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Key is one of the simplest building blocks of music and is among the foundational properties of a work’s musical identity—so why isn’t it a standard parameter in discussing film music? Key Constellations: Interpreting Tonality in Film is the first book to investigate film soundtracks—including original scoring, preexisting music, and sound effects—through the lens of large-scale tonality. Exploring compelling analytical examples from numerous popular films, Táhirih Motazedian shows how key and pitch analysis of film music can reveal hidden layers of narrative meaning, giving readers exciting new ways to engage with their favorite films and soundtracks.
"Film music scholarship has welcomed an abundance of new methodologies in the last decade, offering researchers fresh tools to study audiovisual media. Táhirih Motazedian is an inspired addition to this mix. Motazedian breaks new ground by demonstrating how keys, pitch centers, and large-scale tonality – long neglected as irrelevant in film music analysis– can reveal and reinforce narrative meaning."
List of Figures and Tables
Acknowledgments
Preface—The Scope of This Book
1 The Theoretical Groundwork for Film Tonality
2 Tonal Analysis of the Soundtrack
3 Filmic Characters Rising Up and Settling Down
4 A Tale of Two (Tonally Symmetrical) Films
5 Unheard Sound Effects
6 Happy Accidents: Intentionality and Other Closing Thoughts
Appendix—Working Method for Creating a “Tonal Score”
Glossary
Bibliography
Index