Representing characters through music
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how leitmotifs are used in film music and have created a simple leitmotif.
Key learning points
- Leitmotifs are musical ideas that represent ideas, characters or places.
- They were used in opera and became popular in films after the end of silent movies in the 1920s.
- Composers capture the important features of a character in a leitmotif to support the audience’s understanding of them.
- They do this by choosing suitable keys, pitch and rhythms, including the use of strong rhythms for powerful characters.
- By changing a leitmotif, a composer can reflect changes in that character or in the plot.
Keywords
Leitmotif - a musical idea that represents a specific character, place or idea
Opera - an important genre of theatre and music through the 17th-19th century
Strong rhythms - rhythms which accent the strong beat (beat 1 in the bar) or mainly land on the beat; they are predictable and repetitive
Common misconception
A leitmotif and a film theme are the same thing.
Not quite. Many films have themes that represent the overall mood, and can be heard throughout the film. The difference with a leitmotif is that it explicitly represents one thing - a character, place or an idea.
Teacher tip
Pupils can further explore their leitmotifs by changing instrumentation, or by adding chords. Encourage them to develop their leitmotif as this will support them later in extended composition. Consider exploring leitmotifs from Star Wars or Lord of the Rings for listening activities.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.When was the era of silent movies?
Q2. -mousing is when the music matches a character’s movements.
Q3.Which type of chord is very effective for creating a dramatic moment?
Q4.Which of these is not a purpose of film music?
Q5.Which are typical features of silent movie chase music?
Q6.Which are typical features of suspenseful music in silent movies?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which are usually represented by leitmotifs?
Q2.What important genre of music first used leitmotif?
Q3.What were the first movies that used recorded sound known as?
Q4.When did movies start using sound?
Q5.What type of tonality would best suit an evil character?
Q6.What type of rhythms would suit a character that is unpredictable?
To help you plan your 9 music lesson on: Representing characters through music, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 music lesson on: Representing characters through music, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 music lessons from the Film Music unit, dive into the full secondary music curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.