Tension in early movies
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Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how music in silent movies helps to create tension and suspense.
Key learning points
- Mickey-mousing is a common technique in early movies.
- This is where the music copies the movement of a character.
- Many early movies also involve scenes in which music is key to creating suspense.
- Typical suspenseful music uses dissonant chords (such as diminished sevenths) and sudden changes.
Keywords
Mickey-mousing - a technique in which the film music copies movement on screen (e.g. ascending notes in time with a character ascending stairs)
Diminished seventh - a chord containing four notes that is useful for creating a feeling of sudden drama
Dissonance - a combination of notes which create a harsh or tense sound - opposite of consonance
Common misconception
A diminished seventh chord is just like any other extended chord - a triad with added notes.
A diminished seventh chord is quite unique as every interval is the same size (three semitones). It is different from extended chords that add notes to a triad. It has been used for centuries as a tense, dramatic chord, including in silent movies.
Teacher tip
For Task B, focus on creating mood through articulation, dynamics and low pitch. The note choice for the melody is not crucial, so encourage students to be creative with their chromatic melodies. You could extend learning by challenging them to play the staccato melody in 3rds rather than octaves.
Equipment
DAW and MIDI keyboards, or keyboards/pianos
File needed for this lesson
Suspense scene 5.8 MB (MP4)
Download this file to use in the lesson.
Licence
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