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Music and Horror Films (6-12)

Last updated 3 months ago
11 questions
Note from the author:
It's that time of year...let's explore how music enhances the effects of scary movies!

This formative is based on and includes text from The Kennedy Center's article "Your Brain on Music: Chills & Thrills."

From The Kennedy Center. Your Brain on Music: Chills & Thrills. Internet. Available from https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/your-brain-on-music/your-brain-on-music/your-brain-on-music-chills-and-thrills/; accessed 1, October, 2022.

Other great resources:
BBC Culture: What Makes a Great Horror Movie Soundtrack?
CBS News: How Scary Music Makes Movies Scarier
Video: How Composers Make Music Sound Scary
It's that time of year...let's explore how music enhances the effects of scary movies!

This formative is based on and includes text from The Kennedy Center's article "Your Brain on Music: Chills & Thrills."

From The Kennedy Center. Your Brain on Music: Chills & Thrills. Internet. Available from https://www.kennedy-center.org/education/resources-for-educators/classroom-resources/media-and-interactives/media/music/your-brain-on-music/your-brain-on-music/your-brain-on-music-chills-and-thrills/; accessed 1, October, 2022.

Other great resources:
BBC Culture: What Makes a Great Horror Movie Soundtrack?
CBS News: How Scary Music Makes Movies Scarier
Video: How Composers Make Music Sound Scary
1

How would you describe your general comfort level while watching the clip without music?

1

Describe the shift in the overall feel of the scene with music added. What are you hearing? What did the composer use to make you feel uncomfortable?

Introduction

The theme from Jaws is one example of scary movie music at its horrifying best.

Scary music has a long, bone-chilling history in symphonies, plays, ballets, and operas, as well as movies. Most listeners automatically recognize when music sends clues that something creepy is hiding under the bed, in the basement, or behind the mask. And the creators of spooky tunes know exactly what they are doing to send shivers down the spines of listeners.

A favorite scary music technique is sound and music that hints a character is being chased. For example, the music may speed up and grow louder to suggest the danger is closing in. “My hunch is that our brains hear that music in terms of being hunted,” suggests Lerner. “Our instincts tell us a creature is upon us and we need to run away or turn and fight.” That was the technique the Jaws theme used to such terrifying effect.
1

What scary movie have you seen that has very effective "scary" music?

Musical Elements - Making Scary

Tempo
By changing the pace—speeding up the rhythm or slowing it down—the composer sends a signal that can put listeners on the edge of their seats. Accelerating tempo (speed of music) might suggest a chase or the heavy breathing of a frightened character. Slowing down the beat might indicate lurking evil or a fading heartbeat. Using an unsteady beat often hints that something is out of whack or out of control. Bringing back a steady rhythm helps ease the tension.
1

Find a movie scene that uses changes in tempo to contribute to the mood. (Click the blue plus sign -> Video)

Dynamics
Refers to how loud or soft notes are played, and how the volume changes during the course of a song. Soft, eerie music can raise suspense by suggesting danger in the distance. Getting louder may hint that something or someone is about to pounce.
1

Find a movie scene that uses fluctuations in dynamics to create an effect. (Click the blue plus sign -> Video)

Pitch
Ever notice how people’s voices often get higher when they feel nervous? Composers may build this behavior into their music, raising tension by having the instruments or voices shift upward in pitch to higher notes.
1

Find a movie scene that uses manipulation of pitch (high, low, or anything in between) to contribute to the mood. This one is a little trickier - do your best! (Click the blue plus sign -> Video)

Dissonance
Some musical notes sound good together, creating harmony. Other combinations produce friction, making us wince and feel uncomfortable. An example of a creepy combination is the tritone—a musical interval that can annoy the ears and suggest something is terribly wrong. Long ago, church leaders labeled the tritone “Diabolus in Musica”—“The Devil in Music.” In Saint-Saens' Danse Macabre, Death raises skeletons to a graveyard dance by playing his violin in sinister tritones.


When composers want to signal that the coast is clear, they will often return to a pleasant-sounding harmony.
1

What other intervals do you think are dissonant, and would help create tension?

1

Find a movie scene that effectively uses dissonance to cause discomfort. (Click the blue plus sign -> Video)

Strange Instrumentation
Hearing a strange, unfamiliar sound can stop us in our tracks to listen for trouble. In a similar way, arrangers of scary music will sometimes use unusual instruments or play instruments in unusual ways to give a song freaky weirdness. Composers John Cage and George Crumb wrote music for a specially-prepared piano that might have screws, hair clips, and playing cards attached to the strings so the instrument sounded bizarre. Other composers create new "instruments" out of objects that are not typically used in music. Check out the "Sounds of the Nightmare Machine" video!
1

Find a movie scene that uses strange instrumentation or otherwise odd sounds to create a sense of disorientation or mystery. (Click the blue plus sign -> Video)

Stingers
In suspenseful TV shows, bursts of music that deliver a shock usually blare just before a commercial break. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” for example, often punctuated a scary scene with screeching violins that sound like a rising scream. Stingers can even be turned on their heads to make us laugh, as in the clip of the “dramatic prairie dog.” Watch and listen.
1

Find a movie scene that uses a stinger. There are lots of these! (Click the blue plus sign -> Video)

Manipulating Expectations
Want to know when a movie monster is about to attack? Listen for the silence, or a sweet, gentle tune. A music arranger will often try to get the audience to relax before delivering the big “AAARGH!” Another tactic is to increase tension by performing a familiar song in eerie ways, like a baby’s lullaby played with some altered notes.
1

Find a movie scene that manipulates your expectations. Read the description to the left for hints. (Click the blue plus sign -> Video)