MUSIC

UNIT 1

ESO 1

________________________
INDEX

1. Film Music
1. Types of Film Music
2. The role of Music in Film
2. Sound
1. The properties of Sound
2. Noise
3. Silence
3. Music Genres
1. Popular vs. Art Music
2. Religious vs. Secular Music
3. Descriptive vs. Abstract Music
4. Vocal, Instrumental and Vocal-Instrumental Music
4. Noise can also be Music
5. Rhythm
6. Performance
7. Composition
8. Tick-tock, tick-tock
 1. FILM MUSIC

In the introductory video about Zootopia, we saw that a film can include many different pieces
of music. The song “Try Everything” and the music is the chase scene in Zootopia are two
examples of this wide variety. But that is not the main thing that distinguishes film music.
We’re about to discover what is.
A film is an audiovisual narrative where music is combined with dialogues, sound effects, and
of course, images. Each of these elements contributes something to the narrative.

We’re going to compare two scenes from Alfred Hitchock’s film Spellbound, with music by
Miklós Rózsa. Although the action in the two senses is similar, the music is very different
because the narrative context is also different.

In the first scene, the music helps convey the protagonist’s feelings, while, in the second
scene, it generates a sense of tension.

In the previous examples from Spellbound, we saw how important music is in helping to set
the proper context for each scene.

The two scenes from Zootopia that we saw in the introductory video use very different music.
However, the music is vital in both cases to ensure the scene conveys its intended meaning.
 Now watch clips of the two scenes from Zootopia, first with the original music for each
scene and then with the music from the other scene, and note what happens.

In both cases, only the original music manages to set the right narrative context.

The music in Spellbound and Zootopia is very different. However, in both cases, the music
reinforces the narrative context. This is because one of the critical characteristics of film music
is that it is at the service of the narrative.

1.1 Types of Film Music

Although most films include music in more than one scene, music can serve many different
functions within an audiovisual narrative.

Listen to the music in these two scenes from the film As Good as It Gets. Compare how the
music relates to the other elements of audiovisual narration: images, dialogues, and
sound effects.

In the first scene, the music is isolated from the rest of the elements of the audiovisual
narrative. In the second one, the music is fully integrated.
 The different uses of music that you noticed in the two scenes from As Good as It Gets that we
saw earlier are examples of the two types of film music:

Source music: Background music:

Plays in the world the characters inhabit so its Plays in a parallel universe that the characters
appearance is consistent with the story being in the film cannot hear because it is not part
told. In the first scene from As Good as It Gets, of the story being told.
we hear the music when a character starts In the second scene from As Good as It Gets,
playing it in their car. we hear music start playing in the street all of
a sudden, but none of the characters notice
it.

Now watch this scene from the film Walk the Line based on the life of singer Johnny Cash, and
note how the relationship between the images and the music changes.

The scene combines moments when we hear Johnny Cash singing (source music) with other
moments when we see images of his day-to-day life with the same song playing in the
background (the source music becomes background music). Combining background and source
music in a single scene is a highly creative device in cinematic language.
 1. 2 The Role of Music in Film

The various roles played by music may be classified as atmospheric, expressive, or technical.

Atmospheric: provides a
soundscape that sets the
context for the film’s
plot, just as the scenery
and costumes help set the
visual context.

Expressive: conveys
emotions to viewers.

Technical: adds coherence and clarity to the narrative discourse.

 2. SOUND

Sound is produced as a result of vibration when a vibrating body or mass generates waves that
expand throughout the medium in which it is immersed. If that vibration is intense enough, it
can be picked up by a suitable receiver whether it is a dolphin, a microphone, or a human.

To be perceived, a sound must have a sender (the vibrating body), a transmission channel (the
physical medium that propagates the wave), and a receiver (the person who perceives the
vibrations).

2.1 The properties of sound

When we receive sound waves, or in other words, when we hear a sound, we simultaneously
perceive all its properties:
 Pitch: if it is high or low
 Duration: if it is long or
short
 Intensity: if it is soft or
loud
 Timbre: which is the
characteristic
 property of each sound that allows us, for example, to distinguish a trumpet from a
violin being played.
If we look at the graphical representations of the waves on a graph, we can see each of these
properties.

2.2 Noise

Noise is a type of sound that we find unpleasant. This feeling is subjective, and may refer to
sounds with high intensity or that we simply do not want to hear at that moment. Objectively,
a noise is a sound without a specific tone.
If we compare the waves of an intoned sound and a noise, we see that sounds are regular and
periodic (we can perceive patterns) and noises are irregular and confusing.

Noise has
always been
present
in music.
Remember that percussion instruments produce sounds with irregular waves, that is, noise.
However, since the beginning of the 20th century, many musicians have experimented with
noise, showing that it can be as expressive as any sound.

2.3 Silence

Silence is the absence of sound, or in other words, the absence of sound waves. Music
combines sound and silence, and silences are just as important in music as sounds. Without
silence, we could not live, and music would not exist.
Therefore, it is very important that we value and learn to be aware of moments of silence
before and after a sound, as well as the contrasts between sound and silence.

3. MUSIC GENRES

When we look at film listings, we see that films are categorised by genre: comedy, drama,
adventure, animation, etc.
Works of music can also be classified by genre. We’re going to learn about some of the most
popular music genres and the criteria used to classify them.

