Silent movies
- At first, all movies were completely silent.
- Music was added to make it more enjoyable and to hide the sound made by the very noisy projector.
- The music for silent movies wasn’t written specifically for the films. The performers (organists, pianists or sometimes orchestras) would play popular music from that time.
1930s
- When talking was added to films, music that had already been written was used in the background.
- Max Steiner was the first person to write a score (music) specifically for a film. This film was King Kong (1933).
1940s
- Composers began to experiment more with their scores.
- Bernard Herrmann experimented a lot to make his music improve the films he wrote for. These include Citizen Kane, Jane Eyre, Anna and the King and The Day the Earth Stood Still.
1950s
- Jazz began to be included in film music.
- This made the film more contemporary and meant fewer performers were needed (which made them cheaper).
- The first film was released that included rock ‘n’ roll music – Blackboard Jungle (1955).
1960s
- Jazz and rock ‘n’ roll continued to be very popular in film soundtracks.
1970s
- New composers emerged such as John Williams, revitalising the orchestral film score.
1980s and 1990s
- Synthesised sounds were first used in film scores which meant it was possible for entire scores to be recorded by one person and a computer or recording studio. They used a synthesiser to produce the sounds of many different instruments.
Film music in recent years
- With the development and improvement of technology, general knowledge and a century of development, film music composers can create perfect scores.
Notable composers of film music
