THEATER 
 ARTS 
 LIB. 
 MT 
 
 737 
 L252m 
 
 JC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 a 000 072 137 3 
 
 LANG 
 
 MUSICAL 
 ACCOMPANIMENT 
 OF MOVING 
 PICTURES
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 ^M ^^JlA^lAAJt^ 
 
 V>U^.x^-A_X 
 
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 Xp-\
 
 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT 
 OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 A Practical Manual 
 for 
 
 Pianists and Organists 
 
 AND AN EXPOSITION OF THE PRIN- 
 CIPLES UNDERLYING THE MUSICAL 
 INTERPRETATION OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 By 
 EDITH LANG 
 
 AND 
 
 GEORGE WEST 
 
 Price^ $1.25 net 
 
 TUG ©atQQMu/icClciiffeiix 
 
 Bo/ton. Ma/rtl^ 
 
 G. ScHiRMER . New York Winthrop Rogers, Ltd. • London
 
 COPYBIOHT, 1920, 
 
 By the boston MUSIC COMPA>fY. 
 B. M. Co. 6347.
 
 rhcstee 
 
 
 MT 
 
 737 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction 1 
 
 PART I: EQUIPMENT 
 
 1. Mental Alertness 3 
 
 2. Musical Resourcefulness 7 
 
 a. General Remarks .......... 7 
 
 b. Musical Characterization ......... 8 
 
 c. Thematic Development ......... 8 
 
 d. Transition and Modulation ........ 13 
 
 e. Transposition ........... 21 
 
 /. Improvisation 22 
 
 3. Repertoire 26 
 
 PART II: MUSICAL INTERPRETATION 
 
 1. The Feature Film 31 
 
 2. "Flash-backs" 34 
 
 3. Animated Cartoons and Slap-stick Comedy 35 
 
 4. The Comedy Drama .......... 37 
 
 5. Weekly News Pictures ......... 38 
 
 6. Educational Films 40 
 
 7. Travel Views 41 
 
 PART III: THE THEATRICAL ORGAN 
 
 1. Peculiarities op Organ Technique ....... 44 
 
 a. How to Sit at the Organ 44 
 
 b. Pedalling 45 
 
 c. Independence of Hands and Feet ....... 46 
 
 d. Staccato and Legato Touch ........ 47 
 
 e. Registration ........... 47 
 
 2. Orchestration by Means of Organ Stops ..... 47 
 
 3. Swell-pedals and Crescendo-pedal .52 
 
 4. The Identification of Tone-colors ....... 53 
 
 5. Special Effects, and How to Produce Them 56 
 
 Conclusion 61 
 
 Index ... 63 
 
 iii
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 That music is an invaluable and necessary aid to the success and enjoj'- 
 ment of moving pictures, is a fact which no one will deny. But the accom- 
 panying, or illustrating, music must be of the right kind, or else its verj^ 
 aim will be defeated. Unfortunately, the right kind of "picture music" 
 is something that is not universally understood, and the musician, no 
 matter how learned he may be in his trade, is beset by a great many 
 problems, when he attempts to follow and illustrate in music the fast- 
 moving film. This book is not intended to exhaust a subject which is 
 almost unHmited in its aspects, but it rather endeavors to lay down a few 
 safe and dependable rules and courses of action from which any student 
 of these problems may make his own deductions and develop his own 
 personal style. For nothing would be more tedious or impracticable than 
 to attempt uniformity where variety and individuahty are the essentials. 
 The most successful and highest-paid player is the one whose style is the 
 most distinctive. When you analyze this distinction, you will find that it 
 is mainly based on certain characteristics of his personality, such as 
 inteUigence, quick perception, realization of dramatic values, insight in 
 human psychology, and well-grounded musical technique. But aside 
 from these factors, there is one quality which the player requires above all, 
 and which this book primarily intends to awaken and develop. That 
 quahty is resourcefulness. 
 
 With resourcefulness the average player of even mean endowments 
 may fit himself to follow any kind of picture that may be thrown on the 
 screen. This resourcefulness extends in two different directions : one of 
 them is the musical training which must aim to perfect facility in improvi- 
 sation ; the other is a cultivation of taste and a sense of fitness in adapting 
 musical material to the pictured scene. We shall try, in the following 
 paragraphs, to give practical hints in both of these directions. Therefore 
 this book may be considered as a "first-aid" manual for the beginner in 
 the field of moving picture music. 
 
 The prime function of the music that accompanies moving pictures is 
 to reflect the mood of the scene in the hearer's mind, and rouse more 
 
 1
 
 2 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 readily and more intensely in the spectator the changing emotions of the 
 pictured story. One hears much music in the "movies" that is as foreign 
 to the action on the screen as anything could be, and frequently actually 
 kills the effect of the photographer's art. Producers have been quick to 
 realize this danger, and therefore many pictures are being released with 
 minute instructions concerning the music that is to accompany them. 
 (See ill. p. 60.) But even so, the player will require some training to do 
 the music and the picture justice, and will succeed best if his mental 
 alertness and his musical resourcefulness work hand in hand.
 
 PART I 
 
 EQUIPMENT 
 
 1. Mental Alertness 
 
 The player will do well, first of all, to "size up" his audience. Hardly 
 two theatres in any place cater to exactly the same crowd. What "goes" 
 in one house, "falls flat" in another. He will therefore have to experiment 
 and judge carefully what road to follow. But it should be stated right 
 at the beginning, and strongly emphasized, that most audiences are mis- 
 judged in that they are capable of much more education and cultivation 
 than they are generally given credit for. He is a lazy and sterile player 
 who is satisfied that what he is giving his audience is "good enough." 
 The standards of good and bad music may vary according to country and 
 clime. But it would not be hard to agree on desirable and undesirable 
 material for the musical accompaniment of moving pictures. Its first 
 requisite is fitness. The player will determine this according to his 
 lights and to the measure of his taste. It is well to choose from among 
 the contemporaneous popular music such numbers as have become iden- 
 tified with certain emotions, either of patriotism, joy, or sadness. The 
 audience will grasp quickest what it is fairly familiar with, and sometimes 
 a short strain from, or mere suggestion of, a popular number will go a long 
 way toward telling its story. The classical repertoire, on the other hand, 
 is an inexhaustible treasure trove for all who seek dihgently and patiently. 
 
 As the musical interpreter of the emotions depicted on the screen, the 
 player himself must be emotional and respond to the often quick changes 
 in the situation. In fact, if not his knowledge of life, his knowledge of the 
 picture must enable him to anticipate, so that his music is always slightly 
 ahead of the film, preparing rather than reflecting. Therefore the player^s 
 eyes should he on the screen as constantly as possible, and never for too long 
 a stretch on the music or on the keyboard. His attention should be riveted 
 on the turn of events, his emotions should promptly respond to pathos or 
 humor, to tragedy or comedy, as they may be interwoven in the picture 
 play. A keen sense of humor is a necessary requirement in his make-up. 
 But his wit should be capable of attuning itself to various gradations, from 
 subtle irony to broad "slap-stick" farce and horse-play. 
 
 3
 
 4 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 Mental alertness is needed in quickly "locating" the musical atmosphere 
 for a picture. If a scene is laid in, or suddenly shifted to the Orient, if 
 in the news section of the performance the film should portray a scene in a 
 foreign country, music of a corresponding nature will make the picture 
 "get over" much more successfully than would the indifferent playing of 
 a waltz tune. The player must be exceedingly careful not to "italicise" 
 the situation so that it becomes distorted or burlesqued. Therefore he 
 should refrain from all excesses. A case in point may be cited here. In 
 the series of Burton Holmes's "travel pictures" the "Tagalog Toilers of 
 Luzon" in the Phihppines are shown, planters and reapers of rice. These 
 toilers, hard-working men and women, are pictured in the act of threshing 
 the cereal, which they accomplish by a peculiar and complicated treading 
 of the sheaves with their feet, resembling for all the world a weird dance. 
 With a monotonous rhythm in the bass and an exotic inflection of the 
 melody, the strangeness and primitiveness of the scene would stand out, 
 the long and patient toil of the threshers would be apparent, the photog- 
 rapher's aim would be gained. Instead, the musician plays a Broadway 
 cabaret tune, with plenty of "jazz" ; the house is roaring with laughter 
 and the photographer's intended lesson is lost ! 
 
 This leads to the remark that flippancy and facetiousness are wholly out 
 of place in a serious and educational picture. The player's attitude of 
 mind should always be one of interest, never betray tiredness or boredom. 
 Nothing is more quickly sensed by an audience than the inattentiveness 
 and indifference of the player. 
 
 In order to illustrate properly in music the happenings on the screen, 
 the musician should be endowed with psychological insight. Many books 
 on the subject are within reach of the student, and enough of them are 
 written in so popular a vein that they can be understood and read with 
 profit by the layman. Human nature, in spite of its compUcation, can 
 be reduced to a rather limited field of observation, so far as the "movies" 
 are concerned. There is more or less resemblance between a great many 
 films. The intrigue is very often the same, the emotions follow each other 
 in a given circle, the development varies but slightl3^ The law of com- 
 pensation rules supreme, virtue receives its reward, crime its punishment. 
 Love and hatred, hope and despair, harrowing moments of tension and 
 episodes of comic relief make up the bulk of moving pictures. Such 
 fundamental emotions, and their related affections, should be carefully 
 studied by the player ; he should be able readily to recognize them, and 
 he should seek to express them in turn by means of music. In order to do 
 this successfully, he should not wait until he is in the theatre and the film 
 has started. He should devote hours of study to the carrjdng out of a pre- 
 conceived plan by which he sets himself the task of playing or improvising
 
 MENTAL ALERTNESS 5 
 
 music that corresponds to these basic moods of hmnan nature. In other 
 words, he should put himself successively into a frame of mind that is the 
 equivalent of happiness or grief, of quiet contemplation or hurried flight, 
 of hope attained or shattered dreams. With sympathetic curiosity he 
 should study the mental processes by which human actions are guided, he 
 should learn to distinguish between noble and dastardly motives. Music 
 is a speech more subtle and pliant than that of mere words, and a sensitive 
 player is capable of conveying, more clearly than the spoken word could 
 do, what the thought or gesture of the film actor may imply. 
 
 The player should, above all, learn to read facial expressions. Since 
 the actor, deprived of speech, must emphasize his emotions by facial play, 
 the twinkle in his eye, a furrow of his brow, a look, or a smile are the only 
 manifestations of his thought. These the player must learn to distinguish 
 and to recognize instantly. Music, it may as well be stated, cannot always 
 shift as quickly as will the facial play of the actor in some scene or other. 
 It will then behoove the player to give the keynote of the situation with 
 illustrative strains. However, a word of caution may be added here, 
 that one should not rely too much on such methods, since nothing heightens 
 the enjoyment and effect of a film more strongly than a close and minute 
 following of every phase of the photo play, with due regard to musical 
 continuity. 
 
 A good memory is a valuable help to the player. Not only should he 
 try to memorize certain compositions as a whole, but he should especially 
 furnish his storehouse of remembered music with stock phrases and 
 motives, adapted to different moods, so that he can always draw from this 
 library in his head. He should also try to remember certain films, the 
 development of the story, the sequence of situations, so that he may 
 anticipate the effect by recognizing the cause. Since popular wisdom has 
 it that sunshine always follows upon rain, that the harvest shall be as the 
 planting, the psychologist of the "movies" generally finds that the story 
 of the film follows this popular hne of thought. The memorizing of certain 
 music that fits certain situations, of special musical effects that characterize 
 particular incidents, is the surest way by which the player can keep himself 
 always ready for emergencies. Thus alone can he gain security and ease 
 in his playing ! 
 
 It remains to say a few words about "theatrical values." The player 
 should never forget that he is not playing an organ or piano recital, but 
 that he is furnishing theatrical music for a theatrical production. Tragedy 
 and comedy are built on the basis of ancient and well-recognized rules. 
 As the play progresses, gains impetus, presents its problems and intrigues, 
 gradually reaches its cUmax and leads to the solution, so should the music 
 advance and follow the march of events with an ever increasing intensity.
 
 6 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 The graphic illustration of certain theatrical situations will be treated of 
 later. Suffice it here to say that there are times when a situation becomes 
 so intense that even music fails to express it, and that nothing but a moment 
 of silence can give an actual realization to the spectator. If a play demands 
 "local color" the music should unmistakably give it or approximate it at 
 least. The lighting of a picture, whether in full sunlight or veiled by the 
 shadows of dusk, will govern the intensity of tone that the player draws from 
 the instrument. The "speed" with which the action progresses will 
 influence the tempo of the music. One may go so far as to say that the very 
 scenery of the picture can be hinted at in tones. A peaceful, blossoming 
 landscape will demand music different from that which will fit a bleak and 
 desolate mountain region. The bustle of city life will require music of 
 faster tempo than the placid village square. 
 
