definition of 'cinematic' music

[Meloday]

Hello all.

I have friend who is writing an article that deals with the term 'cinematic' in reference to music. He's looking for definitions of "cinematic" as a description of music, and any other relevant information.

Any recommendations would be much appreciated! (Websites, books, articles etc)

thanks.

[P.T.]

Large scale or evokes mental images.

[Meloday]

Large scale or evokes mental images.

cool, thanks for that!

yes, personal definitions would be interesting too!

that said, this is an academic article he is writing, so definitions that could be referenced would be even more helpful.

thanks again.

[shamann]

When you say "cinematic," do you mean it in a similar fashion to the adjective "epic" or do you mean it music that befits the style frequently contained in film scores?

[shamann]

Thinking a bit further, if we are talking about music which befits or evokes a film soundtrack, it strikes me that a lot of that kind of music (for example Brian Eno's "Music for Film") is an extension of Liszt's concept of "programme music," music that poetically expresses a pre-communicated concept (for example music that conveys an image or relates to an object, as expressed to an audience prior to performance in a program note or in the title).

In terms of style, I can't think of any specific definitions, but my feeling is that people call music filmic or cinematic most often when it bears overtly romantic markings--cyclical melodic themes, extreme dynamic range veering to rhapsodic/epic/grandiose forms, overtly contrasted parts, narrative structure. I think a lot of film music has tended towards burlesque/cliched forms of romantic music. I'd also think there is generally something background about cinematic music. Especially as it moves toward cliche, it requires less of the listener's explicit attention, which is perfect for music made to accompany images (or at least music made to sound as though it does).

So if researching, I'd start by looking through history/definitions of "programme music" and "Romantic music." Perhaps finding essays on the idea of the "imaginary soundtrack" would be good, though I can't think of any off the top of my head. I've never read any of Eno's books, maybe one of them contains an outline of his approach to making soundtracks to imaginary films.

[Lunatique]

To me, it simply means music that evokes strong images/mood as you listen to it. It doesn't have to orchestral--it just has to convey a mood, or you can easily imagine a scene playing along with it.

[Meloday]

Thinking a bit further, if we are talking about music which befits or evokes a film soundtrack, it strikes me that a lot of that kind of music (for example Brian Eno's "Music for Film") is an extension of Liszt's concept of "programme music," music that poetically expresses a pre-communicated concept (for example music that conveys an image or relates to an object, as expressed to an audience prior to performance in a program note or in the title).

In terms of style, I can't think of any specific definitions, but my feeling is that people call music filmic or cinematic most often when it bears overtly romantic markings--cyclical melodic themes, extreme dynamic range veering to rhapsodic/epic/grandiose forms, overtly contrasted parts, narrative structure. I think a lot of film music has tended towards burlesque/cliched forms of romantic music. I'd also think there is generally something background about cinematic music. Especially as it moves toward cliche, it requires less of the listener's explicit attention, which is perfect for music made to accompany images (or at least music made to sound as though it does).

So if researching, I'd start by looking through history/definitions of "programme music" and "Romantic music." Perhaps finding essays on the idea of the "imaginary soundtrack" would be good, though I can't think of any off the top of my head. I've never read any of Eno's books, maybe one of them contains an outline of his approach to making soundtracks to imaginary films.

great stuff, shamann! thanks!

[Meloday]

To me, it simply means music that evokes strong images/mood as you listen to it. It doesn't have to orchestral--it just has to convey a mood, or you can easily imagine a scene playing along with it.

thanks lunatique!

[Meffy]

I 'spect that's about as good as you're likely to get. For more "serious" definitions you can cite in a bibliography, I guess music dictionaries and encyclopedias would be promising places to look. Dunno if they'd be any better -- KVR members can put formal sources to shame sometimes -- but you could try.

[Meloday]

Yeah, I've always thought that cinematic music uses a lot of clichés. I don't mean 'cliché' in a negative way here. Maybe 'expected' is a better tem. There are different musical techniques (key, scale, tempo, density, etc.) that we associate with different emotions. Orchestration, progression, theme and the overall arrangement of a film score is designed to evoke these specific emotions as they relate to the image/story. Only when we listen to the music separate from the image do we then recognize these clichéd or expected musical cues.

In case anyone is interested, I thought I'd point out these links...they're mostly research papers that investigate the relationship between music and emotion. Alf Gabrielsson, Patrick Juslin, A. Friberg and R. Bresin are some of the academics who have done extensive research in this area.

http://courses.media.mit.edu/2002spring ... ts/kimura/

ftp://infomus.dist.unige.it/Pub/Publica ... oPaper.pdf

ftp://infomus.dist.unige.it/Pub/Publica ... nPaper.pdf

ftp://infomus.dist.unige.it/pub/Publica ... -dec98.pdf

http://musicweb.hmt-hannover.de/escom/e ... uslinE.htm

thanks again for the responses!

[shamann]

I don't mean 'cliché' in a negative way here. Maybe 'expected' is a better tem.

I like using cliché, in part simply because of the negative connotation it carries, which can be effectively jarring for some.

But really, cliché in the sense I mean just refers to a sort of emotional shorthand, in which familiar gestures are likely to evoke the same kernel of meaning for a majority of listeners. So in order to convey scary music, you fall back on known forms of scary music (slow, steady, to boomcrash), to convey a love theme fall back on known forms of love themes (identifiable melody, slow to walking tempo, sustained notes, etc)...