FILMCLUB Guide to GCSE Music
Key Stage Target
✓KS4
Curriculum Links
✓Music
This resource is intended to support GCSE music teaching. During the two year course, students are
expected to become familiar with music from different film genres across all the major examination
boards. This resource will help students to become knowledgeable about the musical elements that
can help to create character, setting and different moods in films. Through listening and appraising
the film scores, they will develop an understanding of how to compose music for specific genres
and how to score a soundtrack for themselves.
Running a film club in your school can enrich the curriculum, and may allow young people to
experience cultures beyond their own, explore a wide variety of issues and stimulate their
imaginations. After watching a film, students can comment during a post-screening discussion with
their peers, before writing reviews on the FILMCLUB website (which has a real audience of other
young people) where they can analyse the film and develop their independent critique of the
soundtrack. Above all, students and teachers can enjoy the shared experience of watching and
discussing a film together.
Please visit www.filmclub.org for further details.
The films in this resource are:
Psycho (1960, 15) 14+, 108 mins
In the Mood for Love (2000, PG) 14+, 98 mins
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977, PG) 11+, 135 mins
Jaws (1975, 12) 11+, 124 mins
The Artist (2011, PG) 11+ 100 min
For a Few Dollars More (1965, 15) 14+, 132 mins
The Thin Blue Line (1988, 15) 14+, 97 mins
Now even easier to join through online start up sessions! To join FILMCLUB please visit:
www.filmclub.org or call 0207 288 4520 for more information. Follow us on Twitter and
Instagram @filmclubuk and on Facebook – www.facebook.com/filmclubuk
FILMCLUB Guide to GCSE Music
Psycho (1960, 15) 14+ 108 mins
Enrichment Focus
This Film Resource is aimed at GCSE Music students.
Suggested subjects for discussion are the horror genre and soundtracking.
What’s this film about?
The most famous, and possibly the most tense, of the films of suspense master Hitchcock,
in which a woman is stuck in a remote hotel in a storm.
Why this film?
The most famous and possibly the most flat-out tense of director Alfred Hitchcock's
thrillers. After Marion Crane steals a huge sum of money from her boss and drives out of
town, she finds herself caught in a storm - and then becomes the only guest at a remote
hotel. What happens from this point in the story is best left as a series of surprises - but it
contains some of the most memorable scenes movie history has to offer, along with an
equally superb soundtrack that has a crucial role in shaping the action.
What the critics think
“The cinematography, the acting, the story, the editing and the sound are all responsible
for this perfection of a film, but above all else, the director himself, Mister Alfred
Hitchcock”.
FILMCLUB Member Stephen, aged 14
“The shower sequence, the shrieking score, Anthony Perkins, that twist ending... Psycho
remains a stone-cold classic.”
Stephen Carty, Flix Capacitor
After the film: Discussion Questions
1. Marion, an office worker, starts the film just doing her
everyday job, but steals money from her boss and the tension
grows as she tries to make a getaway. How does the music
achieve this with so little dialogue?
2. Why do you think using just stringed instruments was so
effective in Psycho particularly during the infamous ‘shower
scene’.
3. Hitchock said that ‘33% of the effect of Psycho was due to the
music’. What do you think of this statement?
Teacher Notes
1. The music grows agitated as composer Bernard Herrmann uses the bare minimum of stringed instruments to follow her
journey alone in the car. This sequence makes expert use of ostinato where each musical phrase is given the same
length of time and volume that repeats itself a lot, lulling the listener into a sense of growing danger that is scary to watch
but so hypnotic that you can’t tear yourself away.
2. Hermann had a skeleton of strings producing a thin penetrating sound that still left the listener feeling exposed. There are
no reassuring drums, bass, woodwinds and brass to fill in the blanks here. With an orchestra in the background you
always have company; a roomful of musicians is ‘safety in numbers’. How would you feel alone in a remote motel
hearing only the sound of a shower and two violins playing?
