A. Example Analysis - below are two example timelines. The first is for the film "Grand Canyon," viewed in class on Monday 10/29. The second is for the film "Men in Black," as analyzed by a former student. It has been critiqued by Professor Kendall. I will complete an example written analysis and post it tomorrow.
"Grand Canyon" timeline
"Men in Black" timeline, by a former student
B. List of Terms - up through week 3. Some terms have not been mentioned in lecture.
Please feel free to email me (jredwards@ucla.edu) with any questions regarding terminology; I would be happy to help with explainations and practical examples. Mastery of musicological terminology is not required, but a working familiarity with all of the terms below will be assumed when grading essays and quizzes!
[This list will be updated throughout the quarter. Check back often to see new additions.] |
| Chromaesthesia - The ability to see specific colors when specific pitches are heard. Although not all people with chromaesthesia associate the same colors with the same pitches, they are all internally consistent. Chromaesthesia is a type of synesthesia, or cross-modal connection of the senses. |
Consonance -
1) An interval or chord that sounds 'smooth' or stable, often considered pleasant.
2) Also - one of three archetypes of the stratification/layering of accents between the visual and musical domains. When these accents align in time, they are called "consonant." (See "stratification of accents," below) |
Culture - is comprised of shared implicit and explicit knowledge structures. |
| Cut - To alter the angle or placement of the camera, causing an instantaneous change of point-of-view, location, scene, etc. Compare with other film terms such as pan and zoom. |
Diegetic music - Also called "source music." Music that is produced by people or devices that are part of the story space of the film. Diegetic sounds are sounds that the characters in the movie should be able to hear, whether the sound source is visible or not. Take for example the band's rendition of "La Marseillaise" in Casablanca. Contrast diegetic with non-diegetic music.
|
Dissonance -
1) An interval or chord that sounds 'rough' or unstable, often considered unpleasant;
2) Also - one of three archetypes of the stratification/layering of accents between the visual and musical domains. When these accents do not align in time, they are called "dissonant." (See "stratification of accents," below)
|
Icon - An object that is partly referential. It denotes a connection across different frames of reference suggested by common patterns or forms. In the case of music, sound patterns/forms (in terms of pitch, dynamics, melodic contour, tempo, etc) can suggest connections to iconic features in other frames of reference. Unlike indexes, the connection is not arbitrary but is based on some form of resemblance in terms of form, shape, pattern, motion, transferred from one frame of reference to another.
Of the many archetypes of icons, the three most common are arch, ramp and burst.
The arch is characterized by a constant/contiguous up and down motion of pitch and/or loudness in time.
The ramp is characterized by a rise or a fall followed by either an abrupt or postponed fall off. In any case there is a time gap between the rising and the descending movement that distinguishes it from the arch.
The burst is characterized as an isolated moment of accent in music by the use of instrumentation, loudness or pitch.
|
Index - A concept related to referentialism (see below). It denotes an arbitrary association between signifier and signified (between a symbol and its referent). Examples include national anthems, the idea of idee fixe or leitmotif in the manner of Berlioz or Wagner, etc. The key aspect of indexes is that the connection between the music and the external visual concept or idea is entirely arbitrary, a matter of learned association. |
Interval - The distance between two notes. Intervals we will be dealing with include the octave and the perfect fifth, described below. the distance between two notes. Intervals we will be dealing with include the octave and the perfect fifth, described below. |
Major scale - A scale (see definition for scale, below) with 7 notes separating the octave into 7 intervals with the following distribution in terms of semitones:
2 2 1 2 2 2 1;
associations: happy mood |
Melodic contour (or pitch contour) - The pattern of pitch direction changes (contrasts) outlined by successive notes in a melody. The pitch can either go up, down or remain the same. |
Melody - Perceptually, melody can be thought of as the superimposition (layering) of temporal (rhythmic) and pitch (melodic) contours. |
Meter - A pattern by which accented and non-accented beats alternate, a pattern of strong and weak beats. The most common meters are duple (i.e., groups of twos, counted 1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2...) and triple (groups of threes, counted 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3...). Complex meters can be formed by adding groups of twos and threes together (e.g., a meter with five beats: 1-2-1-2-3-1-2-1-2-3). |
Minor scale - A scale (see definition for scale, below) with 7 notes separating the octave into 7 intervals with the following distribution in terms of semitones:
2 1 2 2 1 2 2;
associations: sadness |
Monophony / Homophony / Polyphony - Classification of music based on how many melodic lines are performed simultaneously during a musical piece, and on their contour relationships.
