Film Music Notes
Understanding the art of film music
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Learn how to write diatonic harmony in both a classical “strict style” and a more film-oriented “free style”, and see how the two are combined in cues from well-known film scores. Course material is presented from a compositional point of view, showing not just how a chord resolves, but the progression it appears in and, most importantly, where that progression appears in a phrase. Plus, get Fundamentals of Reading Music absolutely free!
Write melodies that mean what you want them to mean. Melodies in tonal music tend to conform to underlying linear patterns that have different emotional meanings when they are elaborated in different ways. By analyzing many of Hollywood’s best-known themes, you’ll learn these basic shapes and how the elaborating techniques can create expressions that are perfectly suited to a theme’s association.
Coming Soon
Mark Richards, PhD
I worked as a Professor of Music Theory for several years in universities, specializing in film music, Beethoven, and rock music in my teaching and research. For more than two decades, I have taught music theory and analysis to all ages and at all levels from the community music school to the large university. I have published articles on film music and have a new chapter on John Williams’ Star Wars themes forthcoming in 2024.
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