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13.1: Thematic Traditions in Silent Film

  • Page ID
    171131
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    Music in Film: the Main Theme and Character Themes

    Most of us can't imagine watching a movie or television show without any kind of music or sound to accompany it. Indeed, even the "silent film era," which predates modern cinema, spanning 1894-1929 included some type of music. Even though early silent film was incapable of producing sound (outside of the noise from the projectors!), early silent film typically had a pianist or organist playing music to accompany the movies. Performers would either improvise (make up on the spot), or they would play from a book that they kept with music for specific scenes. For instance, during a chase scene, the performer would play fast and suspenseful music. In love scenes, they would perform more lyrical and slow music. In a murder scene, they would play dissonant and "scary" sounding music. With the rising popularity in film during the silent era, there became an increasing demand for performers to accompany silent film.

    Picture of an early edition of Lang and West's bookEdith Lang and George West's 1920 book "Musical accompaniment for moving pictures: a practical guide for pianists and organists" (pictured left) was written to provide musicians who accompanied silent films strategies for their performances. The book is such an important part of history that it is not only in the public domain, but it has been deemed "selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it" (Source). Drawing from compositional practices from the 19th century Romantic composers like Brahms, Berlioz, and Liszt, this book provides strategies on how to successfully enhance the dramas that musicians accompanied. The book, now in the Public Domain, is still a source for performers, composers, and scholars alike.

    Read through the 1 page introduction in this book; you'll get a glimpse into what movie theorists believed about film and its musical accompaniment over a century ago. Hardly anything has changed since then!

    One of the most interesting things that the book discusses appears on the 8th page, regarding the "Main Theme" and character themes:

    "The kernel of the musical illustration of a picture is the main theme. This should be typical in mood or character of the hero or heroine. It should have emotional appeal, it should be easily recognizable and admit of such treatment as mentioned above. This theme should be announced in the introduction, it should be emphasized at the first appearance of the person with whom it is linked, and it should receive its ultimate glorification, by means of tonal volume, etc., in the finale of the film. Added to this, there will be as many subsidiary themes as there are secondary characters in the film. This does not mean that every face that appears on the screen must be labelled (sic) with a musical motive. This procedure applies only to the characters that are really concerned in the progress of the action. The villain will be characterized by a sinister or sombre (sic) theme, the comedian by a light and frivolous one, and so on."

    According to Lang and West, the main theme of a film should be attached to the main hero, and should come back throughout the film in different variations to reflect the mood or atmosphere that the character finds themselves in. They also suggest that other characters like the villain or comedian should have their own character themes. These theories on film music are still used today, as we'll see in the next page. Before we do so however, let's examine some of the different ways in which composers may alter a theme for the sake of mood.

    (above): Cover of Edith and West's famous book, now in the Public Domain.

    Thematic Development of a Main Theme in Early Silent Film

    Understanding how a single theme can be developed is important; a single theme can be changed through a variety of different methods, each creating a different atmosphere or mood. The following pages have been reproduced from the book above that describes a "hypothetical theme" that represents a heroine in a hypothetical film. Read through these descriptions of how a single theme may be developed over the course of a drama. As you read, click the links to an audio file that plays these different transformations of this hypothetical theme. As you do, pay attention to how the theme has changed to reflect a specific mood.

    Reproduction of pg. 8 of Edith and West's book

    CLICK HERE to listen to "Ex. A." (the heroine's theme)

    Reproduction of pg. 9 of Edith and West's book

    CLICK HERE to listen to "Ex. B." (the main theme played sorrowfully)

    CLICK HERE to listen to "Ex. C." (the main theme suggesting the character's hesitation)

    CLICK HERE to listen to "Ex. D." (the main theme expressing pleasant excitement)

    CLICK HERE to listen to "Ex. E." (the main theme expressing fear and anxiety)

    Reproduction of pg. 10 of Edith and West's book

    CLICK HERE to listen to "Ex. F." (the main theme played subtly---you'll hear it in the inner voice of the organ, but the main attention is on the fast passages in the upper register).

    CLICK HERE to listen to "Ex. G." (the main theme presented lightly, almost like waltz)

    Reproduction of pg. 11 of Edith and West's book

    CLICK HERE to listen to "Ex. H." (the main theme expressed happily)

    CLICK HERE to listen to "Ex. I." (the main theme given much more "weight" to it)

    CLICK HERE to listen to "Ex. J." (the main theme with more emotional intensity)

    The following pages will discuss Max Steiner, the "father of the modern Hollywood sound," John Williams, and Howard Shore's appraoches to film music.


    13.1: Thematic Traditions in Silent Film is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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