REQ: Film Music Notes Advanced Techniques with Rhythm and Meter in Film Music

Discover rhythmic techniques from some of the best-known themes in film, learn a wealth of techniques for irregular meters from classic blockbuster films, and see how meter combines with mode and tempo to create emotional associations from Hollywood’s best composers!

Lesson 1 – Special Uses of Repetition, Hemiola, and Theme Rhythms

Memorable Rhythms in the First 2 Bars of Themes
Cell Repetition with Divider
Cell Repetition with Variation
Embedded Cell Repetition
Creating Meaning with Hemiola
Overview – Hemiola vs. Syncopation
Confident
Emphatic Cadence
Light-Hearted Action
Antagonist
Overview – Intensifying Expressions with Displaced Hemiola
Modern Theme Rhythms: The “Bump” and “Run-Up”
The Strong-Weak Bump
Bump with Decorated Strong Beat
The Strong-Beat Run-Up
Lesson 2 – Irregular Meters in Action Cues

Irregular Meters Used Singly
2-Beat Times (in 5)
3-Beat Times (in 7, 8)
4 or More Beats in Irregular Patterns
Regular + Irregular: The Early Beat
Regular + Irregular: The Late Beat
Large Irregular Meters
Other Techniques with Irregular Meters
Mixed Irregular Meters
Accelerating the Meter
Making Repetitions Unpredictable
Lesson 3 – Associations of Meters with Certain Modes and Tempos

A Few Preliminaries
On Associations in General
Expressing Compound and Triple Time
Slow Compound Time
Sorrow
Mystery
Fast Compound Time
Strength, Power
Success, Succeeding
Light-Hearted Adventure
Sinister
Triple Time
Comfort, Love, Bonding
Tragic Fate