 Nothing can give a better idea of what good moving picture music 
 should be, than the careful study of successful operas. Therein the welding 
 of action and music is so close, that they cannot be separated ; the musical 
 characterization amounts to a labelling of each singer with a pertinent phrase 
 or motive. Take as an instance the opera "Carmen" by Bizet. "Local 
 color" is given by a predominance of rhythms familiarly associated with 
 Spanish music. Watch the handling of the crowds, the excited populace 
 in the first act, the hilarious dancers in the second, the mysterious smugglers 
 in the third, the stately and gay procession in the fourth. Mark the 
 voluptuous and alluring airs of Carmen herself, in the first act, contrasted 
 with the simple and sweet melodies that are given to Micaela, the innocent 
 country maiden. Note the dramatic effect of the motive of foreboding 
 and doom, first sounded in the third act, when the cards invariably point 
 to Carmen's death. The use of this motive, in the fourth act, becomes un- 
 canny and achieves the height of theatrical impressiveness. One of the 
 finest modern examples of graphic stage music is Puccini's opera "Tosca." 
 Each character is treated in a manner that reveals the essential traits of 
 his or her nature. Every measure in the orchestra fits the situation on the 
 stage. Love scenes of unequalled fervor are followed by those of brutahty, 
 of tragedy and horror. Attention should be called to the beautiful por- 
 trayal in music of dawn breaking over the city of Rome, at the beginning of 
 the third act. 
 
 Similar instances could be named without number. The diligent student 
 will search for himself in the vast operatic literature for passages that be- 
 come universally adaptable and will form his most effective stock in trade. 
 Then, there are a great many songs which by their words have become 
 associated with certain thoughts or emotions, and which the player should 
 be able to call upon without the notes, if necessary. There are a great 
 many pleasing salon pieces of the Ughter kind that will prove particularly
 
 MUSICAL RESOURCEFULNESS — GENERAL REMARKS 7 
 
 useful for comedies and some of the shorter film plays. Music generally 
 associated with such events as weddings, funerals, patriotic exercises, 
 parades, special seasons of the year, boat songs, college songs, church 
 hymns, and the like, should all be in the player's fingers, ready to answer 
 instantaneous calls. 
 
 2. Musical Resourcefulness 
 a. General Remarks 
 
 It goes without saying that the player should constantly aim to improve 
 his musicianship and to develop his technique, that of the fingers alone, 
 if he uses the piano, that of keys and pedals, if he plays the organ. Since 
 the latter instrument has become predominant in most moving picture 
 houses, we shall concentrate upon its special technique. This calls 
 immediately for a word regarding organ registration. The player should 
 familiarize himself with the peculiarities of each stop, select the most 
 effective, and avoid the defective or blatant ones. As a guide for his 
 registration, the player should always have the orchestra in mind ! As 
 varied in tone color as this body of instruments is, so should be the change 
 and relief obtained by a wise and frequent variation in stops. 
 
 Registers and tone quahties of the organ should be kept separate and 
 clear, such as strings alone, flute alone, reeds (oboe, saxophone, French 
 horn, cornopean, etc.), alone, whenever possible. Tone qualities should 
 no more be mixed promiscuously than all ten fingers should be put on the 
 keys in long stretches of injudicious chord playing. It is best to avoid 
 close harmony. It is generally safe to adhere to the effect of a solo instru- 
 ment with accompaniment. "Full organ" should be avoided except in 
 special instances. As a rule, the organ should rather suggest its presence 
 than make itself overpoweringly felt. The music must vitalize the action 
 on the screen, not absorb the attention of the spectator, or deaden his 
 ears. In the "movies", a mere finger-acrobat becomes a nuisance. On 
 the other hand, it is dangerous to overwork soft stops and echo effects. 
 A constant "murmur" of the organ is most irritating. Light and shade 
 should vary according to the picture's progress. If possible, one should 
 not make a crescendo to full organ more than once during a picture. An 
 overuse of glaring and striking tone colors is undesirable. To be sure, 
 there are certain situations where nothing but a distinctive kind of reed 
 will express either the diabolical expression of a face or the gruesomeness 
 of a scene. But "atmosphere" is more effective than strident noise. 
 
 The player should try to develop his musical resourcefulness chiefly by 
 cultivating his talent for improvisation. This does not necessarily mean 
 that he must be gifted as a composer and originator of musical ideas, 
 although this abihty will prove his supreme asset. But it will suffice if he
 
 8 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 learns to handle a given theme, or rather several of them, by the means of 
 rhythmical or modal variation, by extension or diminution, by change of 
 tone register and by contrapuntal combination. 
 
 b. Musical Characterization 
 
 The kernel of the musical illustration of a picture is the main theme. 
 This should be typical in mood or character of the hero or heroine. It 
 should have emotional appeal, it should be easily recognizable and admit 
 of such treatment as mentioned above. This theme should be announced 
 in the introduction, it should be emphasized at the first appearance of the 
 person with whom it is linked, and it should receive its ultimate glorification, 
 by means of tonal volume, etc. , in the finale of the film. Added to this, there 
 will be as many subsidiary themes as there are secondary characters in the 
 film. This does not mean that every face that appears on the screen must 
 be labelled with a musical motive. This procedure apphes only to the 
 characters that are really concerned in the progress of the action. The 
 villain will be characterized by a sinister or sombre theme, the comedian by 
 a light and frivolous one, and so on. 
 
 c. Thematic Development 
 
 The treatment and development of these musical themes, for purposes 
 of picture accompaniment, is very much in the nature of the treatment 
 given to a musical idea in the course of a composition such as a sonata or 
 symphony. But, while the player cannot be urged too strongly to study 
 such works, the aim of this book will probably be best served by freeing 
 the subject of its more intricate technicalities and by plainly stating a few 
 methods through which this musical alteration or variation of a theme 
 may be accomplished. 
 
 Let us take for instance an emotional theme such as : 
 Ex. A 
 
 Aiidanfe 
 
 6tr 8, Fl 8'-Saxophone Solo- light string and flntp accnrnpanimpnt 
 
 If this theme were to represent the heroine in ordinary circumstances, her 
 appearance under emotional stress or afflicted with sorrow might be char- 
 acterized by playing the theme in the minor mode, as follows :
 
 THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 
 
 Ex. B 
 
 At a moment of hesitation, of doubt, or when placed in the necessity of 
 making a decision, the heroine might be characterized by a "breaking" 
 of the theme in the following manner : 
 Ex. C 
 
 Moderate 
 
 Light reeds - one manual 
 
 S^ 
 
 -t 5— *5: 
 
 •^ ^ 4^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ * 
 
 zm 
 
 ^s 
 
 y rinoluto 
 
 
 S; 
 
 ^~ r T ?p 
 
 i 
 
 
 Her anxiety might be expressed by taking the theme in a rhythmically 
 quicker form, and if this anxiety was caused by pleasant anticipation, the 
 theme would naturally be given in major : 
 
 Ex. D 
 
 Allegretto 
 Flutes 8; 4' 
 
 Harp accompanimPDt 
 
 while it would be given in minor, if her anxiety was caused by apprehen- 
 sion or fear, as follows : 
 
 Ex. E 
 
 Agitato 
 
 Str. 8^ Fl. 8; 4', Bassoon 16' (Cboe on 16' coupler) 
 
 Attention should be called to the way in which these various examples 
 are treated with respect to registration and accompaniment. They will 
 offer an outlook on the great variety that may be accompUshed by judicious
 
 10 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 manipulation. Only a few basic emotions have here been illustrated. A 
 wider range of psychological insight will suggest to the player a greater 
 number of possibilities in such manipulation. The player should always 
 seek to differentiate in each return of the theme, during the film, so that 
 new interest will enhance its appeal. An effective means of variation 
 is offered by placing the melody in a lower register and ornating it in the 
 treble with appropriate figure work, as given here : 
 
 Ex. F 
 
 Adagio molto espressivo 
 
 This treatment might suggest itself if the hero were pictured in a meditation 
 of which the heroine is the subject, or if he were reading a letter received 
 from her, in other words, if the heroine did not actually enter into the picture 
 but if the thought of her was implied by the action of others. The " mood " 
 of a theme can be totally changed by altering the rhythm. For instance, 
 our theme, originally played in common time, gains in "lightness" and 
 airiness if presented in three-four time. 
 
 Ex. G 
 
 fe 
 
 Grazioso 
 
 Oboe, Piccolo 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^S 
 
 itrln^B aod Flute ace. ^^ « 
 
 m^ 
 
 n 
 
 /T#<'|t .f 
 
 — ■ - 
 
 ■^^ " 
 
 ■^" ^^^ ■*■ 
 
 p=-j 1 
 
 **-)h. 
 
 V 
 
 ' — 
 
 V 
 
 p r V 
 
 r ^ 
 
 -^-j — 
 
 ^■' '' cJ 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 r F '
 
 THEMATIC DEVELOPMENT 
 
 11 
 
 Such treatment will be appropriate for a scene in which the heroine is 
 pictured in particularly pleasant and happy circumstances or actually danc- 
 ing. On the other hand, a theme that was originally presented in three- 
 four time : 
 Ex. H 
 
 Larghetto 
 
 Mclo^ia or soft Flute - both hands 
 
 ^ 
 
 mp - 
 
 ^m 
 
 I 
 
 ^ 
 
 >"/ 
 
 m 
 
 WTf 
 
 might be given "weight" by lengthening the measure into one of four- 
 four, as follows : 
 Ex. I 
 
 Maestoso 
 
 Full Or^an 
 
 n 
 
 ^ 
 
 fa, 
 
 m 
 
 Jfc 
 
 ^ 
 
 te 
 
 m 
 
 Greater emotional intensity will be suggested by playing the original 
 theme to an accompaniment of nine-eight. 
 Ex. J 
 
 Largo, ma non troppo 
 
 strings 16,' 8,' 4', '.i'— both hands on the samp manual 
 
 lO 1 r 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 h 
 
 J-'<^VT 
 
 TTi-- - 
 
 Iw I-, ,. 
 
 . . . J ^ 
 
 \T X \ T 
 
 _iL_i_J_5_5 — 
 
 Y^ \\\ 
 
 \ — 
 
 r 
 
 w ■ 
 
 
 *■ ■ 
 
 ■ — « 
 
 
 
 
 f 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 
 
 , 
 
 •J 
 
 ' ^ 
 
 1-^ — 
 
 
 1 
 
 *■' 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 . i- 1
 
 12 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 All such variations should be accompanied by change in organ regis- 
 tration. While it is not easy to identify each stop or tone color with a 
 special character or emotion, it may be safe to recommend, for purposes 
 of general guidance, the indications given on pages 54 and 55. 
 
 What has been said with regard to the theme characterizing the heroine, 
 applies equally to any other that may be chosen for the hero. But in all 
 cases, these themes should be sufficiently "striking," so that the audience 
 can easily identify and remember them. In all their changes they should 
 remain easily recognizable. Therefore it might be said that ordinarily a 
 theme that moves diatonically, that is step-wise, will not stand out so well 
 as one that has at least one or two skips. For example : 
 
 is preferable to 
 
 As we said before, not only persons may be characterized by musical 
 themes, but also locaUties. If, for instance, the action is laid recurrently 
 in a certain place, this locality should always be announced by the same 
 theme. However, variation is essential here, as in other cases ; and if we 
 may take for example a garden scene, this garden in sunhght might be 
 characterized as follows : 
 
 Un poco vivace 
 
 Flute 4' 
 
 while the same place, shrouded in twiUght, might suggest the following 
 treatment of the theme : 
 
 Placido 
 
 Vox humana - both hands Fame maonal 
 
 .,,/?5rpi^. ^ii^^^ 
 
 p tutto legato 
 
 Prf
 
 TRANSITION AND MODULATION 13 
 
 As a matter of course, different weather conditions will demand different 
 music. On page 57 you will find suggestions for rain, for the approach 
 and breaking of a thunderstorm, etc. However, all those effects are in- 
 dividually distinctive and are not the result of thematic "development." 
 
