Underscoring
Underscoring , also called descriptive technique , is one of the four composition techniques of film music alongside counterpointing , mood and leitmotif technique . The music continuously responds to incidents, movements and feelings depicted in the film, synchronously and paraphrasing . The technique of underscoring was particularly widespread in classic Hollywood cinema. Max Steiner is often named as a typical representative . Nowadays, in contrast to the mood technique, underscoring is rarely used, mostly in animated films or comedies .
characterization
By imitating or stylizing noises as well as movement elements, the picture action should be implemented synchronously in musical form. Underscoring is used to underline the characters shown, the pace, the plot or the mood and to trigger feelings in the audience. In order to achieve this effect, a sound-imitating or sound-painting method of composition is sought. In doing so, certain sound clichés are sometimes used, for example to create references to locations:
| Instruments | cliche | Sound and usability |
|---|---|---|
| accordion | Paris, port | as a "Schifferklavier" tied to clichés |
| balalaika | Russia, folklore | Medium-high melodies, sound between banjo and mandolin |
| Bagpipes | Scotland | loud, piercing, simple melodies |
| Horn (french horn) | Hunt, forest, stagecoach | medium to deep, very soft, solos bound by clichés |
| castanets | Spain | Cliché bound, for rhythm with acoustic guitar |
| harmonica | Water, sailing | medium to high, silvery, solo melodious |
Mickey mousing is an extreme form of underscoring . The music is no longer an addition, but a characterization of the movements: upward movements (climbing stairs) are implemented accordingly with high, rising pitches, horizontal processes (running) experience rhythmic background music.
Underscoring in Schlager
Until the 1980s, underscoring was also used consistently in compositions of the German hit.
Examples
| Interpreter | title | Compositional element |
|---|---|---|
| Katja Ebstein | Once upon a time there was a hunter | French horns at the beginning |
| Frank Farian | Rocky | Falling cadence during dying |
| Genghis Khan | Moscow | Men screams |
| Truck stop | I would really like to hear Dave Dudley | CB radio signal |
| Bibi Johns | Bum-Budi-Bum, that can be dangerous (Goodness Gracious Me) | Heartbeat |
| Bill Ramsey | Pigalle (... the great mousetrap) | Piano bar piano and tuning |
| Dalida | The day the rain came | Rainfall at the beginning |
| Fred Weyrich | Only once to Hawaii | Hawaiian guitar |
| Hazy Osterwald sextet | Criminal Tango | shot |
| Heino | La Montanara | Echo of the choir singing at the beginning |
literature
- Claudia Bullerjahn: Basics of the effect of film music . Wissner, Augsburg 2001. ISBN 3-89639-230-1 .
Web links
- “Underscoring in contrast to mood and leitmotif technique using the example of the film 'Indiana Jones - The Last Crusade'” - Jessen Mordhorst, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg , Institute for Media, Communication & Sport, December 2004.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Film music techniques ( Memento of the original from October 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Colloquium "Film Analysis" at the University of Potsdam , 2004.
- ↑ Bullerjahn, 2001.
