Basic Maths: Soundtrack From The 1981 Series - Ron Geesin

Wow! So you’re telling me Ron Geesin made this kooky electro groovy score to a
really progressive maths educajonal programme on Central TV in 1980 and it’s
musically anarchic and amazing and it’s never been issued before? Until now. Wow
again!!!! And there’s 30 tracks!!! Trunk Records we love you...

Basic Maths was the second educational TV Series for the Midlands-based ITV station
for which I composed, played and recorded all music and noises. The first series, also
for budding mathematicians in the 7-10 age group, was Leapfrog in 1978 produced by
ATV (Associated Television): Basic Maths was for the newly-formed Central Television,
the work spanning 1980-1981; both series were of twenty-eight parts.

The most worthy idea for both of these series was to project mathematics into life by
means mainly of non-verbal sound and vision, with both animated and live acjon
films, linked by two presenters, Fred Harris and Mary Waterhouse. In my role as
Media Composer, I had had quite enough of voice overs, therefore music well under,
so this fairly radical educational approach at the time encouraged my creative juices
to run unhindered. Of course the sound had to do something with the picture and

not just use it as a carrier for peacock display. It had to duet, play with and explain
the visual content using novel and engaging techniques, so this involved the usual
and sometimes intricate mathematical calculations which constantly exercised my
already reasonable school maths.