 Hand in hand with changes of thematic variation, of organ registration, 
 and of time, should go judicious changes in tonality. The player should be 
 cautioned that, when selecting his themes, he see to it that they are not 
 all in the same key, so that he achieve in the course of his performance a 
 pleasing variety of tonalities. Nor is it advisable to adhere for too long a 
 time to tonahties that are all in fiats, or to those that are all in sharps. 
 Sometimes a player has certain likes and dislikes for given keys. These 
 he should eliminate and make himself proficient in all of the keys. It is 
 particularly objectionable when the player slavishly adheres to the "black 
 keys, " and gives a whole evening's performance in D-flat or G-flat. There 
 are certain keys such as A-flat and E-flat which suggest "warmth" or 
 languor, such as B-fiat minor or G minor which fit a mood of sorrow and 
 grief, such as A or D major which lend themselves to brilliancy, such as E 
 major which suggests "clear skies" or "the ocean's wide expanse." Said 
 ocean, lashed into rollers by the fury of the wind, will naturally demand 
 more agitated music than the placid surface in a calm, and possibly the 
 player may find that he will also wish to differentiate in a key in which this 
 raging element may find a fit illustration. Melodies of a meditative char- 
 acter or of a religious nature often gain when played in the key of F. The 
 key of C has nothing to commend it, except that after long wanderings 
 through the rich realms of sharp or fiat tonalities, it is most gratifying to 
 hear the crisp and bright "key of keys." These suggestions, in regard to 
 the nature and individual color of certain keys, are approximations, at 
 best, and experiments have shown that different people react differently 
 to the effect of various keys. But at least they will make the player 
 curious to investigate for himself and serve to make him realize that there 
 exists a distinction between one tonality and another. He will quickly see 
 that "transposition" from one key to another will lend to his theme a varied 
 aspect and that it forms one of the easiest ways of obtaining contrast. 
 
 d. Transition and Modulation 
 
 This leads to one of the most important points to which the player 
 should give special attention and continued study, namely to that of 
 smooth musical transition or effective modulation. By the scope given to 
 this subject in the textbooks on harmony, it can be easily seen how essential 
 its mastery is. The player who is not already familiar with this chapter of 
 musical harmony will do well to enlarge his knowledge by carefully reading 
 chapter XI in J. Humphrey Anger's "Treatise on Harmony," part I.
 
 14 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 For the practical use of the "movie" player there are, however, certain 
 "tricks" of modulation which it may be well to point out here. As a 
 general rule the player should bear in mind that his transitions should never 
 be abrupt, unless a special graphic end may be gained thereby. He should 
 take time and care with his modulations. But what the following examples 
 intend to teach, is more a principle than an appUcation. Only continued 
 practice will make the apphcation a matter of ease and surety. 
 
 The simplest modulations are the natural ones from one key into its 
 related keys, namely those of the (1) dominant, (2) sub-dominant, (3) 
 relative, and (4) parallel minor keys ; or for instance : from C major to (1) 
 G (major), (2) F (major or minor), (3) A minor, and (4) C minor. There is 
 hardly a composition in which one or several of these modulations are not 
 used ; they may be readily found in any text-book. However, text-book 
 demonstrations are generally, and for the sake of clearness, written in 
 chord progressions which form the harmonic skeleton of the melodic 
 progress. Such presentation as the following : 
 
 c toCl- 
 
 C to CK 
 
 may admirably show the underlying harmonies, which, properly connected, 
 form the basis of a modulation from one key to its two chromatically adja- 
 cent keys (from C to Cb, or from C to Cft), but they will decidedly not do 
 for our purposes. The player should, in fact, carefully shun anything that 
 sounds like the wearisome chord progressions favored by dihgent and 
 patient piano tuners. The text-book style of 4-part harmony, at its best, 
 too closely resembles church music ; and unless a picture actually shows a 
 church or reUgious function, the suggestion of the organ as an instrument 
 associated with religious worship should be strictly avoided in the theatre. 
 The many voices of the organ should always approximate the quality of 
 an orchestra, and only in particular cases remind you of the choir loft ! 
 Nevertheless, the study of textbooks on harmony, and principally on 
 modulation, is an invaluable help in understanding, and carrying on in- 
 dependently, the exposition that follows. 
 
 Even the quickest and most abrupt modulation that the turn of events, 
 as pictured on the screen, may necessitate, should be made to act as a 
 melodic (or thematically connecting) Hnk as well as a harmonic bridge. 
 No matter how short a motive maj^ be, it will always serve to emphasize 
 the organic nature of a modulation. It may either echo a theme that is 
 about to be discarded, or anticipate a new one that is to be introduced.
 
 TRANSITION AND MODULATION 15 
 
 Which method the player should follow depends somewhat on the picture, 
 namely whether the action is receding from a moment of intensity (in 
 which case the "intense" motive will be "reechoed") or whether it is 
 progressing to such a moment (in which case the "intense" motive will 
 act as a "foreboding"). These simple devices offer specimens of the 
 many "psychologic" possibihties of modulation in connection with the 
 proper use of motives and special themes. 
 
 In modulating from one key ("given key") to another ("prospective 
 key"), it may be found that the related keys (see above) of the prospec- 
 tive key are more easily reached than the prospective key itself. In such 
 cases the modulation will, of necessity, be a httle more circuitous; but 
 what it loses in directness, it will gain in musical effectiveness. It makes 
 the modulation more "convincing," if the prospective key is reached by 
 way of its relative minor key, or by way of its sub-dominant. The most 
 obvious method, and that which in all cases may be regarded as the safest 
 approach, is a modulation to the dominant of the prospective key. With the 
 seventh degree added to the tonic triad of the dominant key, the dominant- 
 seventh chord of the prospective key is estabhshed, and from it the modu- 
 lation will drop logically into the tonic triad of the prospective key. For ex- 
 
 ample, G being the dominant of C, the chord % ") ^ becomes ^ " 
 and leads into ^ " | . Therefore the player will do well to practice such 
 
 modulations at the keyboard, aiming to reach the (1) dominant, or (2) 
 subdominant, or (3) relative minor, or (4) parallel minor keys of the pro- 
 spective key. But such procedure, while of excellent musical effect, is 
 often lengthy and might prevent the player from following the speed of 
 pictured events. Hence, for purposes of instantaneous or quick modu- 
 lation, the following methods are recommended. 
 
 I. Modulation with the / unaltered (see Ex. la-IVa and Ib-IVb) 
 
 aid of pivotal note \ enharmonically changed (see Ex. V and VI). 
 
 II. Modulation with the r unchanged (see Ex. Vila, b, c) 
 
 aid of pivotal chord I chromatically altered (see Ex. Villa, b, c). 
 
 III. Modulation with the J in the "given key" so as to suggest, or 
 
 aid of motive altered \lead into the "prospective key" (see Ex. IX). 
 
 IV. Modulation with the aid of diminished-seventh chords (see Ex. X). 
 
 I. With regard to the first method, it becomes at once apparent that 
 the success of its employment depends largely upon the selection of the 
 proper tone as pivot. In the examples la-IVa, and Ib-IVb, the same
 
 16 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 modulations have been effected by the use of different pivotal notes, all of 
 which serve the purpose. By analyzing the examples the player will find 
 that the notes of the "given" chords wliich were ?iot used as pivots would 
 have probably proved less helpful to, if not actually prevented, a smooth 
 and convincing progression. 
 
 Pivotal note (*) unaltered: 
 Ex. la 
 
 NB. If a Bb is substituted for the B^, the modulation "tends" towards G minor, 
 and from there Eb major, Ab major or minor, etc. may be reached. 
 
 Ex. Ila 
 
 NB. With a CS instead of the Cl, the modulation will " tend " towards A major, 
 and from there to Ftt minor, etc. 
 
 Ex. Ilia 
 
 NB. With good effect, a DS could replace the Dtl, and the modulation would then 
 lead to B major, or from there to Gft minor and major, or F# major, etc. 
 
 Ex. IVa 
 
 NB. With a G^ and C^ in the chord, instead of the OS and Ctf, the modulation 
 leads to E minor, and from there to C major, or any other related and accessible key.
 
 TRANSITION AND MODULATION 
 
 17 
 
 Ex. lb 
 
 rf#=?=4— ^ 
 
 1 ] 
 
 s= 
 
 p==^ 
 
 5^ 
 
 
 --r- — 
 
 
 1 — ■] 
 
 to G 
 
 \^=^^ 
 
 
 !»-= 
 
 -fs=: ^ 
 
 ^==j 
 
 ■3-: 
 
 Ex. lib 
 
 Ex. Illb 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 ,.-i^ 
 
 f^ 
 
 f-^tir 
 
 3^= 
 
 1N 
 
 ^i 
 
 ^ 
 
 to B min.l 
 
 5g^4" — 
 
 ~^ 
 
 Ex. IVb' 
 
 Pivotal note (*) enharmonically changed . 
 Ex. V 
 
 Compare this modulation with Ex. Ill ! 
 Ex. VI 
 
 In this example two notes form the pivotal link, one of which is enharmonically 
 changed, the other remains unaltered.
 
 18 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 II. The success of the second method is dependent on a quick discern- 
 ment as to which of the notes in the "given" chord will point by either 
 suspension ^ or anticipation ^ to the "prospective" chord. The devices of 
 suspension and anticipation are most valuable aids in modulation, and, if 
 tastefully employed, will greatly enhance the music. And yet it may not 
 be out of place to say here a word against the abuse of "chromatically" 
 creeping modulations, which soon become cloying and lose the inherent 
 charm which they possess when used with moderation. 
 
 Pivotal chord, unchanged : 
 
 Ex. VII 
 
 a) 
 
 Pivotal chord, chromatically altered 
 
 Ex. VIII 
 
 a) . b) 
 
 1 A suspension is the name given to a discord formed by the holding over, or prolongation, 
 of a note from one chord to which it belongs into another to which it does not belong ; this 
 dissonant note is then resolved by rising or falling (usually the latter) one degree to the note 
 to which it would have proceeded directly had it not been held over. It is possible to hold 
 over more than one note from one chord to another, viz. two or three, etc., when the suspen- 
 sion is called double or triple, etc. 
 
 normal pinple fjpp. double stisp. triple supp. 
 
 ' An anticipation is the name given to a dissonant note introduced into one chord and 
 held over, as a consonant note, in the succeeding chord. Sometimes double and triple antici- 
 pations are employed. 
 
 normal single anticip. dou'ole antlclp. triple antlelp
 
 TRANSITION AND MODULATION 
 
 19 
 
 III. For practical purposes, the third of these methods is undoubtedly 
 one of the simplest and quickest. It is advisable to lead into the "transi- 
 tory recitative" (first measures of Ex. IX) without "straining" or altering 
 the tonahty, so that the "given" key is established before the transition 
 begins. But in cases of emergency, for which this method is invaluable, the 
 "transitory recitative" may be taken up almost at any point, so long as 
 the outUne of the motive, no matter how much it may be chromatically or 
 diatonically altered, remains sufficiently recognizable. The "transitory 
 recitative" is virtually the melody in a chain of modulating chords, in 
 which these chords have been omitted. If they are replaced, as in IXf 
 (which achieves the same modulation as IXe, where they are omitted) 
 it cannot be truthfully said that this replacement, heavy and "text- 
 bookish" as it sounds, adds anything to the modulation, in beauty or 
 effectiveness. On the contrary, it sounds involved and sluggish. 
 
 Modulatory recitative : 
 Ex. IX 
 
 IV. Any diminished-seventh chord, such as that given in Ex. X, in 
 all of its inversions, is a means of instantaneous modulation. In Ex. X 
 the same diminished-seventh chord, in its various inversions, is made to 
 serve as a modulatory Unk to the dominant-seventh chord of all the twelve 
 tonalities (major and minor) which are comprised in our present musical 
 system. That the dominant-seventh chord, in all twelve cases, is intro- 
 duced by the suspension of one of the notes in the chord, is not a matter of 
 accident; it cannot be stated too often that by the aid of suspensions 
 smoothness will be added to almost every modulation.
 
 20 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 Modulation with a diminished-seventh chord: 
 Ex. X 
 
 (orb) 
 
 (orM 
 
 The introduction of the diminished-seventh chord itself is a matter de- 
 manding but Uttle skill. For any one, though only just beginning to be 
 familiar with the art of improvisation, will quickly see how easily a 
 melodic phrase may be deflected into a chord of this nature. Ex. XI 
 will demonstrate this with the aid of our original theme. 
 
