Silent film companion
A silent film companion is a person who adds music to a silent film by making music while the film is being shown - in keeping with the film. Often this is done through the use of a piano . Silent film companions accompanied the performances with music from the beginning (1895 - the birth of the cinema ). Silent film companions do not always have scores for the silent film. The pianist has to improvise over and over again and every film sounds a little different every day.
Frequently mentioned reasons for using accompanying music for silent films were to drown out the noise of the projection machines and to compensate for the unwanted silence of the moving images.
Today's silent film companion:
Today, silent film companions are booked for individual events and festivals. There they accompany films or performances.
Well-known companions of silent films today are:
Neil Brand
Günter Buchwald
Stephen Horne