Hello, everyone.

How are you today? I hope you're feeling really good, and I'm so pleased that you're here.

My name is Ms. Afzal and I'll be your teacher for this lesson.

I'm been very pleased about that because we are exploring music in early movies.

Today we're looking at tension in early movies.

That's the title of our lesson.

Our lesson comes from the unit of work, film, music.

So I hope you're feeling interested in this topic, looking forward to exploring tension in early movies.

If you have some energy, focus, and enthusiasm, we'll begin our lesson now.

The outcome for today's lesson is I can explain how music in silent movies helps to create tension and suspense.

We have some keywords in our lesson.

Let's go through them.

Mickey-mousing, diminished seventh, and dissonance.

So what do these keywords mean? Mickey-mousing, this is a technique in which the film music copies movement on screen, eg.

ascending notes in time with a character ascending stairs.

Diminished seventh, a cord containing four notes that is useful for creating a feeling of sudden drama.

Dissonance, a combination of notes which create a harsh or tense sound, opposite of consonance.

So these are our keywords, mickey-mousing, diminished seventh and dissonance.

Let's look out and listen out for them.

They'll be coming up in our lesson today.

Our lesson is called "Tension in early movies," and it has two learning cycles, mickey-mousing and suspense in silent movie music and creating music for tense moments.

Let's begin by exploring mickey-mousing and suspense in silent movie music.

In film music, sometimes the music imitates the action or movement of characters on screen.

For example, when a character falls down a hill, the melody descends or when a character tiptoes out of a room, the notes play in time with the footsteps.

This is called mickey-mousing.

I'd like you now to identify the three moments of mickey-mousing in this clip.

Watch the video now.

(whimsical music) (whimsical music) (dramatic music) (dramatic music) And now I'd like you to tell the person next to you three moments of mickey-mousing that you noticed in that clip.

Thanks for sharing.

The mickey-mousing examples were when the characters run up the stairs, the melody ascents up up a scale.

Let's watch and listen.

(whimsical music) And when the first character falls off the roof, the melody quickly descends.

(dramatic music) Let's watch the video.

And when the second character jumps down the stairs, the melody jumps down in time with his movements.

Let's watch this.

(dramatic music) Can you think of any other ways that you could use mickey-mousing? Pause here and share with someone.

Perhaps you talked about the door slamming or jumping out of the window.

Let's watch another clip.

How is mickey-mousing used in this clip? Watch the video now.

(whimsical music) (suspenseful music) (mischievous music) (suspenseful music) Pause here and share with someone how was mickey-mousing used in this clip? Thanks for sharing.

Let's hear a response from Aisha.

"The music matches the timing and movement of the villain each time he hits the other character on the head." Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of these would be an example of mickey-mousing? A, a descending arpeggio as someone runs up a hill? B, an ascending scale as someone runs up a hill? C, a repeated note as someone runs up a hill? Or D, octave leaps as someone runs up a hill? Pause here while you decide which of these would be an example of mickey-mousing.

Well done if you selected answer B.

Indeed, an ascending scale as someone runs up a hill would be an example of mickey-mousing.

Suspense scenes were common in silent movies.

Let's watch this first clip.

And now let's watch the clip with music.

(dramatic music) (dramatic music) How does the composer use the musical elements and other musical techniques to create suspense? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's hear some responses.

Here's Laura, "Changes in dynamics building tension.

Shrill timbres creating tension, fast trills creating tension." "Very high-pitched notes creating a feeling of suspense," from Jacob, "and chromatic notes creating dissonance that sounds eerie and uncertain." Some terrific responses.

Maybe you had some like these.

Use of dissonance in harmony is common in film music, particularly to create a feeling of tension.

This is created by using close intervals and clashing notes in the chords.

A normal triad chord creates a consonant sound, generally pleasing on the ear.

Dissonance is the opposite of this.

This scene creates a very different type of suspense in which the character is sneaking around.

Let's watch this scene.

(suspenseful music) (suspenseful music) (dramatic music) What musical features help to create a feeling of suspense here? Can you spot the dissonant cord? Pause here and share with someone.

Thanks for sharing.

Let's gather some responses.

