How do horror movies provoke fear and other emotions through the music and sound design?
Essay word count – 1,500 words
1500 – 200 (introduction and conclusion) = 1300
1300 / number of points (7) = 185 words per point
Points to make
| Point Number | Point | Source | Description | Estimated Words |
| 0 | Introduction | 100 | ||
| 1 | Horror movies use specific instrumentation to create terrifying sounds | Ahmed, k., 2019. Instruments That Make Those Spooky Sounds on Halloween — Winchester Stage Music Center. [online] Winchester Stage Music Center. Available at: <https://stagemusiccenter.com/music-school-blog-winchester-ma/which-instruments-make-those-spooky-sounds> [Accessed 15 June 2021]. | Apprehension Engine “Used exclusively for generating spooky sounds” Composers often reuse instruments such as the waterphone to create scary soundscapes for movies, this is because of their unique and spooky tones. | 185 |
| 2 | Nonlinear sounds inspire fear by mimicking distress calls | Nevada Film Office. 2018. Production Notes: Non-Linear Sounds. [online] Available at: <https://nevadafilm.com/production-notes-non-linear-sounds/> [Accessed 13 June 2021]. | I will talk about how horror films use nonlinear noise to make us feel scared, this is because distressing sounds such as screams and distress calls indicate danger is near by. | 185 |
| 3 | Dissonant notes create disturbance in the ears of the audience | Encyclopedia Britannica. n.d. Appoggiatura | music. [online] Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/art/appoggiatura> [Accessed 12 June 2021]. KOGAN, J., 2017. NPR Cookie Consent and Choices. [online] Npr.org. Available at: <https://www.npr.org/2017/10/31/560843189/the-unsettling-sound-of-tritones-the-devils-interval?t=1623504174993> [Accessed 12 June 2021]. | Composers use dissonant chords to make us feel uneasy due to the frictional frequencies of the notes. | 185 |
| 4 | Silence and sound design create a terrifying environment in horror movies | Burgos, D., 2018. Why ‘A Quiet Place’s Use Of Silence Creeps You Out So Much, According To Science. [online] Bustle. Available at: <https://www.bustle.com/p/why-a-quiet-places-use-of-silence-creeps-you-out-so-much-according-to-science-8715866> [Accessed 13 June 2021]. Reich, J., n.d. 8. What Is Sound?. [online] Milnepublishing.geneseo.edu. Available at: <https://milnepublishing.geneseo.edu/exploring-movie-construction-and-production/chapter/8-what-is-sound/> [Accessed 13 June 2021]. | Silence and sound design is often better than music to create scary scenes, this is because music to some extent comforts us and tells us what to think. No music leaves us in the dark and builds suspence. | 185 |
| 5 | Ironic music and juxtaposition are used music to create unsettling themes in the film which make the audience uncomfortable | Higgypop. 2018. The Creepiest Nursery Rhymes From Horror Movies & Television. [online] Available at: <https://www.higgypop.com/news/creepiest-nursery-rhymes/> [Accessed 14 June 2021]. Higgypop. 2017. ‘Tiptoe Through The Tulips’ The Scariest Song EVER. [online] Available at: <https://www.higgypop.com/news/tiptoe-through-the-tulips/> [Accessed 14 June 2021] | Music often contrasts the visual stimuli making the scene feel unnatural and therefore disturbs the audience. | 185 |
| 6 | Extended Technique and instrumental articulation is used to create disturbing sounds through unconventional methods of playing | 2021. Bernard Herrmann: Psycho – ‘Prelude’, ‘The City’, ‘Marion’, ‘The Murder (Shower Scene)’, ‘The Toys’, ‘The Cellar’, ‘Discovery’, ‘Finale’ (for component 3: Appraising). [ebook] Pearson, p.3. Available at: <https://qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/pdf/A%20Level/Music/2016/teaching-and-learning-materials/A_level_Herrmann_Psycho_set_work_support_guide.pdf> [Accessed 11 June 2021]. Fiddlerman. n.d. Glissando and Portamento on the Violin. [online] Available at: <https://fiddlerman.com/tutorials/advanced-tutorials/glissando-and-portamento-on-the-violin/#:~:text=Glissando%20is%20a%20when%20you,not%20connect%20the%20two%20notes.> [Accessed 11 June 2021]. | Unconventional methods which create unsettling sounds are used to make the audience feel unsettled. | 185 |
| 7 | Villain themes provoke fear in the audience as the music alerts them to a threatening presence in screen. | In jaws the music gets more intense the closer the shark gets, therefore making the audience feel on edge through the music. | 185 | |
| 8 | Conclusion | 100 |
-Unerving music is used in the openings to create an ominous atmosphere which leads the audience to believe something is wrong. (think of new point)
-villain themes, we know the threat is close when the music plays making use feel in danger and worry for the character
-Movies use specific instruments such as waterphones which give off classic disturbing and scary soundscapes for horror movies
-extended techniques and articulation can create unnatural and unssettling sounds from the instruments we love through unconvential techniqiues.
-dissonance
-Juxtaposition (ironic music) (nursery rhymes innocence and fear) (summer hits)
-non linear noise, can be associated with screams and distress calls makes us feel scared.
-silence and sound design, creates tension and does not tell audience what to feel
-summer hits and happy opening music gives listeners a false sense of safety within the music, also
– ironic music in scenes seem out of place and unnerving (insidious-