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Exploring Film
Music |
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The Musical Contexts
Soundtracks Composing Videos Bank A collection of short films (all in .mp4
format) suitable for soundtrack composition activities all preceded by the
“5-4-3-2-1 countdown timer” and with an on-screen timer throughout. Most videos are given in “silent” form and
with the original soundtrack, dialogue, underscore or sound effects. Music Spotting sessions and the
construction of a Storyboard and/or Cuesheet can then be completed before
pupils attempt to create their own film music soundtracks. |
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Soundtracks - Cover and
Homework Activities |
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Soundtracks - The James
Bond Film Music Project |
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Soundtracks - Horror Film
Soundtracks Resources |
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Soundtracks - General Film
Music Resources |
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Soundtracks - Leitmotif
Resources |
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Soundtracks - Westerns
& Cowboys and Indians Film Soundtracks Resources |
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Soundtracks - Sci-Fi,
Fantasy and Magical Film Soundtracks Resources |
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Soundtracks - Action,
Thriller and Spy Film Soundtracks Resources |
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Soundtracks - Music Theory
and Melodic Dictation |
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Soundtracks Melodic Dictation Exercises Bass and Treble Clef Melodic Dictation based on Film Music Themes. All of the audio examples are
given on the accompanying audio file. |
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The unit begins with
an introduction into the purpose of film music and the decisions and
challenges a composer of film music faces.
Leitmotifs are an important aspect of film music and pupils explore
how composers have used these to represent certain characters and situations
within films and how, through the manipulation of the elements of music,
these can be changed to suit different on-screen situations. The unit has several
“Lesson Pathways” allowing teachers to focus on some of several film music
genres in detail. While the focus of
this unit is on creating and composing, there are opportunities for pupils to
critically engage with a range of film music through listening and
appraising, together with some performing activities of famous film themes
and leitmotifs. The James
Bond Film Music Project is one such popular pathway where pupils
perform the James Bond Leitmotif and Themes before using these in a
soundtrack composition for the newest James Bond film trailer. Another popular pathway is to
focus on the music in horror films using one of the “Haunted House” videos as
a stimulus for a soundtrack composition. The Musical Contexts Soundtracks Composing Videos
Bank contains several short suitable films with an
on-screen timer throughout where pupils could undertake a music spotting,
construction of a storyboard/cue sheet and ultimately a complete soundtrack
composition. |
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Soundtracks - Scheme of
Work and Lesson Pathways |
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Soundtracks - Scheme of
Work and Lesson Pathways Includes Scheme of Work Overview,
Unit Learning Objectives, Learning Outcomes and Lesson Pathways. |
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Soundtracks - DOITNOW
(Starters) and Plenary Activities |
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Presentation A range of lesson closers and ways in
which pupil’s can review their learning and consolidate their skills,
knowledge and understanding from within the Soundtracks unit. |
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Soundtracks - 5 Minutes
Silent Reading For teachers who prefer to begin
their lessons with quiet, focused openers.
All contain “Questions to Think About” which can also be used as Cover
or Homework tasks. |
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1. What is Film
Music For? 2. Early Film
Music. 3. How do you
start writing Film Music? 4. The
Independent Life of a Film Score. 5. Cultural
Repercussions. 6.
The Purpose of Film Music. |
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“Haunted House” -
Composing Ideas (a .png file Brainstorm/Mindmap) -
Some ideas (a ‘Haunted House Film Music Composer’s “Toolkit”’) giving some of
the most common and frequently used compositional musical devices “associated
with” Film Music used in Horror Films.
