Action in early movies
I can explain how music was used in early movies, and can create music for a typical chase scene in a silent movie.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
- Year 9
Action in early movies
I can explain how music was used in early movies, and can create music for a typical chase scene in a silent movie.
Copyrighted materials: to view and download resources from this lesson, you’ll need to be in the UK and
Lesson details
Key learning points
- The silent movie era was between the 1890s and 1920s.
- In this period, film music was performed live by a solo performer (often improvised) or a group.
- The performers tried to capture and exaggerate the mood of scenes.
- Chase scenes were common in silent movies.
- The music often used a fast tempo, fast rhythms and scalic runs to create a sense of excitement.
Keywords
Silent movie - a film that has no recorded sound, common between the 1890s and 1920s
Chase scene - a scene in which a character is chased
Scalic - a melody that uses segments of a scale
Common misconception
Music for films is always recorded and played through speakers.
Before technology existed to do this, film music was played live by performers in the room. It would often be a solo piano/organ player, who would improvise along with the film. Sometimes, ensembles such as orchestras would play music live instead.
File needed for this lesson
- Chase scene clip 7.8 MB (MP4)
Download this file to use in the lesson.
Equipment
DAW and MIDI keyboards, or live keyboards/pianos
Licence
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