Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535880
22 M PS E . O R G BY STEVE LEE t would be hard to find someone who hasn't heard the work of Jimmy Macdonald. Whether in a Disney animated short, a feature film, or on a trip to a Disney park. For more than 50 years, Jimmy created sound effects that became an integral part of the studio's magic. James Macdonald (yes, with a small "d") was born in Dundee, Scotland, on May 19, 1906. His family emigrated to the United States when he was just a month old, settling in Pennsylvania. He studied engineering through correspondence courses and initially worked for the Burbank Engineering Department after moving to California in 1927. But after injuring himself in a fall down an uncovered manhole, he shifted focus to his musical talents. While playing drums and percussion with a band for the Dollar Steamship Lines in 1934, he was called to Disney Studios to record music for a Mickey Mouse cartoon. His impeccable timing and skill earned him a permanent position—and the chance to form Disney's first official Sound Effects Department, which he led for nearly three decades. His musical training led to a pioneering approach … creating sound effects "sheet music," notated on a music staff to represent each sound and its duration. Jimmy would perform these effects by counting beats, in perfect sync with the projected image—just like a musician reading a score. Although the Disney Sound Effects Library drew on real-world recordings, perhaps the most unique aspect of Macdonald's work was the invention of hundreds of handmade gadgets and props used to create—and perform—sound effects. His contraptions could mimic everything from a passing train to a buzzing mosquito. One memorable device featured wheels mounted on a track, spun with a hand crank to produce a rhythmic "clackety- clack"—a perfect caricature of a train. It's heard prominently in Dumbo as Casey Junior rolls down the tracks and was also featured in a staged behind-the-scenes sequence of The Reluctant Dragon. Jimmy had several castanets he used for iconic moments—like the tick-tock of the crocodile in Peter Pan, and the snapping jaws of Maleficent's dragon form in Sleeping Beauty (recorded in the studio's echo chamber). He also salvaged old auto brake drums from junkyards, cleaning and tuning them to create 13 chromatic notes. "They were three inches thick with grease, sand, mud…" he recalled in a television interview. "I had them F ROM TH E VAU LT O F TH E H O L LY WOO D SOU N D M U S E U M Disney Sound Effects Legend: JIMMY MACDONALD I