The Sound Behind the Scenes Memories of Movies’

Graphics by Piper Chen, editor

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After the Golden Era, film music began to reach beyond late romantic style scores. Rather than purely orchestral sounds, jazz, pop, and Western music started to integrate into film. It was during this time that the sounds associated with spies, deserts, and the Southwest were created.

The 70s marked a time for great innovation for music in film. Early synthesizers were being produced, and soon they entered the world of film scores. Composers were able to create entire soundtracks on their own rather than having to search for sounds from various instruments. These sounds could be saved as well so they could be reused in the future. This made the production of movie music much faster and cheaper. Film scores also started to drift back towards classical sounds.

Sources: Film Independent, Video Caption Corporation, Google Arts & Culture, Reel Rundown

1890s Silent Era

1929

During the Silent Era of film, most music was live. Classical pieces were adjusted to fit the mood of the film showing and were performed along with the film, often by a one performer or a small ensemble. In higher class theater, full orchestras could be present. As the mood of the film changed, the pianist would often improvise. In the later films of this era, organs were used to create a variety of sounds by one person.

The Golden Era began once music and dialogue were synced with the film. It continued the use of classical scores, but rather than pre existing symphonic pieces, music started to be composed specifically for movies. Temporary tracks also became useful when music that could convey the director’s vision were needed before the completion of film compositions.

We are now in the Kitchen Sink Era of film music. Many genres of music have been integrated into film, opening doors for ways to use music to move the film along and bring the audience with it. Film scores can be accessed easily and are often released separately from the movies.

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1. Gradually increase in volume 2. Slow and leisurely 3. Gradually become softer 4. Very fast 5. Medium or moderately

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2. Quick and lively 4. Very soft 6. Sequence of chords used to signify the end of a phrase 7. Strong or loud 8. Used in sheet music to denote where the

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Education Teacher Microphone Student Piano Guitar Live Choir Church Flute Trumpet Violin Musician Drums Performance

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5. Mezzo 4. Presto 3. Decrecendo 2. Adagio 1. Crecendo

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8. Coda 7. Forte 6. Cadence 4. Pianissimo 2. Allegro

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