Before diving
into a variety of films and discussing the types of music (new or existing)
used as the soundtrack, I wanted to introduce you to several impressive musical
terms you can use when discussing movie music with your friends: diegetic and
non-diegetic.
Diegetic music is
the type of music that is not only heard by the viewer, but also by the
on-screen characters in the film. Here's an example. As in this example, typically
the viewer can see the source of the music on screen to help determine whether
or not it is diegetic. In this case, you can see Alex put the tape into the
cassette player with intent to listen to Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. We will
discuss A Clockwork Orange in more
detail later this month.
The opposite of
diegetic music would be non-diegetic. This type of music serves as a background
to the film and can only be heard by the viewer, not the characters on screen.
An example would be this clip found in Hook. Here, the music enhances the plot for the viewer as Peter Pan
has just remembered how to fly. The characters, however, cannot hear it
themselves. We will discuss this film’s composer, John Williams, later this
month.
Can you think of
any examples of diegetic or non-diegetic music from your favorite films?
