Before the time of the "talking picture," all movies were completely silent. The majority of silent films were accompanied by anything from full orchestras to organists and pianists to add movement and feelings to the film. Music was used to create suspense, symbolise moments and add a voice to the film without actually speaking. And with time even as movies advanced to have speaking music was continued to be used as a part of movies carrying from the 1930’s to today.
Today I will be addressing two different scores of music from award-winning films of today, ‘Hedwig’s theme’ from ‘Harry Potter Series’ and ‘Raiders March’ from ‘Indiana Jones’.
Raiders March
Raiders March has been broken down into a three-part ABA form, the A and B sections using different but related melodic ideas with the famous melody that begins the march already suggests much of Indiana’s character. First, it is played by trumpets in unison, and every one of its short motives starts with a militaristic dotted rhythm, both giving the sense that this is a hero’s theme.
Section B changes the mood of the song, with a much lighter and playful tone to it the section loses a lot of its marching statement before building back up to a repeat of section A once again.
Dynamics
Starting on a moderate forte the march catches the audience attention from the beginning, introducing on a strong note. As the piece goes on it keeps it dynamics although through section A the dynamics in section B can be heard to quiet down to moderate piano, creating a softer and more quiet sound with a lighter more playful mood.
Harmony
The march begins with an anacrusis, before the first bar in the piece. Starting in C major the bass remains fixed to the C throughout the song whilst chords ov...
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...nown chord.
Bars 9 and 10 of the theme return to the original E minor chord along with the same opening melody. But in bars 11-12, the music suddenly heads in a new direction, sounding out three more minor chords that bear no relation to one another. The resulting sound isn’t just unusual. Since the progression is curious, it creates an aura of wonder as well.
Melody
While the first five bars are entirely in the key of E minor, the sixth bar introduces a note foreign to it, F natural. These same intervals are also heard in bars 13-15, now with an extra intervening note. A section’s phrase thereffore end with these strange intervals, which helps impart an air of mystery to the theme.
The melody of the B section differs from that of the A section in where the score changfes from Hedwig’s Theme to actually introduce ‘Nimbus 2000’, the notes getting shorter and faster
... began the piece, and the beat of the drum was frequent. After the introduction, the rest of the musicians joined. The pianist also had a solo part with the companion of the drum. The pace of the song was moderately fast, and the song ended with a climax.
“You gotta play this piece like an English military band would,” said Jules during band one day while rehearsing the first movement of Gustav Holst’s Second Suite in F. “1. March” begins with four notes played by the low brass which is then echoed by the upper woodwinds. The trumpets have a noble melody which broadens when the entire ensemble joins in. Next, the piece lightens up with an upper woodwind melody. Later on there is a euphonium solo, and following that is a grand theme with an extremely distinguished style. After, there is a change in style and time signature. One simple theme repeats with different dynamics and instrumentations every repetition. The Wind Ensemble played this piece at the Winter Band Concert on December 11, 2013. This work, though easy looking at first glance, was genuinely difficult to put together. It had few layers, so mistakes or intonation problems were extremely noticeable. Furthermore, the style of the piece was extremely intricate and hard to master. Therefore, “1. March” had positives and negatives regarding intonation, balance and blend, articulation, style, and dynamics throughout the entire ensemble and the low instrument section.
Section 3 is more merry and cheerful with the violins leading what feels like a race to be won. As they slow slightly we are soon dragged back to full speed and the race is on again. The violins and cello play off of each other as if in composition to see who will win the race. The bass brings in a dramatic flair as if building the suspense for the final climax of the music. The music slows to the point where you feel you have reached the end, but soon you are back on the journey again racing with the violins and lower instruments toward the finish line and the conclusion leaves the listener breathless.
...ers and the audience. The dramatic nature of this piece alone is something to be reckoned with as it is extremely passionate. The symphony is presented in 4 movements as is common and begins with a Poco Sostenuto- Vivace, followed by a Allegretto movement, Presto movement, and finally ends on an Allegro con brio movement. the central theme of this piece is introduced in the first movement by a flute playing in tripple meter continuously ascending up the scales rising in dynamic contrast, continuing to grow into a louder and more stark contrast between it’s highs and lows. Consistently dance like, the piece is celebratory of its roots buried in historical Austrian music that has been present in the culture for years. The accomplishments of the soldiers for which the piece was composed for are easily told of simply by the energy and power present throughout the piece.
The themes of the movement are introduced early, with a story of a battle, when preparing for a conflict. The first new idea is based on 'Dantes Dell Inferno' -- hell, this is introduced in bar 7, in the trumpets and trombones. The second idea is also introduced early, in bar 19 by the trumpets.
In the second movement have a brief violin solo songs with the latter half of the elements (Schwartz, 2015). Faster featuring piano part as follows, gradually building, until near the end, in a piece of this point seems to pull back to the original melody, now given to the flute. In a peaceful, introspective rhythmic movement ended.