3. Film is a medium that needs many elements in order to work and music is only one of them. However in a black and
white film that is dependent on action to drive most of the plot, the music in Psycho becomes a character, the ‘stabbing
strings’ motif is a signal that something terrible is about to happen. Therefore it can be argued that music is more integral
to Psycho than the average thriller.
Next Steps
1. How would you compare the use of sound in Psycho to Hitchcock’s later work in The Birds
(1963,15) 14+?
2. Get your students’ voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at
www.filmclub.org
3. How has Bernard Herrman’s work in Psycho influenced the horror music genre?
FILMCLUB Guide to GCSE Music
In the Mood for Love (2000, PG) 14+ 98 mins
Enrichment Focus
This Film Resource is aimed at GCSE Music students.
Suggested subjects for discussion are rom-com genre, soundtracking and composition.
What’s this film about?
Exquisitely beautiful love film about regret set in Hong Kong about a man and woman
married to other people and living in the same apartment building.
Why this film?
Set in the Shanghai community of Hong Kong in 1962, this is an elegant and enchanting
story about regret. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung play a man and woman each
abandoned by their wife and husband - and now renting rooms in the same apartment
building. With their own partners absent, the pair are slowly drawn together. Director
Wong Kar-Wai creates an exquisitely beautiful film with an underlying sadness that
reminded many people of the vintage Hollywood melodramas of Douglas Sirk. In
Cantonese, with English subtitles.
What the critics think
“Excites us with words not spoken, passions not played out. A mood story more than a love story,
it's all about sustaining a state of exquisite melancholy in the face of desire”.
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
“It is uplifting to witness a story which unfolds in peace and quiet”.
Michael Thomson, BBC Online
After the film: Discussion Questions
1. Listen carefully to ‘Yumeji’s theme’ which is the
love theme for the couple. How does it reflect the
nature of their relationship?
2. How does the music played on the radio reflect
the time period in which the film is set?
3. How does the music or lack of music reflect the
characters’ emotions?
Teacher Notes
1. This theme is a slow waltz with a string ensemble arrangement. This symbolises the cautious nature of their
romance, which goes against the conservative society in which they live. The music is intriguing with a
melancholy and relaxed pace.
2. The film is set in Hong Kong in the 1960s. There are lots of different musical styles used, ranging from
traditional opera to pop songs of the time period such as Nat King Cole singing in Spanish and popular
Western music. It shows that Hong Kong was in a state of development, progression and Westernisation with
huge migration from China to the region.
3. When they pass on the stairs, the music is in time to their slow motion movements which creates a state of
sexual tension. This is captured in the covert glances that they give one another.In the break up scene,
there is no music just the sound of heavy rainfall. When Chow comforts Mrs Chan, the love theme is reprised
and they share a taxi ride home to reflect that they will always have romantic feelings for one another.
Next Steps
1. Watch Manhattan (1974,15) 14+. This is a romantic comedy, how does the music reflect
both the comedy and the romance?
2. Get your students’ voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at
www.filmclub.org
3. How do In the Mood for Love and Manhattan stick to and adapt the conventions of music
in the rom-com genre?
FILMCLUB Guide to GCSE Music
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977, PG) 11+ 135 mins
Enrichment Focus
This Film Resource is aimed at GCSE Music students. Suggested subjects for discussion are
sci-fi genre, soundtracking and composition.
What’s this film about?
A man is convinced he has had an encounter with a UFO and becomes obsessed with a
strange hill in the wilderness...
Why this film?
You may think of movie aliens as monsters out to conquer the planet - but Steven
Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind might give you different ideas. The story
follows an average family man who becomes convinced he's seen a UFO near his midAmerican home. His family don't believe him; in fact, they think he's losing his mind.
Eventually, his obsession takes over his life, and he sets off towards a strange rock
formation hundreds of miles away that may hold the answers to his questions. Few
people who see what that journey leads to will ever forget it.
What the critics think
“The music is haunting and perfectly pitched”.
