Film Music Central

Film Music 101: Mickey Mousing

Film Music 101: “Stinger” Chords

Film Music 101: Underscore

Polka-Dot Puss (fragment) (1949)

Film Music 101: “Stinger” Chords

19 Replies

In film music, particularly in classic animated cartoons, a stinger chord (also known as a shock chord) is “a sharply attacked, but not necessarily loud, chord used to reinforce moments of surprise or revelation.” (Neumeyer, Film Music Analysis and Pedagogy, pg. 4)

Stinger chords often come up when a composer is practicing “Mickey Mousing” and the music is intended to reflect some sudden surprise or shock felt by a character.

Practically every episode of the MGM series Tom and Jerry (1940-1957) contains a stinger chord. The music for every episode (save one) was composed by Scott Bradley (1891-1977), MGM’s house composer for cartoon music.

Scott_Bradley

Bradley LOVED to use those stinger chords

The best way to explain how stinger chords work is to show a few examples. This first example comes from the closing 90 seconds of Polka-Dot Puss (1949). For most of the cartoon, Jerry (the mouse) has convinced Tom (the cat) that he is suffering from the measles (which was a big deal at that time). However, Tom discovers he’s been tricked and is determined to make Jerry pay. But something is wrong with Jerry now….listen to the music around 0:48 to hear a big stinger chord when Tom realizes he’s in BIG trouble.

a8d9d483627ce7689318744ff1e134a1--tom-and-jerry-jerry-oconnell

Stinger chords were also used to describe moments of attraction (romance that is), usually when Tom (and occasionally Jerry) have spotted a pretty girl. Listen around 1:12 in Casanova Cat (1951), when Tom arrives to woo a girl cat who has just inherited a fortune!

image-w448

Casanova Cat (fragment) (1951)

And for a final example, I present the 1947 short Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse. The cartoon is full of stinger chords. I won’t spoil the plot by telling you where they are in this one, I hope you enjoy watching and listening for them (this is one of my favorite Tom and Jerry cartoons).

drjekyllandmrmousepotion

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse (fragment) (1947)

That’s all for right now, enjoy!

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

See also:

Film Music 101: Mickey Mousing

Film Music 101: Underscore

Film Music 101: Music Editor

Film Music 101: Compilation Score

Film Music 101: Montage

Film Music 101: Leitmotif

Film Music 101: Orchestration and cues

Interstellar “No Time for Caution”

1 Reply

Like many, I watched enthralled when Interstellar (2014) came out into theaters. Even before I first saw the film, I’d heard that there were some fairly intense musical sequences. But nothing, absolutely NOTHING could prepare me for the sequence known as “No time for caution.” To briefly sum up how the story gets to this point: Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is put in charge of a mission to scout three planets to see if one of them is capable of supporting the human race in place of the dying Earth. One planet has already been proven unviable, the third is too far away, and the second planet was claimed (falsely) by Dr. Mann (Matt Damon) to be a viable place to live (frigid conditions notwithstanding).

Dr. Mann claimed that there was water located deep under the surface. Cooper discovered this was a lie and after surviving a murder attempt, Cooper and Brand (Anne Hathaway) chase after Dr. Mann who is making his way to the spaceship Endurance without them. Insane after years of isolation, Dr. Mann has convinced himself that he can somehow control the Endurance and take it back to Earth. In his rush to board, Mann ignores the fact that his ship is docked improperly, meaning the hatch seal is not stable. When the door seal is forced to open anyway, Mann is blown out of the ship into space and Endurance is sent spinning out of control. If Cooper and Brand can’t dock and stabilize the ship, humanity is doomed.

This is where the cue begins. There is a long high pitched drone immediately after the explosion (as Cooper and Brand watch in shock as Endurance begins to spin wildly). Then a strong drumbeat sets in as Cooper makes his decision. He orders TARS (a robot) to analyze the Endurance’s rate of spin (to help with docking). And when Brand asks the fateful question “Cooper what are you doing?” The only answer is “Docking.” This one word sets off the next stage of the cue in a revolving spiral of theme and variation.

In fact, I listened to this cue over and over and it finally hit me, that composer Hans Zimmer used a Baroque form called passacaglia when he put this cue together. A passacaglia is a musical form based on a repeating melody in the bass line. As you listen to the cue, listen closely to the primary melody (which launches around 0:44, 0:45 in the soundtrack version) and hear how it continues, leaping from instrument to instrument for most of the piece.

I hope you enjoy “No Time for Caution” as much as I do. Please comment if you liked it (or even if you didn’t).

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Film Music 101: Compilation Score

15 Replies

Unlike an original film score, which is composed specifically for the film, the compilation score consists of background music that is assembled entirely from pre-existing material.

