Music in Film
Music Project 1
“Psycho”
After the silent films, war movies, and popular music came the new American cinema during the 1960’s. Old traditions were ignored as new modern and popular styles were adapted. People were subject to civil rights issues, sexual liberation, assassinations, and war that were all televised. Things were changing and movie directors had to take advantage of the new opportunities and be creative, creating horror films. One of the first films to set the pace for the new generation of music was Psycho in 1960. Alfred Hitchcock was not only innovative in the movie industry with new shooting techniques, but also changed how we perceive music. The music during the shower scene is now famous and known by almost everyone. It is shown in many horror films and everyone knows something scary is going to happen when that particular music starts playing. What is fascinating is that Hitchcock almost didn’t use music for the shower murder scene but ended up changing his mind after listening to what Herrmann wrote. I really think that specific music set the tone for horror films and just the movie industry in general. The music in Psycho was dependent on string instruments and opted out of the bright and cheery sounds of wind and percussion instruments. String instruments weren’t played in their normal, lyrical way; rather, they were strong and percussive and used harsh accents and pizzicato effects. Rather than the strings playing synchronized, harmonic melody, the strings were plucked quickly to sound stiff and add tension. Frequently used to make the dissonant sounds were minor seconds and major sevenths, which became the most popular in Western harmony. The now famous music of the murder scene uses a unique technique that is still used today. To really intensify the moment, frantic eighth notes are used with the major sevenths which really gives us viewers that scared feeling. Herrmann used a microphone close to the instrument to make the sound
“Psycho”
After the silent films, war movies, and popular music came the new American cinema during the 1960’s. Old traditions were ignored as new modern and popular styles were adapted. People were subject to civil rights issues, sexual liberation, assassinations, and war that were all televised. Things were changing and movie directors had to take advantage of the new opportunities and be creative, creating horror films. One of the first films to set the pace for the new generation of music was Psycho in 1960. Alfred Hitchcock was not only innovative in the movie industry with new shooting techniques, but also changed how we perceive music. The music during the shower scene is now famous and known by almost everyone. It is shown in many horror films and everyone knows something scary is going to happen when that particular music starts playing. What is fascinating is that Hitchcock almost didn’t use music for the shower murder scene but ended up changing his mind after listening to what Herrmann wrote. I really think that specific music set the tone for horror films and just the movie industry in general. The music in Psycho was dependent on string instruments and opted out of the bright and cheery sounds of wind and percussion instruments. String instruments weren’t played in their normal, lyrical way; rather, they were strong and percussive and used harsh accents and pizzicato effects. Rather than the strings playing synchronized, harmonic melody, the strings were plucked quickly to sound stiff and add tension. Frequently used to make the dissonant sounds were minor seconds and major sevenths, which became the most popular in Western harmony. The now famous music of the murder scene uses a unique technique that is still used today. To really intensify the moment, frantic eighth notes are used with the major sevenths which really gives us viewers that scared feeling. Herrmann used a microphone close to the instrument to make the sound