• The Subdominant Tritone in Film and Television Music

    Author(s):
    Brad Osborn (see profile)
    Date:
    2021
    Group(s):
    Society for Music Theory (SMT), Society for Music Theory – Popular Music Interest Group (SMT PMIG)
    Subject(s):
    Popular music, Motion picture music, Music theory, Harmony
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    film music
    Permanent URL:
    https://doi.org/10.17613/5hmz-8q87
    Abstract:
    Tritones sounding over subdominant harmony, either as suspensions, accented passing tones, or incomplete neighbors, constitute a class of sonorities regularly heard in film and television music. I collectively refer to these phenomena as “subdominant tritones” (SdTT), and theorize a link between the SdTT and emotions it engenders. The article presents close visual/musical analysis of selected SdTT-tinged passages in feature films that animate various heightened emotional states, including longing, nostalgia, relief, and melancholy.
    Notes:
    access free here: https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/currentmusicology/article/view/7840
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    https://doi.org/10.52214/cm.v107i.7840
    Publisher:
    Columbia University Libraries
    Pub. Date:
    2021-5-31
    Journal:
    Current Musicology
    Volume:
    107
    Page Range:
    62 - 92
    ISSN:
    0011-3735
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    5 months ago
    License:
    Attribution
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