Music in Film

Music in Film: Settling the Score introduces students to the dynamic world of film and, more specifically, the art of film music. The text explores the various reasons for including music in film, the essentials of sound, the origins of film, scoring techniques, the business of film, and more. The book emphasizes the early development of music in the silent film era, which helped shape the way we understand film music today.



The book guides students through the development of film music by examining the composers of yesterday and today, as well as the musical genres that have helped shape this vital industry. Students learn about what music accomplishes in film, early recording techniques, Hollywood's influence on film music, the re-emergence of romantic scoring, and more.



Music in Film, provides students with the essential tools they need to understand some of the most important aspects of music for the cinema without necessarily having any musical training. The text is well-suited for courses in film music, film, history of the cinema, and film appreciation. It is also an ideal text for novice film composers who are trying to break into the business.
Joseph Turrin studied composition at the Eastman School of Music and the Manhattan School. He is a faculty member at the Hartt School, Rutgers University, Montclair State University, and Kean University. Mr. Turrin has produced works in many musical genres, including film, theater, opera, orchestral, wind ensemble, chamber music, electronic, jazz, and dance. His compositions have been performed throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States. He has received awards from the National Endowment on the Arts, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the United Nations, American Music Center, National Band Association, as well as Roger Ebert's "Thumbs Up" Award, several fellowships from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and an honorary degree from the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester. His opera, The Scarecrow, was commissioned by a consortium of twelve universities and premiered at the University of Texas at Austin, where Mr. Turrin was Composer in Residence in 2006.