The Functions of Film Music

The Functions of Film Music

If you have ever watched a film muted, you will be aware that the experience just isn't the same. Music helps the images on screen become more true to life, it emphasises emotions and can change the audience's perspective of a scene simply by a change of chord. 'Music elevates a film's sense of reality and places it into an opera-like level, where the characters and stories are larger than life, yet made more easy for us to relate to in our own lives.' (Rona, 2000). It has the ability to change the mood of a scene so subtly than the viewer is entirely unaware. Music has always been present alongside movement and drama; in opera, ballet, musicals and theatre. One of the best summaries of the functions of film music is by Polish musicologist Zofia Lissa in her 1959 book Ästhetik der Filmmusik and I will proceed to highlight Lissa's most important points, not all of these being mutually exclusive;

1. Emphasis of Movement: Music that enhances on screen action, such as running, flying, stabbing, hitting etc. The scene below from Disney's Bolt is a perfect example of this; the percussion section along with the bass provide driving rhythms that push the momentum of the scene along keeping the audience gripped.

2. Emphasis of Real Sounds: "i.e. Underlining, in stylised musical fashion sounds not included in the music itself, e.g. rain, wind, footsteps, hooves, machines, screams, sighs, laughter, slam, bash, pow, wham, thud etc." (Lissa, 1959). The clip below from The Wizard of Oz (1939) includes at 1'50" music to accompany the tornado, a glissando can be heard on the harp as well as trills in the woodwind which intensifies the on screen action.

 

3. Representation of Location: The music helps to transport the audience to a certain place whether this is a physical place such as a country, a social place such as upper class, or a historical place such as the medieval era and even right through to the future. A perfect example of this is in Bollywood music such as the below film 'Mughal - E - Azam' (1960) from Bollywood's Golden Age in Film. The music is written in a Traditional Indian style featuring a monophonic melody line played over a drone and with traditional instruments, this perfectly paints the picture of 16th Century India in which the film is set.

4. Source Music: As a function of music in film, Source music is music that can be heard both by the viewing audience and by the characters in the film, for example music heard from a CD player in the film would be an example of diegetic source music. The scene below from Titanic is another example of diegetic Source music in film as the band can be seen on screen.

5. Comment: "i.e. using music to comment upon the images by distancing. The most usual type of film-musical comment is counterpoint, i.e. contradicting the connotative sphere of the visual action, e.g. mellifluous melody for atomic holocaust, horror music to a love scene. Another type of comment is the presentation of music providing an emotional dimension to a series of events that has just finished." (Lissa, 1959).

 

6. Expression of Actor's emotions: The music is empathetic and highlights the character's emotions. An example of this can be seen in the film Tangled (below). In this scene Rapunzel slowly realises that she is the lost princess, the music emphasises the emotions felt by Rapunzel, from the short Harp theme which expresses her curiousity and confusion to the inverted string pedal creating tension and suggesting a discovery is about to be made. As Rapunzel's realisation is made the music gradually rises in pitch and becomes thicker in texture until a symbol crash symbolises that the penny has finally dropped.

 

 

7. Basis for Audience's emotions: The music is used to create an atmosphere that may contrast with the character's emotions on screen, or alternatively may support them, signalling to the audience which emotions they are supposed to be feeling. For example, triumphant music may be played when a villian is defeated which is bad news for the villain however signals to the audience that this is a joyous moment.

 

8. Symbol: "i.e. using music to represent something or someone known by the audience from the narrative but not currently part of the narrative, e.g. a wounded hero seen in the misery and mud of the trenches but underscored by his or her theme." (Lissa, 1959).

 

9. Anticipation of subsequent action: This function is self explanatory, the music anticpates the action to follow, therefore the music may change from a happy pleasant sound to a more sinister sound before this occurs on screen. This creates tension as the audience are unaware of what is to follow.

 

10. Enhancement and demarcation of the film's formal structure: These may include leitmotifs, opening music, links and bridges, tails and endings which all help the film's narrative easier to follow especially during time gaps in the film.

 

 

Helena Keane #filmscoringhub