Here's Sophia, "The gradually rising pitch and increasing dynamics, the staccato articulation, the chromatic notes, and dissonant chord at the end." Perhaps you had answers like these.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which is not a typical feature of suspenseful film music? Is it A, steady simple rhythms? B, use of chromatic notes? C, changes in articulation? Or D, changes in dynamics? Pause here while you decide which of these is not a typical feature of suspenseful film music.

Well done if you selected answer A.

Indeed, steady, simple rhythms is not a typical feature of suspenseful film music.

Let's have another check for understanding.

Which of the following refers to dissonance? Is it A, a combination of notes which create tension? B, a combination of notes which sound pleasant and resolved? Or C, a combination of notes which imitate the action on screen? Pause here while you decide which of these refers to dissonance.

Well done if you selected answer A, a combination of notes which create tension refers to dissonance.

And now it's time for your first task.

This is an example of film music in a suspenseful scene.

In a moment, we'll listen to the music, and then I'd like you to answer these three questions.

One, how has the composer used harmony to create suspense? Two, how has the composer used dynamics to create suspense? And three, name one other feature that creates a feeling of suspense.

So now let's listen to this example of film music.

(suspenseful music) (suspenseful music) (suspenseful music) And next, we have a short melody, which is an example of mickey-mousing.

In a moment, we'll listen to this, and I'd like you to answer this question.

What action would you expect to see on screen? Let's listen to this short melody, which is an example of mickey-mousing.

(whimsical music) So how did you get on with that task? So we had the example of film music and a suspenseful scene.

Question was, how has the composer used harmony to create suspense? Perhaps you said the harmony is dissonant and chromatic, which creates suspense.

Next question, how has the composer used dynamics to create suspense? Maybe you said the dynamics start quiet and gradually become louder, building suspense.

And then we had the question, name one other feature that creates a feeling of suspense.

Perhaps you said something like this, the rising pitch, which creates a feeling of tension and something building.

Then we listened to a short melody, which was an example of mickey-mousing and you were asked, what action would you expect to see on screen? Perhaps you said something like this, a character descending something quickly, perhaps running downstairs or jumping off something.

And now we're onto our next learning cycle, creating music for tense moments.

In silent movies, the music was usually performed live in a theater, either by a soloist playing piano or organ or an ensemble.

Soloists often improvise the music while watching the film.

In suspenseful scenes, the performer used certain musical features to create an appropriate mood.

These included use of traumatic notes and dissonant chords, including diminished seventh chords.

And we'll be discussing diminished seventh chords in more detail shortly.

Changes in dynamics, use of articulation to create suspense and drama, eg.

staccato notes or sudden accents.

Mickey-mousing to match characters' movements where possible.

As promised, here we are exploring what a diminished seventh chord is.

A diminished seventh chord is a typical chord used to create a feeling of tension or drama.

Listen to these three chords.

Which one feels the most tense? (tense piano music) Here's the next chord.

(tense piano music) And the third chord.

(tense piano music) So pause here and share with someone, which of those three chords felt the most tense? Well done if you selected the third chord, that one was indeed the most tense.

To create a diminished seventh chord, we start with the root note- in this example D.

The next note is three semitones higher.

The next note is three semitones higher.

The final note is three semitones higher.

The diminished seventh contains four notes, all three semitones apart.

The final note is the seventh note from the root.

We can create a diminished seventh chord starting on any note.

To create music for a suspense scene, watch the scene and memorize where the key dramatic moment is.

Practice playing a sudden diminished seventh chord to create drama at that point.

Let's watch the video.

<v Teacher>First I'm gonna work out</v> a diminished seventh chord.

Now to do that, I'm gonna choose a note.

In this case, I might choose the note A.

(piano music) I'm gonna count up three semitones, 1, 2, 3.

Then the same again, 1, 2, 3.

Then the same for a third time, 1, 2, 3.

So that's my diminished seventh chord.

In this one ,I've got A.

C, E-flat and F-sharp.

(piano music) So really effective, dramatic sort of suspenseful chord.

And I could play it in just one hand like that.

Or if I want to make it even more dramatic, I could play it with my other hand, an octave higher.

(suspenseful piano music) The same four notes.

So if I play both hands together, (suspenseful piano music) it creates a very dramatic chord.

Now I'm gonna put my film clip on.

Now I'm gonna practice playing that chord at the dramatic moment when he lights the fire.

