Story Behind The Song

I wrote and sequenced this playful comedy in December of 2012 as an assignment for Composing for Film & TV (Berklee Online, Ben Newhouse). I had never done anything like this before--but Ben was a fabulous teacher and taught us what we needed to know.

Song Description

"The Cockroach" is a playful comedy cue. It was written as practice music to support a cut scene from "Raising Helen." Helen is a young socialite who has inherited the responsibility of raising her sister's orphaned children. In this scene, several of her friends from the city stop by for a visit, bringing gifts--including a designer handbag. In the middle of the visit, a cockroach scampers across the floor. As Helen screams, one of the children kills the cockroach--by smashing it with Helen's new handbag.