Lesson video

Welcome to today's lesson entitled Developing Mood in Film Music.

My name is Mr. Norris and today we're gonna be looking at some of the ways that we can change music and develop musical ideas in film scenes to shape the way that that scene is viewed and to help add excitement and variety to our music.

Our outcome is that "I can use texture to develop music for a film scene." Some keywords: ostinato: this is a repeating musical idea that forms the basis of a composition or a section.

Genre: this is a category of music that has shared characteristics.

An example is jazz or rock.

Texture: this is how many layers of sound are heard at the same time and how they fit together.

And finally, musical cliche: this is a commonly used musical idea or association.

The first part of today's lesson is looking at instrumentation and genre in film music.

Film composers use specific genres to set the scene in a particular place or time.

And film music draws on many different genres.

So if you go out and listen to 10 different films, you'll hear all sorts of different musical genres influencing the music in those films. Have a listen to this example.

What genre is this soundtrack and what could this tell us about when this film is set? Pause my video and have a listen.

And well done if you identified that that was jazz or swing and it was played by a big band, and that would suggest that the film could be set when this was most popular, which was the 1930s, 1940s, sort of early to mid 20th century.

So by using that specific genre, that composer is helping to ground this film in that time period.

Have a listen to this different example.

What genre is this and what could this tell us about when that film is set? Pause my video.

Have a listen.

And this was an example of electronic music Suggesting that the film is possibly set in the future, 'cause these unusual electronic sounds sound quite futuristic.

Sometimes genre can be used due to its association with a specific mood as well.

So we've looked at examples of how genre can suggest when a film is set, but we can also use genre to create certain moods.

The driving rhythms and the powerful timbres of rock are often used to create a feeling of energy and excitement.

This example here is a great example of where rock music is being used to create that energy and excitement in a film.

Pause my video and just have a listen to that.

Jazz is often used to create a sense of mystery.

And again, this is a really good example of where that jazz music has been used to create this mysterious, slightly tense mood.

Pause my video and see if you can think about how it creates that mood.

And finally, large orchestral and choral music is often used to create a sense of something grand and epic, because you've got these huge ensembles playing this grand, impressive music together.

This is one example of that, but a lot of film music uses large orchestras for this effect.

Pause my video, have a listen to this example and try and notice how that use of that large ensemble creates this really grand, epic feeling to the music.

This next film uses a fusion of different genres.

So all the examples we've looked at so far use a specific genre either to set a film in a particular time or to create a specific mood, but this one mixes some different genres.

It's a comedy that's set in the medieval period, but the music fuses medieval instruments and melodies with modern funk and rock.

What might this suggest to the audience? Pause my video, have a listen.

and see what you think that fusion of these different genres from totally different periods of time suggests to the audience about this film.

Have a listen now.

And I would say that this fusion gives the impression that the film isn't a true, realistic story from medieval history.

The music isn't trying to be true to that time, but instead it's a modern creation and it's less sort of historically real.

And that also fits with a slightly less serious feel of the film, which is a comedy.

So this works quite effectively here.

If this film was trying to be a really serious recreation of a historical tale, this fusion of the different genres might not work quite as effectively, but in this case, it works really well to create that mood in this film.

Let's check your understanding.

Which two are reasons that film composers use specific genres? Is it to set a film in a certain time or place, to improve the balance of music and speech in a film, to reduce the cost of producing a film, or to create a specific associated mood? And pause my video and choose two.

And the correct answers here are to set a film in a certain time or place and to create a specific associated mood.

The genres are used for those two reasons.

Now, many Hollywood films use a mix of orchestral, electronic and pop and rock instruments in their music.

The variety of sounds and textures that an orchestra create makes it very useful for film composers.

And in the early days of Hollywood movies in the 1930s, 40s, 50s, composers often used orchestras because they had all this variety of different sounds that they could create.

And that continues to this day in a lot of films. They can create everything from really intense, dramatic textures to sparse and thin atmospheric textures.

There's a huge variety of different moods that they can create.

Just pause my video, listen to those two examples and try and compare how that composer has used the same ensemble, the orchestra, to create these very different contrasting textures.

Specific instruments are often used to create certain associations in the music as well.

So we've looked at use of genre, but the way we use instruments to create associations is also really key.

These are called musical cliches.