FILMCLUB Member Luke, aged 16
“The best -- the most elaborate -- 1950's science fiction movie ever made, a work that
borrows its narrative shape and its concerns from those earlier films, but enhances them
with what looks like the latest developments in movie and space technology”.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
After the film: Discussion Questions
1. What is unique about the music in the scene where
the spaceship is landing at the end of the film?
2. Why do you think that music is often referred to as
one of the most universal languages in relation to this
clip?
3. How does the music in this scene compare with the
music within the film in general?
Teacher Notes
1. The five note musical motif is striking and illuminating and provides dramatic closure to what has been a tense and
unsettling musical score. The motif is adapted from the theme to the famous children’s song, ‘When You Wish Upon A
Star’ and director Steven Spielberg and the composer John Williams were both concerned with offering a succinct,
memorable five note piece that harked back to the child like innocence of Disney films. The music is diegetic (appears
within the narrative of the film) while also appearing within the non-diegetic soundtrack. 2. Music is one of the most communicative and expressive art forms and in this instance is used to characterize the mutual
understanding and non-violent response to the fears of alien invasion characterizing the dramatic closure of the film. The
effect of a similar five note pattern repeated between humans and an alien presence suggests a mutual understanding
based on peace and co-operation.
3. The musical score in Close Encounters of the Third Kind can be divided into 3 distinct parts. The first act involves atonal
and dissonant music that accompany the mysterious hints of an alien presence. This music could be characterized as
turbulent and unsure, much like the feeling that pervades the film as the humans try to comprehend and understand this
unknown alien presence. The middle portions of the score alternate between the atonality and orchestral harmonic
flourishes. The final third of the score utilizes the five note motif to great effect when establishing that communication with
the alien presence has been made.
Next Steps
1. Watch 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, U) 11+ and discuss the way in which the music utilised
in space scenes enhance the vastness of the setting.
2. Get your students’ voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at
www.filmclub.org
3. How do Close Encounters of the Third Kind and 2001: A Space Odyssey stick to and adapt
the conventions of music in the sci--fi genre?
FILMCLUB Guide to GCSE Music
Jaws (1975, PG) 9+ 124 mins
Enrichment Focus
This Film Resource is aimed at GCSE Music students but is also suitable for use with ages 9+.
Suggested subjects for discussion are the thriller genre and soundtracking.
What’s this film about?
This 1975 film about an enormous great white shark terrorising the locals of a US seaside
resort made many who saw it too scared to go swimming!
Why this film?
Set in the quiet American seaside resort of Amity, Jaws had an instant effect on
moviegoers when it was first released in 1975. Some would say that this is legendary
composer John Williams’ most iconic soundtrack, and arguably the most iconic
soundtrack in contemporary cinema. Williams went on to win the Anthony Asquith
Award for Film Music BAFTA and an Oscar for Best Original Dramatic Music for his work on
Jaws.
What the critics think
“The music will go on for centuries to come as no one can get bored of this classic riff. All
in all a classic, a must see and a all round brilliant film”.
FILMCLUB Member, Ben, aged 13
“Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider and Robert Shaw are the three glorious hombres of 70s
Hollywood tracking down the shark, whose presence is signalled by John Williams's
orchestral theme, the creepiest since Herrmann's Psycho”
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
After the film: Discussion Questions
1. What is unusual about the music in this scene
compared to previous scenes where we see Jaws?
2. How does Jaws’ theme help to build tension, what is
it about the music that makes it frightening?
3. In this scene how does the music change or reflect
the characters mood and movement?
Teacher Notes
1. In previous scenes, ‘Theme from Jaws’ is always played prior to the audience seeing the shark. The music becomes
synonymous with the shark’s presence and the viewer is conditioned to expect to see the shark in line with the leitmotif. In
this scene the theme is not played until after we see the shark emerge from the water, increasing the shock value for the
viewer. Here the absence of sound is important in heightening tension.
