Subject Librarian
Dartmouth College
25 N Main ST
Hanover, NH 03755
Internet resource(s)
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Film Music SocietyThe Film Music Society (FMS) is a non-profit organization established by professionals in the film and music communities. The FMS promotes the preservation of film and television music in all of its manifestations, including published and unpublished scores, orchestrations, recordings and all related materials. It is the leading organization for film and television music preservation in the world, with members in eighteen countries.
Definition for film music
A central component of a film's soundtrack, including the score and any other musical elements. Film music is usually considered in relation to, but distinct from, the other component parts of film sound, namely dialogue and sound effects. Music in early and silent cinema (see early cinema; silent cinema) would often consist of gramophone records played from behind the screen or (more commonly) live piano accompaniment. Pianists were adept at improvization but also used published musical extracts, or cue sheets, which were packaged with films (as well as being sold separately). Filmmakers seeking prestige and publicity would often commission a composer to provide an original score, and entire orchestras would sometimes play as an accompaniment to the screening of a film. Joseph Breil's music for The Birth of a Nation (D.W. Griffith, US, 1915), for example, was often performed by a full orchestra and included folk songs and excerpts from the work of the German composer Richard Wagner. Acclaimed original film scores from the early 20th century include Erik Satie's score for Entr'acte (René Clair, France, 1924), Edmund Meisel's score for Bronenosets Potyomkin/Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, USSR, 1925) and Oktyabr/October (Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori Aleksandrov, USSR, 1927), Arthur Honneger's scores for La Roue/The Wheel (Abel Gance, France, 1924) and Napoléon (Abel Gance, France, 1927), and Dimitri Shostakovich's score for Novyy Vavilon/The New Babylon (Grigori Kozinstev and Leonid Trauberg, USSR, 1929).
Kuhn, A., & Westwell, G. (2012). "Music." In A Dictionary of Film Studies. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 19 Jul. 2017.
In the Library's Collection
Most of the books on film music are located the Paddock Library in the basement of the Hop.
Introductory reading(s)
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The Cambridge Companion to Film Music by Call Number: ML 2075 .C3545 2016ISBN: 9781107476493This wide-ranging and thought-provoking collection of specially-commissioned essays provides a uniquely comprehensive overview of the many and various ways in which music functions in film soundtracks. -
The Encyclopedia of Film Composers by Call Number: ML 102 .M68 H572 2015ISBN: 9781442245495For more than a century, original music has been composed for the cinema. From the early days when live music accompanied silent films to the present in which a composer can draw upon a full orchestra or a lone synthesizer to embody a composition, music has been an integral element of most films. By the late 1930s, movie studios had established music departments, and some of the greatest names in film music emerged during Hollywood's Golden Age, including Alfred Newman, Max Steiner, Dimitri Tiomkin, and Bernard Herrmann. -
Film and television music: a guide to books, articles, and composer interviews by Call Number: ML 128 .M7 S545 2011ISBN: 9780810876866Almost since films were first shown to the public, music has played a critical component in their success. Film and Television Music: A Guide to Books, Articles, and Composer Interviews compiles over 100 years of writings devoted to the subject of film and television music and its practitioners, offering an awareness of the vast literature on film and television music to a larger audience. -
Musical Groups in the Movies, 1929-1970 by Call Number: ML 102 .M68 L54 2009ISBN: 9780786434848Hundreds of musical groups have appeared in at least one film from 1929 through 1970. This is a reference book devoted to these groups. Most entries include a brief description of the musical group, a list of the main singers or performers and, when available, a list of the songs performed in each film.
A short list of books about film music
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Lights, camera, sound tracks: [the ultimate guide to popular music in the movies] by Call Number: ML 2075 .S84 2008ISBN: 9781847670038 -
The Palgrave handbook of sound design and music in screen media: integrated soundtracks by Call Number: ML 2075 .P25 2016ISBN: 9781137516794This book bridges the existing gap between film sound and film music studies by bringing together scholars from both disciplines who challenge the constraints of their subject areas by thinking about integrated approaches to the soundtrack. As the boundaries between scoring and sound design in contemporary cinema have become increasingly blurred, both film music and film sound studies have responded by expanding their range of topics and the scope of their analysis beyond those traditionally addressed. -
Scoring the score: the role of the orchestrator in the contemporary film industry by Call Number: ML 2075 .S266 2017ISBN: 9780415723237Scoring the Score is the first scholarly examination of the orchestrator's role in the contemporary film industry. Orchestrators are crucial to the production of a film's score, yet they have not received significant consideration in film-music research. This book sheds light on this often-overlooked yet vital profession.
Finding scholarly articles & journals
Dartmouth Users: Using Summon from off-campus? You'll need VPN for access to full-text.
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Music and the moving imageCall Number: Electronic journalThe purpose of Music and the Moving Image is to explore the relationship between music and the entire universe of moving images (film, television, music videos, computer games, performance art, and web-based media) through articles, reviews and interviews. -
Music, sound and the moving image
Call Number: Electronic journalMusic, Sound, and the Moving Image is the first international scholarly journal devoted to the study of the interaction between music and sound with the entirety of moving image media – film, television, music video, advertising, computer games, mixed-media installation, digital art, live cinema, et al.
Keeping up with Film Studies journal literature
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