The Film Music Chord Change

[James Semple]

Yep, that's a bold title no doubt about it. I apologise upfront to all the composers who will find this very basic stuff but this was a real discovery for me.

I've been writing rock and pop music for many years now. I've been a fan of film music for far longer... probably dating back to the first time I saw Star Wars.

Anyway, 2 years ago I was sitting at the keyboard and playing around on a strings patch when I suddenly played a chord change that I'd just never really focused on before.

The first change was a simple Em to Cm. That was it. As soon as I heard it I realised that this was the big soundtrack sound that I'd become used to. The E melody note moving to Eb with the smooth voice leading underneath and that shared G note.

This quickly led me on to moving major triads in thirds and again hearing this delightful chromatic relationship between the two chords. My news theme uses this technique, starting in A major, moving to C major and then back to A major again.

I then began using these sounds as forms of cadence or suspension. Keeping C in the bass I would move between C and Ab major. In this manner, Ab major functions as an altered V chord (G7b9#5sus4 perhaps?) or a suspension on the I chord (Cm#5).

Anyway, eventually I decided to start looking deeper into this change and realised that I was using Chromatic Mediants ... Apparently they were used significantly in the Romantic Period and were a popular device of Jerry Goldsmith. I guess this is why they sound like film music to me.

Well, this was a big revelation to me and helped me unlock a lot of chord progressions used in films ... I think the main Fellowship theme from LotR is I -> bIII -> I (it might be I - v - I but I haven't listened to it in a while).

Of course this was a while back now and at the moment I'm exploring how much polytonality pervades film music...

[phil Kelly]

While its fine to admire Bach ( as do I ) or any other composer ( Bartok, Stravinsky et al ), one must keep in mind this in film the composers job is to SUPPORT the drama without drawing undue attention to itself -except in situations wher the director has deliberately chosen to let the msuic "carry" the scene. This can be a mixed blessing because often there is a directorial problem : no dialog to carry the story forward, no cover shots to help the editor, or possibly just some awkward acting, and the director is hoping some music will bridge the awkward moment, but leaving the composer little emotional impetus to "be in " the scene.

[Jay Packard]

You're right, the medium is more limited. I wonder if this is party why film music has evolved as it has, namely it isn't as concerned about the tonal center so that it can pretty much end anywhere vs having to come back around to the center. It's more flexible this way. But then you have to wonder if film music has been marginalized. I've thought it would be nice when the music is leading (e.g. montage) to change the way films are edited, namely by having the music come first and the editing come after. This way the composer could possibly create more interesting structure of its own.

[Mike Torr]

Good comments Jay, and food for thought. Just to be clear, I was being more specific using the word "drama" than depicting a story as music. I had more in mind the actual process of matching music to edited footage, which is a more restrictive medium in which to work.

[Jay Packard]

Interesting points Gavin and Mike. I think Bach himself was concerned about a new music for his day. However, he was also stubborn against some modern trends he liked, such as less polyphony.

I guess I'm hesitant about doing something just because it's new. I prefer doing something because it's better or more appropriate for our time. And I'm open to this. The "do something new trend" by itself leads to people distorting their voices in rock to get a new sound for example and doing other weird things that won't stand the test of time.

About the nature of drama, I wonder if there really is a difference between the drama that Bach depicted (such as Christ's passion (the last day of his life)) and drama in movies today. Or perhaps there really are some harmonic improvements that, were Bach alive, he would use instead of his.

His last work, the Art of the Fugue, is very progressive. I lean towards starting from here to try to get a modern sound, but the problem is it is so intensely contrapuntal, which is not part of the current trend. Howard shore tried a contrapuntal approach in "The Aviator", and I'm grateful for his effort, but I'm not very impressed with the atonalish result.

[Mike Torr]

I am a Bach fan, too. However, I think that it isn't simply fashion that has dictated a move away from definite tonal anchor points in film music. I've heard it said that the reason it works so well to be deliberately ambiguous and constant shifting is that this echoes the development of the on-screen drama. It's a rare thing indeed to score a film whose action happens to fit a classical musical form: drama is organic and hard to pin down, and I think modern film music is in part reflecting that aspect.

[Jay Packard]

This is an interesting thread.

My favorite composer is Bach, in large part due to his harmonies. Other important composers like Mozart and Beethoven called him a harmony genius. Though I like the sound of the chromatic mediants and other techniques used in film music, I have to say I am never fully satisfied by them like I am by Bach.

I get the sense that many film composers are not working from as full of a palet as Bach. The result is I feel somewhat emotionally manipulated. For example, what happened to the classic I-IV-V7-I in film music? I'm pretty sure Bach found a place for the chromatic mediant and other modern techniques (I'd have to do more analysis), except for the wierdest, but it is in the context of other progressions, such that they are passing in nature and don't stand out so much.

Bach rides the fine balance of a tonal center and going away from that center. Through this, I long for the center when he goes away from it. I feel like with James Horner, whom I quite like, and his use of these techniques, that he goes so far from the tonal center such that I loose the longing for the center. and hence truly being moved by the music.

I'm having such a hard time reconciling Bach with what I like in modern film music. I've scored one movie using a classical sound. I want to move out to a more modern sound but without throwing away what I value so much in Bach, but I'm not sure how to do it. Can I take Bach and linger a little longer on some of the film progressions, or would that destroy the longing for the center I was speaking of?

[Dave Klotz]

This thread is an absolutly great read. Thanks guys!

[Neil Bruce]

It was if they read this blog......

Modern film scores are terrible, say composer

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article3564154.ece?Submitted=true

[phil Kelly]

Neils comment on the influence of the dreaded "temp track" has often been a problem of composers for many years . In a few cases, it does aid the composer in understanding what the director wants the score to be doing, but unfortunately in most cases, it's something pulled out by the editor that HE and the director like because of it's pacing with the visuals or some emotional reason. This obviously in many cases puts the composers own musical viewpoint in handcuffs-creating the too -often problem of being urged to just "copy" the temp.( unless he's a very persuasive saleman /advocate of his own approach. One trick that helps if you can manage it is to get them to kill all the audio but the dialog and sfx while discussing the cue.

What makes this situation even worse is that many editors only have a small stash of the "usual susupects" temp cues they draw from. If I hear another scene temped with "Carmina Burana" or "Orinoco Flow", I think I'd tear whats left of my hairout :)

[Neil Bruce]

Fantastic posting guys!!

Would be good to start a few more like this!!

I am with you James, I have come from a rock/blues/metal background in terms of theory and then went on to study 4 point harmonies etc. I do find that there is a lot of similarity in modern film music, I would suggest that this is due to directors wanting a certain 'mood' to be created and that has been linked to temp tracks etc, therefore the same progressions are used to create the same mood.

Interestingly I found that the soundtrack for 'There will be blood' was the first in a long time to break with tradition, very effectively too I thought!

Look forward to more posts!!

Neil