Underscoring

In theater and film production, underscoring is the act of playing music quietly under a dialogue or a visual scene. It is usually done to establish a mood or theme. Underscoring is music composed for a film to enhance and drive the story. It is also used as a tool to drive emotion based on the particular scene being watched. It provides emotional or atmospheric background to the primary dialog or narration onscreen.

In an underscore, you would want to include tonality and timbre, but melody, rhythm, and harmony might make the piece to "complicated" or may take away from the scene. Simple is good with underscoring.


 * Tonality** could be ambiance type of music to reflect an upbeat scene or scary scene. Gives the audience a feel for what the mood is like in a given scene. Major and minor keys imply certain emotions. Returning to the root tone suggest completion. Straying away from root, not resolving creates tension.


 * Melody** can help define a scene and enhance an underscore. Creates a theme for a specific character, event, object, or idea throughout the film. This could be used as themes for particular characters or important moments. Played at lower volumes and different registers when underscoring, so it's not as obvious.


 * Rhythm** sets the pace of the underscore and greatly impacts how the underscore effects the scene.Sets the pace for a specific scene. Faster tempo for action scenes, while a slower tempo could be used for a romantic or dramatic scene.


 * Harmony** can help make an underscore more full and deep than just having single notes and can be very useful. Used to create tension for an upcoming climax. Also can be used to create a sense of relief or release.Harmony usually compliments a melody, so this could be used to further enhance what the melody is doing.


 * Timbre** is very useful in an underscore and directly relates to the choice of instrumentation and style of music. Different instruments and sounds are capable of setting a particular mood and tone. A sad scene would likely use long violin notes; wile an upbeat scene would use short brass notes and percussion types.