You listen to a piece of classical music and you just hear the same thing over and over and over again. Nothing is new; the composer just repeats himself. Music like that really doesn’t show creativity does it? It’s nothing like the I-IV-V-I chord progression used in most pop or rock songs since they have been around. Yes, it is true that classical music does have motives that repeat themselves, but it is no different than more popular forms of music.
For example you can find repeating motives in the classical music which is the background noise in your favorite movie. Have you ever tried to watch a movie with no musical background? The scenes lose so much intensity and interest when there is nothing there to provide that subtle musical layer of the mood that the director is trying to portray in the scene-whether it be love, hate, or just moving from place to place in the movie. And a lot of it is repetitive.
A movie that most people have seen is Lord of the Rings, and if you’ve watched this movie more than once then you know what music is used to portray each character. You know this by the sound of the melody found in the background music-which is made in the modern classical style. You could buy the sound track of the movie and know exactly who is in the part you are listening to and what is going on based on what you’re hearing. It is these repeating motives that give the music meaning and make it more than simple background noise. They help you connect to the characters and story line and help to create the atmosphere that it would be like if you were in the movie.
Even though a lot of music has very repetitive elements, it does not show a lack of creativity on the part of the composer. Especially in the case of classical music, it shows an understanding of the power of music.
So would you consider most film scores classical music? I always considered it a different type of music. While they share the orchestral sound, they are to me quite different in tone, purpose, and flow.
ReplyDeleteAraignée,
ReplyDeleteNo I would not say that most film scores are classical music, like you say some have quite a different tone, and purpose. But there are some that have been made with the intent to be classical in nature, maybe not the old classical music but the new styles of classical music that allow a broader style.
Have you seen the movie, Finding Neverland? I just fell in love with the orchestral sound track of the movie so that I watch it again and again. Really, good OST completes the movie.
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