Lesson video

Hello, welcome to today's lesson entitled "Creating contrasting leitmotifs." My name is Mr. Norris.

Today, we're gonna be following the process that a lot of film music composers have to do, which is thinking about creating contrasting leitmotifs for different characters in films, matching the music to their character.

Let's get into it.

Our outcome is I can create contrasting leitmotifs to represent different ideas by considering specific melodic features.

Some keywords.

We've got leitmotif.

This is a musical idea that represents a specific character, place, or idea.

Melodic shape.

This is the shape of a melody, including how it ascends and descends, and where it's conjunct and disjunct.

Interval.

This is the distance in pitch between two notes.

An example would be an octave or a 5th.

Conjunct, when a melody has small intervals between the notes.

We also call conjunct movement moving by step.

And finally, disjunct, which is when a melody has large intervals between notes, and we also refer to this as moving by leap.

The first part of today's lesson is looking at contrasting use of leitmotif.

A key role of leitmotifs is to reflect features of things that they represent, whether it's a place or a character or an idea.

This leitmotif represents a calm, peaceful, and happy countryside village called The Shire.

This is from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the associated films. It's the safe home of some of the main characters.

So there's a few features there that we know.

We know it's peaceful, it's happy, it's calm, and it's safe.

What musical features from this leitmotif help it to suit that place? I'd like you to pause my video, have a listen, and see if you can think of some.

And you might have mentioned that it has major tonality, which creates a sense of something positive.

It uses legato articulation and a mellow timbre as well.

And together, these create a feeling of calm and positivity, of safety and of peace.

So the composer has made very explicit decisions about using those different aspects to match the mood and the feeling of that place.

Have a listen to these two different leitmotifs.

What do they suggest about the places that they represent? Let's hear the first one.

(suspenseful music) So just have a think about what sort of place that might represent.

So for this leitmotif, we might say it suits a place that's scary, unpredictable, and maybe unsafe.

Let's hear the second one now.

What sort of place do you think this would best suit? (majestic music) Just have a quick think about that one.

And we might say for that one then that it represents a grand, dramatic, or impressive place.

So both of those would suit very different places in films. We're gonna listen again to the first one.

How does it use the musical elements to create a sense of somewhere scary, unpredictable, and unsafe? Let's hear it.

See if you can think of a few ways it does that.

(suspenseful music) I'll play you it two more times.

(suspenseful music) And the third and final time.

So how does it use different musical elements to create a sense of somewhere scary, unpredictable, and unsafe? (suspenseful music) So if you need to, you can pause my video while you think of a few ideas.

And you might have picked up on some of these points then.

The shrill timbre creates quite an unpleasant feeling.

It's played in a very high pitched oboe.

It's quite a piercing sound.

The chromatic harmony sounds a bit unusual or weird.

The erratic rhythms feel quite unpredictable.

It's not slow, consistent rhythms. Feels a bit jumpy and a bit unpredictable.

And the high pitch creates an unnatural, unnerving feeling, so something a little bit eerie.

So together, these different elements there, we've got timbre, harmony, rhythms, and pitch, and there are more we could talk about, combine to create this feeling of somewhere a bit unpredictable, a little bit scary or eerie or creepy and unsafe.

Let's now listen to the second leitmotif again and let's think about the same thing.

How does it use the different musical elements to create a sense of somewhere grand, dramatic, and impressive? Let's hear it, and again, I'll play you it three times.

(majestic music) Let's hear it a second time.

(majestic music) And for the final time, just thinking about how those different musical elements help create that sense of something grand, dramatic, and impressive.

(majestic music) And if you need to, you can pause my video while you reflect on that one.

And here are some of the things you could have said about this.

We could have said that the loud dynamics create a sense of power and grandness.

The use of brass instruments creates a feeling of something grand or royal.

Remember, brass instruments are often associated with royalty and important, powerful people.

The strong rhythms feel confident and dramatic.

The accented articulation feels powerful and dramatic as well.

So again, together, those different elements combine to create this image of somewhere grand, dramatic, and impressive.

We've got dynamics there, instrumentation, rhythms, and articulation.

That composer has made very specific choices about all of those to really try and suit that location in the film.