One common example is the use of instruments that are associated with the military to create a feeling of something related to war or battle.

Have a listen to this clip.

What instruments help to create that link to the military and the feeling of the war here? Pause my video.

And in that example, hopefully there you mentioned the use of brass instruments, things like trumpets and trombones and percussion instruments, particularly drums and cymbals as well.

Those are instruments that are typically associated with the military.

Brass instruments also have an association with royal occasions, so they're often used to create a feeling of something majestic and important.

The fanfare, which is usually played on trumpets or other brass instruments, is a musical idea that's based on an arpeggio that is used to announce the arrival of someone important.

And you almost certainly have come across this musical cliche before where this is used to create a sense of someone important arriving.

Just pause my video and have a listen to this clip.

This is of a brass fanfare, so listen out for that melody that's based on an arpeggio played on those brass instruments.

Now in this example from a film, it's used when the hero enters the scene and it creates a feeling of that character's importance.

And brass instruments are often used like this to represent heroic characters or sort of hero of the film.

So pause my video, listen out for that fanfare that's played, and have a think about how that helps to create this feeling that that character is a hero and that that character is really important in the film.

Have a listen now.

Another musical cliche is the use of strings playing arco, and that means playing with a bow, and this is often used in emotional scenes.

Have a listen to this example that shows that musical cliche in a famous film.

Another musical cliche is using electronic instruments for sci-fi films. Again, creating this sort of futuristic feeling and association.

Pause my video and see if you can hear that association in this example.

Composers will often use the flute, the oboe or the whistle to create a feeling of gentleness or something innocent and calm.

Pause my video and have a listen to this iconic example of that musical cliche.

And finally, the solo piano is often used to create a simple feeling of sadness or melancholy.

This is a really famous example of that being used there.

Pause my video and have a listen to it.

So we've explored there some of those different musical cliches, the way that different instruments or techniques or sounds are used to create specific moods or specific associations.

Let's check your understanding.

Which family of instruments is often used to create a feeling of a character's importance? Is it woodwind, strings, brass, or percussion? I'll give you a few seconds.

And here the correct answer is brass.

That's the one that's often associated with a feeling of importance, things that are grand, royal or majestic.

What type of instruments are often associated with sci-fi films? Is it rock and pop instruments, electronic instruments, orchestral instruments, or choral sounds? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answer here is electronic instruments.

Those are the ones that are often associated with sci-fi or futuristic films. Which would be most typical for an emotional scene? using arco strings, forte woodwind, accented brass, or staccato percussion? I'll give you a few seconds to choose the best answer.

And the correct answer is arco strings is the most typical for creating an emotional scene.

Well done if you chose that.

For Task A, you're gonna listen to each example and answer the questions.

For example one, I'd like you to identify what genre has influenced this film music, and what mood does that help to create? For example two, how is the use of instruments here typical for an emotional scene? And for example three, how does the instrumentation suggest that this character is important? So you can pause my video listen all three examples and give this task your best shot.

Let's go through this task.

For example one, the genre that's influenced this was jazz and the mood that that helped to create is a relaxed, calm and not too serious mood.

You might have said it also creates a sense of something a little bit mysterious or playful as well.

For example two, the use of instruments is typical for an emotional scene because it uses a string orchestra or a string section playing together using arco, that's using the bows.

And this is very typical for emotional film scenes.

And then example three, the instrumentation suggests this character is important because they're often associated with brass instruments.

And here the melody is played by trumpets in a triumphant fanfare-like style.

Remember that idea, that fanfare, that melody based on an arpeggio that often implies somebody's importance.

Well done if you managed to pick up on some of those points in this task.

For the second part of our lesson, we're gonna look at using texture to develop mood.

Film composers have to consider texture to develop the mood and the atmosphere of their music.

I'd like you to listen to this clip.

How does the texture develop in this? And remember, texture is the different layers of music, how they fit together and how they interact with each other.

Pause my video and have a listen to how the texture develops here.

And here you might have mentioned that the texture gets thicker as more layers of sound are added, and the effect that has is it becomes busier and more energetic.

Well done if you spotted that.

Now so far we've created an ostinato that uses tonality, instrumentation and rhythm to create an appropriate mood for a dark, futuristic action movie.

The minor tonality helps create that dark, ominous mood.

