A wicked witch releases a horde of flying monkeys. A police detective develops a debilitating fear of heights. A young boy takes an alien for a celestial bike ride. Odds are at least one of these descriptions conjures up not only an iconic visual but also a musical reference. Maybe it\u2019s the swelling of strings or the insistent pulse of a bass line. Such is the power and lasting impression of a film score.<\/p>\n
But how do you get from a filmed scene to musical intent to cinematic vibe to actual composition? And why is it important to understand what makes a great film score actually<\/i> great?<\/p>\n
In TH 425: Film Music Analysis, taught by Mark Watters<\/a>, director of the Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media and an associate professor of contemporary media and film composition at the University of Rochester<\/a>\u2019s Eastman School of Music<\/a>, students are guided through past and current film scores to understand why choices were made during the scoring process and how to implement that information and vocabulary into their own compositions.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very proud of this class,\u201d shares Watters, who petitioned to have the course added three years ago. \u201cIt focuses on harmonic analysis and, most importantly, how these harmonies\u2014and the orchestration\u2014affect the dramatic impact of the cue.\u201d<\/p>\n