subscribe to this page
This article is an interesting article by John Nesbit that discusses the way the director of Jaws, Steven Spielberg, creates an atmosphere of suspense. Nesbit also compares Spielberg to the “Master of Suspense”—Alfred Hitchcock. At the beginning of the article, Spielberg is compared to Hitchcock for the way he does not include anything into the film without it having purpose. Other comparisons are made as well. Similar to the way the audience do not see the murderer right away in Psycho, Spielberg does not show the shark at the beginning of film when it attacks the female swimmer. Also, during scenes of the shark attacks, large quantities of blood and gore are avoided. This is similar to Hitchcockian methods. The anticipation of horror is used as a method to create suspense and in both movies, Psycho and Jaws, there are relatively few deaths. The article goes on to focus on other elements that make Jaws a memorable film such as character development. In essence, Nesbit does a good job of describing Spielberg as a master of suspense. It is significant for one to understand that not only does the soundtrack of Jaws create the suspense of the film, but it relies heavily upon the film techniques of the director. When the two come together, sound and picture, the dynamic creates an intense level of suspense that ultimately keeps audiences frightened for years to come. It is evident from past articles and research that John Williams used particular techniques such as the motif to create a music score of fear and suspense. Now, one can see how the techniques of both director and composer act as one voice to channel emotions.
Miller, Bradley. “Selachophobia: A Brief History.” National Post. 2005. 1 April 2008 <http://128.227.186.212/fish/sharks/innews/selach2005.html>
The article begins by discussing the worldwide hysteria that the Jaws films created. Ever since its creation, there has been a frenzy of shark movies, television shows, and documentaries, all part of a worldwide pop culture. Later, the article discusses historical notions of sharks in relation to ancient human civilizations. It has been found that every seaside civilization in human history has somehow incorporated the shark into its culture. For instance, there are depictions on pottery from 725 BC in Italy and the ancient Greeks describing monsters attacking sailors in 492 BC. Certain cultures even revered sharks as gods. As time passed, man would come to see sharks as villainous pests. Interestingly, the word “shark” probably stems from the German word for scoundrel or villain—“schurk.” In time, sharks would actually come to be regarded as harmless and timid creatures. During the nineteenth century, this was especially true and sharks were practically forgotten in terms of danger. By 1915, there had not even been any reliable reports on shark attacks in northern waters. The New York Times had declared that sharks were harmless. Then, in 1916 after a series of shark attacks along the coast of New Jersey, Woodrow Wilson declared a “war on sharks” and many sharks were killed along in coastal waters. Eventually, the shark attacks were manipulated and used as a form of entertainment. Fear was turned into a thrilling form of entertainment.
In the movie Jaws, the film score associated with the shark resonates in the minds of the audience and serves to intensify the fear of the shark. After the release of the film, there were many people who feared sharks so much that they wouldn’t even bathe in bath tubs. The soundtrack along with the imagery of the film were so effective in causing audience members to feel fear and terror, that many people would suffer from the phobia of sharks or Selachophobia.
Karlin, Fred. Wright, Rayburn. “Using Melody.” On the Track. New York: Routledge, 2003. 197-221.
This chapter focuses on the use of the “melody.” The chapter begins by discussing the relationship between theatrical material and a well crafted score. When composing the score, the thematic material provides the foundation for the music. Often, one does not have to use long line melody. Instead, a very short melodic fragment or motif can be used. Also, it could be simply a rhythm such as Mark Mancia’s score for Speed. This film’s score was simply a short rhythmic segment. Now, the motif is an important compositional device used by film composers such as John Williams. The beauty of a motif involves its length. Due to the fact that motifs are short, they can be manipulated for different shots or sequences of varying lengths. A very famous motif in contemporary film score is the motif from Jaws. This musical score was written by John Williams and was used to represent the menacing shark. The theme involves two bass notes that are repeated to create a theatric feel. Due to the association between the shark and the notes, as soon as an audience member hears the notes, he or she is alerted to the danger of the monster. The Jaws motif uses a half-step interval which allows for the creation of tension. “In film scoring, emphasis on one or two intervals establishes those intervals as being characteristic of the sound of the score, and often enables the composer to achieve a consistency of musical texture and harmonic language while at the same time reiterating a central theme.” Motifs are flexible and can be altered to effect the harmony and emotional implications of the music. Learning about the use of the motif is important to understanding why the short rhythmic sequence in Jaws is so successful.