2. John Williams’ ‘Theme from Jaws’ uses a repeating two note pattern which gives it a sense of the inevitable or inescapable.
The bass note ostinato, played initially by a single tuba, has a primal feel to it. The song builds with strings joining in the
ostinato, increasing in volume and pace, giving the impression of the shark getting closer to its prey. Another reading could
be that the repetitive pattern of the music mimics the quickening of breath or raising heart rate people can experience
when confronted by terrifying situations. Breaking through the repeating pattern is a disorientating melody played on piano
and sudden blasts of brass; this together with the simple precise two note pattern help to create a soundscape that mimics
the rapid disorientating movement and strength of what a shark attack might be like.
3. When the shark appears from the water we hear a loud higher pitched sweeping stroke from the string section, mimicking
the shock felt by Roy Scheider’s character, Brody. After the initial shock and as Brody is retreating back down the boat we
hear violins tremolo, their increasing pitch and tempo reminding the viewer that the trio are not out of danger’s way quite
yet. As Brody steps back and away from the edge of the boat his footsteps are mimicked by bass notes increasing tension
for the audience. When Brody and Hooper stare out to sea we begin to hear Jaws’ leitmotif. The repetitive ostinato serves to
heighten the tension, reminding the audience of the shark’s presence and the trio’s vulnerability.
Next Steps
1. Watch Strangers On a Train (1951, PG) 11+; what do you notice about Hitchcock’s use of
music in the climactic fairground scene?
2. Get your students’ voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at
www.filmclub.org
3. How do Jaws and Strangers on A Train stick to and adapt the conventions of music in the
thriller genre?
FILMCLUB Guide to GCSE Music
The Artist (2011, PG) 11+ 100 mins
Enrichment Focus
This Film Resource is aimed at GCSE Music students. Suggested subjects for discussion are
characterisation with music, film soundtracking and the role of music in narrative drive.
What’s this film about?
An ingenious and heartfelt homage to silent era cinema.
Why this film?
This film is fittingly shot in black-and-white and with no dialogue, but don't let that put you
off, because it's an absolute cracker! Visually gorgeous and hugely funny, the
effervescent, comedy drama opens in 1927, with screen idol George Valentin riding high
in Hollywood before the dawn of the 'talkies'. Rich and ultra-famous, he feels invincible,
making him happy to help wannabe actress Peppy Miller achieve her dream when she
romantically crosses his path. However, the sudden arrival of sound in movies throws his
benevolence back in his face, as Peppy is transformed into a massive star almost
overnight, whilst the now outmoded George painfully falls from grace.
What the critics think
“I was lost in a world of beauty in which the void of silence was filled with inventive
imagery and a terrific score”.
FILMCLUB Member, Ryan, aged 19
“Hazanavicius' use of sound is ingenious”.
Mark Rabinowitz, CNN Online
After the film: Discussion Questions
1. The Artist won a host of awards including best
Achievement in Music Written for a Motion Picture.
Why do you think it was so successful?
2. Music was used from a famous Alfred Hitchcock
thriller, Vertigo in the closing sequence of The Artist.
Why do you think the film’s composer chose to use
this music for such a different movie?
3. When Peppy enters George’s room and brings his
‘suit to life’, how does the music create atmosphere
and character?
Teacher Notes
1. A compelling silent film in an age of advance technology, this film proved that warm, well-drawn
characters, stylish visuals and above all evocative music could still bring the crowds flocking to cinemas.
The music is romantic and reminds viewers of the 20’s and 30’s which echo life in todays’ modern boom
and bust world.
2. Vertigo has a very dreamlike feel, so when the cascading strings in the theme are used in the final scene
in the rain as Peppy and George are reunited, the music establishes a feeling of desire and nostalgia. The
film is an affectionate look back at the style of the silent cinema and this includes the themes of doomed
love found in peak-period Hitchcock films such as Vertigo as well as more comedic/musical drama stories
like The Artist.
