Music 246 Test 3
pizzicato/marcato
plucking of a string instrument / putting pressure on the bow = versatility
1950s
- marked the end of the studio system (due to anti-trust laws / people controlling theatres and movies) - rise of the independent film production - technological change to make motion pictures worth seeing
Post-modernism
- rejection of modernism, dismisses need for continual change and originality - more open -> "what works in this case" - want to connect emotionally to their audience
1960s
- revolutionary, film showed greatest variety - civil rights movement - vietnam war -> questioning the gov't - generational gap -> baby boomers discontent - end of studio system leads to FULLY freelancing, films become more expensive, less musicians are hired
North by Northwest
Hermann plays no music so you don't know what's going to happen next, just like the main character
McCarthyism
Hollywood was a target
Metadiagetic
music can be heard by only one character and the audience
Style of James Horner
- *STRONG melodic composer*, often works with conventional orchestra - capable of incorporating Avant-Garde, expressionist sounds and *electronic* - *VERY good at synchronizing music to visual elements such as scene changes through use of time signature changes* - adept at pop song writing as well - *first full post-modern/neo-classical composer*
High Noon (1952)
- *Score based on pop song composed by Tiomkin and notable for integreation of melody within score: "Do Not Forsake Me"* <- became hit for singer Tex Ritter, first to do this - western movie that takes place in real-time - most of score orchestral, pop song comes in when sheriff gets rejected and realizes that people aren't going to help him - B section used as Frank Miller's theme (bad guy)
12-Tone
- 4 sets of 3 notes, two 12-note melody, with contrast on one that alernates - created by Arnold Schoenberg - *cannot repeat same note until all 12 have been used / tone row has been completed*
Pop Musicians
- Advent of MIDI and increasingly powerful synthesizers & computers allows musicians without formal training to compose and produce film score: (eg. Hans Zimmer) - MIDI devices become more frequent in film scores for cost reasons and opens doors to these musicians
James Horner
- American born, trained in England - dissed film music at first, however jumped straight into film afterward - breakthrough score was for Star Trek II Wrath of Khan - did work with James Cameron - Titanic, Star Trek 2, Glory
Expressionism
- Atonal & dissonance, interested in all notes, very different from late 19th century romantic sound - created by Arnold Schoenberg - only cared about in movie scores (for unknown reasons)
Hans Zimmer
- German born, self-taught - member of The Buggles - breakthrough film was Rain Man - becomes associated with "non-western" scores - recent works are spacious and powerful, fusing electronics AND orchestra - *emphasis on timbre and rhythm rather than melody* - *Minimalist* - pairs with Chris Nolan
Collaborations
- Hitchcock + Bernard Hermann - Orson Wells + Bernard Hermann - Tim Burton + Danny Elfman - Spielberg + John Williams - James Cameron + James Horner - Chris Nolan + Hans Zimmer - Sergio Leonne + Ennio Morricone
Titanic
- James Horner won 2 academy awards for this film, best original score and song
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan
- Khan represents Kirk's mistake, and Kirk is coming to terms with his mistakes - Kirk's theme: associated with the Enterprise, not a hero's theme more laid back, would undermine characterization otherwise, *never hits high notes in triumphant way* - Khan's theme: clustered semi-tones, sense of instability & energy - borrows from Goldsmith's echoing trumpets
Movie Themes: Instrumentals
- best was Elmer Bernstein's theme for Magnificent Seven (Hollywood mirror movie to Seven Samurai) - created Mexican Folk sounds with American Nationalism elements, pays tribute to Seven Samurai in one scene with asian instrumentation - Bernstein also did The Great Escape's theme as an ______ - Pink Panther theme by Henry Mancini was also of this type
Psycho (1960)
- black and white for artistic reasons - only string instruments used (black and white score for a black and white film) even though the film is *very cold sounding* - semi-tones with wide intervals for the theme of the mothers - music tells you murderer is Norman (two high semi-tones) - shower scene gives vulnerability, music mimics stabbing and screaming
The Mission (1986)
- blend of catholic texts and musical styles - *Gabriel's theme written in style of Baroque (mid 1700s) style, played on Obo, overlapping with sound of Europe (harpsichord and strings) + voices of indigenous people* <- FLEXIBILITY!
