MUSIC 246
Lecture 2
Thursday, January 12, 2012


Evaluating a Score
How do we talk about what we hear?

Key Terms and Concepts

Diegesis
- The world of the narrative. All characters, events, etc. depicted, suggested, or described

Diegetic Music
- music whose source is within the Diegesis
- heard both by the characters within the narrative and the film audience
- also known as "source music", "direct music", or "foreground music".
- Functions include: establishing time and place, creating a sense of "realism and immediacy", offering ironic comment and providing marketing opportunities through CDs and music videos.

Nondiegetic Music:
- heard by the film audience only.
- Referred to as the "score", "underscore", or "background music".
- Normally originally composed for the specific film (original score)
- May also included preexisting music "adapter" for the film. Example: The Sting (1973) Music of Scott Joplin adapted by Marvin Hamlisch.

(Soundtrack and score are NOT the same thing, Soundtrack is usually a collection of pop songs put together for the film)

- music originally written by someone else to rework it so that it functions as part of the film

- May also include preexisting music used without adaption. Example: Platoon (1986) Composer: George Deleure, also includes Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings (1938) Also used in The Elephant Man (1980) and Sicko (2007)
- All preexisting music, "Compiled Score". Example: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Compiled from the works of R. Strauss, J. Strauss, etc...



Describing the Music

Style:
- what type of music has the composer chosen?
 - what type of instruments
 - how do these clothes relate to the film as a whole
 
 Restoration (1995) Composer: James Newton Howard
 - set in the mid 1600s
 - Howard based his music on that of J.F. Handel, an important composer of this period
 - use of periodic instruments
 
 Local Hero (1983) Composer: Mark Knopfler
 - plot follows an urban American in a small Scottish village
 - blend of folk and popular styles
 - emphasis on instruments such as the guitar
 - Knopfler developed melodies similar to Angelo Celtric folk music
 
The Godfather (1972) Composer: Nino Rota
- follows the life of an organized crime family
- much of the instrumentation and melodies based on the folk music of Sicily

Concepts:
- is the music used in a consistent manner throughout the film?
- What is accompanied? What is left without accompaniment?
- What "motivates" the music? Action, characters, events, objects, flashbacks, etc...

Musical Characteristics:
1. Melody or Theme
   - Considered the most "recognizable" music element for western ears
   - Do characters, objects or situations have a particular melody associated with them?
   - German Opera composer Richard Wagner - Leitmotive.
   - Melodies can be taken through a number of variations to tell you what is going on within a particular character thoughts or feelings etc...
   - Are the melodies easy to hum, or are they "angular" and more difficult?

Example: Star Wars (1977) Composer: John Williams

2. Tempo or Pulse:
   - How does the speed of the music influence the "tempo" of the narrative?
   - On-screen action, framing, editing, sound design

Example: The Return of the King (2004) Composer: Howard Shore

3. Harmony
   - Difficult to describe without musical training
   - Chaotic or orderly? Consonant or dissonant? What do these suggest about events in the Diegesis?

4. Orchestration:
   - What instruments are chosen at what points and why?

5. Form and Development:
   - organized sound (Examples: AABA, Verse-Chorus)
   - How are musical materials organized across the film as a whole?
   - How do they change as a reflection of Diegetic events?



Specific Approaches:

1. Playing the Drama
   - music attempts to reinforce primarily emotional elements within the narrative

2. Hitting the Action
   - music accents visual events
   - common approach to cartoon scoring
   - "Mickey Mousing"

3. Playing Through The Action/Phrasing the Drama
   - creating a consistent mood that ignores most specific moments of action or emotion
   - Music runs a parallel, but independent course
   - catching key moments of emotion or action, while providing a consistent mood for overall scene

4. Playing The Psychological Subtext:
   - a more subtle version of approach number 1
   - music manifests things the character may be thinking but not showing
   - music can become more important than dialogue in revealing narrative elements

Lord of the Rings Pippin singing with horses riding out scene
Takes approach 1