Walker, Robert. “Cultural Memes, Innate Proclivities and Musical Behaviour: A Case Study of the Western Traditions.” Psychology of Music. 32 (2004). 153.
This article describes the ongoing debate on whether musical sounds have autonomous power or if they are simply our own
inventions, thus leading them to have expressive power. In the one camp, scholars believe that musical sounds have no
autonomous power at all and no intrinsic properties which might be used in a semiotic system to influence our behavior and our
interpretations. An example is given involving the trumpet fanfare. Our socio-cultural experiences tell us that this fanfare is meant
to signify the entering of someone important—for instance a queen entering a ceremony. Another example involves the deep sounds
on strings which symbolize mystery and horror. The question arises, “Is this only true because we invented such semiotic links?”
Later, the article describes the evolution of western opera and historical precedent which are involved in forming the invented
meanings of music. On the other hand, there is the camp involving music having innate qualities which can be assigned to different
phenomena. For example, trumpet fanfare is not used to signify the entrance of a killer shark. In addition, dark sounds on strings
are not used to signal the entrance of a person of importance such as a queen. Thus, there is the issue of certain sounds being
engrained in our psyche. “How deep in our psyche is the sense of fear engendered by the sounds of thunder or some monstrous
creature’s roar, or the compulsion to dance to a fast moving drum beat, or the sounds of a female singing deliberately seductively, as
reported in Homer’s epic voyages of Ulysses?” Are these associations innate or learned?
This article is significant because it raises the question on whether the sounds heard in Jaws are tapping into the human psyche or are
simply part of a social construction that has spanned hundreds of years. Perhaps, the answer lies somewhere between. In any
regards, it is important for audience to realize the context of the soundtrack and possibilities as to why the sound has such strong
expressive power.
Jaws. Dir. Steven Spielberg, Perfs. Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss. 1975. DVD. Universal Pictures, 2005.
Watching the bonus features on the Jaws DVD, it is interesting to listen to the interviews of Spielberg and Williams involving the musical score. With Jaws, when Spielberg was to first hear the score for the movie, he was expecting something weird, melodic, eerie, and tonal. He even thought that it would perhaps be a theme involving something out of this world or from space. To his surprise, Williams simply played, with two fingers on the lower keys of the piano, “dun dun, Dun Dun, DUN DUN…” Initially Spielberg thought this was a joke, but after he heard the notes again and again, he felt that it was perfect, and he believed that Williams had found his signature for the movie. When commenting on the musical score, Williams describes how he could alter the speed of these notes, and he could even alter them to the point that they were very fast and very loud or very slow and very soft. Spielberg also discusses how John spots the music in the film. John does not allow the music to celebrate a “red herring.” Thus, music would not play unless the actual shark was actually in the scene. Music was only meant to signal the actual arrival of the shark. Also, certain times were used to advertise the shark. The audience is made to purposely sense the absence of the shark because they do not hear the “thump thump.” As Williams discusses, he goes a step further by allowing the shark’s attack to come out of silence. Thus, because one is then conditioned to expect the shark whenever the music is heard, it is even more terrifying when the shark comes out of silence. At the end of the interview, Spielberg says that the score was “clearly responsible for half the success of that movie.”
This interview is important because it discusses the thought processes involved in deciding the music. The composer of the Jaws theme actually articulates the idea of association. Clearly, the music is used as a tool to instill fear into the audience. In addition to the score being that deep sound of mysteriousness and impending danger, the sound is strategically placed throughout the film’s scenes to convey fear.
Lane, Robert C. Chazan, Saralea E. “Symbols of Terror: The Witch/Vampire, the Spider, and the Shark.” Psychoanalytic Psychology. 6 (1989) 325-341.