Ennio Morricone
- born in Rome, Italy - *partners with sergio leonne and does spaghetti westerns* <- mid level american actors and overdub italians with dodgy + selfish characters - wide style range - did the good the bad and the ugly
Dimitri Tiomkin
- born in Russia - played piano in russian silent movie theatres - worked in vaudeville, important films include Lost Horizon, and It's a Wonderful Life
Jerry Goldsmith (1929 - 2004)
- came out of television, gets early xp there - studied how to write film music with Rosza as his instructor) - known for writing short scores (never over-write) - did Planet of the Apes, Patton, Alien, and Pearl Harbour
Voices as Instrument
- can be a wordless instrument - give them words (a song/soundtrack) - carries the trace of a body: musician becomes a presence, enters the realm of the otherworldly
Glory (1958
- civil war movie - *boys choir is lead instrument to represent innocence and naivety of war* pulls out when battle starts
John Barry (1933 - 2011)
- classical pianist/trumpeteer - *turned to pop music in his 20s, unusual* - *Did the Dr. No, James Bond theme after Monty Norman f'ed up, even though Norman is still credited with the score* - style defined by GRAND use of strings and brass
Ben Hur (1959)
- composed by Miklos Rozsa - epic movie set during time of Christ - *music spectacle which creates distance to assist in suspension of disbelief*
Rise of the Independent Production
- cost escalate - popular music becomes serious industry and baby boomers like films with pop music - *marks the end of Steiner, Newman, and Tiompkin's careers and the rise of American composers: Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, Henry Mancini and second wave of European composers*
B-Movies
- created to compete with T.V.s sheer content - second film played in theatre made on short budget to pad evening - frequently horror or sci-fi - eg. Catwoman on the moon
In the Shadow of Star Wars
- critics opinions and viewership was in disagreement for the first time (in the last 1970s - 90s) and we start to see the rise of non-symphonic scores: - synthesized - popular music scores - eclectic scores - adapted scores
Danny Elfman
- did not receive formal training - was in Oingo Boingo (Tim Burton a fan) - composed and sang in Nightmare Before Christmas - did the opening theme of The Simpsons
Henry Mancini
- did the pink panther instrumental theme - top song writer - did "Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's performed by Audrey Hepburn later in the movie - did "Wait Until Dark" from movie of same name, two pianos tuned a quarter step apart to suggest psychotic killer
Psycho: The Music
- done by Bernard Hermann & Hitchcock - written for a string orchestra, with harsh and percussive elements reminiscent of Rite of Spring - consistently dissonant, creates a mood and avoids underscoring - use minor seconds and major sevenths (most dissonant in Western music)
Man With the Golden Arm
- ensemble is a jazz big band - dealt with drug abuse w/ Frank Sinatra (pumps money into arm, talented drummer, respected poker dealer) - *pushes subject matter with drug use and plays urban environment with sound of Jazz* - composed by Bernstein - *demonstrates a problem with using pop music, it sets single mood and hard to change radically*
The Ten Commandments
- epic production - original composer fell ill, Bernstein got his big break
1970s
- film costs increase some more, and # of films produced slows - *genre/formula films start to come in... era of the Blockbusters & Sequels* - use of pop scores increase, cheaper and a method of promotion
Citizen Kane
- film that launches Film Noir - ensemble designed for live performance - launched Hermann's career as composer, and *he realizes that score only really needs to be played once so he didn't limit himself with instruments, used unique wide variety*
Batman
- film's darkness points to prevailing mood of 90s - score done by Danny Elfman, directed by Tim Burton - orchestration plays key role to dark score - bassoon (lowest pitched of woodwinds) gives ominous mood in intro - *motive begins with four rising pitches, played consistently throughout*
Pop music
- good at advancing time in a montage - can only carry single mood or texture
A Streetcar Named Desire
- jazz film score - jazz / new orleans -> urban sexuality - film's score by small group - classical music associated with woman's husband plays and score becomes Metadiagetic - score by Alex North
