Tim Steve Assignment 1: Types of Music in
Silent Film
Clip 1:
Title of Film and Year: The Man With A Rubber
Head (1901)
Type of Score: Improvisation
Instrumentation: There is only a solo piano being
played with the film.
Effectiveness: I think the piano improvisation is
effective for the film. One of the reasons being, the
entire film is very short (3mins) and the filmmaker
probably wouldn’t have wanted an original orchestral
score, even if they had had that option that is. This
music also works because of the way the film was
shot, the film is fast and feels a bit sped up, this in-
creases the action and has almost a ‘quirky’ feeling
which I think the piano improvisation supports well.
It also works as a good representation of a film ‘score’
of that time. However if the film was shot in present
day it might work better with an original score, be-
cause the piano doesn’t at all match with the film or
follow its ‘rise and falls’. There is a moment at 1:40
where the music slows down, it is not clear why it
does so.. and the music doesn’t build up the final ac-
tion and dramatic moment of the film. Overall I
think it works because the actual film is only three
minutes long, the sped up nature of the film (if it was
sped up) which benefits from the style of the music,
and the time period of the film where the music was
really needed to drown out the noise from the cine-
ma and the surroundings.
Clip 2:
Title of Film and Year: The Tramp (1915)
Type of Score: Compiled Score
Instrumentation: Full orchestra with specific or-
chestrations. Most prominent instruments: violin
solo, snare percussion, flute, oboes, clarinets, celesta,
violin section 1, horns.
1
Effectiveness: The music works better than the
other options available at that time like improvisa-
tion and cue books. The music is not an original
score because it does not follow the emotions of the
film. The music is also too complex to be from a cue
book, so this is a complied score. It works because it
provides more interest than anything other that a
original score would provide. Even though it does not
sync perfectly it does create a wide soundscape. And
in some parts where the music is edited in a certain
way, it works really good, almost as good as an origi-
nal score (example: 2:33-3:14). Overall it works better
than an improvisation or a cue book, and in the last
part of the film it works as good as an original score.
Clip 3:
Title of Film and Year: "The General" (1926)
Type of Score: Original Score or Compiled. It is
hard to decide if it’s a compiled score or an original
score. It sounds like it is either a very well edited
compiled score or an original score written years af-
ter the release of the film. I think it is an original
score written after the film was released because, the
complexity of the score is just too high for a typical
film score at that time. I also think it is a complied
score because the style of music (3/4 rhythm and
Waltz like) doesn’t fit the film well and instead
sounds like it is from a classical repertoire.
Instrumentation: Full orchestra with orchestra-
tion for the music. Prominent instruments: Violin
section 1, clarinets, flutes, trumpets, harp.
Effectiveness: The score works very well with the
film. The music even by its own, is powerful and the
film benefits from it vastly. The waltz like style of the
film I don’t think fits the film, but if it was used as a
complied score then it works well. Overall the music
is powerful and without it the film wouldn’t feel big.
Clip 4:
Title of Film and Year: Faust (1926)
Type of Score: Original Score
Instrumentation: Orchestration for full orchestra.
Prominent instruments: Flutes, clarinets, oboes, vio-
lin solo, trumpet, horn, concert piano.

Effectiveness: This original score works very well

and as good as any others types of scores available, if
not more than them. The music follows the shape of
the film and the action in it. The instrumentation
used in the score is very good as it provides a eerie
feel to the film. I don’t think this is the finest exam-
ples of original scores, but given the time period and
practices then, it is a good score for the film. I say
the music is not perfect because, at min 1:21 there is a
pause for 4 seconds that takes away a little from the
momentum of the film. Overall, I think the original
score, even though could’ve been better in terms of
syncing with the film like other original film scores
do, it works really well in creating the tone and feel
of the film.