Film and Gaming Music

Question 1

Name the characteristics of film and gaming music

Answer 1

• Tonality of the music is important e.g major or minor
• Films and video games use large modern symphony orchestra with a huge array of possible sound combination or sonorities
• Melodic ideas called leitmotifs can represent characteristics + emotions e.g Darth Fader
• Tempo + dynamics can be used effectively to contribute to the story
• The music may have dissonance in order to evoke pain and struggle

Question 2

What is a chromatic and diatonic dissonance?

Answer 2

Chromatic - notes not in key

Diatonic - notes in key but not chord

Question 3

What is a leitmotif?

Answer 3

a musical idea associated with a character or theme to bring significance to music

Question 4

What is an ostinato?

Answer 4

Rhythmic, melodic or harmonic pattern repeated many times