What Are The Right Musical Instruments For Soundtracks

Cool. Maybe consider how the genre of the film can influence instrument selection? – chocmalt 10 years ago
1
Discussing the importance of genre and examining famous composers could be an interesting way to attack this. For example the difference between scoring horror and adventure blockbusters. The difference between Howard Shore's approach to Silence of the Lambs and the Lord of the Rings Series. Or the similar devices used by John Williams and Hans Zimmer to create memorable and iconic soundtracks. Horns and Violins seem to be imperative to their styles. – skairnagh 10 years ago
0
There's sort of a psychological aspect to this. Could certain instruments reinforce particular emotions or feelings in listeners? There are several big composers who came from rock bands who almost completely abandon that sound when they start to compose film music. (Hans Zimmer and Danny Elfman are two that come to mind.) Recently, there has been a huge shift to integrate electronic sounds into scores. An example that immediately comes to mind is the Facebook soundtrack, but one of the first early successful examples of this would be the sound track for Witness (starring Harrison Ford). You could explore the balance between familiar and new music and what kinds of films or TV shows these soundtracks are paired with. – dannyjs 9 years ago
0
Great topic. I can see someone breaking this down by movie genre. – Tigey 8 years ago
0
I wonder if there are necessary, fundamental differences in instrumentation. Couldn't any instrument theoretically be used in any film, provided it was done right? I'd genuinely be interested to hear someone's theory there. Promising stuff. – TKing 8 years ago
1
TKing, generally, I think you're right, but I can't imagine hearing a Jew's harp in, say, The King's Speech. – Tigey 8 years ago
0
That would depend on the movie. And no musician think of "right" instruments to evoke emotions. – T. Palomino 2 years ago
0