 Ex. XI
 
 TRANSPOSITION 21 
 
 As a matter of fact, both Ex. XIa and Xlb lead each into a different 
 diminished-seventh chord, the one reached at the conclusion of Xlb being 
 identical with the one from which Ex. X proceeds. The player will 
 notice that a very pleasing effect may be obtained by joining Ex. XIa 
 and b, and he will pay particular attention to the fact that from the close 
 of Ex. Xlb he may immediately go into the second measure of any one of 
 the twelve examples in Ex. X. This, and similar experiments, should 
 be repeatedly and diligently tried, for they are invaluable in giving 
 the player that musical resourcefulness of which the abiUty quickly 
 and effectively to modulate forms such an important part. It cannot 
 be too highly recommended to all students, seriously desiring to perfect 
 themselves in this field, that they combine with the absorption of the 
 hints, given above, a careful study of modulatory devices as presented 
 in text-books and, most of all, in the works of the masters. The piano 
 compositions of Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, and Cesar Franck will prove 
 an inexhaustible source of instruction and inspiration. Only by going 
 to works of art for the necessary model, may the player eventually hope 
 to shape his task into another expression of musical art, and so gain 
 the true purpose of his mission. In the selection of modulatory devices, 
 as in everything else, the player should carefully refrain from adhering 
 too closely or exclusively to one and the same form. Mannerisms and 
 bad habits are easily acquired. Variety is the principal aim that should 
 be sought. 
 
 e. Transposition 
 
 Another valuable source of help to the player is his abihty to transpose 
 any piece of music, theme or motive, into any key. Such faculty pre- 
 supposes a certain familiarity with harmony and with the principal types 
 of chords. To read at sight a composition in a key, different from that in 
 which it appears on the printed page, demands training and mental 
 alertness. If the player should try to transpose each note into the higher 
 or lower interval desired, as the piece progresses, he would find it slow work 
 and impossible to give an adequate performance of the piece. In order to 
 overcome this obstacle the player should learn to read melodies by giving 
 them a universal scale-appellation, not according to the actual pitch of 
 each note but to the degree which it represents in the scale of that particular 
 piece. In other words, he should give each of the seven degrees of the 
 scale its general scale-appellation, 
 
 do — re — mi — fa — sol — la — ti 
 
 so that the third degree of the scale, no matter in what key, will always be 
 mi, or the sixth degree always la. Thus, if he has learned to read the
 
 22 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 "Star-Spangled Banner" according to this method, he will read the be- 
 ginning as 
 
 n\j J J N i^iJ J J N 
 
 sol mi do ml sol do mi re do ml fat sol 
 
 and be able to transpose the melody, with its proper harmonies, into any 
 other key by simply adjusting the tonic do to the key desired. The melody 
 of our theme would read accordingly, in the original Key of C, 
 
 and tranepoiied 
 to the key of AP. 
 
 mi fa fat sal do mi re do fat mi fa fat Sol do mi re do fat 
 
 The symbol of -^ before the 3d and 9th notes of the melody simply 
 signifies that the notes are raised a semi-tone ; as is seen in the transposi- 
 tion, the raise is actually effected by a li, since the degree of fa in the 
 scale of Ab has a "flat." This leads to the remark that in transposition 
 from a key with sharps into a key with flats, the S becomes a tj, the x 
 becomes a ft, the ti becomes a b, the b becomes abb; and on the other 
 hand, in transposing from a key with flats into a key with sharps, the b 
 becomes a ti, the bb becomes a b, the ^ becomes a *f, and the ^ becomes a x. 
 One of the simpler transpositions is that in which the notes on the staff 
 remain the same, only the kej^ signature is altered, as for instance from G 
 to Gb, in which case the signature of one sharp turns into one of six flats. 
 In transposing from the key of Ab to that of A natural, the signature 
 changes from four flats to three sharps, and all accidentals are altered in 
 the way indicated above. 
 
 In order to verify and assimilate these rules, it will prove most helpful 
 to carry out a few transpositions on paper, first a semitone up and down, 
 with the notes remaining the same on the staff' and only a change in acci- 
 dentals taking place, later choosing larger intervals of transposition, at 
 which to raise or lower the key, in which instances the notes on the staff 
 also will change. However, all intervals of the original remain relatively 
 the same in the transposed key, and by reading intervals instead of notes, 
 that is, by adopting the substitution of general scale degrees {do — re — mi 
 etc.) for the actual notes played, this transposition may be effected with 
 ease and a measure of surety that depends only on the greater or lesser 
 experience of the player. 
 
 f. Improvisation 
 
 The talent for musical improvisation is closely linked with that of musical 
 composition. As a rule, great composers, and among them particularly 
 those who excelled as organists — such as Bach, Mendelssohn, and Franck 
 — possessed that gift to a supreme degree. Hence, the acquisition of a 
 certain faciUty in improvising is equivalent to a study of the principles 
 involved in composition, added to keyboard proficiency.
 
 IMPROVISATION 23 
 
 Since the study of composition presupposes familiarity with the rules of 
 harmony, a book hke " Keyboard Harmony, " by Uselma C. Smith, does not 
 only impart the necessary knowledge, but presents it at once in a manner 
 which makes it applicable to the practical use of the student. The first 
 thing to learn is the nature of the various scales, intervals and chords; 
 next, the proper joining of chords ; finally the arrangement of chords in 
 musical cadences and phrases. 
 
 To improvise at the keyboard, means to let one's natural musical 
 fancy dictate to the fingers, while one's acquired critical faculty constantly 
 directs and supervises the result of that dictation. It may also be called 
 "hstening to an inner voice," which voice need not always be essentially 
 original, but will often, and certainly at first, reecho with a slightly differ- 
 ent inflection outer voices that the player has heard before and now vaguely 
 remembers. 
 
 In order to awaken a tendency for improvisation, you should try to 
 SING a short melody of not more than eight measures, or eight accented 
 beats, and see that the melody you sing does not actually resemble some 
 other tune that you know. In doing this you will have made the first 
 step on the road to improvisation. Be sure to REMEMBER the melody 
 that you have thus created, by singing it over and by listening carefully 
 to it until you have firmly settled it in your mind. Then ascertain the 
 rhythm of your melody, and see whether it is in common time, in f time 
 or in some other rhythm. When you have done this, you should try to 
 reahze the position of the melody's first note in the scale {i.e. whether the 
 melody begins with mi, sol, do, or any other degree of the scale), locate 
 the pitch of the melody on the piano or organ to correspond to that in 
 which you have been singing it, and then PLAY your melody on the key- 
 board. Let us take as an example an obvious melody, that might begin 
 as f oUows : 
 
 You will see that the musical phrase (I) is built on a motive (1) which corre- 
 sponds to a rhythm of two eighth notes followed by a quarter note. This 
 rhythmical motive is repeated, or answered, by the identical rhythm but 
 with different notes, for simple reasons of symmetry (one of the funda- 
 mental principles in musical composition), thus forming one half of the 
 first phrase ; the next half contains as many notes as the first, but they 
 are rhythmically grouped in a different order. Phrase (II) follows the 
 rhythmic scheme of (I). Let us assume the melody continues in the fol- 
 lowing way :
 
 24 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 In the third phrase we encounter the rhythmic motive of the beginning 
 reversed, i.e., one quarter note followed by two eighth notes, then answered 
 by its original form, the whole constituting one half of the phrase ; the 
 second half is rhythmically identical with the first half. In the fourth 
 phrase, the first half is a rhythmic repetition of the melody's very begin- 
 ning, and the conclusion of the phrase, being also the end of the melody, 
 imitates rhythmically the conclusions of the first and second phrase, but 
 comes to a stronger and more decided stop on the third beat of the meas- 
 ure (instead of on the fourth). 
 
 Thus we have analyzed the rhji:hmical skeleton of the melody. That 
 it is composed of four groups of two measures each is not a matter of 
 accident. As a rule, and the exceptions need not find consideration here, 
 musical phrases are built up by hnking groups of two measures into sen- 
 tences of four measures, or any multiples thereof. 
 
 Let us now consider the melodic outline of our tune. The first three 
 notes, forming our rhythmic motive, are ascending step by step ; they are 
 answered by a descending figure which starts one tone higher than the 
 first motive ends, but descends to the same note with which the measure 
 began. This first measure in turn is answered by a figure which follows 
 the same melodic curve of ascent and descent, but is rhythmically varied. 
 The tliird measure starts in imitating the first, but reaches higher in its 
 second half, and is followed by a measure that brings the two phrases to a 
 half-close. The fifth measure estabhshes a new melodic pattern by 
 making a bold descent, stepwise, from the first to the last note of the 
 measure ; this pattern is repeated in the sixth measure. The seventh 
 measure imitates the melodic curve of the very beginning, as does the 
 eighth measure, only that this drops to the lowest tone of the whole 
 melody and then settles in the final note. 
 
 The next step for the student is to try to hear the harmonic basis that 
 underhes the melody. He may experiment at the kej'board with the 
 chords that his harmonic knowledge place at his command, and he may 
 achieve only the most primitive results such as shown in Ex. (1). 
 
 Ex. (1)
 
 IMPROVISATION 
 
 25 
 
 If his harmonic knowledge and his inner ear enable him to detect and hear 
 a more varied harmonic treatment, he may play the melody as presented 
 in Ex. (2) and (3). 
 
 Ex. (2) 
 
 Ex. (3) 
 
 Allegretto
 
 26 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 It should be stated that the four-part harmonization of Ex. (2), while 
 harmonically more interesting and aesthetically more pleasing than Ex. 
 (1), is nevertheless too much after the "text-book" fashion, and therefore 
 far removed from what the picture organist should strive for. The treat- 
 ment of the accompaniment in Ex. (3) is more in the style of what the player 
 should always hold before him as his goal, an expressive melody, un- 
 encumbered by middle voices, and simply seconded by chords that form a 
 proper harmonic sequence, broken up, or figurated, in an appropriate 
 manner. It would lead too far to present here all the problems that the 
 player will meet with in improvising. But let it be clearly understood that 
 this improvisation should not be a more or less dexterous finger play. The 
 fingers should always be the interpreters of a song, or inner voice, that the 
 player develops and carries in his mind. Only thereby can he hope to 
 impart to his melodies their chief quality, which is expressiveness. He will 
 naturally hear every tune in a certain harmonic garb, and to disclose 
 this, as well as the tune itself, he must exercise his harmonic sense. 
 For the carrying on, and thematic development, of a melody, a very 
 excellent practical guide may be found in a little work on "Extempori- 
 zation" by Dr. Frank J. Sawyer. The methods of improvisation will 
 thereby become easily understood, and the student will be enabled to work 
 the problems out for himself with a reasonable degree of suretj'. As a 
 further practical help, no book could be recommended more strongly than 
 Edmondstoune Duncan's "Melodies and How to Harmonize Them," which 
 has the inestimable advantage of possessing a key by the same author, and 
 published separately, which will supply the student with an answer to all 
 the exercises, should he find difficulties in solving them. 
 
 With these remarks we bring to a close the general recommendations 
 that every player for the pictures should bear in mind. Mental alertness 
 and musical resourcefulness will enable any one who is gifted with sufficient 
 technique to give a most adequate musical interpretation of the pictured 
 scene. With a certain facility in improvisation and a sense of dramatic 
 values, the player may even hope to accomplish more than that, and really 
 give the spectator that most illusive of all experiences, a thrill ! 
 
 3. Repertoire 
 
 The following list, without attempting to be exhaustive, will furnish 
 the player with enough suggestions to make his repertoire a large and 
 varied one. It cannot be emphasized too strongly, that constant and 
 diligent search for new material is all-important. With the study of the 
 classification given herewith, the player will learn to distinguish musical 
 moods and will gain surety in selecting the proper material for each scene 
 that he may encounter.
 
 
 REPERTOIRE 
 
 2 
 
 
 NATURE 
 
 
 Bull. . . . 
 
 . Melody 
 
 Friml . 
 
 . . . Iris 
 
 Carvel . . . 
 
 . Daffodils 
 
 Friml . 
 
 . . . Cherry Blossoms 
 
 Clough-Leighter 
 
 In the Woodland 
 
 Friml . 
 
 . . . Woodland Echoes 
 
 Grieg . . . 
 
 Morning Mood 
 
 Lind 
 
 . . . Evensong 
 
 Meyer- Helmund 
 
 In the Moonlight 
 
 Marshal-Loepke Falling Snow 
 
 Nevin . . . 
 
 Country Dance 
 
 Moter . 
 
 . . . In the Country 
 
 Nevin . . . 
 
 Song of the Brook 
 
 Orth . 
 
 . . . By the Ocean 
 
 Nolek . . . 
 
 Dancing Butterflies 
 
 Palmgren 
 
 . . . May-night 
 
 Saint-Saens . 
 
 . The Swan 
 
 Davis . 
 
 . . . Pastorale 
 
 Seeboeck . . 
 
 The Hunt 
 
 Chaffin . 
 
 . . . In Springtime 
 
 Shackley . . 
 
 Song of the Brook 
 
 Boisdeflfre 
 
 . . . By the Brook 
 
 Whelpley . . 
 
 Song of the Fountain 
 
 Coerne . 
 
 . . . Twittering Birds 
 
 Whelpley . . 
 
 At Evening 
 
 Backer-Grondahl Summer Song 
 
 Helm . . . 
 
 Sylvan Sketches 
 
 Bohm . 
 
 . . . Murmuring Brook 
 
 
 LOVE THEMES 
 
 
 Bernheimer . 
 
 Romance 
 
 Whelpley 
 
 . . . Album-leaf 
 
 Cadman . . 
 
 Melody 
 
 Sturgis . 
 
 . . . Meditation 
 
 Martel . . . 
 
 Angelica 
 
 Hurst . 
 
 . . . Melodic d'Amour 
 
 Elgar . . . 
 
 Salut d'Amour 
 
 Grieg . 
 
 . . I Love Thee 
 
 Gael . . . 
 
 Voice of the Heart 
 
 Liszt 
 
 . . Love Dreams 
 
 Nevin . 
 
 Love Song 
 
 Mitchell . 
 
 . . There was a Star 
 
 Svendsen . . . 
 
 Romance 
 
 Bohm . 
 
 . . Cavatina 
 
 Quinn . . . 
 