This article describes the symbol of the shark from the psychoanalytic perspective. From this point of view, this symbol embodies an early parent-child experience and arises in the context of dreams and childhood fantasies. Like all symbols, the shark represents a complex emotional experience encoded within an intense immediate stimulus. This creature is a predatory animal and is perhaps the most feared of all predators. From a genetic point of view, the shark represents the human fear of being dismembered or mutilated. Watching a shark, viewers are often terrified and fascinated at the same time. Many feelings are often experienceed including fear, hatred, curiosity, awe and admiration. Finally, the article describes key attributes which people often associate with sharks. These include: 1. Its phallic strength and power. The shark for centuries has been considered aggressive, brave, courageous, bold, and overpowering. 2. Its predatory, destructive nature. 3. The godlike, omnipotent, magical, and supernatural powers attributed to it. The shark is shrouded in superstition, myths, legends, and occult religious ceremonies. 4. Its crafty and sly quality. The shark has been described as greedy, cunning, deceitful, skillful in beguiling, a thief and swindler of the sea. 5. Its persistence. 6. Its unpredictability. Sharks attack in both shallow and deep water, clear and murky water, warm and cold water. 8. Its speed and maneuverability. (among others)
It is important to realize that these attributes are what people think of in relation to sharks. The theme that is played in Jaws is played in relation to the creature, which is the antagonist of the story. Thus, people begin to associate the music to the attributes of a shark, mentioned above.
Smith describes the concept of “unheard melodies.” Film music somehow escapes or eludes the film spectator’s perceptual awareness during the viewing experience. Often, the music is secondary to the imagery and so, it is often inaudible. Because of the primacy of the imagery, the spectator, who is immersed in the film’s fiction, does not pay attention to the interplay of image and sound. This article questions this interplay and discusses how popular film music leads us to ask whether there are moments in film in which its music shifts towards the forefront of the viewer’s perception. In the article, Smith supports the notion that good film music remains “unnoticed.” The main reason the composer has a concern about the audience’s awareness of the music involves the way music can somehow distract the audience from the narrative and the visual action. The article goes on two discuss two additional points that support the notion that film music is “inaudible,” which involve a psychoanalytic framework and a means to divert the spectator’s awareness of the technological basis of the cinematic.
There is a completely different sensation when listening to the music being played from its album alone versus experiencing the music while watching the movie. While watching the film, the soundtrack of Jaws becomes so “inaudible” that it serves to drive along the narrative and does not serve as an individual entity. There are different theories as to why this occurs. Perhaps, it involves a psychoanalytic perspective to explain this effect or rather it may have to do directly with the way the soundtrack serves as the glue which binds the narrative together. In essence, this article supports the notion that the music of Jaws has a significant impact on the film. Rather than distracting audience members, the score is seamlessly joined to the film imagery and supports the notion of being “inaudible.”
Huron, D. "Is music an evolutionary adaptation?" In Robert Zatorre & Isabelle Peretz (Ed.), The Biological Foundations of Music. New York: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 930. New York, 2001.
When contemplating the function and origin of music, scholars such as Huron wonder if music might involve an evolutionary adaptation. In his study, he discusses how theories involving the linkage between music and evolution remain speculative, musical behaviors often satisfy many basic conditions. Perhaps, there is some knowledge to be gained from researching evolutionary accounts. The thesis of this article involves music’s origins and convincing the reader that the question of music’s origins remains open and warrants further investigation. It is important to understand what evolution is and what evolution is not. Evolution is not something that determines our actions. It is a process over time by which traits are selected for their adaptive value of organism to its environment. Also, even though evolution is often thought of as solely in the realm of physiology, it also has a lot to do with our thoughts, attitudes, dispositions, emotions, etc. Why do we love life and fear death? The answer lies in the propagation of our genes. In terms of music, does music have a survival value? Most scientists agree that it does not have a survival value.
