![]() ![]() Consumption of moving image media (e.g., film, virtual reality, gaming, television) has been elevated over the years by youth in the United States. ![]() However, we may question, if a larger percentage of invisible music is being consumed through multimedia among today’s youth, why are we not fusing some of this highly consumed invisible music into an already dominated visible music curriculum (Tagg, 2012)? Couldn’t closer examination of a film’s music provide the listener/viewer with a deeper understanding and appreciation for what the music is trying to accomplish and why it may be impacting the viewer in certain ways? Why the Study of Film Music?Īs music education continues to strive for engaging music learning experiences for all grades K–12 children, the study of film music should be considered a contributing factor in meeting this need as a way of facilitating innovative and diverse student engagement opportunities in music. In examining our traditional music education setting, we probably notice that students are consistently learning visible music as members in a band, choir, or orchestra, or studying great masterworks of yesterday or today’s big hit in an effort to prepare our ears to aesthetically appreciate live concert performances. This invisible music serves a different purpose-compared to visible music-in that the music should be unheard while remaining subservient to the visual image along with the audible dialog (Gorbman, 1987). We don’t see the actual musicians generating the music the same way we witness performers on a concert stage. The Invisible Art Formįilm music has often been referred to as an invisible art form (Jelinek, 1968). What was it about this scene that had considerable impact on me physiologically and emotionally? Why did these emotions vary throughout the entire scene? Then, the five-year old boy in me asked, “Wait, where is the music coming from?” From this point on, every decision I’ve made related to music can be traced back to these questions I had about how music was functioning in this single scene. It was this moment that I sat there in awe of Luke Skywalker, trying to empathize with his situation as the hair on the back of my neck began to rise. Luke is greeted by the sunset with a French horn solo of what would be considered one of the greatest music cues in film music history-“The Force Theme.” As a misty-eyed Luke keeps looking to the sunset for answers, the horn and the rest of the desert sky become enraptured by a full orchestra reprising “The Force Theme” to a climatic finish. After Uncle Owen refuses to let Luke join his friends at the Rebel flight academy, Luke gazes out at the sunset outside on an isolated dune backdrop at dusk wondering how he will ever manage to leave the moisture farm and set his sights on becoming a great fighter pilot. I remember the first time I experienced Luke Skywalker standing and looking out at the binary sunset of Tatooine in Star Wars-Episode IV: A New Hope (1977). Presenting Discovering the Lost Ark of Possibilities: Bringing Visibility to the Invisible Art Form of Film Music in Your Music Classroom at the “NAfME is ME!” 2022 NAfME National Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. Bringing Visibility to an Invisible Art Form The Study of Film Music
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