Now, melodic shape is a key feature to consider when we're writing a leitmotif.

An ascending melodic shape can create a feeling of hope or optimism.

Let's have a listen to that second leitmotif again and notice how the ascending melodic shape helps to create that optimistic, hopeful, positive feeling.

(majestic music) On the other hand, a descending melodic shape can create a feeling of sadness or despair or create a more negative, resigned feeling.

Let's have a listen to this one and notice how the descending melodic shape is key to giving it that sadder, more despairing mood.

(somber music) And thinking about the melodic shape like this is a really key part of writing a leitmotif, it's a really common technique that film composers use to create certain moods.

Listen to The Shire leitmotif again.

What is its melodic shape? And I'll give you a clue here, it's a little bit more complicated than the two we've just looked at, so think carefully about the overall melodic shape of this leitmotif.

Pause my video, have listen to it.

We could represent the melodic shape of that leitmotif like this: it ascends and then it descends, and then it ascends even higher and then descends back down again.

So it's this constant ascending and descending shape.

It resolves to the tonic each time.

That helps the leitmotif to feel peaceful and calm.

So each time it ascends and then descends, it goes back to the tonic note in the key, that home note in the key.

And again, that's a really explicit decision that composer has made to try and make this place feel really peaceful, feel really calm, using that melodic shape and always coming back to the tonic, creating that feeling of security and safety.

The intervals used in a leitmotif also help to tell us about what it represents.

Which of these leitmotifs feels more confident and dramatic? The one with the large intervals or the one with the small intervals? Let's hear the large interval one first.

(dramatic music) Now let's hear the one with small intervals.

So which of these sounds more confident and dramatic? (dramatic music) And here we'd probably say that the leitmotif with the large intervals feels more confident or dramatic, even though they both use the same instrument, the same tonality, and the same rhythms. So melodies can be described as conjunct, which means using small intervals or steps, stepping between notes, or disjunct, which is using large intervals or leaps between notes.

Listen again to The Shire leitmotif.

How could we describe the melodic movement of this using the words conjunct or disjunct? Pause my video and have a listen.

And well done if you identified that this is mostly conjunct.

And the conjunct movement here, so the moving with small intervals, not big leaps between those, helps the leitmotif to feel peaceful and not dramatic.

And that matches the safe, calm character of the place.

So again, this composer has made these really clear decisions about using conjunct movement to create this feeling of safety and peace.

When we're using disjunct movement, the specific intervals affect the mood of the leitmotif.

For example, using unusual intervals, like 7ths, sounds strange or unusual.

It can create a sense of something a bit weird.

Using intervals that fit with simple chords, which are mainly 3rds, 5ths, 4ths, or octaves, sounds less unusual and more strong and confident because it's gonna fit with the notes of the chord.

So when we're choosing intervals to use, considering which intervals best suit that person, place, or idea is really key when we're writing a leitmotif.

So, in summary, when we're creating leitmotifs, we need to consider the elements, including timbre, tonality, rhythm, pitch, dynamics, and articulation.

And we also need to consider the melodic shape, and that encompasses whether it's ascending or descending.

Remember, creating that feeling of optimism and hope, or the sadder, more despairing mood of a descending melody, and the intervals that we use.

Are we using conjunct movement, disjunct movement, or are there any specific intervals that we're gonna use to suit that character? And these are all decisions to take when we're writing a leitmotif.

Let's check your understanding.

Which melodic shape is best suited to portraying a feeling of hope and optimism? Is it ascending, descending, ascending then descending, or descending then ascending? I'll give you a few seconds to choose the best answer.

And the best answer here is ascend.

Typically, an ascending melodic shape is used to create a feeling of hope and optimism.

Which word describes a melody that moves using leaps? Is it conjunct, conjunctive, disjunct, or disjunctive? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here is disjunct movement is when a melody moves using leaps.

Conjunct is when it moves using steps or small intervals.

So for Task A, we're gonna listen to each leitmotif, describe its mood, its melodic shape, and the type of intervals that are used as well.

So in the first column, use up to three words to describe the mood.

I've given you an example there.

You might say this is grand, confident, and hopeful.

In the second column, we're gonna use the words ascending and descending to describe the melodic shape.