So that's coming towards the end of the clip here.

So I'm gonna play the clip and try and time my diminished seventh chord for that moment.

(suspenseful piano music) And I'm gonna practice that until I really get a sense of the timing, so I know exactly when that moment is coming and I'm ready to play that diminished seventh chord perfectly in time with it to really create that dramatic moment.

<v ->Create a simple low-pitch staccato melody that moves up</v> or down the A minor scale.

Add chromatic notes and consider playing in octaves.

Let's watch the video and play along.

<v Teacher>Now I need some music</v> that's gonna build some suspense and tension in the first part of the clip, so before that dramatic climax.

So for this, I'm gonna create a staccato melody that's gonna be quite low pitched on my instrument, and it's gonna just move up and down the scale.

I could use here the A minor scale, so that's the white notes, but starting on A.

(suspenseful piano music) But it'll also sound particularly interesting if I add some chromatic notes as well.

So try experimenting with the notes of that scale by adding some black notes here or there.

(suspenseful piano music) So something like that where I'm just moving up and down the scale, experimenting with some chromatic notes, and I've got that staccato articulation as well.

Now when I'm playing this, I want to make it build in excitement as I go.

So I'm gonna be gradually building up the dynamics so that it starts to create and build the drama.

But what I can also do is play an octave.

So rather than just playing one note at a time, (suspenseful piano music) I can also play an octave lower at the same time.

(suspenseful piano music) That adds a bit of depth to it and makes it a bit more exciting too.

So I'm gonna play that along with the first part of the clip.

(suspenseful music) Okay, and there we've got to that dramatic moment, which is when I'm gonna add in my diminished seventh chord.

<v ->And now combine the staccato melody</v> and diminished seventh chords to perform the music live with the film.

Let's play the video and play along.

(suspenseful music) (dramatic music) <v Teacher>So there I've combined the two.

</v> I've got that gradual buildup, the melody and octaves, and then that diminished seventh chord for the real moment of drama and climax at the end.

<v ->Well done for having a go at creating music</v> for a suspense scene.

Let's have a check for understanding.

How many notes are in a diminished seventh chord? There's A, one, B, two C, three, or D, four.

Pause here while you decide how many notes are in a diminished seventh chord.

Well done if you selected four.

That's how many notes are in a diminished seventh chord.

Let's have a check for understanding.

Which of these is a diminished seventh chord? Is it A, B, C, or D? Pause here while you decide, which of these is a diminished seventh chord? Well done if you selected answer B.

That one is the diminished seventh chord.

And now it's time for your next task.

I would like you to create and perform film music for the suspenseful scene.

Success criteria, olay a simple low-pitch staccato melody that moves up and down the A minor scale, white notes starting on A.

Add chromatic notes and play in octaves.

Use a diminished seventh chord at a key dramatic moment.

Combine both the melody and chord to perform the music live with the film.

So pause here while you have a go at this task.

Enjoy your task and I'll see you when you're finished.

It's great to be back with you.

So how did you get on with that task? And now let's take a look at how does this example match the success criteria? And how could the music be more suspenseful? Let's watch and listen.

(suspenseful music) (suspenseful music) (dramatic music) So let's see how this example matched the success criteria and how the music could be more suspenseful.

The melody is staccato.

It uses chromatic notes and a diminished seventh chord at the appropriate time.

The melody could be played in octaves and the dynamics could be developed more.

The diminished seventh chord could be played with two hands to be more intense and suspenseful.

Some great reflection there.

And I hope you enjoyed creating your music for the suspenseful scene.

In our lesson, tension in early movies, we've covered the following.

Mickey-mousing is a common technique in early movies.

This is where the music copies the movement of a character.

Many early movies also involve scenes in which music is key to creating suspense.

Typical suspenseful music uses dissonant chords such as diminished sevenths and sudden changes.

Well done, everyone, for joining in with this lesson.

It was great to explore tension in early movies together.

I love some of those clips, and it's great to spot the mickey-mousing, how the music was following along with the character's movement, and for you to use diminished sevenths and dissonant chords to create some tense and suspenseful music of your own.

I hope you're proud of what you created, and I hope you enjoyed this lesson.

I certainly enjoyed teaching you, and I'm looking forward to seeing you at another music lesson soon.

Until then, stay musical.