What role does cinematic music play in creating tension?

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David Cartwright LVI, General Studies        Music In Film        26/11/2012

Music in Film

What role does cinematic music play in creating tension?

        In a time in which films were better known as “moving pictures”, the atmosphere in a 1900s theatre was one of awe-struck silence, interrupted only by the drone of the kinescope spinning through hundreds of metres of film reel and the occasional rustle of the “intertitles” as viewers followed  events with the aid of written notes. Today, more than a century after the projection of The Berlin Wintergarten Novelty Program (1895), the first motion picture to grace a cinema’s screens, audiences are able to enjoy not only the actors’ voices, but also the film scores: arguably one of the most valuable assets in a film director’s arsenal. However, ‘real life’ is not accompanied by epic soundtracks, which leads to the question of how pivotal music really is in film.

        The titles that have left a sizeable imprint in cinematographic history, ranging from the iconic Psycho (1960) to Monsters Inc. (2001) all contain, to many, the most memorable type of scene: that of tension. Whether they were intended to leave audiences in a cold sweat for the duration of the screening (and the following nights), or simply to give viewers a momentary instance of edge-of-seat suspense, the most successful films have employed music to maximum effect to play on paranoia, evoke fear and elevate pulses.

        At the word Psycho, the snippet that first enters the minds of both seasoned horror movie veterans and youths (thanks to endless parodies) alike is the infamous, curtain tearing fear of the shower scene. In fact, the special effects used in this murder scene are sparse, with no sign of gore to terrify and disgust audiences. At this point, the fear is purely psychological, with the tension and horror being constructed principally on sound.

As Marion, the victim, sits at a desk, tentative string chords sound, ebbing and flowing to create a sense of unease in the audience, or even perhaps suggest that something in the background is creeping. Evidently, to maintain this suspense and prolong the climax, Hitchcock, the film’s director, cannot cut to the murderer and consequently spoil the surprise, but music provides the pathway through which he can hint at a darker presence- one which is not right. The soft nature of these chords makes them almost imperceptible, which allows the unease to lurk in the background and- for the moment- be suppressed by the minds of the audience as they await a development. Marion’s entry into the bathroom is met by an immediate drop in pitch, which serves to hint at the danger of her last action. Not a word has been spoken, and the actress cannot hear the music, so in a subtle alteration in tone, the audience knows the actress’ fate before any significant visual clues are provided. This leaves viewers an agonising wait as they anticipate the murder, with the ominous minor key of the music encouraging them to envisage the victim’s death before it has actually happened.

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The sudden, discordant violin notes that screech with a high pitched relentlessness as the woman is attacked mimic the stabbing motions, rising in tempo to emphasise the frenzy of the struggle. Coupled with the screaming and the period of eerie silence preceding this famous ‘noise’, the tension builds to an unbearable crescendo before falling to a lower pitched echo as the mystery murderer leaves. The gasping texture of the strings orchestra playing perhaps replicates the dying breaths of Marion, fading out to the background monotony of a tap running to conclude three of the tensest minutes ever to have been ...

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