Graduateposter67

Using Simon & Garfunkel songs for the score had a big impact on later film music

Compilation scores really took off in the mid-1960s after the 1967 film The Graduate featured a score consisting entirely of Simon & Garfunkel music (including “The Sound of Silence” and “Mrs. Robinson.”). Compilation scores can also be known as pop scores if the pre-existing music consists of pop songs.

MV5BNDYyMDgxNDQ5Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMjc1ODg3OA@@._V1_SX640_SY720_

Another example of the compilation score is 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Most infamously, Stanley Kubrick rejected composer Alex North’s original score at the last minute and retained the film’s temp track (consisting of classical pieces) as the film’s final score.

The advent of compilation scores led older film composers to bemoan the growing belief that the classic film score (as created in the 1930s) was “dead and buried.” While this appeared to be true for a time (as compilation scores became exceptionally popular), original film scores never fully stopped being created, they were merely placed on the back burner for a decade or so until John Williams stepped up with his earth-shattering score for Star Wars (1977).

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

See also:

Film Music 101: Mickey Mousing

Film Music 101: “Stinger” Chords

Film Music 101: Underscore

James Horner talks The Perfect Storm (2000)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

James Horner talks The Perfect Storm (2000)

6 Replies

220px-Perfect_storm_poster

In 2000, Wolfgang Petersen directed The Perfect Storm, a biographical disaster film that recounts the true story of the Andrea Gail, a fishing vessel lost with all hands during the “Perfect Storm” of 1991.

In the film, George Clooney plays Billy Tyne, captain of the Andrea Gail, a commercial fishing boat. Needing money, Tyne convinces his crew to join him on one last fishing trip, even though it’s already very late in the season. They proceed past their usual fishing grounds on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and gain a large catch in the Flemish Cap. But just as the ship is fully loaded with fish, the ship’s ice machine breaks, making it imperative for the Andrea Gail to race back to port with their catch before it spoils.

However, in their absence, the “Perfect Storm” has been developing in the waters between the ship and the port. The “Perfect Storm” evolved from a nor-easter that absorbed the remnants of Hurricane Grace (briefly a category 2 hurricane) and ultimately became a small hurricane in its own right. The storm generated huge waves, with one buoy off Nova Scotia measuring one wave at 100.7 feet.

1513781404_xl

Learning of this storm, Tyne and the crew have a choice: wait out the storm (but lose their catch and all potential profits), or risk the storm and make for home as quickly as possible. Not wanting all their work to be for nothing, the decision is made to head for home and they sail into the storm. Even though this film is based on a true story, everything that happens after the Andrea Gail’s final radio contact is pure speculation since the ship (and the crew) has never been found.

Nevertheless, the film makes an effort to portray how the ship’s last hours might have gone: the ship is mercilessly battered by gigantic waves before finally capsizing and sinking, taking all hands down with it (except for rookie fisherman Bobby Shatford who briefly escapes to the surface before being carried away by the swells).

la-tormenta-perfecta-foto-critica

I have a love-hate relationship with movies based on true events, especially the ones where you know going in that the outcome won’t be good (like watching Titanic, that story has to end badly). I say love-hate because, while I love watching the movie and seeing the drama play out, deep down I hate knowing that, despite everything, the characters are doomed to failure and (in some cases) certain death. For me, it’s hard to cheer on characters that I know will die by the end of the story. That being said, The Perfect Storm, while heart-wrenching, is still told extremely well.

The score was composed by James Horner, and in this interview he discusses how he “created emotion” with this score, because so much of this story is driven by emotion and raw passion.

James Horner talks Aliens (1986)

James Horner talks Field of Dreams (1989)

James Horner talks The Rocketeer (1991)

James Horner scoring Braveheart (1995)

James Horner talks A Beautiful Mind (2001)

James Horner talks Windtalkers (2002)

James Horner talks Avatar (2009)

James Horner talks The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Film Composer Interviews A-H

Film Composer Interviews K-Z

Become a patron of the blog at: patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

Film Music 101: Underscore

20 Replies

In film music, the underscore refers to music that specifically accompanies a scene with dialogue.

The underscore functions in much the same way as underlining a piece of text: it’s meant to emphasize a particular piece of dialogue and tell the audience: THIS is important, you should really pay attention to this scene!

download

A very good example of underscore can be found in Aragorn’s speech at the Black Gate in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003).

This moment takes place on the cusp of the final action climax of the trilogy: Sauron’s army is pouring out of Mordor, the Army of the West is outnumbered 100 t0 1, and the men are rightfully scared. But, as Aragorn reassures them, this is no time to break the vows they have sworn, this is the time to stand and fight!

Return of the King: Stand Men of the West!

Drno1

Bond…James Bond.

Another example can be found in the first James Bond film Dr. No (1962) during a calypso party at a restaurant in Jamaica. The scene opens with the party in progress and the music continues while Bond (Sean Connery) talks with Felix Leiter (Jack Lord). In this scene, the music doesn’t so much increase the drama as it provides a contrast with the cheery mood of the crowd (they are talking about the criminal Dr. No and how to get onto his island Crab Key to investigate).

