scale, with a space at the end
of a phrase?  For example, the first 11 notes of Silent Night are:

G A G E   G A G E  D D B


markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by graupel-ga on 29 Dec 2004 18:21 PST

Hm.. I don't know how to read musical notation but I will attempt to
explain it using a scale of A-H (ignore all rules about notes.. I'm
just making this up to try to explain the melody), with A being the
highest in melody and G being the lowest. If the letter has a + next
to it, it is one step higher than the main note (B+ = one pitch higher
than the B note). If it has a - next to it, it has a lower pitch/sound
than the main note, but still considered part of that main note. It
goes somewhat like this:

First section with synthesizer and a hint of bells:
[A B A B-, C A B A B+, A B A B, A B C D E F G H, A B A B-, C A B A B+,
A B A B-, A B C D E F G H] transitions to:

Main Section: meter is "slow" so the tunes carry over more than the first section:
[A B C C+ D E E D C D E D C... A B C C+ D E E C+ B B+ A.. <sound of
quick drums>] transitions back to first section with a higher scale
(same tone but higher notes)

To clarify.. the main section is played slower than the first and last
sections.. so the synthesizer in the main section really sticks out.
The sound of the synthesizer tune itself sounds like a really long
bell sound.. almost like a synth pad tune you would find on an
electric keyboard. It's hard to describe.

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Request for Question Clarification by markj-ga on 30 Dec 2004 08:22 PST

graupel --

Thanks for the code.  I can use it to invent lots of nice melodies,
but nothing so far that "rings a bell" with me.

I am still hopeful that I can make something recognizable out of your
melody clues, but if the tune was composed solely for ad campaigns,
I'm not optimistic that I can find your answer. I have already
searched to no avail at the ASCAP and BMI websites for clues as to a
composer.  Another approach might be to find a source at Verizon or
its ad agency, but that involves a "needle in a haystack" problem.


Here's a couple more questions for you:

1.  Did the Dillard's and AMC campaigns use the same arrangement of
the song as Verizon?

2.  Did the Dillard's and AMC campaigns run in this holiday season?

markj-ga

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Clarification of Question by graupel-ga on 30 Dec 2004 18:35 PST

They did run in this holiday season (both the Dillards, AMC, and
Ashley Furniture Homestore campaigns).

It DID have a slight modification to the music, but not by very much. 
It was not exactly the same as verizon though.

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Clarification of Question by graupel-ga on 30 Dec 2004 18:39 PST

Same song though.. just a slightly "cut" melody for the duration of
Dillard's and AMC's ad campaign.

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Clarification of Question by graupel-ga on 01 Jan 2005 21:33 PST

Would you know of some sources at Verizon who might know this song? I
once contacted verizon and they told me that it was made specifically
for their advertisement, but I got the feeling whoever wrote me didn't
know what theme I was referring to.. since it has appeared on the
other ads that I spoke of (AMC, Ashley Furniture Homestore, Coffee
machine ad)

Thanks for your latest clarification.

I will give some more thought to the idea of a Verizon contact.  The
obvious problem there is that it is a huge compnay in a very
competitive (cell phone) industry that runs lots and lots (and lots)
of ads.

I have an email out to AMC on the theory that the organization is not
as huge as Verizon, so I might have a better chance of an informed
response, if only because their use of the song was very recent.

markj-ga

I, too, would very much like to know the answer to this question.

With that said, "http://www.adcritic.com/search/?q=verizon" looks like
a great potential source for the answer. They show this as the
"Verizon Holiday Ad," but AdCritic charges for information from its
site. Go figure. Nothing easy about this search.

"http://www.songtitle.info/" might soon have the information, but
we'll have to wait.

I'll keep searching. We'll have an answer sometime soon.

-W

So you've heard what I am talking about before?

On a flip note.. I got a response back from AMC about a possible song
used on their commercial spot.. and it was Joy Zipper's "christmas
theme".

That song is definately not it.. not even close.  This theme doesn't
have any singing in it.. it's actually quite "new-agey" sort of like
space music just more christmas-oriented.  I sent them a response
E-mail about some other possibilities.

graupel --

I got the same note back from AMC and didn't even bother reporting it
to you, because it was so obviously wrong.  I wrote them back, but I
am not hopeful of an informed response, but we'll see.


markj-ga

Just to clarify, this is also the opening credits for the Spongebob
episode entitled "Snow Ball Effect."

This tune has a distinct "easy listening" quality like Walter
Schumann's "Holiday for Strings."

We could also check with Nickelodeon or the production group that
produces SpongeBob. The show always has the best incidental music.

-W

I wonder if there is any kind of sound clip anywhere with that spongebob theme on it

I have the music saved as a clip already. If I can post it or send it
to someone for identification, that'd be great.

-W

You could make an FTP server for yourself and post the clip there.  I
would like to hear it somehow just to be sure that it's the one I am
talking about.

Graupel,

If you have an email address you feel comfortable sharing (hotmail or
similar), I can send you a link to the file.

I'm checking with two other boards now for an answer, but haven't had
any response yet.

So, Graupel, if I come up with the answer, do you pay Google anyway?

Wanderley,

The theme you sent me sounds VERY close but it isn't the right one.

The intro of the commercial sounds a lot like the bells in it.. but it
transitions into a very new age "spacy" christmas-like theme of
synthesizer pads. It's slower than the intro.  It's possible that it
could be a part of the song that I haven't heard as the ad campaigns
tend to cut down songs into their most interesting part.

Hmm..
I'd say our best bet right now is somehow getting ahold of someone at
Verizon, Ashley Furniture Homestore, or AMC who would actually know
what it is and give us an answer.

BTW.. can I repost the question if this expires?  Is there any way to
renew the question.. maybe for a higher price so it gets researched
longer?

Is there any way to extend the expiration date or renew the question
so it can be "out in the air" longer?