The electronic instruments create a futuristic mood that help set it in the future, and the use of repeating rhythms creates a feeling of action.

So these different elements combine to help create that feeling that's really suitable for this film.

Now we can use texture to develop this ostinato.

And the reason we wanna do this is because it helps to create variety so the music doesn't get boring and just sound like it's repeating the same thing over and over again.

But also it helps us to build energy and excitement through the music as well.

And that's a key reason why film composers develop the texture in their music.

To develop the texture, we're gonna start by creating an additional layer based on broken chords.

Let's watch that process.

Adding an additional core track is a really effective way of developing the texture and adding musical interest.

I'm gonna start by creating a new track.

And what I'm gonna want to do for this core track is to use some broken chords to add a little bit of a different spin on my chord sequence.

So I'm gonna be trying to choose again, a timbre that sounds electronic and futuristic, but one that's gonna sound quite good playing broken chords.

I've already been through a few and I've chosen this one that I'm gonna use.

But you can choose one that suits the timbres of your composition.

This is what this one sounds like.

(futuristic synth music) Sounds quite futuristic, quite electronic, but it's quite nice and passive as well.

Each note has a bit of a punch to it.

So that'll add some excitement and energy.

Now, a broken chord is when we take the notes of a chord, but don't play them all together.

So whereas a block chord would be all three notes played together, (chord stabs) a broken chord would be them not all together.

So it could be one after another, (three notes of chords play individually) or it could be two and then one, (chord note stabbing) or it could be any other combination that you can think of.

There's really an infinite variety of ways you can play broken chords.

Now what I'm gonna try to do here is to create a really rhythmic broken chord pattern that adds some energy and excitement, but is based on my four chords.

So I know my first chord here was an A minor chord, which is E, C, sorry, A C and E.

(A, C and E notes play) Those three notes there.

So there's lots of different ways I could create a pattern.

I could do a pattern that just ascends and repeats.

(rapid synth pattern plays) I could do one that ascends then descends.

(rapid synth pattern plays) I could do one that jumps around a bit, (rapid synth pattern plays) or I could do one that just descents.

(rapid synth pattern plays) There's lots of different ways I can play that chord.

And what I'm gonna do is I'm just gonna loop that first chord in my other tracks.

Just try out some of these patterns.

(upbeat synth backing music) (rapid synth pattern plays) So I've got one that I quite like there.

This one.

(rapid synth pattern plays) Kind of jumping around, starts on the top note of the chord, (chord stabs) then the bottom one, (chord stabs) then the middle one, then the bottom one.

(chord stabs) (synth pattern plays, gaining tempo) And if I play that fast, it sounds quite effective.

Now, one thing you could do here if you're finding it difficult to record your patterns at the speed that you want is slow the tempo right down and record them in a slower tempo.

So if I was to play it now.

(moderate tempo synth track plays) That's much easier to play.

So it's a strategy you can use if you want to.

I'm just gonna record mine at my full tempo, and I'm gonna record in that first bar.

Here we go.

(metronome clicks) (rapid futuristic synth music) Sometimes semiquaver patterns there.

Let's quickly quantize that and now I'm gonna use the same pattern on each of my other chords.

So whatever pattern you use for your first chord, use the same ones using the notes of your other chords.

So my second chord is a G chord.

(synth plays G chord) Those three notes, G, B and D.

So if I do the same pattern, (rapid synth pattern plays) just using the notes of the G chord, I can record that in.

Here we go.

(rapid futuristic synth music) And then I can repeat that for each of my chords.

I'll do one at a time, but for the purposes of today, I'm just gonna record my third and fourth chords in together, which are D minor and then F.

(synth plays chords) Here we go.

(rapid futuristic synth music) I'm just gonna join those regions together into one, big one region and then I can quantize them and loop them.

Let's hear what that all sounds like then.

(rapid futuristic synth music) So to summarize, I've used broken chords, I've used a futuristic synthesizer timbre.

I've experimented with different broken chord patterns to find one that I like and it's based on repeating notes, quite fast rhythms, and then I've recorded that in to fit with the notes of each chord in my original chord sequence.

Then we're gonna structure the different layers to create changes in the texture, adding some variety.

Let's see that in action.

