Year 9

To explore how an underscore can communicate a mood or setting, through instrumental sonorities and techniques

Year 9

To explore how an underscore can communicate a mood or setting, through instrumental sonorities and techniques

warning

These resources will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. In this lesson, we will analyse how emotive film music can be, and how important it is for a film composer to employ particular instrumental sonorities and techniques to reflect moods and settings.

Licence

This content is made available by Oak National Academy Limited and its partners and licensed under Oak’s terms & conditions (Collection 1), except where otherwise stated.

Loading...

6 Questions

Q1.
What does diegetic sound mean?
Correct answer: Sounds that can be heard by the audience and the characters in the film.
Sounds which are added after filming and can only be heard by the audience.
Sounds which are created through recording using unusual objects.
Q2.
What does non-diegetic sound mean?
Sounds that can be heard by the audience and the characters in the film.
Correct answer: Sounds which are added after filming and can only be heard by the audience.
Sounds which are created through recording using unusual objects.
Q3.
True or false: the sound of a radio being turned on in a kitchen is non-diegetic.
Correct answer: False
Others
True
Q4.
True or false: the sound of a low pitch drone, played on strings, as a man approaches the bathroom door is non-diegetic.
False
Others
Correct answer: True
Q5.
What is audio mixing software?
A drum machine which a DJ uses live at a performance.
A midi keyboard which connects to a computer.
Correct answer: A music programme that allows you to record, edit and save audio files.
Q6.
How do you zoom and cut audio using software?
You choose a loop from a bank of sounds and drag it onto a track.
Correct answer: You click on the magnifying glass with a + sign and then right click to 'slice' the part you want to edit.
You click on the pencil tool to write in your own notes.

8 Questions

Q1.
What affect can music have on film scenes?
Correct answer: It can change the mood of the scene and how the audience feels.
It can make it sound quiet.
It makes it sound nice.
Q2.
Why is the string family sat at the front of the orchestra?
An image in a quiz
String are made from wood.
Correct answer: Strings are the quietest sounding instruments so need to be nearer the audience.
The audience like to watch the string players.
Q3.
Why do you think film composers use the instruments of the orchestra?
Because film composers can play all the instruments in the orchestra.
Correct answer: Because the orchestra has so many instruments and so many different sonorities.
Because these instruments have been around since the classical era.
Q4.
What family does this instrument belong to and what sound does it make?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: It is from the percussion family and it makes a low booming sound.
It is from the strings family and it makes a smooth sad sound.
It is from the woodwind family and it makes a high fluttery sound.
Q5.
Which instrument uses a pizzicato technique?
Flute
Trumpet
Correct answer: Violin
Q6.
Which musical idea fits this description -'a low pitch held continuously throughout a piece'?
Correct answer: Drone
Note cluster
Ostinato
Q7.
Which musical idea fits this description - 'a group of notes played together which creates a clashing sound'?
Drone
Correct answer: Note cluster
Ostinato
Q8.
What effect can a drone have during a film scene?
Comedy moment - slapstick style.
Correct answer: Create suspense - you don't know what's happening.
Sad scene - makes you feel for the character.