One of the most powerful tools in any film makers’ kit is the soundtrack. Portrayal of emotional or situational context can be achieved with even the simplest of sounds.
The horror genre has made exceptional use of this tool from large scale epic orchestral scores to minimalist, sparse soundscapes.
Honourable mention should go to Arnold Schoenberg for perfecting the 12-tone serial technique in 1923, thus opening the doors for horror composers to freely create tension and unease within a simple framework.
Another ‘Avant-Garde’ composer that has had an impact on film sound-tracking is Edgard Varese. Similarly to Schoenberg, a lot of Varese’s repertoire already sounds like the score to a horror film, this is due to Hollywood employing these Avant-Garde techniques to accompany and enhance imposing visuals.
In the coming weeks I will be introducing a soundtrack spotlight and exploring how different compositional techniques have evolved to create the horror atmospheres that we know and love.
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