And remember, it could be more than one of those.

It could do both.

And then the third column, we're describing the intervals.

Are they conjunct, disjunct, or does it do both? Let's start off with the first one.

Here it is for the first time, trying to fill in that first row for example 1.

(somber music) Here's example 1 for the second time.

(somber music) And now example 1 for the third time, so trying to finish off this first row.

(somber music) Okay, now let's move on to example 2.

Here it is for the first time.

(majestic music) And for the second time, example 2.

(majestic music) And for the third and final time, example 2.

(majestic music) And if you need to pause my video just while you finish off that one, you can do.

And now let's move on to example 3.

(tranquil music) Let's hear example 3 for the second time.

(tranquil music) And the third and final time, example 3.

(tranquil music) And now you can pause my video while you make sure you've finished off all three questions.

Let's go through this task then.

So, the first example, you might have used words like sad, hopeless, despairing, depressed, or pessimistic to describe the mood.

The melodic shape was descending, and the intervals were conjunct.

There was one leap in there, but the vast majority of the movement was conjunct movement.

The second example, you might have used words like strong, powerful, confident, dramatic, grand, or regal, maybe majestic, to describe the mood.

It was a ascending melodic shape, and the intervals were disjunct; it was moving by big leaps.

And then finally, the third example was calm, peaceful, tranquil, safe, maybe happy, content, positive, words like that.

The melodic shape was ascending and then descending.

And just like The Shire motif, that ascending then descending shape, coming back to the tonic, helps create a sense of something calm, peaceful, and safe.

The intervals were conjunct.

It was conjunct movement with small intervals between the notes.

Well done if you managed to identify some of those different aspects, and hopefully now you're starting to get a feeling for how the melodic shape and the choice of intervals really can affect the overall mood of a leitmotif.

Now we're gonna look at creating contrasting leitmotifs.

We're gonna create a leitmotif for a contrasting character.

I want you to start by considering the characteristics of the new character.

Are they, for example, good or evil? Are they strong or weak, predictable or erratic, lazy or energetic, sad or happy, unusual or normal? How would we describe our character? That's the first step before we even think about the music.

Once we've thought about that, then we're gonna consider how the musical elements could represent those characteristics.

So we've got our character description in the first box.

In my example here, I've gone for proud, hopeful, optimistic, and strong.

Lots of detail about that character there.

And then I've gone through each of those elements, thinking about how they represent those characteristics.

So I've gone for major tonality, a slow and consistent rhythm, giving that sense of strength and confidence, medium pitch, accented articulation, a brassy, full, strong timbre, and use of loud dynamics.

So I've thought through each of those elements, thinking how could this best suit that character? Once we've done that, we're gonna think about how the melodic shape and the choice of intervals can help to represent the character.

And this is the new aspect here, really focusing in on the detail of that melody itself.

So I've got my character description there.

I've gone for proud, hopeful, optimistic, and strong.

And so the melodic shape that I think best suits that is an ascending melodic shape because I want my character to seem hopeful, optimistic.

The intervals I'm gonna use are gonna be disjunct because they will give that greater sense of confidence, of strength, of pride, et cetera.

So things like 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, and octaves in particular will be most effective for portraying this character.

Let's have a look at putting that into practice then, taking that information and creating a leitmotif for this character.

I'm gonna create a leitmotif for my proud, hopeful, optimistic, and strong character.

We can see there, I've identified how I'm gonna use some of the musical elements, and I've also thought about the melodic shapes.

I'm gonna try and use this ascending melodic shape for that feeling of hope and optimism, and I'm gonna use some disjunct intervals in there as well, particularly 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, or octaves.

I don't have to use only disjunct intervals, I can mix and match a bit, but I definitely want to use some to give it that feeling of strength and pride and optimism that comes with those bigger disjunct intervals.

So I've also chosen an instrument that matches my brassy, full, and strong timbre.

I'm gonna use some French horns.

And now I'm just gonna improvise some ideas, trying to use those features there.

If I'm working in a major key, which I am for this one, I'm in C major, so that's the white notes, with C as the tonic.

And I'm gonna want to use that tonic, that C note, to really help it feel strong and positive in the key.