a) Monophonic pieces: Pieces that have a single melodic line
b) Homophonic pieces: pieces with two or more lines sharing the same rhythmic and melodic contours
c) Polyphonic pieces: Pieces with two or more lines having different rhythmic and/or melodic contours. |
Monothematic score - A score in which all (or the overwhelming majority) of the music is based on a single melody. The score to Lilies of the Field is monothematic, as all of the music is based on the tune, "Amen." |
| Motive - Small melodic fragment, often used intrareferentially in films, such as the five-note fragment in Close Encounters of the Third Kind used to represent the aliens. A given melody or theme can consist of a single motive, or several interwoven motives. Much Western art and film music is based on the technique of developing variations, in which motives are systematically and meaningfully developed over the course of a piece; Arnold Schoenberg cited Beethoven's Fifth Symphony as a masterful example of the technique. |
Music - In Professor Kendall's definition, "temporally organized sound and silence, areferentially communicative within a context." |
Non-diegetic music - Music that is produced outside the story space of the film. Thus, in Lilies of the Field, when Sydney Poitier's car is driving up the road and we hear a tune being played by an ensemble with harmonica, accordion, and other instruments, this music is non-diegetic. In Star Wars, all of the music that is played during the space scenes is non-diegetic. Non-diegetic music is music that the characters of the film should not be able to hear (unless they hear it in their heads). Contrast with diegetic music, above. |
Octave - An interval where the separation between the two tones is 12 semitones. Pitches separated by octave are characterized by high degree of sameness/smoothness. The octave is the most consonant interval. The first two notes of "Somewhere, Over the Rainbow" (the notes corresponding to the word "Some-WHERE") are an octave apart. |
| Pan - To rotate the camera on its vertical axis, creating the effect of turning your head to the left or right. Compare with other terms such as zoom and cut. |
Perfect fifth - A highly consonant interval where the separation between the two tones is seven semi-tones. Some people say the perfect fifth is John Williams' favorite interval, as it appears in many of his most famous melodies (e.g., the first two notes in the E.T. theme, the first two notes in the Star Wars theme, etc.). |
Personal tempo - The tempo, around 100 beats per minute, at which most people feel comfortable. A moderate walking tempo. |
Pitch - The degree of height of a tone. |
Referentialism - The arbitrary association of musical features and non-musical meanings or emotions, established through temporal contiguity and/or reinforcement (i.e. any national anthem and the relevant nationality; major/minor tonalities and happy/sad connotations; dissonance and 'scary scenes' in the movies, etc).
Successful communication of referential meanings is highly dependent upon shared implicit and explicit knowledge structures, ie. shared culture.
Internal referentiality-occurs when an association between a musical feature and a meaning/emotion is made within a composition or film, i.e. Berlioz' s idee fixe or Wagner's leitmotiv
External referentiality- occurs when the musical features point to something external to the music itself, the meaning comes from cultural associations like major/minor; i.e. use of national anthems in Casablanca |
Scale - In Western art music and much film music, a subset of 7 pitches within the octave, with prescribed interval relationships. |
Schemata - Implicit knowledge structures are comprised of various schemata, by which perceptual data is sorted, processed, and stored. |
Semitone - A minor second. The smallest musical interval in the Western musical system. The octave is divided in 12 such intervals. Any two contiguous keys on a piano are a semitone apart. |
Tempo - The speed of a regular pulse (i.e., the speed of the clock), usually measured in beats-per-minute. Thus, if the pulse occurs once per second, its tempo is 60, twice per second=120, etc. See personal tempo, above. |
Tonality - Organization of pitches relative to a home pitch called the tonic. |
Variable - A concept or construct that takes on different values; in music, could be pitch or tonality, etc. |
| Zoom - To alter the magnifying power of the camera lens. When you zoom in, objects on the screen grow larger. Zooming out causes them to grow smaller. Compare with other terms such as pan and cut. |
