Music - Film Music

Ostinato

a repeating melodic pattern (can be rhythmic too)

Theme

a strong musical idea

Motif

a recurring shorter musical idea

Leitmotif

a motif associated with a character/object/environment

Marcato

place emphasis on a note (accent)

Consonant

a pleasant combination of pitches (3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 8ves)

Dissonant

clashing of pitches (2nds, 7ths and other chromatic intervals)

Cluster chords

chords made up of notes that are really close together

Drone

a long held note normally in the bass

Pedal note

a constantly repeated note normally in the bass

Inverted pedal note

a constantly repeated note high up

Presto

very fast

Allegro

quick

Moderato

a moderate speed

Andante

walking pace

Lento

slow

Rubato

slightly speeding up and slowing down for expressiveness

Accelerando

speeding up

Ritenuto

slowing down

Diegetic

music within the scene (the characters can also hear it!)

Non-diegetic

music that doesn’t originate from within the scene

Underscoring

music that is played under the dialogue

Mickey-mousing

Music/sound synchronised to action in film, often in Silent Film