When the second theme plays, it’s noticeably less lighter and less higher in pitch from the strings. The third theme is done by the woodwind instruments like the oboe and clarinet, which preface the use of the opening motive again. The motive is soon followed by the violin. Next, there’s the repetition of the themes played in the piece so far, but not only are they repeated, they’re fleshed out into variations. The piece slows down and makes a quiet transition as the opening motive plays, jolting the instruments into action again. The themes continue to work counterpoint against each other. The triangle can be heard throughout certain sections, the clear ringing sound making an interesting contrast to the rest of the orchestra. When the movement nears its end, the instruments are initially soft and hesitant, but then pick up in tempo and volume in unison, finally cutting the piece off at a high and enthusiastic note. Bedächtig is a fun composition to listen to, and I admit that I preferred it over the other songs of the night. The main motive in Bedächtig honestly captivated me - I always perked up at that spirited combination of flute, sleigh bells, and clarinet that came in and out of the
The first movement is in sonata form - Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso. Strings and horns appear from the distance as if they had been already playing out of earshot. The music gradually intensifies in volume until the final explosion into the first subject. Then this whole process is repeated. The first movement shows a contrast of emotion that seems to return in the recapitulation befor...
There are various other new motifs that are introduced at this point, to signify the Tarnhelm etc.Each motif in this opera is used to signify the importance of certain characters,scenes,objects,feelings. No melodic phrase is without its importance or contribution to the storyline. They are used to set the scenes that are happening or that are yet to come. A number of the motifs heard in this particular opera, are also heard in the later operas with some variations.
Music can decipher a narrative event by indicating a perspective. To unify a set of diverse images and provide rhythmic and formal continuity and momentum, a film’s structure is more often than not, directly articulated by a musical structure. Music can assist the dialogue and visuals of film and often is inaudible (e.g. music is meant to be heard unconsciously, not consciously). Music has been used by directors to reinforce or strengthen certain weak scenes in film and then on the other hand when music is not needed to reinforce a scene
... then plays allegro passages of semi quavers, accompanied by timpani and descending scales in the woodwind. The clarinet, takes over the main melody whilst the cello accompanies with sequences. The French horn takes over the melody, accompanied by the strings. The flute briefly plays the melody before the cello plays octaves, accompanying the woodwind as they play a reprise of the DSCH theme and the timpani crashes. Repeating the themes in the first movement, the cello plays the DSCH motif followed by the "tate ta, tate ta" rhythm in the strings. The horn then plays the theme in augmentation, whilst the cello plays passages of ascending and descending scales, and the theme is heard again in the strings. The movement builds up with the motif appearing increasingly often in the woodwind and strings and climaxes with octaves by the soloist and a boom from the timpani.
...chestral introduction with an imperfect cadence. A strong rhythmic ¾ allegro passage, with sequences and descending scales is played by the orchestra, with timpani and cymbals. The music modulates, and a short, quiet woodwind passage is then alternated with an orchestral passage with dotted rhythms, creating a `terraced dynamics' effect. Part B begins with a major clarinet melody accompanied by pizzicato strings. A minor flute sequence follows, and is followed by a repetition of the oboe melody. A string sequence is then played, imitated by the oboe. There is a crescendo, then the rhythmic orchestral melody returns, alternated with a short flute passage. There are suspensions, descending scales and a crescendo, followed by a strong rhythmic passage with the timpani playing on the beat. Imperfect cadences are played, before the piece finishes with a perfect cadence.
...re was very interesting transitions between the variation, for example, string section plays the variation from low to high, when they reach the highest note, the brass family takes over and continue with the scale and make it more higher. Tremolo style was used in this piece, which is a quick ups and downs stroke mode. The music were very soothing and attracted the audience. Lastly, they end the piece with the same variations that was played at the beginning.
Would we able to truly feel those scenes if their images were presented in films without music? According to Jeffrey, a film and sound producer who says in her article that the absence of music from a film will impact the quality of imagery that is presented in it. Music has its own language and it brings the images that we experience in films to life. Every set, landscape, place, character, theme and atmosphere in the film needs music to help guide our emotions as we watch those moving images. Moreover, Jeffrey explains how different scenes in a film require different types of music to help the audience adjust and fit with what they see on the screen, and to recount the story in these scenes. Jeffrey says that the music can also be extensively engaging and regulate in its narrating like how we see in “Shrek” or “The Spiderman” films and it moderates in films like “Memento.” Music is a vital piece of this film’s generation. It recounts the story, evoke for us the whole scenario, characters, themes and images we see in the film, and the music can go on and adapt to the changes as the story of the film moves on from a scene to another. Music has a significant impact on our feelings and if the film itself doesn’t influence us, then definitely the music of it or the soundtrack
...ing sounds and transmit them into the human heart. Without movie music, films would be dull and boring. The importance of film music is considered a jewel for manipulating the viewer’s emotions and immerses them into the movie. Music is one of the most important elements in film, for it capabilities and versatility of telling a story independently without picture.