Before analyzing, we must first distinguish between "music in the movie" and "movie music". "Music in the movie" is the music in the painting, in the picture people can see the musician playing, the singer is singing, then the music is part of the plot, such as when the protagonist enters the dance hall or theater, where the music is playing. All musicals fall into this genre.
Song and Dance Youth, 2006
"Film music" is out-of-picture music: film music is a plot element, a structural form of narrative. So, at this point they must be analyzed. In some cases, the following two types appear at the same time: for example, the Beethoven piano song "To Alice", which appears seven times in the movie "Rosemary's Baby", is roughly played to show the thin walls of the rental apartment and the tedious civic life, the small civic atmosphere is unobstructed, and the realistic demonic plot is being staged.
Rosemary's Baby, 1968
Usually movie music is able to render the underlying feelings of a movie plot. Feelings are aroused by music, and people begin to identify with the protagonist in the film and experience the situation in the film. More popular are the usual musical backgrounds and timbre routines (e.g., the organ is used for sacred religious themes, and the drums are used for the dangers of gradual approaching). Music can stir up emotions, render atmosphere, explain the feelings of life, and can also connect pictures, promote coherence or serve as an important element to enhance tension. This means that music is not independent, but has a service function. Either it's about the plot, the individual scene passages, the individual characters and their sets, or it's about the technology of the film as a whole, and every aspect of it is audience-oriented.
Pirates of the Caribbean 2007
So what exactly does movie music do?
In 1963, Zophia Lisa distinguished the four main functions of film music:
Explanatory notes (emphasizing synchronized actions, stylizing or reproducing the real sound musically); expressing the psychological experience of the characters (such as sad memories, positive expectations, hidden imaginations); controlling the audience's feelings about the film (such as creating tension and ensuring the coherence of the plot); and commenting on the plot (which can be polarized or in place).
The Great Dictator, 1940
After this, Robert Jugan Schneider divided the functions of twenty types of film music:
1． For example, in the movie "Tin Drum", whenever Oscar stepped into the toy store of a Jewish businessman, the sound of music boxes sounded, thus creating an atmosphere for Oscars in the magical world of toys. On the contrary, when his mother stepped into the store, [the audience] couldn't hear the music.
Tin Drum, 1949
2． The setting is to marvel at the brief musical sound in the film "Bavarian Hunting Scene" to emphasize the dramatic characteristics of the film, and the film is arranged like a theatrical scene.
Bavarian Hunting Scene, 1969
3． Interpreting the action is quite evident in the composition of the "Mickey Mouse", Disney animated films: music replaces the sound that is missing when moving. In sound films, it first appeared in comedy films in order to achieve a comical effect.
Mickey
4． In the film Der Neger Erwin (1981), Herbert Achternbusch connects scenes from big cities into ghostly scenes, accompanied by the popular song "Please Don't Look at Me Like This."
5． In the film Heller Wahn (1983), Ruth's wounded heart is expressed through the sound of a sensitive clarinet, which slowly rings in tiny semitonic intervals.
Their Madness (1983).
6． For example, in the film "Alexanderplatz in Berlin", when Mitz was murdered, the theme of Franz Biberkov sounded, although this theme never appeared, thus implying the disastrous consequences of murder for Biberkov.
Alexanderplatz, Berlin, 1931
7． Established forms in the film Barr there are 24 themes that are separate from each other. Here, a large number of songs play an important styling role and construct the film as a whole.
8． The C-tone sound that shaped the sound in the film Das Boot (1981) shaped the echo detector in the ship's radio room.
Attack from the Bottom of the Sea (1981).
9． Conveying a social environment, a plot location such as a church (organ, solemn) or a ballroom (rock, rarities) can also be musically shaped as a set into a cultural space (e.g., Italian, Spanish, Oriental, or Chinese music).
pipe organ
10． Conveying a group feel in the film Wo die gr ü nen Ameisen Tr ä umen (1984) in which aboriginal Australians gather into a coalition through loud quiver blowing.
Where Green Ants Dream, 1984
11． Awakening to historical time in the movie "Maria In The Marriage of Braun (In die Ehe der Maria Braun, 1979), the history of the time is expressed in sound through music.
"Maria Braun's Marriage, 1979
12． Creating unreality is first achieved through sound tools, such as the opposing musical themes in the film Woyzeck (1979), which are interconnected, causing the listener and the audience to lose their sense of time and space.
Wotzek, 1979
13． Funny parodies such as the Long Three Beats on the Drum in the movie "Tin Drum" caused Hitler's military parade to fall into chaos, and the Nazi propaganda campaign could not be carried out, and everyone began to play the "Blue Danube" and dance with it.
14． Notes In Mann im Schlilf (1958), when a man is brought down by Nazi troops, wind music and music from the carousel are heard in the film.
15． Emphasizing secondary events can give significant meaning to objects through music
The Shawshank Redemption, 1994
16． Characters who show a very bad side through visuals and plot can be mitigated by music and are portrayed as friendly and kind.
17． The depiction of mental states allows music to "enter the skin" more deeply through emphasized bass or ambient sound.
18． Making the film accept collectivization is the opposite of the individual eye, the ear is collective, that is, the film audience can be affected emotionally through music.
19． The sense of space created becomes wider through Tchaikovsky's symphonic prairie, and the room becomes narrower and more crowded through a solo tonal effect.
20． Limiting the perception of time in Werner S. Werner Herzog's film Nosferatu the Vampire (1979) by John F. Kennedy Jonathan Harker rode to the castle of Dracula in 1 minute and 20 seconds, but here it is shown through five scenes of a fast or slow ride. Music makes the montage connection even more convincing here.
Vampire Nosferatu, 1979
Of course, film music can do a lot more. There is no doubt that the features mentioned above can be expanded or reduced, that is, it is not a basic or principled list of movie music features. They are listed here only to clarify the role of music in the ambient atmosphere of the film, characters, scenes, sets, etc., and to explain and explain these functions, and then to bring them into analysis and interpretation.