 Souvenir de Venise 
 
 Friml . . 
 
 . . Melodie 
 
 
 LIGHT, GRACEFUL MC 
 
 >ODS 
 
 Adam . . . 
 
 Liselotte 
 
 Nesvera 
 
 . . . Butterflies 
 
 Berger . . . 
 
 Capriccietto 
 
 Chaminad( 
 
 5 . . Libellules 
 
 Seeboeck . . 
 
 Le Dauphin 
 
 DeUbes 
 
 . . . Pizzicati, "Sylvia" 
 
 Fomin . . . 
 
 Lydia 
 
 Gillet . 
 
 . . . Babillage 
 
 Hellmesberger 
 
 Entr'acte Valse 
 
 Grieg . 
 
 . . . Anitra's Dance 
 
 Huerter . . 
 
 Caprice 
 
 Gabriel-M 
 
 arie . La Cinquantaine 
 
 Sanford . . 
 
 Bluette 
 
 Moszkows 
 
 d . . Canzonetta 
 
 
 ELEGIAC MOODS 
 
 
 Bernheimer . 
 
 . Elegy 
 
 Huerter 
 
 . . . Yesterdays 
 
 Debussy . . 
 
 . Reverie 
 
 Huerter 
 
 . . . Told at Twilight 
 
 Mouton . . 
 
 . Enchanted Hour 
 
 Friml . 
 
 . . . Adieu 
 
 Nevin . . . 
 
 . Romance 
 
 Wagner 
 
 . . . Dreams 
 
 Palmgren . . 
 
 . The Swan 
 
 St. Quenti 
 
 a . . Love's Meditation 
 
 Seeboeck . . 
 
 . Angelus 
 
 Rflff . . 
 
 . . . Cavatina 
 
 Szalit . . . 
 
 . Intermezzo 
 
 Wolstenho 
 
 Im . . The Answer 
 
 Wagner- liszt . 
 
 . To the Evening Star 
 
 Rubinstein 
 
 i-Liszt The Asra
 
 28 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 Cui . . 
 Whelpley 
 Hopekirk 
 Enesco . 
 Halvorsen 
 
 Nevin . . 
 Wagner 
 
 Wagner 
 
 Meyerbeer 
 
 IMPRESSIVE MOODS 
 
 Prelude in Ab 
 
 Wagner 
 
 PVelude 
 
 
 Sarabande 
 
 Wagner 
 
 Adagio 
 
 
 Triumphal Entry of 
 
 Meyerbeer 
 
 the Boyars 
 
 Handel . . 
 
 FESTIVE 
 
 MOODS 
 
 Tournament 
 
 Verdi . . 
 
 March from "Tann- 
 
 Berlioz . . 
 
 hauser" 
 
 Gounod 
 
 IntroductiontoThird 
 
 Gounod 
 
 Act, "Lohengrin" 
 
 de Koven . 
 
 Processional March, 
 
 Chopin 
 
 "The Prophet" 
 
 Ketterer . 
 
 King's Prayer, from 
 "Lohengrin" 
 
 "Parsifal" Selec- 
 tions 
 
 Torch Dance 
 
 Largo 
 
 March from "Aida" 
 Hungarian March 
 Marche fanfare 
 Marche pontificate 
 Wedding March 
 Polonaise militaire 
 Caprice militaire 
 
 EXOTIC MOODS 
 
 Oswald . . . 
 
 Serenade Grise 
 
 Puccini . . 
 
 Madama Butterfly 
 
 Adam . . . 
 
 The Bim-Bims 
 
 Tschaikowsky 
 
 Danse Arabe (" Nut- 
 
 Albeniz . . 
 
 Tango (Spanish) 
 
 
 cracker" Suite) 
 
 Albeniz . . 
 
 Nochecita 
 
 Tsehaikowsky 
 
 Marche Slave 
 
 Manzanares . 
 
 Oriental 
 
 Farwell . . 
 
 American Indian 
 
 Luzatti . . 
 
 Venetian Serenade 
 
 
 Melodies 
 
 Boreh . . . 
 
 From Russia 
 
 Gottschalk 
 
 Bamboula 
 
 Grunn . . . 
 
 Zuiii Impressions 
 
 Loomis . . . 
 
 Ljrrics of the Red- 
 
 Peterkin . . 
 
 Dreamer's Tales 
 
 
 man 
 
 Saint-Saens . 
 
 Ballet from "Sam- 
 
 Luigini . . . 
 
 Ballet Egyptien 
 
 
 son and Delilah" 
 
 Rimsky-Korsako 
 
 f Chant Hindou 
 
 (See also page 42) 
 
 
 
 COMEDY 
 
 
 d'Ambrosio 
 
 . En badinant (Chat- 
 
 Huerter 
 
 . . The Juggler Come- 
 
 
 terbox) 
 
 
 
 dian 
 
 Clarke . . 
 
 A Day in Paris 
 
 
 Adam . 
 
 . . Lancelot 
 
 Michel . . 
 
 Ninette 
 
 
 Bohm . 
 
 . . Harlequin Polka 
 
 Monroe 
 
 . The Gobbler 
 
 
 Chad^vick 
 
 . . The Frogs 
 
 Waehs . . 
 
 . Nadia 
 
 
 Lack 
 
 . . Pizzicato, Bluette 
 
 Huerter 
 
 . With Xylophom 
 
 5 and 
 
 Dumas . 
 
 . . On the Hike 
 
 
 BeUs 
 
 
 VoUenhove 
 
 n . . The Rabbit 
 
 (See also page 37)
 
 REPERTOIRE 
 
 29 
 
 SPEED (Hurries) 
 
 Argus . 
 Barnby 
 Wachs . 
 Musil . 
 Chopin . 
 Bach 
 Wagner 
 
 Butterfly Chase 
 Will o' the Wisp 
 A travers I'espace 
 Frolic 
 "Minute" Waltz 
 
 Alkan . . . 
 Bohm . . . 
 GiUet . . . 
 Schubert-Heller 
 Delibes . . . 
 
 Little Fugue, Gm. Bossi 
 Ride of the Valkyries Noble . 
 
 The Wind 
 Glissando Mazurka 
 The Humming Top 
 Erlking 
 Passepied 
 Scherzo, Gm. 
 
 . Morris Dance 
 
 NEUTRAL MUSIC 
 
 Chaminade 
 
 . . Air de Ballet 
 
 Godard 
 
 . . Berceuse from 
 
 Densmore . 
 
 . Gardenia 
 
 
 ' ' Jocely n ' ' 
 
 Martel . . 
 
 . . Five Silhouettes 
 
 Godard 
 
 . . Mazurkas (1-4) 
 
 Grieg . . 
 
 . Lyric Pieces 
 
 Heller . . 
 
 . . 11 penseroso 
 
 Mendelssohn 
 
 . Songs without Words 
 
 MacDowell 
 
 . . Idyls 
 
 Liszt 
 
 . Consolations 
 
 Moszkowski 
 
 . . Serenata 
 
 Henselt 
 
 . Spring Song 
 
 Schubert . 
 
 . Moments musicaux 
 
 Henselt 
 
 . Were I a Bird 
 
 Wilm . . 
 
 . Short Pieces, Op. 12 
 
 Friml . . 
 
 . Chant sans Paroles 
 
 Tarenghi . . 
 
 Serenata 
 
 GiUet . . 
 
 . Sweet Caress 
 
 Karganoff . . 
 
 . Menuetto all'antico 
 
 
 WALTZES 
 
 
 Baynes . . 
 
 . Destiny 
 
 Duval . . 
 
 . Viennoise 
 
 Danglas . 
 
 . On the Wings of 
 
 Martel . . 
 
 . Fleur-de-lis 
 
 
 Dream 
 
 Delibes . . 
 
 . Naila 
 
 STANDARD OVERTURES 
 
 N. B. — Most of these overtures contain brilliant and lively passages which will 
 fit scenes in the wild West, hurries, chases, fights, and mob scenes, etc. ; many of 
 them also contain slow movements which wiU prove useful as love themes, etc. 
 
 Rossini . . 
 
 . . WiUiam Tell 
 
 Herold . 
 
 Zampa 
 
 Rossini . . 
 
 . . The Italians in Al- 
 
 Kela-Bela 
 
 . . Hungarian Comedy 
 
 
 geria (especially 
 
 Strauss . 
 
 . . The Bat 
 
 
 for detective sto- 
 
 Mendelssohn . . Midsummer Night's 
 
 
 ries) 
 
 
 Dream 
 
 Nicolai . . 
 
 . . Merry Wives of 
 
 HoUins . 
 
 . . Concert Overture, in 
 
 
 Windsor (espe- 
 
 
 C minor 
 
 
 cially for fairy 
 
 Weber . 
 
 . Oberon 
 
 
 stories, etc.) 
 
 Weber . 
 
 . . Freischiitz 
 
 Suppe . . 
 
 . Light Cavalry 
 
 Weber . 
 
 . Euryanthe 
 
 Suppe . . 
 
 . Jolly Robbers 
 
 Mozart . 
 
 . . Magic Flute 
 
 Suppe . 
 
 . . Poet and Peasant 
 
 Mozart . 
 
 . . Figaro's Wedding 
 
 Boieldieu . 
 
 . Caliph of Bagdad 
 
 Beethoven 
 
 Egmont 
 
 Thomas 
 
 . Raymond 
 
 Beethoven 
 
 . . Coriolanus
 
 30 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 SPECIAL CHARACTERS AND SITUATIONS 
 
 Tragedy 
 
 a. Impending : 
 
 b. Aftermath : 
 Death 
 
 Tschaikowsky 1st movement from Symphonie Pathetique 
 
 Beethoven . 1st movement from Sonata Pathetique 
 
 Rachmaninof I*relude, CS minor 
 
 Beethoven . 2d movement from Sonata Pathetique 
 
 Massenet . . Elegie 
 
 Tschaikowsky 3d movement from Symphonie Pathetique 
 
 Chopin . . Funeral March 
 
 Beethoven . Funeral March 
 
 Mendelssohn . Funeral March 
 
 (N. B. — In the presence of actual death, observe silence!) 
 
 Battle Scenes 
 Storm Scenes 
 
 Tschaikowsky Overture " 1812" 
 
 Tschaikowsky Last movement from Symphony No. 6 
 
 Rossini . . . William Tell 
 
 Rachmaninof Middle section from Prelude, Ctf minor 
 
 Beethoven . 1st movement from "Moonlight Sonata" 
 
 Villanotis Characters 
 
 a. Robbers (In Drama) 
 Robbers (In Comedy) 
 
 b. Sinister villain 
 
 c. Roue or vampire 
 
 d. Revengeful \'illain 
 
 Bizet . . Smugglers' Chorus from " Carmen " 
 Grieg . . In the Hall of the Mountain King 
 Gounod. . Music of Mephistopheles in " Faust " 
 Puccini . . Music of Scarpia in "Tosca" 
 Leoncavallo Introduction and finale from "Pa- 
 ghacci" 
 
 Youthful Characters 
 
 Old Age 
 
 Mendelssohn . Spring Song 
 
 Grieg . Spring Song 
 
 Grieg . Butterflies 
 
 Nevin . . . Mighty Lak a Rose 
 
 Orth . . . What the Old Oak Said 
 
 Danks . . . Silver Threads Among the Gold 
 
 Hopekirk . . Sundown
 
 PART II 
 MUSICAL INTERPRETATION 
 
 1. The Feature Film 
 
 Perhaps the best way of indicating a safe procedure in the musical 
 interpretation of a feature fihn, is to single out one photo-play, and to 
 suggest a musical garb that will fittingly clothe it with strains such as 
 will bring out in bolder relief the plastic curves of the story. All of the 
 motion picture concerns issue for each of the pictures which they release a 
 synopsis that enumerates the various characters of the cast and gives an 
 outUne of the story. This synopsis should be carefully studied and should 
 enable the player to select music descriptive of the various situations and 
 emotions portrayed. 
 
