Subject Librarian
Dartmouth College
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Internet resource(s)
- 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 The FMS promotes the preservation of film and television music in all of its manifestations, including published and unpublished scores, orchestrations, recordings and all related materials.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 a film’s sound design, namely dialogue and sound effects (see also sound). 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 combined folk songs with 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 scores 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. (2020). "Music." In A Dictionary of Film Studies. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2 Apr. 2022
In the Library's Collection
The books on film music are now located in Baker-Berry Library.
Introductory reading(s)
The Cambridge companion to film music by Call Number: Baker-Berry 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: Baker-Berry 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: Baker-Berry 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: Baker-Berry 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
Beyond the soundtrack: representing music in cinema by Call Number: eBookISBN: 9780520250703This groundbreaking collection by the most distinguished musicologists and film scholars in their fields gives long overdue recognition to music as equal to the image in shaping the experience of film. Refuting the familiar idea that music serves as an unnoticed prop for narrative, these essays demonstrate that music is a fully imagined and active power in the worlds of film. ...
Lights, camera, sound tracks: [the ultimate guide to popular music in the movies] by Call Number: Baker-Berry ML 2075 .S84 2008ISBN: 9781847670038
The Palgrave handbook of sound design and music in screen media: integrated soundtracks by Call Number: Baker-Berry 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: Baker-Berry 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.
Other library resource(s)
Music and cinema, classical Hollywood from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199791286Commercial film production in the United States developed rapidly after World War I. Theater programs focused on full-length narrative feature films along with secondary one-to-two-reel films such as newsreels, comedy shorts, travelogues, and (by the late 1920s) cartoons. Industry consolidation favored efficient large-scale production practices. ...- Music and cinema, global practices from Oxford Bibliographies Online by Call Number: Electronic resourceISBN: 9780199791286Film music has always been a global phenomenon, but until recently scholarship on film music has tended to focus on the United States. Moving images and music were paired from the outset in the United States, France, and Germany, but musical accompaniment materialized at screenings of moving pictures all over the world, if not initially, then within days, weeks, or months of film’s arrival. ...
Finding scholarly articles & journals
You can find popular and scholarly articles on film music in various publications. You can start your research in Web of Science or the search box at the top of the page.
Music and the moving image by Call 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.
Film & television literature indexCall Number: Electronic resourceThis index covers over 300 journal and magazine titles for film and television reviews, scholarly and critical analysis of cinema and television, and articles of popular interest about film and television. About half the journals and magazines are film periodicals and the other half cover film and television with some regularity. Subject coverage includes film & television theory, preservation & restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews.
The web of science citation databases by Call Number: Electronic resourceThe online version of 3 separate ISI indexes: Arts & Humanities Citation Index, Science Citation Index and, Social Sciences Citation Index.
Keeping up with Film Studies journal literature
Want an easy way to keep up with the journal literature for all facets of Film Studies? And you use a mobile device? You can install the BrowZine app and create a custom Bookshelf of your favorite journal titles. Then you will get the Table of Contents (ToCs) of your favorite journals automatically delivered to you when they become available. Once you have the ToC's, you can download and read the articles you want from the journals for which we have subscriptions.
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Don't own or use a mobile device? You can still use BrowZine! It's also available in a web version. You can get to it here. The web version works the same way as the app version. Find the journals you like, create a custom Bookshelf, get ToCs and read the articles you want.