a) Listen to the following extracts of music. How do they make you feel? In which type of film would you expect to find them?
• adventure
• romance
• thriller
• comedy
b) Describe the pictures. Listen again and match the extracts to the scenes below. What type of films are they?
Look at the headings and the title of the text. What is the text about? Read and check.
• Listen out
• Stereotypical music sounds
• Before sound
• Music around the world
• Musical clichés
Does this sound sound familiar?
A. Your grandparents may remember the old silent Charlie Chaplin comedy films. If so, they’ll probably tell you that without the music that accompanied them these films wouldn’t be much fun.
B. Later, when films began to have sound, the music stayed because directors use pieces of music and sound to create particular moods and feelings. We call these musical clichés.
C. In horror films and thrillers, for example, loud sounds let you know when something frightening is going to happen. Violin tunes accompany emotional scenes in romantic films, and in adventure films we use sharp and fast sounds for action scenes.
D. Some musical clichés introduce specific places. Shots of Hong Kong, for example, often have xylophone music in the background while shots of Paris come with melodies played on the accordion. There are many musical clichés for a number of types of scenes.
E. So, next time you watch a film, pay attention to the music in the background. You’ll be surprised how many musical clichés you can spot.
Match the headings to the paragraphs. Listen and check. Which words helped you decide? Explain the words in bold.
Does this sound sound familiar?
A. Your grandparents may remember the old silent Charlie Chaplin comedy films. If so, they’ll probably tell you that without the music that accompanied them these films wouldn’t be much fun.
B. Later, when films began to have sound, the music stayed because directors use pieces of music and sound to create particular moods and feelings. We call these musical clichés.
C. In horror films and thrillers, for example, loud sounds let you know when something frightening is going to happen. Violin tunes accompany emotional scenes in romantic films, and in adventure films we use sharp and fast sounds for action scenes.
D. Some musical clichés introduce specific places. Shots of Hong Kong, for example, often have xylophone music in the background while shots of Paris come with melodies played on the accordion. There are many musical clichés for a number of types of scenes.
E. So, next time you watch a film, pay attention to the music in the background. You’ll be surprised how many musical clichés you can spot.
Make notes under the headings of Ex. 2. Use your notes to give the class a summary of the text.
Portfolio: Work in groups. Choose a piece of music. Find a picture and describe the scene to the class while playing the music extract.