 Let us take as an illustration "The Rose of the World" with Elsie 
 Ferguson.^ The opening scenes are laid in India, at a British Army Station. 
 This will immediately suggest the necessity of preparing certain strains 
 of music characteristic of the Orient ; also of martial music in scenes 
 depicting the soldier life. The story is as follows. Captain S. is married 
 to a 16-year old girl named Rose, who is very beautiful, but as yet has not 
 awakened to a realization of life and love. (1. Main love theme, intensely 
 emotional.) The Captain is about to depart with his troops on a military 
 expedition against rebellious natives. The film shows his leave-taking 
 from the young wife ; he tells her that if he returns alive he will teach her 
 what love really means. The troops are seen departing in the distance, 
 with the Captain in command, to the sound of Scottish bagpipes. (2. 
 Hindu motive interwoven with military march and imitation of bagpipes.) 
 The troops disappear, and Rose suddenly realizes her loss ; she wildly 
 longs for her husband. (3. Main love theme repeated, with softer regis- 
 tration and rhythmically more agitated accompaniment.) In the next 
 scene, the return of the troops is shown. (4. Same musical treatment as 
 No. 2, going from faint to loud, and leading directly into 5. Introduction 
 of Overture to the opera "William Tell.") Rose looks in vain for her 
 husband ; the officers tactfully inform her that she is left a widow and hand 
 
 * By kind permission of The Famous Players-Lasky Corporation. 
 31
 
 32 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 her a box of letters, the only thing that they are bringing back to remind 
 her of her husband. (6. Main love theme in the minor mode, suggestive of 
 grief and despair.) The next picture picks up events several years later, 
 when Rose, belie\'ing herself a widow, has married the Viceroy of India, 
 and a grand ball is held to celebrate the occasion. (7. Brilliant waltz 
 music.) Lieut. R., a comrade of the late Captain S., appears and asks for 
 permission to write the biography of his dead friend. (8. "Somewhere a 
 voice is calling.") His request is granted. Rose's niece, a young school 
 girl of "sentimental" age, falls in love with Lieut. R., and consequently is 
 jealous of Rose, whose collaboration in the biography of her husband 
 brings her much in contact with Lieut. R. The mischievous niece places 
 a picture of the late Captain S. on the piano and begins to play and sing, 
 (9. Imitate school girl trying to play Grieg's "I love you.") The niece's 
 kitten helps in the performance by prowling leisurely over the keyboard. 
 (10. Imitate kitten skipping up and down the keys.) Rose, exasperated, 
 snatches the Captain's photo from the piano and rushes from the room. 
 (IL Agitated strain based on the main love motive.) The biography has 
 reached its closing chapter and Lieut. R. demands to see the box containing 
 the late Captain's letters in order to make the story of the last moments 
 complete. Rose feels that these letters are too sacred for the eyes of the 
 outside world. (12. Massenet's " Elegie," leading into an agitated strain). 
 Her husband, the Viceroy, without regard for the delicate feelings of Rose, 
 demands that she surrender the letters in order to help Lieut. R. in his 
 task. Rose reahzes how repulsive her present husband is to her and how 
 much she still loves her lost hero. (13. Suggest the inner struggle of Rose 
 by treating main love motive in minor mode and breaking it up in short phrases 
 which successively rise in pitch, and finally lead into a calmer transition.) 
 The Viceroy has left Rose's boudoir ; she gets out the box of letters and 
 tries to read some of them ; her emotion overcomes her and she faints. 
 (14. Kevin's "The Rosary" ; endeavor to make the climax of the song syn- 
 chronize with the moment at which Rose faints.) Her health gradually fails 
 and they decide to send her to England to recuperate. (15. Suggestion 
 of the Hindu theme leading into "Home, Sweet Home. ") Then follow scenes 
 on the ocean liner and of the sea- voyage. (16. "Sailor, beware.") Rose 
 returns to England, to the home of her first husband. (17. "/ hear you 
 calling me.") There she feels nearer to him in spirit, and spends much 
 time in reading over his letters. (18. Main love theme, with vibrato effects 
 in the treble, and echo registration on the organ.) She reads of the siege, 
 the battle scenes, and his approaching death by thirst and starvation. 
 (19. Suggestion of Hindu music, agitated strains depicting the battle, leading 
 into a tremendous climax.) Suddenly the Viceroy and his Hindu secretary 
 appear in the room. Her husband chides her, and becomes more loath- 
 some in her eyes, the quarrel ending in a violent scene at the dinner table.
 
 THE FEATURE FILM 33 
 
 (20. Snatches of the waltz, played for her wedding ball, suggested in a distorted 
 and agitated manner, leading to a brutal outburst which accompanies the final 
 confession of Rose, at the dinner table, that she loathes the Viceroy and belongs 
 only to her first love.) Rose rushes from the table and seeks to seclude 
 herself in her own rooms. (21. Suggest '^Somewhere a voice is calling.") 
 In the night a terrible storm comes up. (22. Storm music from Overture 
 to "William Tell.") Rose, in a frenzy, begs her Hindu maid to try an 
 incantation that will bring back the spirit of Capt. S. (23. Over a low 
 rumbling in the bass, suggestive of the continued storm, the weird chant of the 
 Hindu woman rises in the treble; this leads in a big crescendo to the climax.) 
 At the height of the storm and incantation, Capt. S. bursts into the room ; 
 he had escaped from the native prison, where he had been held a captive 
 for three years, had managed to disguise himself as a Hindu and to find 
 employment as the Viceroy's secretary. He had been watching to see if 
 his wife still loved him. (24. Main love theme.) At the sight of the man 
 whom she believed dead, Rose loses consciousness. Awakening the next 
 morning, she finds her lover at her side ; they are reunited, to five happily 
 ever after. (25. Apotheosis of main love theme.) 
 
 Even this short exposition, briefly outlining the story, will show the 
 variety of music required, and the manifold treatment which it needs, to 
 depict grapliically the emotions that animate each scene. Perhaps one of 
 the most difficult things for the beginner to learn, is the joining together of 
 musical motives and strains, as enumerated in the above example. It is 
 here that musical taste and the ability to improvise will prove most 
 valuable. Most of the emotions that come into play in the story just told 
 are covered by the thematic variations demonstrated in an earlier chapter 
 with the aid of our theme A. Thus, for instance, the music for number 6 
 would be treated similarly to our Ex. B. The music for No. 11 might be 
 treated after the fashion of Ex. C. No. 13 might be dealt with according 
 to Ex. E. For No. 18, Ex. F might serve as a model, by either using 
 broken chords in the treble (as is the case in the example) or supplying the 
 harmony by a vibrato in the treble. Ex. I might suggest the proper treat- 
 ment for the return of the love theme at No. 24. For the apotheosis, or 
 finale, at No. 25, Ex. A should be played with full organ, with rich and 
 effective registration. 
 
 What has been said, under the general recommendations, regarding the 
 necessity of varying constantly the time and key of the accompanying 
 music, in order to avoid monotony, should naturally be borne in mind 
 throughout the musical illustration of the feature film. The transition 
 from one strain to another should be made with the aid of effective 
 modulation, according to the principles laid down in an earlier para- 
 graph. Variety of registration must add color to the music. The player
 
 34 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 should follow the story closely, and keep his eyes on the film as much as 
 possible. 
 
 Experience will teach the player that for a great many occasions he will 
 require what, for want of a better term, might be called "neutral" music. 
 Thereby is meant music of no particular character, which forms a suitable 
 accompaniment for scenes that do not call for special musical illustration. 
 The type of music that will best serve this purpose is pleasant salon music, 
 or some of the shorter preludes by Chopin, or some of the little piano pieces 
 by Grieg. "Neutral" music should never last too long, as it is only a 
 makeshift and a stop-gap. 
 
 2. "Flash-backs" 
 
 A peculiar feature of many fibns is the introduction of flash-backs. 
 Thereby is meant the momentary interruption of the pictured story to give 
 in a pictorial "flash" the thought of one of the actors, or to illustrate his 
 words, or again to remind the audience of a secondary action which is 
 supposed to go on at the same time in a different place. 
 
 Thus, for instance, a man, driven to despair, may be contemplating sui- 
 cide. His emotional tension is illustrated in the music by gloomy or 
 tragic accents. The man is about to shoot himself, when in his mind he 
 suddenly sees the home of his childhood with his young orphan sister 
 left to the mercies of this world, if he should destroy himself. The screen 
 shows the old homestead, the sister in her sunbonnet picking flowers in 
 the quaint and pretty garden. Nothing could be farther removed from 
 the horror of the actual situation, than this picture of calm, of innocence 
 and happiness. It fades as abruptly as it sprang up. But the thought 
 of the consequences of his action have suddenly brought the man to 
 realize the cowardice of his plan; he is determined to "stick it out" hke 
 a man. Now, it would be a mistake to interrupt the musical tension of the 
 scene by introducing a few bars of "Garden music" while the girl is shown 
 with her flowers; it would cut short the dramatic progress and foil the 
 building up of a climax which comes when the man resolves to live, and 
 throws away his gun. Therefore the music should not change its character 
 during the flash-back, but it should be very much subdued and be instantly 
 softened to a mere whisper while the flash-back is shown, to burst out 
 inmiediately into normal loudness when the flash-back vanishes. 
 
 Another situation in which a flash-back may be employed is the follow- 
 ing. An actor may read, or relate to some one else, the account of some- 
 thing that has happened to himself or another person. To make this plain 
 to the audience, the incident itself is often shown in the form of a flash- 
 back. An escaped prisoner of war, standing before his own superiors,
 
 ANIMATED CARTOONS AND SLAP-STICK COMEDY 35 
 
 may tell how he killed the enemy guard in order to make his escape, and the 
 actual kilUng of the guard may be recalled to the audience by showing a 
 short phase of the struggle during the telling of the story. The music which 
 accompanies the actual scene need not be changed for the moment during 
 which the flash-back lasts ; but in order to emphasize the dramatic tension 
 of the incident, the speed and dynamic intensity of the music played should 
 be heightened during the flash-back. In other words, a piece of moderate 
 tempo and moderate loudness played for the scene in which the man appears 
 before the officers, should be played with greater loudness and greater speed 
 while the flash-back lasts, to return instantly to "normal," when the flash- 
 back vanishes. 
 
 An instance where perhaps an actual change of music might accompany 
 a flash-back, would be the following. The villain is about to batter in the 
 door of the room in which the heroine is hiding. His brutal efforts and the 
 girl's frenzy are musically depicted by strains of highest emotional and 
 dramatic tension. Meanwhile the hero is furiously riding from a distance, 
 on horseback or by automobile, in order to effect the rescue. During the 
 progress of the main scene, flash-backs are shown of the hero's wild ride. 
 In such an instance it may be admissible to accompany these flash-backs by 
 fast runs on the key-board, with a soft organ registration, increasing in 
 loudness each time that the rider is shown approaching nearer to his goal. 
 When the hero bursts upon the scene, overwhelms the villain and rescues 
 the girl, the climax is reached with a flourish of notes leading into an exalted 
 rendition of the main love theme. 
 
 As will be seen by the above, the handling of flash-backs requires a 
 technique of its own ; practice will develop it quickly if the underlying 
 principles are correctly understood. These principles are : in most cases 
 not to disrupt the continuity of the music while the flash-back lasts, but to 
 change the intensity by playing the music, characteristic of the main action, 
 in a dynamic degree of loudness or softness which befits the secondary 
 action. In a few cases the speed of the music may be changed to advantage, 
 and in rare instances only the flash-back will demand a musical treatment 
 radically differing from that which accompanies the main action. It 
 may be added here that indiscriminately used flash-backs are becoming 
 more and more rare in well-produced pictures, but they are still plentiful 
 in the cheaper films. Flash-backs occur mostly in feature-films, the treat- 
 ment of which has been described in the preceding chapter. 
 
 3. Animated Cartoons and Slap-Stick Comedy 
 
 Many a player, who is otherwise admirably fitted to give a musical 
 interpretation of moving pictures, falls down on the animated cartoons 
 and burlesque films. This is due to an absence of the all-important
 
 36 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 sense of humor, or "comedy touch", which is needed in every-day Ufe 
 as much as in this particular branch of the movie entertainment. Sense 
 of humor is a gift of the gods, but they will not withhold it from any one 
 who seriously tries to acquire it. The player should learn to recognize, 
 and be able personally to enjoy, the fun of the comic situations depicted 
 on the screen. Nothing is more calamitous than to see "Mutt and Jeff" 
 disport themselves in their inimitable antics and to have a "Brother 
 Gloom" at the organ who gives vent to his perennial grouch in sadly senti- 
 mental or funereal strains. A cheerful aspect of things, the faculty to 
 laugh with and at the world, are indispensable. In no part of the pictures 
 should the attention of the player be riveted more firmly on the screen 
 than here. If the "point" of the joke be missed, if the player lag behind 
 with his effect, all will be lost, and the audience cheated out of its rightful 
 share of joy. Nor does it suffice, as seems to be the idea of certain picture- 
 players, to be armed with one Uvely tune that must serve all cartoons, 
 comedies and jokes, invariably and indiscriminately. In the cartoons and 
 in the comedies all sorts of other emotions, besides that of plain hilarity, 
 may come into play ; there may be sorrow, doubt, horror and even death ; 
 only all these emotions lack the quaUty of truth, and they must be ex- 
 pressed as "mock" sorrow and grief, "mock" doubt and death. This is 
 very different from reaUty and should therefore be treated differently in 
 the music. Take as a glaring example the funeral march of Chopin, with 
 its subUme note of tragedy and bereavement, and the exquisite "Funeral 
 March for a Marionette" by Gounod, with its suggestion of fine per- 
 siflage. This method, apphed to the most serious situation, can naturally 
 be adapted to any other emotion that the player may encounter in a legiti- 
 mate picture drama and that he will have to "caricature" for the picture 
 farce. 
 