Now that I've created the different parts of my texture, I'm gonna arrange them so that the texture gradually builds up and builds in a bit of interest by not being the same all the way.

So I'm gonna cut back each of my loops so that they're just playing once rather than repeating lots of times.

So there are four bars along there and now I'm gonna work out how I want to start it.

So I'm gonna start with a thinner texture and I'll maybe start with my original chord sequence.

And then after four bars, I'll maybe bring in one of my rhythmic tracks.

So I'm moving these out the way so they join in later.

And I'm gonna start doing some looping there.

So it starts with just the chords.

(soft synth chord sequence) (percussion pattern layer adds) Now I think I'm gonna maybe bring in my broken cord pattern and one of the other percussion parts.

So maybe I'll go for that track and the one with my sort of kick feel in it, the one that really emphasizes the pulse.

So I'll loop them all.

I'll bring in the bass here and then I'll bring in that final percussion track there for the last section.

So we can see there, we're starting with a thin texture, it's gradually building up so that the interest gradually develops throughout the clip.

Let's have a listen to the whole thing.

(soft synth chord tones) (percussive layer adds) (fast broken chord pattern layer adds) (rapid futuristic synth music) So that texture develops nicely there.

A couple things to notice.

I'm always working in blocks of four bars, so each loop is four bars long.

I don't want to start any sections at two bars through a loop or three bars.

It works much more effectively if I start sections and end sections after four bar chunks.

And secondly, I've thought carefully about the sequence that I'm introducing these parts.

If I just started off, for example, with this track.

(whooshing and snapping percussive sample) it wouldn't be a very effective start 'cause there's a lot of space in it.

There are big gaps and big rests, whereas starting off with the chord theme sounds much more effective.

So think carefully about which parts you're using when and not just introducing them in a sort of random order.

And hopefully you can see there that process that takes our simple repeating ostinato, develops the texture to add some variety and build energy in the mood of our music.

Let's check understanding.

Which two are reasons to develop the texture in film music? Is it to create musical variety, to tell us about a character, to match a character's movements, or to build energy? I'll give you a few seconds.

And the correct answers here are to create musical variety and to build energy.

Those are the two key reasons that we want to develop the texture, creating that variety, but also building the energy and excitement.

So for Task B, you're gonna develop the texture of your ostinato to build energy and to create musical variety.

Here's some success criteria.

Make sure you've recorded an additional track using broken chords.

Make sure you structure your composition to create gradual changes in texture, either getting thicker or thinner, or you can do both.

And make sure you're using suitable electronic instruments.

Remember, this is a futuristic action movie.

We want instruments and timbres that suit that mood.

So you can pause my video now and give this composition task your best shot.

Good luck.

For the final part of this task, I'd like you to listen to this short composition for that scene and consider the texture.

How could the texture be developed more effectively to build energy in this scene? Let's have a listen.

(moderate tempo percussion track plays) (whooshing synth textures) (fast broken chord ostinato plays) now pause my video while you're finishing off your answer for this one.

Okay, let's go through this.

So you could have said it could start with a more interesting layer.

At the moment, it just starts with a simple percussion track.

So it could be more effective if it began with one of the more interesting melodic parts.

It could then build up the layers more gradually as well.

So at the moment it starts with a very thin texture and then suddenly has a very thick texture when all the other parts join in together.

It'd be more effective at building texture if those parts were introduced one by one or more gradually to gradually build that energy and excitement.

So well done if you managed to pick up on either of those points.

Let's review today's lesson.

Film composers use different genres to help set the film in a time or place and to create an appropriate mood.

They also use specific instrumental cliches to create effects.

These include using arco strings for emotional moments and brass to represent important or heroic characters.

And we looked at a few different examples as well.

Developing the texture allows film composers to balance variety and repetition, but also to build energy.

So that's the end of today's lesson.

Hopefully you managed to develop your compositional ideas really effectively there and it's starting to come together into a piece of music that really suits this futuristic action movie.

I hope it's also been useful to explore some of those typical instrumental cliches.

When you're a composer, it's really important to understand the traditions and the norms of the music that you're working in.

So as a film composer, understanding the typical ways that other composers work is really important to being able to write your own film music really effectively.

So I hope you feel a bit better informed about different ways that composers work in film music.

Thanks for taking part in today's lesson, and I look forward to seeing you another time.