3.1 Popular vs. Art Music

In the past, the main criteria used to distinguish between these two genres was the works’
authorship. Traditional music was a collective endeavour because it was transmitted orally, so
it varied based on the contributions made by many different people. Art music, on the other
hand, was created by a single person who left a record of it for future generations by writing it
down.

Today, these criteria are more flexible because oral transmission is virtually non-existent. The
term “popular music” is generally applied to short works with a simple structure. It can
encompass genres as diverse as traditional music - whose songs and dances by unknown
authors are part of a people’s cultural heritage - and pop-rock, with its massive hits. The label
art music, also known as classical music, usually refers to works created by a known author.
These works are
generally more

sophisticated and have a more complex structure.

3.2 Religious vs. Secular Music

Although religion
played a crucial role
in the
development of the language of music, people have always played music outside houses of
worship in all sorts of secular celebrations and contexts, including dances, love songs, etc.
Religious music is music played to accompany sacred rituals or otherwise associated with the
practice of a given religion. Secular music is music that is not directly associated with religion.
 3.3 Descriptive vs. Abstract Music

Music may also be classified into two genres depending on the source of inspiration.
Descriptive (or program) music is music that is inspired by a landscape, a painting, a story, or
any idea besides music itself. Film music composed especially for a film is one type of
descriptive music. Abstract music (also known as absolute music) is based on exclusively
musical concepts: a melody, a rhythm etc.

3.4 Vocal, Instrumental and Vocal-Instrumental

We can also classify

works depending
on how they are
performed. We often
distinguish between vocal, instrumental and vocal-instrumental music depending on whether
it is performed using the voice, instruments, or both at the same time.

4. NOISE CAN ALSO BE MUSIC

Leroy Anderson was one of

the most famous American
composers of light orchestral
music. In some of his works, he incorporated everyday objects such as sandpaper, as in
Sandpaper Ballet. In other pieces, he used orchestra instruments to imitate the sound of a wall
clock (The Syncopated clock), a dog’s bark and a cat’s meow (The Waltzing Cat), or a horse-
drawn sleigh (Sleigh Ride).

In The Typewriter, the solo instrument is an actual typewriter. Anderson uses three distinctive
sounds: the sound made by the typewriter keys printing characters on a paper, the bell that
rings when the carriage reaches the end of a line, and the carriage return lever.

5. RHYTHM

In this section, we will focus on one of the three essential elements of music, aside from
melody and harmony: rhythm. And what better way to experience rhythm and get a sense of it
than to feel it in our bodies?

Body percussion is music created with sounds made by the body. We can use our feet, fingers,
and other parts of our bodies to clap; make sounds with our mouths; snap our fingers, and
thump our arms, hands, tights, and chest.

We can also make sounds using any item on hand, including chairs, sticks, glasses, papers, etc.

Before singing or playing a song, we decide what tempo we want to play it in, that is, the speed
of the pulse. The pulse is like its heartbeat.

6. PERFORMANCE
In this performance section, you can play using the flute, xylophones, pianos, ukulele,
percussion instruments or singing. There are three different resources to help you.
1. An interactive score, where you can listen to the melody from the start or from any
point in the song you wish. Use this resource to listen to the notes as you look at how
they are written.
2. Two reference videos where you’ll see the finger rings in real time, the written notes,
the notes on the music staff and, sometimes, song lyrics. Use this resource to learn to
play the notes on a pitched instrument. In many cases, you can also use the reference
videos to follow along while singing, reading out the lyrics like in karaoke. The first
video also includes the sound of the flute to serve as a reference.
3. A backing track that you can play over the music once you’ve learned to play the
song.

7. COMPOSITION
To compose means to use the various sources of sound available to us to create a soundscape.
In this section, we’ll combine modern concepts with other more traditional ideas to create a
rhapsody, a musical work with a free-flowing structure that you can use to freely express any
musical ideas that come up.

A rhapsody is a musical work composed of a single movement made up of different sections

combined in a free-flowing structure. This musical form is widely used by classical composers
and rock bands such as Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody) and Muse (The Globalist).

Contemporary works are all around us: in commercials, television series, soundtracks, etc.
There is a lot of music being composed today. Thanks to modern technology, we can listen to
all this music and communicate directly with its composers.

Many contemporary composers don’t feel the need to write a heartfelt piece, or a catchy one.
Instead, they try to push the boundaries of what is considered beautiful.

The first step in creating a work for our times that reflects the feelings of modern-day artists
like yourself is to become acquainted with a few modern compositions and describe how you
feel when you listen to them.

Many
composers from all periods have based their compositions on rhythmic patterns like this one:
We’re going to play this rhythmic pattern with our hands (we’ll play the line on top by clapping
our hands together and the one on the bottom by thumping our thighs with both hands) and
say UM during the rests.

Based on the example above, we’re going to create our first rhythmic pattern. We’ll start with
four 4/4 measures and use half notes, quarter notes, right notes, and their corresponding rest
intervals. Write it out in a single line.

8. TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK

Our perception of time is very interesting: some days fly by, while a single hour can sometimes
seem to last forever. Moreover, although we’ve learned to measure time very precisely, we
cannot control it. Time is also paramount importance in music, an art form that unfolds over
time. Because of this, it is not surprising that many artists have found inspiration for their
works in the concept of time and clockworks.