This may help direct pupils to using SOME of the many given ways of
adapting the “Elements of Music” in their ‘Haunted House’ Film Music
compositions. |
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Pupils construct intervals of a 5th adding notes above and below
treble and bass clef staff notation and work out the note names of chords
(also in treble and bass clef notation with accidentals) before aurally
evaluating whether they are a concord or discord. |
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Soundtracks - “DOITNOW”
Presentation Cutting down on printables, file
storage and media files, the “new look” Musical Contexts “DOITNOW” Soundtracks lesson openers Presentation
contains a wealth (only two samples
shown here), of effective “DOITNOW’s” when delivering the Soundtracks unit in just one place - all audio
and video files are embedded and there’s accompanying Teacher’s Notes in the
“slide comments” section. |
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Musical Contexts SQUILT |
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Key Words,
Concepts and Musical Knowledge |
Leitmotif, Soundtrack, Theme Song, Mickey-Mousing,
Concord/Discord, (Chromatic) Sequencing, Storyboard, ‘Borrowed’ Music,
Music-Spotting, Interval of a 5th, Click Tracks/Timing, Theme, Sound Effects,
Motif, Timbre/Sonority, Musical Clichés, Diegetic and Non-Diegetic Film
Music. |
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Music Theory |
Intervals of a 5th Concords and Discords |
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Links to GCSE
Music |
Film Music/Music for Film Music for Stage and Screen |
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with on-screen timer |
Haunted House Video 1 (.mp4) with
on-screen composing prompts |
with on-screen timer |
Haunted House Video 2 (.mp4) with
on-screen composing prompts |
with on-screen timer |
Haunted House Video 3 (.mp4) with
on-screen composing prompts |
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Haunted ‘Psycho’ House Video 4 (.mp4) with on-screen timer |
Haunted ‘Psycho’ House Video 4 (.mp4) with on-screen composing prompts |
Haunted ‘Psycho’ House Video 4 (.mp4) with Bernard Hermann’s original
soundtrack |
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(2 minutes 29 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
(2 minutes 29 seconds) Original Soundtrack |
“Crows Attack the Students” from ‘The
Birds’ (2 minutes 29 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
“Crows Attack the Students” from ‘The
Birds’ (2 minutes 29 seconds) Original Soundtrack |
(Ending Scene) (2 minutes 34 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
(Ending Scene) (2 minutes 34 seconds) Original Soundtrack |
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(Opening Sequence) (2 minutes 12 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
(Opening Sequence) (2 minutes 12 seconds) Original Soundtrack |
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone” (3 minutes 42 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s
Stone” (3 minutes 42 seconds) Original Soundtrack |
“Harry Potter Dementor Train Attack
Scene” (3 minutes 42 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
“Harry Potter Dementor Train Attack
Scene” (3 minutes 42 seconds) Original Soundtrack |
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“The Lit up Sea and the Whale” from
‘The Life of Pi’ (1 minute 43 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
“The Lit up Sea and the Whale” from
‘The Life of Pi’ (1 minute 43 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
(3 minutes 32 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
(3 minutes 32 seconds) Original Soundtrack |
“Scare Floor” scene from ‘Monsters
Inc.’ (3 minutes 32 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
“Scare Floor” scene from ‘Monsters
Inc.’ (3 minutes 32 seconds) Original Soundtrack |
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“Throne Room” Scene from ‘Star Wars’ (1 minute 44 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
“Throne Room” Scene from ‘Star Wars’ (1 minute 44 seconds) Original Soundtrack |
Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (First Documentary
Film 1895) (53 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (First Documentary
Film 1895) (53 seconds) Early Piano Accompaniment |
“The Woman in Black” (trailer) (1 minute 31 seconds) Silent with on-screen timer |
“The Woman in Black” (trailer) (1 minute 31 seconds) Original Soundtrack |
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Pupils answer comprehension questions and then
think about how they would use instruments, sounds, sound effects and genres
of music in different types of films. Can be done without using ICT. |
Pupils think about how mood, instruments,
tempo, pitch and musical features can be used in their choice of film types
