Bernard Hermann - compositional techniques

 

The techniques discussed are:

• Using child-like sounds (celeste, music box, glockenspiel...)
• Contrary motion & Glissando- mimicking camera style
• Short melodies - fitted with the fast cutting technique of the film
• The new use of dissonant harmony
• Using very few notes but putting them together in different ways - this was an early example of minimalism

Consonance & Dissonance:

One of the ways to create unease is to use DISSONANT HARMONY. A good explanation of this can be found on www.harmony.org.uk:

"Consonance and Dissonance

The way consonance and dissonance are treated is central to the way the whole of Western Music works and is the first concept to understand in the study of voice leading. It works on the assumption that consonant sounds are combinations of notes (intervals) that sound pleasant or melodious together whereas dissonant intervals sound harsh or unpleasant together.

Another way to express this is to say that consonant intervals create a feeling of stability whereas dissonant intervals create a feeling of instability that needs to be resolved. It is important to say that ideas of what constitutes consonance and dissonance have varied to some extent over time and vary from individual to individual. Also, it is important to say that most people perceive not just a simple binary division but a spectrum of consonance and dissonance varying from the most consonant intervals to the most dissonant intervals. The grouping below allows for this, to some extent, starting with the most consonant and ending with the most dissonant.

In 16th century polyphony, all musical intervals, involving two notes (within a span of an octave) are classified as consonant or dissonant according to the following list:

You will need to understand the naming and sounds of the musical intervals and the concept of "inversion" of intervals in order to follow this. Please refer to the books and website on basic theory in the bibliography"

Consonant music sounds 'nice' to the ear whereas dissonant music sounds un-nerving and less pleasant.

TASK: open a new bandlab project and experiment with these techniques. Using any pitched instrument, play a C and then the next semitone up at the same time (Csharp) - this is a minor second - is it consonant or dissonant? What about a C and a D? What about C and Dsharp (C and 3 semitones higher)? This is a minor third. Try this all the way back up to the C up an octave.

Please see the rest of the documentary (to the end from where we stopped) - we are creating Hermann style music tomorrow in Logic.

The notation of intervals if you are interested: