Delia didn't compose the melody to the Dr. Who theme, but she arranged it for electronic "instruments"--at that time a motley assortment of screeching machines not designed for making music. She translated staid sheet music into an otherworldly sound, & making it iconic, ethereal

For comparison: Here's what it sounds like played on a traditional instrument-piano: https://youtu.be/tS7E1daboxU



Here's what it sounded like when she got done with it: https://youtu.be/75V4ClJZME4

If you'd like to learn more about Delia Derbyshire, check out this documentary about her and the historical context in which she created her arresting sounds--the period when tv really began to come into its own as a medium: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nXnmSgaeGAI&feature=youtu.be …

If you're hungry for more, here's a longer audio documentary all about her life and work--Delia Derbyshire, Sculptress of Sound: https://youtu.be/W0OGeEgwKNs

Ah darn, just saw I mistyped her last name in the first tweet--it's Derbyshire, not Darbyshire. Oh well, I can't delete it without wrecking the thread; I'm sure folks will figure it out ;)

And one more thing you might be interested to know: The original producer of Doctor Who was also a woman. In fact, the only woman producer at the BBC at the time (1963). Her name was Verity Lambert, and she went on to have a long career in TV & film: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/media/2007/nov/23/television1 …

<puts on historian hat>

These examples just go to show, again, how women are often pioneers in fields before those fields become seen as important/lucrative. Electronic music, sci fi TV shows... neither were considered high prestige at the time--they were new and weird.

The reason this is important is because it reminds us that women are often on the cutting edge of tech and media--before they get pushed out as those "edges" become mainstream, and male-dominated.

A lot of times these women become forgotten or submerged, so it's important to remind ourselves periodically what pioneers look like: very often they don't look like what we might expect or what we have been led to believe.



</historian hat>

“People seem to think I’m just working with funny noises, that it isn’t quite serious or something," Delia told the @guardian in 1970. By then, she was running the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in all but name. #electronicmusic #WomenInMusic #WomenInSTEM https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/sep/03/radiophonic-workshop-delia-derbyshire-interview-1970 …

Nonetheless, "despite her talent Delia failed to gain widespread recognition during her lifetime, eventually becoming disillusioned with the industry" & going to work as a radio operator in a remote area of England, & then eventually in a bookshop in Northampton. #WomenInSTEM

Read more about her life before and after her time as an electronic music pioneer in this article discussing her posthumously-awarded PhD from her hometown university--Coventry (though she went to Cambridge). She died at 64 in 2001: https://amp.theguardian.com/music/2017/nov/20/delia-derbyshire-doctor-who-theme-co-creator-posthumous-phd … ht to @srowett for link

One of the most fascinating things this article points out is how her musical sensibilities were shaped by the sounds of war: "Born in Coventry in 1937, Derbyshire’s unique sonic palette was shaped by sounds of the Blitz and the air raid sirens that surrounded her as a child."

You can follow @proginequality.

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