If I was working in a minor key, I'd be doing it in A minor.

So that's all the white notes, but with A as the tonic instead, so really emphasizing that note A.

So here I am then, C major, I've got my French horns.

Let's improvise a few ideas till I find one that I like.

(hopeful music) You'll notice in both of those that I've used a lot of the notes of the C major chord, C, E, and G, and that's because if you're using the notes of that chord, it really makes it feel strong and major and sort of positive.

So that's quite an effective thing to do as well.

I'm gonna try using some slightly different notes this time, but still starting on that C.

(hopeful music) So that one used a mix of some conjunct and disjunct movement, and I think I quite like that one.

It sounds a bit more unique than the other one, so I'm gonna stick to that.

I'll show you it one more time.

(hopeful music) So I think that quite effectively portrays a proud, hopeful, optimistic, and strong character, and I've done that by carefully thinking about those melodic features and the musical elements that I've used as well.

Let's check your understanding.

Which large interval would work well in the leitmotif for an unusual or strange character? I'll give you a few seconds to choose one.

And the best answer here would be a 7th.

That's the unusual interval that would best suit a strange or unusual character.

To create a feeling of safety and predictability, which note could a leitmotif keep returning to? Is it a very high note, F, the 5th, or the tonic? I'll give you a few seconds to choose one.

And the best answer here is the tonic.

If we return to the tonic, it creates a sense of safety, of resolution, of completeness, and of peace.

So that's a really effective technique if you're trying to create a sense of something safe, calm, and predictable.

For Task B, you're gonna compose a short leitmotif to represent your new contrasting character.

Start off by describing the character in up to five words, and fill in that character description box with as much detail about that character as you can.

Identify how you can represent those features with the musical elements, the melodic shape, and the interval.

So fill in each box thinking about how that particular element or aspect can be used to really suit this character.

And then only once you've done that and start thinking about the music, you're gonna compose a short leitmotif that suits that character using all those different elements and aspects that you've planned out.

So get really creative, try and create some really interesting characters and leitmotifs to go with them, and give this your best shot.

You can pause my video now.

For the final part of this task, I'd like you to listen to this leitmotif.

The composer is trying to create a musical image of a calm yet optimistic character.

Two keywords there, calm and optimistic.

How could they adapt this leitmotif to represent these traits more effectively? So thinking about representing those two key traits, calm and optimistic.

Here we go.

Let's hear what they've come up with so far.

(whimsical music) I'll play you it two more times.

Here it is for the second time.

(whimsical music) And here it is for the third time, thinking about how they could adapt this to more effectively create a sense of a calm, optimistic character.

Here it is.

(whimsical music) And you can pause my video while you finish your answer for this task.

Let's go through this then.

There are a few different ways they could adapt this to more effectively create a sense of a calm, optimistic character.

The first is to use an ascending melodic shape to create an optimistic mood.

At the moment, the melody's mostly descending, so it doesn't create that sense of optimism and hope.

They could use major tonality to create a feeling of positivity and optimism as well.

At the moment, it uses a minor scale, it's based on a minor key, so it doesn't have that feeling of hope and optimism.

They could also use slower rhythms and smoother articulation to create a calmer mood.

Both of those would help create more of a sense of calm.

You might have also mentioned choosing a timbre that better creates a sense of calm.

The bassoon isn't a bad choice, but there might be other timbres that more effectively create a calm mood.

So well done if you managed to think of some of those points.

Let's review today's lesson.

Leitmotifs must reflect the character or the mood of what they represent.

Carefully planning how to use the musical elements, such as tonality and rhythm, is a really key part of this.

However, we must also consider how melodic shape affects the character of a leitmotif.

Using conjunct or disjunct intervals in a melody can also shape the mood or the feeling that it creates.

So thinking carefully about these extra aspects is really key to writing effective leitmotifs.

That's the end of today's lesson then.

Hopefully you feel like you've got an even deeper understanding of how film music composers go about crafting leitmotifs with real care to match the things that they represent.

And hopefully now you've managed to come up with a really interesting contrasting leitmotif that uses some of those different techniques.

Thanks for taking part in today's lesson, and I'll see you in another one.