Lesson video

Hello, I'm Dr.

Southall, and this is a unit called Atmospheric Music.

Join me for our learning today, and we'll see how we get on.

The outcome for today's lesson is that you will be able to identify specific musical features that create suspense in music and can use these features to compose a short piece that suitably reflects a scene or action.

There's three key words.

The first is chromatic, and this is when a musical idea moves between the black and white notes on the keyboard.

The second is note cluster, a group of notes adjacent to each other, played at the same time.

And the third is pedal, a continuous, usually low-pitched note.

There's three parts to today's lesson about creating scary music.

The first is "Using Music to Create Suspense." Let's begin.

I want you to consider the scene shown in this photo.

And then we're gonna listen to the music and decide what might happen next.

Here we go.

(daunting music) (scampering music) (daunting music) How does the music make you feel about the scene? How does it make you change the way you think about what's going to happen next? We're gonna listen again, and this time, I want you to identify the musical devices you can hear and discuss how the elements are used to create suspense, so think about our keywords: chromatic, note cluster, and pedal but also ostinato, or repetition.

And see if you can comment on all of these as you're thinking about the music.

And also, mention things like pitch, dynamics, tempo, duration, and rhythm.

Let's listen again.

(daunting music) (scampering music) (daunting music) Well, it may be that you came up with some of these ideas.

The chromatic movement helps make the music sound scary.

There are some extremes of pitch.

Some are very low pitches with a rising pattern.

There is quite a fast tempo, and there are long notes and a constant rhythm in the ostinato.

You can hear the pedal at the start, and there are rising note clusters.

All of these are key features that make this music convey the feeling of suspense.

Note clusters and pedal notes can be sustained or played in a detached rhythm.

And remember a note cluster is notes that sound like they can clash.

Let's have a listen.

(petrifying music) I don't think that's a sound you're likely to hear in a comedy.

And when we refer to pedal, we're talking about a held note or the same note played in a rhythm.

Let's have a listen to an example.

(intimidating music) Again, it's helping create that sense of atmosphere.

Let's have a quick check for understanding.

What is a chromatic movement? Is it a, a repeated musical idea or pattern; b, a group of adjacent notes played at the same time; or c, a musical idea that moves between the black and white notes? Well, the answer is c, a musical idea that moves between the black and white notes.

Well done if you got that right.

What is a note cluster? Is it a, a repeated musical idea or pattern; b, a group of adjacent notes played at the same time; or c, a low-pitched note? Well, the answer for this one is b, a group of adjacent notes played at the same time.

Well done if you got that one right as well.

True or false: a continuous low-pitched note is a pedal? That's right.

The answer is true.

A continuous low-pitched note is a pedal.

Which of these descriptions help us to identify chromatic movement when listening to music? Is it a, that it repeats; b, that it can sound scary and create suspense; or c, it is usually low pitched? Well done, the answer is b, it can sound scary and create suspense.

Let's do an independent task.

I want you to match the musical excerpt to the most suitable scene description.

What musical devices and elements are used in the music to convey that scene? There are three possible ideas: floating out to sea, a chase, or something is coming towards you.

Let's listen to excerpt one.

(menacing music) (menacing music accelerates) (menacing music accelerates and swells) (menacing music accelerates) (menacing music accelerates and swells) (deranged music) I'm a bit scared.

Let's listen now to excerpt two (haunting music) (haunting music fades) (vanquished music) (vanquished music fades) and, finally, excerpt three.

(manic music) Love that piece of music.

So for each of those, think about which of these is the scene description, what musical devices they use, and what are the elements, and if you'd like to hear them again, just rewind the video.

Okay, excerpt one is conveying something that is coming towards you.

Some examples of the musical devices that are used are chromatic movement, ostinato, and note clusters.

Examples of things you might've written for the elements: pitch starts very low; there are higher notes, but they come later on; and the low-pitch pattern is throughout; the dynamics start quietly and get louder; the tempo starts slowly and gets faster; and changes give the impression of something coming closer.

Excerpt two is conveying floating out to sea.

There are chromatic movements.

Ostinato and pedal can be heard, and note clusters towards the end.

There are extremes of pitch, with high descending pattern and a low pedal, soft dynamics, and a slow tempo.

You, of course, might've written some other things as well.

These are just examples of the sorts of things that you could use, including that key vocabulary that we talked about earlier.

And finally, excerpt three.

I think we probably got this one right.

It's a chase.

There is chromatic movement and repetition.

The pitch is jumpy with a low constant pattern, loud dynamics, and fast tempo, and fast rhythms. I almost wanted to look behind me when that one played.

Okay, let's move on to part two, "Composing Music to Convey a Scene." To compose music to a scary scene, we need to use appropriate musical features.

What were the two common features in the previous music examples? And think about why they may be important to use.

Chromatic movement was one of them, and the use of ostinato, or repetition, was the other.

Ostinato gives a sense of structure, making the music sound memorable, and can create suspense, and the chromatic movement also helps the music sound scary.

With chromatic movement, using the smallest intervals is particularly effective.

What impression does this piece of music give? Let's have a listen.

(catastrophic music) Well, I know what I think.

I think I recognize that music or something very similar.

This is the opening of a classical piece of music, which uses the semitone interval, the smallest interval on the keyboard.