 Nowhere does success, the "getting across" of a picture, depend so much 
 on special effects as it does here. It may be stated candidly that these 
 effects, and the best among them, are not always purely musical. As will 
 be pointed out in the chapter on "Special Effects," a battery of traps and 
 other accessories are really needed to emphasize in a comic manner the 
 action on the screen. It is often noise, more than music, that is wanted, 
 to arouse the hilarity of the audience; and the noise again may be of 
 various kinds. It should always be broadly imitative when accompanying 
 a fall, a hit, a slide, a whirl or flight through the air, a brawl, the whistle 
 of an engine, the chirping of a bird, the mewing of a cat, or the barking of 
 a dog. In the last analysis it takes very little to make a crowd laugh ; only 
 the fuse to its magazine of laughter must be ignited with a live spark. 
 Experience, here as in everything else, will prove the best teacher, and the 
 player will soon find out what effects work best and produce the surest 
 results.
 
 THE COMEDY DRAMA 37 
 
 This part of the show is admirably adapted to the introduction of all 
 sorts of popular songs and dances. The player should keep in touch with 
 the pubUcations of popular music houses, since it will repay him to estab- 
 lish a reputation which will make the public say: "Let's go to the Star 
 Theatre — you always hear the latest tune there." This will prove a never- 
 failing drawing card for the younger generation of movie-fans, and it will 
 react most decidedly to the advantage of the organist in his relation to the 
 box-office and his own earning power. 
 
 It is well also to keep in touch with the monthly announcements of the 
 latest phonograph records issued. As a rule, these numbers have proved 
 assured successes, and people like to hear their favorite tunes, either 
 those they already have at home, or new ones which they might want to add 
 to their collection. The player's repertoire should always be kept ahve 
 by the infusion of new and up-to-date material. 
 
 One important factor in these pictorial farces is the matter of speed. 
 "Pep" is the key-note to the situation, with the current "jazz" tunes as 
 a medium. When special effects are to be introduced, or certain moods and 
 emotions are to be "itahcized" and burlesqued, this may be done at any 
 point of the composition played, the piece instantly to be resumed. Above 
 all, keep things "going," hke a juggler who may be handling two or twenty 
 balls, and occasionally drops one, but must never cease in throwing and 
 catching something.^ 
 
 4. The Comedy Drama 
 
 Much that has been said in the previous chapter also appUes to this 
 type of film. However, all effects, in general, will have to be toned down 
 and the methods employed will approach more nearly those of the "feature 
 fihn." Sense of humor should again be the chief asset of the player. But 
 it should be rather a sense of wit than a fondness for horse-play. Fine 
 musical taste, a Hght touch, apt musical illustrations, will greatly add to 
 the charm of the picture. 
 
 The player will here, as in the feature fihn, characterize the chief 
 actors by suitable motives ; there will be a main theme and the obhgatory 
 
 iSuch pieces as "The Bim-Bims" by Adam, "Lydia" by Fomin, "Donkey Trot" by 
 Leducq, "La Gloria" by Densmore, "With Xylophone and BeUs" and "The Juggler Come- 
 dian" by Huerter, "On the Hike" by Dumas, "Polka Humoristique" by Lacomb, and 
 "Chatterbox" by d'Ambrosio will prove useful material. The player should have at his 
 command the choruses of such well-known topical songs as "I cannot make my eyes behave," 
 "Every little movement has a meaning all its ov/n," "Where did you get that hat?" "Always 
 go while the going is good," "Waiting at the Church," "What's the matter with Father?" 
 " My mind's made up to marry Carolina," etc., etc. The association of such tunes with their 
 particular text phrase will always insure a quick response in the audience, if the tunes are 
 applied to the proper situation.
 
 38 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 number of supplementary selections. As there is usually a love story 
 interwoven, there will be need of some sentimental strain besides pieces 
 of a lighter nature. For flights, escapes and chases, the player should 
 hold in readiness various kinds of musical "hurries." ^ A notable feature 
 of the comedy drama is the "comic mystery," which should be as distinct 
 from the heavy mystery of the tragic drama as is the funeral march of 
 Gounod from that by Chopin, alluded to in the preceding chapter. To 
 obtain a good "mock mystery," the "comedy touch" and dramatic 
 instinct must work hand in hand. 
 
 The player, alas, will soon discover that there are many so-called 
 comedy dramas shown which are hopelessly dull and barren of action or 
 interest. In such cases, the only thing for the player to do, is to give a 
 quasi-organ-recital of light and graceful music (no fugues or sonatas!), 
 and to atone by the merit of his playing for the faults of the film. 
 
 In a city where musical shows are produced at the legitimate theatres, 
 the player will do well to use selections from such productions, just playing, 
 in the accompaniment to the Hghter picture dramas. 
 
 5. Weekly News Pictures 
 
 The topical character of these pictures calls, as a rule, for topical music. 
 The audience that fills a moving picture house likes to hear the popular 
 success of the hour, be it a song or instrumental number, well played 
 and effectively rendered. It goes without saying, that due regard must 
 always be exercised in instances where the music and picture might clash. 
 It will never do to launch forth on a popular dance tune which might fit 
 one scene, showing some public happenings with which this music might 
 agree, and to persist in playing the tune while the picture shifts to the 
 scene of a funeral or disaster. But, as a general rule, the news section of the 
 picture is the one that will give the best opportunity to play the lighter 
 type of popular numbers. 
 
 Unless the picture is of such character that it would call for a specially 
 appropriate musical illustration, the tune need not be changed for e very- 
 scene that is shown. But there are certain events, of which we shall speak 
 in the following paragraphs, that should receive special musical treatment. 
 
 MiUtary or civic processions will require martial music. Pictures of 
 weddings might be emphasized by a strain from Mendelssohn's or de 
 Koven's wedding music. A funeral procession should be accompanied by 
 the playing of Chopin's or Beethoven's funeral march. This will also be 
 appropriate for the showing of graves or a cemetery. 
 
 ' Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" ia particularly useful as a comedy agitato.
 
 WEEKLY NEWS PICTURES 39 
 
 Church functions will suggest the playing of a chorale or some well- 
 known sacred music. Patriotic gatherings or the showing of statesmen 
 and royal personages should be accompanied by patriotic music or by the 
 national anthem of the particular country whose statesman or ruler is 
 shown. It is against the law to play garbled versions of "The Star 
 Spangled Banner" or paraphrase on it. If played at all, our national 
 anthem should be given in its entirety, with spirited movement and yet 
 in a dignified manner. However, the anthem should not be dragged in 
 without rhyme or reason, perhaps simply because the flag is displayed in 
 some picture. Since the audience will rise whenever the anthem is played, 
 it should be introduced, if at all, not more than once at each performance, 
 and only when the scene demands it. 
 
 The player should famiHarize himself with the most important and 
 common bugle signals of the Army. There are many occasions where 
 these bugle signals will add a dramatic touch. If the picture shows a 
 mihtary funeral or the graves of soldiers, the signal of "taps" should be 
 played in a suitable register, first unaccompanied, to imitate the bugle, 
 and then, if the picture offers an opportunity, the player may improvise 
 on the bugle call as a motive. 
 
 Frequently pictures of aeroplanes and other air-craft are thrown on the 
 screen. These should be accompanied by light, "soaring" music (such as 
 "Through Space" by Paul Wachs or "Butterfly Chase" by Hugo Argus). 
 If an aeroplane makes a rapid and spectacular descent, the player might 
 lightly glide his thumb down the keys. 
 
 Horse races or automobile races call for rapid music. If the player's 
 technique is not sufficiently developed to execute a generally difficult 
 composition that demands a great deal of speed, he may obtain satisfactory 
 results by a rapid tremolo in the treble, punctuated by crisp chord progres- 
 sions, of moderate speed, played in a lower register. In any event, the 
 player must approximate the speed of the picture, and communicate to 
 the audience the excitement and tension that the original witnesses of the 
 scene must have felt. Football games may call for college songs. Other 
 sportive happenings, such as baseball or tennis, seldom require special 
 music. It is different with boat races or sailing regattas. They should 
 not only be accompanied by music suggestive of the speed, but also of the 
 graceful movement of the sailing boats, or of the swell of the sea. Waltzes 
 are very appropriate for yachting scenes. 
 
 Fire scenes demand music of dramatic excitement, interspersed with 
 glissandi (slides) on the keys, from bass to treble, to illustrate the leaping 
 flames. If the fire increases or decreases in violence, the player should 
 suggest this in his music. Should the flames become extinguished, and
 
 40 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 the scene show the rack and ruin of the place, the music should calm down 
 and express the mournful desolation of the picture. 
 
 For launching of boats, it is advisable to add to the tension of the 
 picture by accompanying the sliding of the boat along the ways with an 
 appropriate tremolo in the treble, immediately breaking into a joyous 
 tune of a "horn-pipe" character, when the boat takes the water. The 
 player will find it useful to famiharize himself with a number of chanties or 
 sailor songs, as they will fit in not only with "news" pictures, but in a 
 great many feature films. 
 
 In the showing of industrial plants where hammering and the clangor 
 of machines dominate, such pieces as the "Anvil Chorus" will often add 
 to the enjoyment of the audience. Pictures of agricultural scenes might 
 fittingly be accompanied by some of the "rural" songs and dances that 
 the audience is famihar with. Scenes in the South, cotton fields, steamers 
 on the Mississippi, etc., etc., will call for the songs of Stephen Foster, 
 Virginia reels, Negro spirituals, etc. 
 
 Events in foreign lands, if these lands are in the Orient, will take on 
 added significance in the minds of the audience, if they are accompanied 
 by music which suggests Oriental strains (such as "Orientale" by J. R. 
 Manzanares, "Orientale" by C. Cui, "Koko-San" by I. Kamoto ; see also 
 "From Russia" by G. Borch, "Nochecita" by I. Albeniz, "Spanish Sere- 
 nade" by Strelezki, "Italian Serenade" by S. Maykapar, etc., etc.).' 
 
 Under the heading of "news" pictures, are often run films that portray 
 the latest fashions. Such exhibitions require no special music. They call 
 for agreeable and fluent salon music, or waltzes (see "Iris" by R. Friml, 
 "Fleur-de-lis" by J. Martel, "In the StarUght" by C. Huerter, "Ecstasy" 
 by S. Baynes, etc.). 
 
 6. Educational Films 
 
 More than any other pictures, educational films should absorb the whole 
 attention of the spectators. By their very nature and purpose, they are 
 intended to impart information or instruction of a general or special order. 
 The music that accompanies such views should therefore be carefully 
 calculated not to distract the attention. The player should avoid loud 
 or showy pieces, and instead play music that will be conducive to the 
 creation of a calm and receptive mood in the listener. 
 
 ' The player will find a great many pieces of general usefulness and special applicability 
 to national events in the series of volumes, published in the Boston Music Company Edition, 
 and containing representative pieces of various national schools. So far, the series comprises 
 the following countries : America, France, Russia, Scandinavia, Italy, Germany, Bohemia 
 (Slovak countries), Spain and Finland.
 
 TRAVEL VIEWS 41 
 
 The organ registration for such pieces should be soft, nor should it be 
 too changeful, but rather adhere to one and the same registration for 
 some length of time. 
 
 There may be certain views, however, which by virtue of a musical 
 emphasis will tell their lesson more vividly. In the showing of growth and 
 development of flowers or insects, a crescendo that follows the progress of 
 the picture might not be out of place. Certain views of animal Ufe may 
 suggest to the player particular effects that will be in keeping with the 
 story told on the screen. Scientific demonstrations rarely call for special 
 effects. 
 
 The case is different, when the education is to be imparted by means of 
 travel pictures. These require a few words of special advice. 
 
 7. Travel Views 
 
 In dealing with travel views the player should bear in mind, first of all, 
 that he must provide his memory or his stock of accessible music with a 
 number of pieces that are directly intended by their composers as nature 
 studies, more or less sharply defining certain moods on land and sea, or 
 will do so by implication. The well-stocked library of a picture player 
 should contain various categories of music, catalogued according to the 
 apphcability of each piece, with plenty of cross references so that at a 
 moment's notice the player may lay his hand on the desired composition. 
 For travel views he may find it convenient to order his music according to 
 
 1, nature in general, and 2, special countries, with a possible addition of 
 3, particular occupations or situations. 
 
 Under the head of "Nature in General" would come 1, landscapes and 
 
 2, water scenes. The first of these may appear in three general aspects ; 
 namely, 1, sunny, 2, cloudy, and 3, stormy. Music will be found that will 
 fit more intimately the views of placid gardens and orchards, harmonize 
 with undulating fields, shady woods, rugged mountains, or majestic glaciers. 
 In each case, a certain affinity between the music and the pictured scene 
 should be sought. 
 
 There exists a great deal of music that by its very name suggests wood- 
 land scenes, or quaint gardens (see especially the works of MacDowell, 
 Nevin, or Grieg). 
 