Dr. No: Calypso Party Scene

Thanks again for checking out Film Music Central, have a great day!

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

See also:

Film Music 101: Compilation Score

Film Music 101: Montage

Film Music 101: Leitmotif

Film Music 101: Orchestration and cues

Film Music 101: “Stinger” Chords

Jerry Goldsmith talks about Alien (1979)

Jerry Goldsmith talks Chinatown (1974)

3 Replies

chinatown-movie-poster-1974-1010433311

Chinatown is one of those post-Golden Age of Hollywood movies that perfectly emulates that lost era of filmmaking. Starring Jack Nicholson and directed by Roman Polanski, the film tells the story of private investigator J.J “Jake” Gittes (Nicholson) who is hired by a woman calling herself Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway), ostensibly because her husband Hollis is having an affair with another woman and she wants the evidence. But the story is fake and Jake finds himself entangled in a story that is more complex and tragic than anything he could have ever imagined.

The score for this neo-noir film was composed by legendary composer Jerry Goldsmith (1929-2004). Goldsmith composed AND recorded the film’s music in only ten days, after the producer rejected an earlier score from composer Philip Lambro at the last minute. The score was nominated for an Academy Award (though it didn’t win). The score is notable for containing several haunting trumpet solos performed by Uan Rasey, that perfectly encapsulate that era of old Hollywood.

Please enjoy Goldsmith’s thought on this amazing score and if you haven’t had a chance to see the movie, I encourage you to give it a try (but I feel obliged to warn you, the plot twist is rather shocking).

Jerry Goldsmith talks Lionheart (1987)

Film Composer Interviews A-H

Film Composer Interviews K-Z

Become a Patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

Like Film Music Central on Facebook at www.facebook.com/filmmusiccentral

Hans Zimmer talks Interstellar (2014)

4 Replies

Interstellar

Question, who watched Interstellar when it came out? *hand shoots up* Who thought it was awesome? *hand shoots up again* Who freaked out when Matt Damon accidentally blew himself out of an airlock into the void of space never to be seen again? (I liked this movie, can you tell?)

Hans Zimmer talks Interstellar (2014)

The plot of Interstellar is rather complicated at certain points but the main gist is as follows: in the future (no year is ever specified), the Earth has suffered from a string of blights that has rendered most crops ungrowable. When the film opens, corn is the major food supply of the world and even that is quickly growing vulnerable. As a result, the world has suffered a major technological regression.

interstellar3-xlarge

There appears to be no TV, no Internet, no advanced medical equipment (it is openly stated that MRI machines are not available anymore), and man’s great technological achievements (such as landing on the Moon) are regarded as mere propaganda, not historical fact. To put it bluntly, the Earth is one generation away from being uninhabitable and it will mean the extinction of the human race…unless we can find a new home, and the story continues from there. (I will have to write about this movie in full some time in the future).

INTERSTELLAR

The score of this magnificent film was composed by film music giant Hans Zimmer (born 1957). Zimmer is responsible for such great scores as: The Last Samurai (2003), The Lion King (1994), Gladiator (2000), The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012) and Inception (2010) (and these are just a few, he’s a prolific composer).

In this interview, Hans Zimmer talks about how he developed the score for Interstellar, including how they decided to use an organ. Please watch and enjoy.

See also:

Film Composer Interviews A-H

Film Composer Interviews K-Z

Don’t forget to like Film Music Central on Facebook 🙂

Film Music 101: “Test” Lyrics

18 Replies

When a film needs to have a song written for it, the composer (or group of composers) will create what are known as “test” lyrics while the melody is being put together.

As a general rule, test lyrics bear little to no resemblance to the final version, they’re really intended as a tool to help guide the song writers in putting the verses together (in a sense, test lyrics are similar to the temp track created for a film, see The Temp Track for details).

Once the final lyrics are completed, the test lyrics are thrown out and never seen by the public…not usually. There is one notable exception, where the test lyrics became so popular that the writers kept them as the final version.

I’m talking about the song “Gaston” from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (1991)

gbzymisjno0x2gvbvqv9

There’s a reason those lyrics are particularly silly…

It turns out that when the writers for this movie were putting the songs together, the song that turned out to be “Gaston” was originally planned to be completely different. What it was supposed to be we will never know, because the writers became so attached to the test lyrics, that they decided to just keep them and thus, “Gaston” was born.

“Gaston” – Beauty and the Beast

Please enjoy the wonderful silliness that is this song. It’ll be interesting to see if the live remake contains a song like this one (or if it will have any songs at all!). Enjoy! Thank you for all of the likes and comments, you guys are awesome!

You can become a patron of the blog at patreon.com/musicgamer460

Check out the YouTube channel (and consider hitting the subscribe button)

For more Film Music 101, see also: Film Music 101

See also: