Film Noir

Musical

Example

Film Noir Secret

Score

Film Noir Music/

Score

Harmony

We will examine the harmony first, since that really sets the emotional tone. Listen to the mood created by the mid and low range strings:

As you can see, this is an easy arrangement. The basses hold the root note in two different octaves while the violas and cellos play a simple chromatic line that moves up and down.

In this arrangement, the basses play the root note, C. The violas and cellos start on the V note in the key of C (the G), and then move up to the #V (the G#). From there, they move up to the VI (the A), and then move back down again. The slow consistent movement of these chromatic intervals creates an unsettling feeling.

But this is not the complete harmony. We need to add one more element to create a more atmospheric mood. This is what the violins will provide:

The violins hold the note D. This note is the 9th note in our key of C.

This 9th adds a sense of mystery when played over our particular chromatic string line.