In relation to my thesis on Jaws, the interesting part of this article involves the discussion on mood regulation. In this portion of the article, the author discusses findings of researchers on ways people choose to regulate mood. For instance, one study finds that the foremost activity to get out of a bad mood involves calling a friend. The second most frequent activity involves positive thoughts. The third most frequented activity involves listening to music, which is ahead of a long list of other activities. Many people use music to manipulate their mood. In addition to mood regulation, the article discusses music as a social function. North American Indians use music in an interesting manner. Prior to initiating an attack on another tribe, they sing and dance. One may see that as counterproductive as the war dance and song may alert the enemy to an impending attack. On the other hand, the music may serve a more important role which involves raising arousal and synchronizing individual moods to serve the greater good of the group and perhaps striking fear into the enemy. Thus, it is very much possible that the reason for the success of the Jaws film has much to do with the soundtrack in that people may be choosing to see the movie multiple times because within the experience, they can regulate their mood.
Thompson, Bill. "Evoking Terror In Film Scores" M/C: A Journal of Media and Culture 5.1 (2002).
Thompson looks at the emotion of fear being evoked through music in cinema. Fear is something which humans crave. It is an emotion we cannot control and invoke by will, and thus we need to control our environment in order to control our thoughts. Thompson discusses how it was a great discovery of the 20th century that filmmakers combined film with musical representations of emotion. From the perspective of a composer, there are certain techniques which can be used to create a creepy atmosphere. Pairing traditional forms of music with a frightening image or event would create such a mood. One can also see how associations can be made when a musical theme is repeatedly paired with a character. A perfect example is the circular melody played in The Exorcist. However, the most potent way to induce terror is to manipulate the basic acoustic properties which involve pace, loudness, timbre, pitch, and height. These elements are perceived similarly across cultures, but one can create fear by diverging from conventional forms. In order to induce fear, musicians use elements of the score that are unrelated to conventional structures. Unfamiliar and surprising sounds are feared. For example, sudden changes in loudness, deep, hollow textures, and unpredictable pitch combinations are such elements.
In essence, the article describes how musicians use sound to create fear. It is important because the article articulates methods of how composers think in terms of desiring the expression of fear from their music. Throughout the film, the Jaws score certainly utilizes the techniques Thompson sheds light upon.
Gosselin, Nathalie. Peretz, Isabelle. Noulhiane, Marion. Hasboun, Dominique. Beckett, Christine. Baulac, Michel. Samson, Séverine. “Impaired Recognition of Scary Music Following Unilateral Temporal Lobe Excision.” Brain. 128 (2005): 628-640.
This study involves research on the relationship between sound and the brain. The study describes how music is an ideal medium to create the sense of suspense in films. Apparently, there has been minimal investigation in the brain’s organization when it comes to sensing danger created by music. The study describes that there has been significant research in the amygdala’s role in recognizing fear in the nonmusical realm. Thus, the goal of the study was to explore the amygdala’s role in recognizing emotional expression in music. The participants of this study involved two sets of patients. A total of 16 patients were studied. 8 patients had a right temporal medial resection and the other 8 had a left temporal medial resection. These patients received resections in order to relieve medically intractable seizures. As far as the procedure, musical selections were created with the purpose of inducing one of four emotions—fear, peacefulness, happiness, and sadness. After listening to the musical selection, the participants would be asked to rate the musical passage’s extent to which it expressed the four emotions on a scale of 1-10. Perhaps, the most fascinating conclusion of the study involved how in both sets of participants, neither the left temporal medial resection nor the right were able to recognize scary music. As far as the conclusion of the study, it strongly suggested that the anteromedial temporal lobe, which includes the amygdala, plays a role in the recognition of danger in relation to music.
Imagine watching Jaws without being able to perceive the music in the normal sense. The film would almost seem like a documentary film about shark attacks. It is interesting to watch this movie with the sound turned off. The movie loses its level of suspense almost completely. Clearly, the importance of brain function in interpreting the sound waves of John William’s orchestral masterpiece plays a significant role in the creation of suspense. The biological pathways involving anatomy and physiology most probably play a large role in our perception of music.