MUS 67 — Film Music

The following is a list of musical parameters and sample questions that can be asked as you listen to any composition. This list is designed to help focus your  listening for important stylistic characteristics for class discussion, film analysis, and listening assignments. Certainly not all of these questions have to be answered, or are even applicable, for every musical excerpt, but they should serve as guideposts that help you to decide the important factors in the listening experience and how they should be described. Don't be intimidated by the seemingly technical nature of some of the questions. Answer what you can, and, with practice, you may find it possible to listen to the music in new ways.

First, film music is inextricable from the film’s visual elements and drama, so any analysis needs to start with an understanding of the music’s context. Second, you should listen for how the music changes over the time of the excerpt, how those changes are defined, and how they relate to the visual elements and drama. Third, you should choose which of the following questions are most important for understanding the context, changes, and impact of the music.

1.   Melody:

a.   Is there one clear melody? (see texture)

b.  What is its general contour? Does it have points that are disjunct?

c.   Is the range of the melody wide or narrow?

d.  Are there recurring internal phrases or motives? How are they used?

e.   Are phrases clearly articulated by cadences or are they unclear?

2.   Rhythm and tempo:

a.   What is the meter?

b.  Is the tempo fast or slow, constant or changing?

3.   Timbre:

a.   What are the instruments and/or voices used?

b.  What are the styles of playing or singing?

c.   Are there changes and contrasts in timbre?

4.   Texture:

a.   Is the texture homophonic, monophonic, polyphonic, or a combination?

b.  Are there drones, prominent use of percussion, or other devices that effect the texture?

5.   Pitch organization:

a.   What is the mode?  Does it change?

b.  Is the music relatively chromatic?

c.   Is the music tonal or atonal?

6.   Structure:

a.   How are the large-scale sections distinguished from one another?

b.  How are they articulated (e.g., by changes in texture, melody, tempo, etc.)?