3. Gently rising and falling bass notes are arpeggiated to evoke an atmosphere of intrigue and curiosity but
the quivering flutes and woodwinds keep a light touch. We know George will not be angry when he finds
Peppy in his changing room. There is a tinge of sadness with a mournful violin melody as Peppy leaves at
the end. For now she is just another ambitious young actress and George inhabits a different world.
Next Steps
1. Watch Strike (1925, PG) 11+. How is music used in this black and white film?
2. Get your students’ voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at
www.filmclub.org
3. How do The Artist and Strike stick to and adapt the conventions of music in the silent film
genre?
FILMCLUB Guide to GCSE Music
For A Few Dollars More (1965, 15) 14+ 132 mins
Enrichment Focus
This Film Resource is aimed at GCSE Music students. Suggested subjects for discussion are
the western genre, soundtracking and composition.
What’s this film about?
This second film in Sergio Leone's spaghetti western trilogy sees the Man With No Name
team up with Colonel Mortimer and search for a notorious band
Why this film?
The second film in Sergio Leone's spaghetti western trilogy (following A Fistful of Dollars
and preceding The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) contains all the classic trademarks of
the genre: extreme close-ups, pregnant pauses and a soundtrack by Ennio Morricone.
Here, Clint Eastwood, as the Man with No Name, teams up with Colonel Mortimer (Lee
Van Cleef), and they go in search of a notorious bandit who is planning to rob a bank in
El Paso.
What the critics think
“A significant step forward from A Fistful of Dollars, with the usual terrific compositions,
Morricone score, and taciturn performances, not to mention the ubiquitous flashback
disease.”
Geoff Andrew, Time Out Magazine
“Individual scenes are still brilliant and each ingredient in just perfect, cast, score, tone...”
Empire Online
After the film: Discussion Questions
1. What is significant about the first music pocket
watch scene in the film?
2. How is the rest of the music used in this scene to
bring the dramatic duel to a head?
3. This film is said to have helped redefine the Western
as a film genre. How does Ennio Morriconne’s theme
for For A Few Dollars More reinforce this idea?
Teacher Notes
1. The musical pocket watch serves as an important signifier in the film as whenever Indio is about to kill someone he plays
the pocket watch. The watch also hints at an incident in Indio’s past which is an important part of the narrative thread of
the story. This scene contains the first instance where the diegetic music taking place within the film’s narrative (the stop
watch) mixes with the non-diegetic music (outside the narrative thread of the story) of Ennio Morricone’s soundtrack.
2.The eerie child-like melody of the watch plays as both men face up to each other. As this is playing an arrangement of
strings gradually builds up to a crescendo, whilst a low, rumbling riff of twanging Spanish style guitar plays a repetitive,
rattling note and eventually the soundtrack turns into an evangelistic style of choral music complete with human voices
and church organ. Close ups of the wiry, tense faces of Indio, his henchmen and also the man who is about to be
captured, tortured and killed heighten the tension. When Indio kills his captor the music fades away to leave only the
melody of the pocketwatch, slowly and deliberately ticking. This creates an overwhelming feeling of dread and doom.
3.The main theme utilises unusual instruments not previously used in the Western film genre. The melody contained within the
theme is provided by a lone human voice whistling and accompanied by a Jew’s Harp which makes a distinctive
twanging sound and as the track progresses, militaristic, galloping drums enter into the mix. The track builds and
incorporates other sounds including bells, electric guitar and the choral voices that chant insistently and a rising crescendo
of strings to add atmosphere and tension. Morriconne’s use of the electric guitar, an instrument which was revolutionizing
American recorded music at the time the film was released is perhaps the greatest example of how the composer
redefined the musical parameters of the Western.
Next Steps
1. How does the music in There Will Be Blood (2007, 15) 14+ transform music traditionally
associated with Western films?
2. Get your students’ voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at
www.filmclub.org
3. Compare and contrast the ways in which There Will Be Blood and For A Few Dollars More
approach landscape and historical setting through their respective soundtracks.
