Silent Movie Music
Early Film Technology
Silent films were called that because there was no way of recording the sound and then matching it with the "moving pictures" that made up the film. The story of the movie had to be told through the actors’ appearance, what they did and how they acted. Usually, the movie theatre would hire a piano or organ player to play the score that accompanied the movie. The pianist would have to watch the movie as it was being shown, and play along. If the pianist played too quickly or too slowly, he or she would have to "improvise" a transition whenever a scene change occurred.
The music was composed to enhance the movie, and usually added to the overall emotion of the scenes. There was a variety of ways of composing the music:
- Sometimes the composers wrote music to match each of the main characters.
- Other times the composers wrote music that matched an event that was happening in the movie.
ACTIVITY 1: SILENT MOVIE SAMPLES
In a group or with your class, watch a silent movie. Make notes and discuss how music is used in the movie.
- Were there themes for the main characters?
- Did the music match or enhance the emotions portrayed in the movie scenes?
- Identify some examples of "sad", "happy", "romantic" or "suspenseful" music and how it is used.
ACTIVITY 2: MAKING YOUR OWN MOVIE
- In your own movie, describe music that would enhance or express the emotional elements of your movie.
- Identify important parts of the movie that could be enhanced by music. What kind of music would be appropriate?
- What kind of music would match or express the feelings of your characters or actors?
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