a study of music

This is gonna a boring post.

There are pieces of music, that when heard, inspire some kind of action, or stir emotion, in you. No doubts there. While empowering, the truth is that they tend to follow certain patterns. It's not plagiarism, nor a copy of styles, and of course, this is a generalization, but it has been studied.

The simplest and most common is the rising crescendo type of music. It is typically associated with epic battles, or some clash of the titans kind of struggle. The first and most common one that sticks in my head is the track called Escape by Craig Armstrong.

The notes go from low, and they rise, the pitch begins to grow, until the it is at an all time high, and you can feel the fever pitch coming - example HERE. The rising crescendo is the most common type of EPIC music. Another common track example the rising crescendo is the Adagio in D Minor by John Murphy, soundtrack to the movie Sunshine.

The opposite of the rising crescendo is the falling dimineundo, or decrescendo. The music follows a V shape, a moderately high tune falling to a low tone, and then rising slightly, and then depending on the mood, may keep rising, or start to fall again. The objective is to provoke the opposite of the crescendo, which is to reflect, think back, reminisce... Example of a decrescendo that keeps rising is the soundtrack to Kick Ass, the track titled Armenian Superhero, the opening of the movie. Example of a decrescendo that falls instead, is the track called Standing Ovation, from the movie Hancock.

While the first 2 themes follow distinct wave patterns, the Crescendo being A-shaped, and the Decrescendo is V-shaped, these 2 themes are typically used for EVENTS. But not all soundtracks follow singular events. Some follow LINEAR paths - in movie terms, it is usually a journey, a serious revelationary actions in a due course. Whatever. Basically, it's in a SINE wave, ups and downs rhythmically spaced out to show a journey, a progression, movement in general. Best example I can think of would be from The Village, the track called The Gravel Road, as Ivy hurries to find medicine for an injured Lucius.

While this track is mostly calm and thought-provoking, this sine wave of peaks and valleys can also be used in fast-paced themes, take Death and Transfiguration, from the Hancock soundtrack once again - start from the 1:40 part onwards.

Anyways, there it is, a quick study of movie music, and what its trying to make us do.