Alfred Hitchcock
- known as New Wave common film elements include: - commonplace of evil - heroes always were blonde girls - Vertigo, North by Northwest, and Psycho were composed by Hermann
Star Wars
- launched neo-classical period: back to works like Korngold
Fantasies
- lost appeal by middle of 1980s, continued to appear occasionally in 90s, paving way for return of fantasy blockbusters such as Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings
Star Wars and Postmodernism
- marks the beginning of the neoclassical phase - return to emotional romanticism - use of symphony orchestra, postromantic musical style, wall-to-wall scoring - John Williams avoids theme songs or pop songs, instead uses combo of Aaron Copland (American Nationalism) and Korngold (post-romantic) - Leia's theme is dropped in future movies - Luke's theme is best know, woodwinds play his theme when uncle tells him to stay at home
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)
- new-wave, highly stylized, stand out and draw attention - use of sound effects, *voices*, and electric guitars (now prominent in pop music, aimed directly at teenagers)
Aaron Copland
- not considered a film composer, wrote for concerts - had great respect for film music - changed style from Expressionism/Atonal to American Nationalism/Tonal to reach a larger audience - wrote a series of balets that used folk music
Synthesized Scores
- offers wider variety of musical colours - 3 principal styles: 1) Modern: electronic score 2) Traditional: replace the sounds of an orchestra 3) Popular: popular music film score
The Day the Earth Stood Still
- russian vs US nuclear war but aliens come to earth - when spaceship lands and alien comes out there is no melody, but *clouds of sound*, *scored for 45 solo brass instruments, pianos and 2 theremins, no strings to show lack of compassion* - giant robot has strong pounding notes w/ no melody to represent power - *Hermann has realized that you don't need an orchestra for everything*
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- score compiled from classical music (all taken from orchestral repertoire) - MGM financed film, Kubrick threw away Alex North's half-finished score in favor of the classical music - *late 19th century was music for humans eg. J Strauss Jr. - Blue Danube Waltz* - *aliens music uses G. Ligeti's super complex work (voices w/o words) to represent their complexity* - *brought back argument of using truly "great" music* -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - HAL plays source music "Daisy" when disconnected - opening theme Also Sprach Zarathustra has become epic
The Magnificent Seven (1960)
- scored by Elmer Bernstein - heavily influenced by Aaron Copland and the sound of the american west and *American Nationalism* - based on 7 samurai - xylophone use and core theme is a Mexican theme song for the Mexican bandits
Planet of the Apes (1968)
- scored by Jerry Goldsmith - use of avant-garde / expressionist elements: the *12 tone* with retrograde <- playing backwards - uses the *prepared piano* - theme for savage humans uses atonal wood winds (cultures discover percussion & wood winds FIRST -> primitive) - theme for astronauts uses snare drums and is organized and fast but still no tonality - no music in end scene *culture, history, everything gone* ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - *used aluminum mixing bowls, ram's horn, brass instruments with inverted mouthpieces to create sounds*
Alien (1979)
- scored by Jerry Goldsmith - use of electronic processing, tonal/atonal elements - *integration of music with sound effects* - first feminine hero: Ripley - flutes represent frailty of Humans
Jaws
- scored by John Williams - new approach to film promotion and release, highly successful - transitional score with modernist elements: main theme that embodies shark is 2 alternating notes + 1 (borrowed from Igor Stravinski: Rite of Spring) - in first 2/3 of movie shark is ALWAYS accompanied by music - Williams layers folk theme with darker sound onto shark theme and also layers a cannon --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - the theme is low suggesting danger and creature's home in depths of ocean - lack of music gives suspense - when shark appears without music it breaks comfort zone, as hunters become hunted shift back to shark theme
