Geoff Smith (born 1961) is a musical performer and composer from

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was previously a member of the group Attacco Decente. He was a pupil at

Varndean College Varndean College is a sixth form college in Brighton and Hove that serves the needs of sixth form students and adults. Location Varndean College is on Surrenden Road, in the northern part of Brighton. It shares the Surrenden campus with Balfou ...

from 1974. Smith is considered to be one of the world's leading players of the

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-string instrument which consists of String (music), strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board (music), sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set bef ...

. In performance, he plays three custom-built prototype dulcimers sequentially -

diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair ...

chromatic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are used to characterize scales. The terms are also applied to musical instruments, intervals, chords, notes, musical styles, and kinds of harmony. They are very often used as a pair, es ...

and a

microtonal Microtonality is the use in music of microtones — intervals smaller than a semitone, also called "microintervals". It may also be extended to include any music using intervals not found in the customary Western tuning of twelve equal interv ...

model featuring '

fluid tuning In physics, a fluid is a liquid, gas, or other material that may continuously move and deform (''flow'') under an applied shear stress, or external force. They have zero shear modulus, or, in simpler terms, are substances which cannot resist ...

', i.e. such that individual notes may be tuned at (by) precise

intervals. Smith has also designed a revolutionary new addition to the piano - the microtonal tuning mechanism. This innovation enables the use of

on the piano. Therefore, a diversity of bespoke tuning layouts can be explored and created separately for each composition, in contrast to the instrument being creatively limited to 'fixed tuning' and therefore the culturally predominant western

octave In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...

. Smith's compositions include music for film and dance. His first major solo work was a new soundtrack to

Robert Wiene Robert Wiene (; 27 April 1873 – 17 July 1938) was a German film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer, active during the Silent film, silent era. He is widely-known for directing the landmark 1920 film ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ...

's classic German silent expressionist film ''The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari''. He has performed this soundtrack as a live accompaniment to the film on many occasions. His next project was a new soundtrack to FW Murnau's film ''Faust'', followed by a new soundtrack to

Benjamin Christensen Benjamin Christensen (28 September 1879 – 2 April 1959) was a Danish film director, screenwriter and an actor, both in film and on the stage. As a director, he was best known for his 1922 film '' Häxan'' (aka ''Witchcraft Through the Ages'') ...

's 1922 silent film ''

Häxan ''Häxan'' (, ''The Witch''; ''Heksen'' , ''The Witch''; English: ''The Witches''; released in the US in 1968 as ''Witchcraft Through the Ages'') is a 1922 Swedish-Danish silent horror essay film written and directed by Benjamin Christense ...

''.Preview
''Independent'', 11 April 2007. Smith's soundtrack was included on a DVD of ''Häxan'' released in 2007 by

Tartan Films Palisades Tartan is a film distribution company with headquarters in both the United Kingdom and the United States. It was established by the Palisades Media Group following the collapse of Tartan Films in the summer of 2008. Palisades Tartan ac ...

. Smith's next film music project was a new score for the oldest surviving animated feature film,

Lotte Reiniger Charlotte "Lotte" Reiniger (2 June 1899 – 19 June 1981) was a German film director and the foremost pioneer of silhouette animation. Her best known films are ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'', from 1926, the oldest surviving feature-length a ...

's ''

The Adventures of Prince Achmed ''The Adventures of Prince Achmed'' () is a 1926 German animated fairytale film, written and directed by Lotte Reiniger. Since two earlier Quirino Cristiani films are lost, it is the oldest surviving animated feature film. The plot is based on ...

'' (1926). Smith premiered the score in 2008. Smith has also composed music (''Salome'') for the Japanese dancer Shakti.

Discography

*''Ferocious Tenderness'' (Animato, CD) *''Salome'' (Animato, CD) *''The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari'' (Animato, CD)

References

External links

Geoff Smith (official site)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Geoff 1961 births Living people British hammered dulcimer players Musicians from Brighton and Hove