FILMCLUB Guide to GCSE Music
The Thin Blue Line (1988, 15) 14+ 97 mins
Enrichment Focus
This Film Resource is aimed at GCSE Music students. Suggested subjects for discussion are the
documentary genre, soundtracking and composition.
What’s this film about?
Documentary attempting to overturn the miscarriage of justice that saw the wrong man
convicted for the 1976 murder of a Dallas traffic officer.
Why this film?
It's not often that a film tries to affect real change, but Errol Morris's crusading
documentary attempted to overturn a gross miscarriage of justice. In 1976, a Dallas
traffic cop was shot dead after flagging down a car. The chief suspect was a 16-year-old
called David Harris. However, Harris claimed that hitchhiker Randall Adams was the
actual murderer, and Adams was sentenced to death (although this was later
commuted to life imprisonment). Morris takes up the case in his 1988 film, using
testimonies from both men and reconstructions of the events leading up to the killing to
create a compelling picture of how flimsy the conviction was. With an original score by
Phillip Glass, we’ll be taking a look at how the music helped create the mood for this film.
What the critics think
“Immaculately structured, beautifully shot, sensitively scored by Phillip Glass”
Geoff Andrew, Time Out Online
“Stunning rethinking of the documentary form, investigating a wrongly convicted cop
killer and actually changing the course of justice in the process. All to a Philip Glass
soundtrack”
The Guardian Online
After the film: Discussion Questions
1. What do you think are important things composers
and directors need to consider when adding music to
documentary films?
2. Do you think Phillip Glass’s Soundtrack in The Thin Blue
Line complies to conventions of documentary or
fiction film?
3. Do you notice anything about how the music is
treated for the interview scenes and reenactment
scenes? Do both scenes use different approaches?
Teacher Notes
1. Although often concerned with getting to the root of the ‘truth’, documentaries are rarely truly objective. During pre and post
production the decisions filmmakers make construct their subject in a chosen light. Documentaries can be thought of as
attempting to tell ‘a truth’ rather than ‘the truth’. Part of this construction lies in the choice of music. Documentaries use music
to create an atmosphere, set the scene or to bridge one scene to another. However music is not often as expressive or
impressionistic as fiction films. Directors favour simple rhythms that guide the narrative along rather than looking for a purely
emotional reaction. A lot of documentary soundtracks are included to fill a silence and stop the scene from appearing
‘dead’. Voiceover narration is used often. Instruments with a high pitch are often considered too harsh or jarring. Similarly using
a piece with a strong lead instrument is not common as it may distract the viewers attention from the voiceover narration.
2. Director Errol Morris was very specific in the music he wanted for each character and Glass’s soundtrack reflects that. It is
unusual to use a leitmotif associated with individual character’s within a documentary. The film pushed boundaries, breaking
away from the cinema verite style that was common place at the time. The theatrical reenactment scenes start with a
recurring ostinato played by a string section. The tension builds as a slow scale of bass notes are played by horn instruments.
Much of the film’s soundtrack features thickly layered orchestral music, strings, horns and pianos each playing a repetitive
phrase, all varying in pitch and texture. The music is very prominent throughout interviews and theatrical reenactments,
building tension and clashing with voiceover narration. Much like the film’s aesthetic, the soundtrack can be seen as having
more in common in terms of style and approach with the thriller/detective genre than the documentary genre.
3. Unlike conventional documentaries there is often a very prominent soundtrack accompanying each interview scene.
Although in part this serves to tie together the cuts between impressionistic reenactments, archive footage and static
interview, its overall use is to draw out an emotional response from the viewer while heightening tension.
Next Steps
1. Watch a scene from Man With A Movie Camera (1929, U) 14+; do you think that music
helps to create a narrative that may not have existed based on the images alone?
2. Get your students’ voices heard by joining FILMCLUB and writing reviews at
www.filmclub.org
3. How do The Thin Blue Line and Man With A Movie Camera stick to and adapt the
conventions of music in the Documentary genre?