Patton (1970)
- sparse score (less than 40 min) for a 3 hour film - *before this movie, enemies were treated in very simplistic terms, evil, to convince others to fight but now human side was given to enemies* - *music focuses on the character of Patton (not the action)*
Burt Bacharach
- strong theme song writer - did What's New Pussycat, Alfie, and Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head
Bernard Hermann
- studied at Julliard - worked in radio: CBS (skilled at writing quickly) - born in NYC - friends with Orson Wells, travels to Hollywood with him in 1940 - collaborates with Orson Wells and Alfred Hitchcock (parts ways with Hitchcock when he asks him to use a pop music which Hermann hated) - moves to Europe does Fahrenheit 451, and dies
Alexander North
- studied at Julliard with Aaron Copland - could write in wide range, key to new generation (versatility) - did *a streetcar named desire*
Elmer Bernstein
- studied at Julliard with Aaron Copland + Roger Sessions - born in NYC - started in armed forces radio during the war, versatile - got his start in B-Movies - did The Ten Commandments, Man With the Golden Arm, Magnificent Seven
Inception
- theme based on slower dream version of French song (w/ drive and energy) - Zimmer and Nolan edit film and score simultaneously, and does a meshing of cues
Movie Themes: Songs
- theme songs far outnumbered instrumentals due to possibility of AA for Best Song - top song writer was *Henry Mancini* - Tiomkin started the theme song fad with High Noon, and did others as well - Burt Bacharach became a very good songwriter as well
John Williams
- trained at Julliard, orchestrator for Tiompkin, got his start in Television - partners with Steven Spielberg - scores Jaws, Star Wars (+ George Lucas who wanted sound of Korngold), LOTR - *becomes best known film composer of all time, and re-establishes ORCHESTRAL music as the de-facto film music*
Synthesizer
- typically an electronic keyboard - Robert Moog invented it in 1964 intended for composition of electronic music - 1971: a digital synthesis appeared to allow users to program their own sounds - 1983: Yamaha introduced MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) - early 1980s: allows playback of sounds "electronified" - John Carpenter: Halloween (entirely synthesized) - Giorgio Moroder: first composer to win Oscar for a synthesized score in 1978 - rock musicians pulled in to be film composers
Hays Code
- voluntary until 1934 - 40s film push code, 50s break it - production code could ban showings - only applied to american films
Fanfare for the Common Man
- written by Aaron Copland, and one of his most American themes - used folk music, syncopation and xylophone as a percussion instrument
Patton's 3 Themes
1) March Theme (the war hero) 2) Religious Theme/Hymn (christian faith) 3) Reincarnation theme (played by trumpets with echo)
Battle with TV on 2 fronts
1) Subject Matter 2) Technology
Mid 1950s
Rock and Roll comes along and Civil Rights Movement, Rock Around the Clock became hit after opening theme
Trailers
VCR's led to sophisticated trailers - trailer music is generally taken from composer's other films - 2006: *2 Steps from Hell* production company churned out big sounding music, cornered trailer music market
Prepared Piano
altering the strings inside the piano giving each key a distinct sound
Cannon
complex round, melody interweaves itself (restarts while other plays)
Julliard
top music school in the U.S. - Alexander North, Elmer Bernstein, Bernard Herman, John Williams
Versatility
- New gen of composers capable of working a large # of styles
Technology
- battle with television accelerates move to colour movies (interrupted by WWII) - wide-screen competition: Cinerama, Cinema Scope, Vista Vision - multi-channel sound systems for theaters - block buster epic films
Subject Matter
The production code & Hays Office monitored/disallowed subjects (eg. profiting from crime)
Style of John Williams
- 19th century orchestral tradition, NO pop songs at all - starts with basic orchestra - fame can be attributed to his being conductor of Boston Pop Orchestra, and easy to perform his music live, self-contained concert pieces, because it was neo-classical : return to tonality
Minimalist
Sets up patterns that repeat with continuous subtle change
Collegno
String players striking strings with wooden side of bow
Gone with the Wind
Word "damn" costs them 5k
