Face the Music

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The most memorable round was the '''Dummy Keyboard''' where Cooper played on a silent piano and our celebs were challenged to identify the piece of music merely from the hand movements of the host playing the rattling keys. Cooper reported in his autobiography that when people couldn't remember his name, they would often refer to him as "Mr. Dummy Keyboard". Other rounds included '''Funny Opera''' in which visual footage of one opera was played along with audio from another, the panellists having to identify both, and '''Hidden Melody''', a showcase for Joseph Cooper's improvisational skills as he performed a famous piece in the style of another composer.  
The most memorable round was the '''Dummy Keyboard''' where Cooper played on a silent piano and our celebs were challenged to identify the piece of music merely from the hand movements of the host playing the rattling keys. Cooper reported in his autobiography that when people couldn't remember his name, they would often refer to him as "Mr. Dummy Keyboard". Other rounds included '''Funny Opera''' in which visual footage of one opera was played along with audio from another, the panellists having to identify both, and '''Hidden Melody''', a showcase for Joseph Cooper's improvisational skills as he performed a famous piece in the style of another composer.  
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<div class="video"><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jbjHRwWRnHQ&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jbjHRwWRnHQ&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>''Let's face the music... and sit''</div>
[[David Attenborough]], [[Patrick Moore]], Richard Baker, Bernard Levin, Michael Bentine, Joyce Grenfell and [[Robin Ray]] were regulars.
[[David Attenborough]], [[Patrick Moore]], Richard Baker, Bernard Levin, Michael Bentine, Joyce Grenfell and [[Robin Ray]] were regulars.

Revision as of 23:12, 26 May 2009

Contents

Host

Joseph Cooper (1966-84)

John Sergeant (2007)

Broadcast

BBC2 / BBC1, pilot 26 December 1966, series 3 August 1967 to 1 September 1979, 3 April 1983 to 16 December 1984

BBC4, 1 July 2007

Synopsis

Gentle classical music based quiz, an adpatation for TV of the radio format Call the Tune. Three celebrities would try and identify classical music pieces disguised in some way.

About halfway through, a musical guest would be brought in and they faced a set of questions of their own, usually intended to provoke some anecdotes from their own career.

The most memorable round was the Dummy Keyboard where Cooper played on a silent piano and our celebs were challenged to identify the piece of music merely from the hand movements of the host playing the rattling keys. Cooper reported in his autobiography that when people couldn't remember his name, they would often refer to him as "Mr. Dummy Keyboard". Other rounds included Funny Opera in which visual footage of one opera was played along with audio from another, the panellists having to identify both, and Hidden Melody, a showcase for Joseph Cooper's improvisational skills as he performed a famous piece in the style of another composer.

Let's face the music... and sit

David Attenborough, Patrick Moore, Richard Baker, Bernard Levin, Michael Bentine, Joyce Grenfell and Robin Ray were regulars.

The programme returned in 2007 for what the BBC were keen to stress was a pilot episode rather than an intentional one-off, with the dummy keyboard now played in a non-scoring round by one of the contestants.

Inventor

Walter Todds

Trivia

The show was originally produced in London, but moved to Manchester in 1971.

Theme music

The Popular Song from William Walton's Façade suite.

In the 2007 version, a reworking of Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No.1, arranged by Hugo de Chaire.

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