before creating a mini storyboard for one film and writing the lyrics to a
theme song for it. Can be done without using ICT. |
Comprehension-style activity based on Film and
Background Music and Cinema Sound Systems. Can be done without using ICT. |
Pupils match the titles of films to their
soundtrack composer. Suggested answers provided. Requires Internet access for research. |
Pupils answer questions relating to key words
and terms in Film Music and find the answers within a word search grid. Answers provided. Can be done without using ICT. |
Pupils complete missing words on the music
used in different film genres before answering questions on Westerns and
Horror soundtracks. Can be done without using ICT. |
Another comprehension activity based on Film
Music with film music genre planning. Can be done without using ICT. |
Pupils plan a soundtrack o a Sci-Fi film scene
using a Storyboard. Can be done without using ICT. |
Musical Devices Used
in Film Music Pupils suggest how music could be written for
different film situations. Can be done without using ICT. |
Planning a
Soundtrack to a Horror Film Pupils plan a soundtrack to a Horror Film
using either a 6, 7 or 9-frame Storyboard. Can be done without using ICT. |
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Contains the James Bond Leitmotif, The Main
James Bond Theme and The James Bond Action Themes 1 & 2. |
How the James Bond
Leitmotif and Themes are used in a Soundtrack Thematic analysis of the use of Leitmotif and
James Bond Themes. Contains answers. |
How Music is used in
“Goldfinger” Video Video with on-screen question prompts as to
how music is used in the opening sequence of an older James Bond film. |
No Time to Die James
Bond Trailer Video Edited version of the trailer to “No Time to
Die” for soundtrack composition project. |
No Time to Die James
Bond Trailer Cue Sheet Blank Example Cue Sheet with timings and a Cue
Sheet with question prompts to accompany the “No Time to Die” soundtrack
composition video trailer. |
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Pupils select appropriate music by Wagner to
accompany an early “silent” Horror Film.
Contains Teacher’s Notes with Background Information. |
Performing the
Halloween Theme by John Carpenter Contains scores with and without note names
and Teacher’s Notes. |
Exploring the
Soundtrack to “Psycho” 5-page Study Guide
exploring Bernard Hermann’s soundtrack to “Psycho” including performing and
composing activities, listening and analysis and full Teacher’s Notes with
answers and discussion.
Psycho Video 1 - Opening Titles with Soundtrack
Psycho Audio 1 - Opening Chords (repeated 4 times)
Psycho Audio 2 - The “Psycho Theme” Sigh Motif |
Performing “In the
House - In a Heartbeat” Theme from ‘28 Days Later’ Contains scores with and with partial note
names.
28 Days Later Audio—Melody and Bass Line Parts
together from “In the House - In a Heartbeat” |
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Orchestral and
Electronic Resources in Film Music Listening Sheet Contains Teacher’s Notes, Answers &
Discussion Points.
Orchestral & Electronic Audio 1—Spellbound—Rózsa |
Film Music as an aid
to Narrative Listening Sheet Contains Teacher’s Notes, Answers &
Discussion Points. |
The First Specially
Composed Film Scores and Music Spotting Pupils analyse two scenes from the film
“October” where appropriate music and sound effects could be added before
creating their own film soundtrack for either video film sequence. |
Exploring Music in
Cartoons and Animated Films Musical clichés used in cartoons and animated
films for pupils to perform.
Cartoon Audio 1 - “Putty Tat Trouble (1951)” |
Useful as practice for GCSE Music Film Music
Composing to a brief without video. |
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Explores how Leitmotifs can be varied, changed
and developed through Chromatic Sequencing and the addition of Incidental
Music in film soundtracks. Also
features a pupil composition task where they create then vary their own
“Monster Leitmotif”. Contains complete
Teacher’s Notes with Answers and all supporting audio and video files. Also Useful for GCSE Film Music Areas of
Study.
Leitmotifs Video 2 - Leitmotifs in Wagner’s Operas
Leitmotifs Video 3 - Incidental Music and Leitmotifs in scenes from
Jaws
Leitmotifs Audio 16 - Leitmotifs in Wagner’s Operas Audio
Leitmotifs Audio 17—Chromatic Sequencing from Rigoletto
Leitmotifs Audio 18 - Chromatic Sequencing from Taste the Blood of
Dracula |
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Exploring Film Music
in Westerns 4-page Study Guide focusing on Listening and
Appraising film music used in Westerns.
Contains a 10-mark GCSE-style Listening Question complete with audio
files, teacher’s notes, answers and discussion.
Westerns Audio 1 - Main Title from The Big Country
Westerns Audio 2 - Theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Westerns Audio 3 - Cowboy Theme from Twins of Evil |