It sounds dramatic, and the interval was later famously used to represent a shark moving towards its victim.

That's where I know it from.

What else could happen with that two-note motif to give the impression of the shark coming towards you and to create more drama? Perform the "Jaws" motif, using your voice or a keyboard.

It should be low pitched.

It should repeat.

It should get faster and louder, using chromatic movement, and it should use added short note clusters.

♪ Duh dum, duh dum ♪ ♪ Dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum dum ♪ ♪ Dum dum, dum dum, dum dum, dum dum ♪ You might recognize that one from a famous movie.

What makes the musical idea so effective? Think about the number of notes, the range of notes, and the length.

You might've said things like it's simple, the notes are close together and short, they're repetitive, and there's only a few notes used.

That simplicity is key to making it feel like it's conveying a scene of suspense.

Why is the use of ostinato, or repetition, important in music? Is it a, it gives the music structure and makes it memorable; b, it helps to tell a story in the music; or c, it makes the music sound scary? Well done, the answer is a, it gives the music structure and makes it memorable.

Which two of the following help to make an ostinato effective: a, it uses only a few different pitches and a small range of notes; b, it has to use a mix of long and short notes; or c, it has to repeat? The answer is a, it uses only a few different pitches and a small range of notes, and c, it has to repeat.

Well done if you've got those right.

Let's move on.

For your independent task, I want you to compose your own music to reflect one of the following scene descriptions: approaching a haunted house, I like that one; walking across a graveyard in the dark, I don't recommend doing that very often; a witch flying through the night, keep a lookout for those; or a vampire at a tea party or a vampire tea party.

Could be all vampires.

The success criteria for your own music is that it must use ostinato, or repetition, and chromatic movement; it should use pitch, dynamics, and tempo to reflect the scene; and it could use note clusters and/or a pedal to create suspense.

Good luck.

I'm excited for what you produce.

What musical choices did you make to reflect your chosen scene? And how did it meet the success criteria? It's time for you to self-evaluate what you've done.

How have you used pitch, dynamics, and tempo to show movement? For example, have you used an ostinato, or repetition, to give the music a recognizable idea? Have you used chromatic movement to create an eerie atmosphere? Have you used note clusters or a pedal to create suspense? And have you changed from low to high, quiet to loud, or slow to fast? It may be that you've only done some of these things, but each of them will help add to your atmosphere.

Let's move on to part three, "Refining Your Initial Ideas." How have the musical elements been used here to give the impression of approaching a haunted house? What musical techniques are used? Let's have a listen.

(flustered music) (flustered music swells) (desolate music fades) I am not sure if I'm gonna be able to sleep at night at this rate.

John says, "It has a steady tempo to give the impression of moving forward.

It starts quietly to create eeriness but gets louder to reflect movement towards the house.

The pitch is very high or very low, which also creates tension." If you'd like to listen to it again, do rewind the video to the point at which it plays again.

Note clusters and chromatics are used in this technique.

Did you spot them? How have the musical elements been used here to give the impression of walking across a graveyard? What techniques are used this time? (intimidating music) (dispirited music) Well, it has a steady tempo to reflect the walking.

It's quiet to create eeriness and reflect an empty graveyard, and the low pitch reflects the darkness and creates suspense.

Notice all of these different types of music, all these examples of music, have very similar techniques in them, and that's a really important thing to think about.

What are those techniques? And how do they convey this idea of fear and suspense? You might've also spotted ostinato, chromatics, and pedal.

The choice of pitch can make a difference to the impact of the music.

Chromatics sound creepy, and pedal notes create suspense; however, the choice of notes in the ostinato or main musical ideas also matters.

Listen again to the musical ideas in those examples and what do they have in common.

(flustered music) (flustered music swells) (desolate music fades) (intimidating music) (dispirited music) One of the things is that the ideas are relatively simple.

This is not really complicated music.

They only use a few notes.

They're generally close together.

They're short, and they repeat.

Not all successful musical ideas follow every rule, but these are a good guide to making your idea memorable.

True or false: pedal notes and chromatic notes relate to pitch? Well done, the answer is true.

Pedal notes and chromatic notes do relate to pitch.

Pedal notes are a consistent pitch, usually low, and chromatic movement refers to moving between the black and the white notes on the keyboard.

Consider the musical ideas in your scary scene.

How can you make them more effective? Success criteria are that you should keep them simple, use chromatic movement, use repetition or develop into an ostinato.

And can you do any more with the elements to reflect the suggested movement in the scene? Reflect on your musical choices, and hopefully, you came up with these sorts of prompts for yourself.

Are your notes close together? Is your composition simple, with only a few notes, and short? Is it repetitive, or an ostinato? Do you use chromatic movement? And how have you used the elements? Well done for this lesson.

Let's just quickly summarize the key ideas of this lesson.

So, music can be used to create an atmosphere and convey a scene.

In particular, we've been looking at scary music.

Chromatic movement, note clusters, and pedal notes create suspense and help the music sound scary.

Appropriate use of pitch, tempo, and dynamics can also be used to reflect actions, movement, and mood in a scene.

A successful musical idea is often repetitive and simple, using only a few notes.

Hope you enjoyed this lesson.

I hope your compositions are appropriately scary, and I hope you sleep well tonight.

I'll see you at the next lesson.

Goodbye.