 "Water scenes," on the other hand, may differentiate between views 
 of brooks, lakes, rivers, or oceans. Here, again, any number of compositions 
 with suggestive titles will give the player ample material to choose from. A 
 frequent occurrence is the showing of cascades or rapids. These lend them- 
 selves admirably to musical illustration by means of brilliant arpeggios
 
 42 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 or purling runs. The seascape, in turn, may be shown in a state of utter 
 cahn, of moderate motion, or lashed by a storm. Each will require a 
 different musical treatment. 
 
 While it is difficult to give a complete catalogue of music that will embrace 
 all possible travel pictures, the following suggestions will at least serve 
 to call the player's attention to some of the scenes he is likely to encounter. 
 He will do well to reckon with these possibilities and to fix in his mind 
 certain musical subjects that he will always have available, at short notice. 
 
 Among the pictures of the U. S. A. the player will have to reckon with 
 Southern scenes (negro activities, etc.), which will call for tunes that are 
 typical of the South, such as the songs of Stephen Foster and others. 
 The West wall furnish pictures of cowboys, round-ups, mining activities, 
 mountain scenes, etc., which may be made more graphic by the playing 
 of music that approximates the particular situation. Coast scenes will 
 generally demand music that in some way suggests the water. From the 
 North you may expect views of winter sports, such as skating, skiing, or 
 ice-boating. The player should know a number of typically American 
 songs and tunes, representative of various States and races. 
 
 The Orient, in general, furnishes a limited type of views. There are 
 processions, temple scenes, dances, fete days, and the like. The player 
 should command over a fairly representative repertoire of exotic strains, some 
 t5T)ical of Arabia and Persia, some of India, others of China and Japan. 
 There are distinct differences between the music of these countries, and 
 an earnest student of the subject will try to find something characteristic 
 of each of them. It is here, in particular, that the player may exert a 
 great educative influence on the audience. Rather gloomy and monotonous 
 music will befit the desert, while briUiant and scintillating music should 
 accompany the hustle and bustle of Oriental street scenes and bazaars. 
 As a rule. Oriental music is distinguished rather by a peculiar inflection 
 of the melody than by variety of harmonic treatment. The latter belongs 
 to the Occident. Therefore it will often suffice if the player adheres for 
 his accompaniment to a droning bass of either an open fifth or fourth, 
 or a stereotyped rhythmical figure that is indicative of either the languor 
 of the scene (opium dens, harems, etc.) or of its typical movement (Ara- 
 bian caravans, Oriental dancers, Chinese junks). A few works may be 
 suggested here, as offering a great deal of useful material of distinctly 
 Oriental color, such as "Scheherazade" by Rimsky-Korsakov (for Persian- 
 Arabian motives), the opera "Lakme" by DeUbes and the ballet "Na- 
 mouna" by Lalo (for East Indian and Arabian motives), "Caucasian 
 Sketches" by Ippolitov-Iwanov (for motives from Asiatic Russia), the opera 
 "Madame Butterfly" by Puccini (for Japanese motives), the piano suites 
 "Dreamer's Tales" and "Betel, Jade and Ivory" by Peterkin (for Chinese
 
 TRAVEL VIEWS 43 
 
 and Malay themes). There are, of course, a great many other works that 
 would come into consideration, such as "Scenes in Algeria" by Saint- 
 Saens, African Suites by Coleridge Taylor ; but it would lead too far to 
 give a complete enumeration, and it must be left to the zeal of the player 
 to find additional material that he may require. 
 
 It may be well to remind the player vnth what variety of scenes in 
 views of Europe he may meet. He will do well to carry in his memory some 
 of the well-known folk-songs of England, Scotland, and Ireland, folk- 
 dances of Italy and Spain, folk-tunes of Russia and Scandinavia, and some 
 characteristic songs of France. It will not do always to play the national 
 anthems of such countries except when really national events are shown. 
 For travel pictures the folk-song literature of these countries should be 
 drawn upon.^ 
 
 1 Much useful music will be found in the volumes of various national schools contained 
 in the Boston Music Company Edition and mentioned in footnote on page 40.
 
 PART III 
 THE THEATRICAL ORGAN 
 
 1. Peculiarities of Organ Technique 
 
 The difficulties peculiar to playing on and handling of the organ as 
 distinguished from the pianoforte may be classified as follows : 
 
 a. How to sit at the organ. 
 
 b. Pedalling (playing with the feet). 
 
 c. Independence of movement between hands and feet, separately 
 and in combination. 
 
 d. Use of legato and staccato touch. 
 
 6. Registration (management of stops and various mechanical appli- 
 ances). 
 
 Fluent piano technique is the first requisite for a successful theatrical 
 organist. Assuming that the candidate possesses this, coupled with expert 
 sight-reading ability and a talent for improvising, he is ready for the work. 
 
 a. How to sit at the organ 
 
 This is perhaps the most important item of a theatrical organist's 
 equipment, since he must contend with long hours and physical strain. 
 
 Seat yourself in the middle of the bench (and stay there). Now lift 
 up both feet and hold them over the pedals, with the tips of the boots over 
 the black keys and the heels over the white, at the same time holding both 
 hands over the manuals (keyboards for the hands) ready to play. Move 
 the hands and feet in the air. If you have an uncomfortable sensation 
 that you are going to fall off or tip over, the bench is too far away from the 
 keys or, most likely of all, you are sitting too near its edge. Try the bench 
 at different distances from the keyboard until you find the right spot where 
 by sitting erectly and well back on the bench, using the end of the spine as 
 the center of motion, not (barrel hoop fashion) the middle of the back, you 
 can swing arms and legs freely and yet reach the various manuals with ease. 
 Arrange your music at the proper distance from your eyes, and you are 
 
 44
 
 PECULIARITIES OF ORGAN TECHNIQUE 45 
 
 ready to play. In most of the theatres, the organ bench is provided with a 
 back. This is an absolute necessity in playing long hours. But do not 
 forget that the bench must be properly placed, just the same ; fit the 
 bench to the body and not the body to the bench. The failure to sit 
 correctly brings endless physical strain, even induces serious ailments, 
 particularly with women players. For the unpleasant arm fatigue en- 
 countered in playing too long on the upper manuals of a three or four manual 
 organ, a remedy is found in coupling through to one of the lower manuals, 
 which is explained farther on. 
 
 Right here be it said that every excess or unnecessary movement of the 
 arms and legs is so much energy thrown away. There are organists and 
 pianists who have acquired an unhappy "futurist" style of performance 
 by throwing the hands in the air at the end of a (to them) thrilling passage, 
 waving the body, shaking the head — all of which is so much electricity 
 gone to waste. The man who sits in absolute repose before his organ, 
 perfectly balanced, muscles relaxed and easy, with no hifalutin motions, 
 is the man who is going to last the longest and produce the most virile and 
 forceful music. 
 
 b. Pedalling 
 
 Wear round-toed, medium-heeled shoes, with flexible soles, not too thin. 
 
 The pedals are played by means of the heel and toes. (The flat of the 
 foot is used only when a group of two or three " black " keys are encountered, 
 viz: CS, D#; F^, Git, Aft, or Bb, Ab, Gb; Eb, Dk) This means that 
 a flexible ankle is of the utmost importance. The leg, contrary to general 
 notions, is not used except as a means of carrying the foot to the desired 
 position. The actual playing of the pedals begins at the ankle. This is a 
 principle similar to that which governs piano playing, a loose wrist being 
 there the first requisite, as is a loose ankle in organ pedalHng. 
 
 Place the foot in position, press down the toe and then the heel, and so 
 on, alternating toe and heel ; when the toe goes down the heel is released, 
 when the heel is pressed down the toes are released, using a free ankle as 
 the center of action. 
 
 Should the ankle be allowed to become stiff and rigid, the weight of the 
 whole leg will be used to drive the sole of the foot against the pedal keys, 
 resulting in the destruction or injury of the pedal mechanism and most 
 certainly rendering absolutely impossible the performance of rapid pedal 
 passages. 
 
 Do not look at the pedal hoard while playing. 
 
 Having seated yourself correctly in the centre of the bench, prepared 
 to stay in the centre, you are ready to learn to "feel with your toes" — \'iz,
 
 46 MUSICAL ACCOMPANLMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 play without looking at the feet. Locate the spaces between the groups of 
 short keys. They correspond exactly to the open space between the groups 
 of black keys on the piano — Bb and C?f — Eb and F^. 
 
 Dt> h.'o 
 
 Pedal-Board 
 
 Thrust the foot into the space marked 2 in the drawing, the toes will 
 then be over the ends of E and F ; then into the spaces marked 3, 4, etc. 
 
 Having thus located these spaces, the adjoining " black " keys are easily 
 found. This method of feeling for the whereabouts of the notes until one's 
 feet by long habit go there of their own accord, is the same as that of a blind 
 man first learning to play the piano. He must perforce feel for the spaces 
 between the black keys and then get his bearings. 
 
 There are various books of pedal exercise which can be used in practicing ; 
 or the average musician can easily improvise his own exercises, using those 
 intervals most often encountered in his own work. 
 
 c. Independence of movement between hands and feet, separately and in 
 
 combination 
 
 For the theatrical organist, tliis is of prime importance, since the left 
 hand comes into a special realm of its own in tliis work. Practice playing 
 all tunes with the left hand, making them "sing" as they would if played 
 by the right hand. Then try playing any tune you desire with the left 
 hand, with expression, and in strict time, in the meantime playing a 
 chromatic scale up and down another manual. After this can be done, 
 make the right hand more elaborate, playing arpeggios of various kinds. 
 Finally try playing an entirely different tune with the right hand, keeping 
 both tunes going at once, each complete in itself. When this can be done 
 (which will not be in a day or a week) add a pedal obbUgato ; i.e. a bass
 
 FOUR-MANUAL CONSOLE 
 (M. P. Moller) 
 
 TWO-MAX UAL COXSOLP] 
 (Rudolph Wurlitzer iSIfg. Co.)
 
 PECULIARITIES OF ORGAN TECHNIQUE 47 
 
 melody, or play the tune on the pedals, an obbligato with the left hand and 
 variations with the right hand. 
 
 When practicing scales on the pedals, always play a scale with the left 
 hand at the same time, in contrary motion to the one you are practicing 
 on the pedals. This serves to break the "invisible wire" that seems to run 
 down your left arm through your left leg. It also serves as a guard against 
 getting out of position on the bench. 
 
 When reaching for notes at the end of the pedal-board, do not slide 
 along the bench, but instead, turn the body as little as necessary, the end 
 of the spine as a pivot. 
 
 d. Staccato and legato touch 
 
 Theatrical work is the antithesis of church playing. A crisp, clean 
 staccato (detached) touch is the first requisite. Most everything is 
 played staccato, except for special effects, such as the main love theme, 
 church scenes, or similar situations for which a legato (connected) touch is 
 wanted. 
 
 The best pattern that can be followed is the orchestra. Make use of 
 every opportunity to listen to an orchestra. Watch the attacks, releases 
 and styles of playing of the different instruments, solo and ensemble. 
 Especially try to get the general effect of the concerted staccato and legato. 
 By carefully listening to the good theatrical orchestras travelling with good 
 opera and musical comedy companies, an entire course of instruction in 
 itself may be had in this manner ; not only instruction in touch and style, 
 but also in tonal coloring, or "registration." 
 
 e. Registration 
 
 (Management of the stops and various mechanical appliances, combina- 
 tion of stops, etc.) 
 
 Here, again, the theatrical organist must be an orchestra director and 
 arranger in thought and spirit. Go to the orchestra for your tonal effects 
 and combinations. 
 
 Many ideas concerning registration can be gained by playing from 
 "conductor's" (or piano) parts of orchestrations, and by substituting for 
 the " cues" the organ stops corresponding to the instruments designated. 
 The following will be a guide to such " orchestral " registration. 
 
 2. "Orchestration" by Means of Organ Stops 
 
 As a rule, the tone-quaUty of a stop is indicated by its name ; i.e. Flute, 
 Trumpet, Oboe, Violin, etc.
 
 48 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 The pitch of the stop is indicated by numerals, placed after its name ; 
 i.e. Flute 8', Bourdon 16', Piccolo 2', Viol 4'. 
 
 8' (meaning "eight-foot tone") indicates that the key struck will 
 sound unison pitch, or the same as it would if struck on the piano. This 
 pitch is produced by a pipe 8 ft. in length. 
 
 A pipe of 4', proportionately formed, will sound notes one octave higher 
 than one of 8'. 
 
 So also a pipe of 16' will produce a tone one octave lower than one of 8' ; 
 similarly a pipe of 2' will sound two octaves above one of 8', etc. 
 
 Stops of 8' (or unison pitch), 4', or 2' are called "Foundation" stops, 
 unless specially voiced for solo use. 
 
 Stops of 5' 4" (5 feet 4 inches) and 2' 8" are called "Mutation" stops, 
 because the pipes of these stops sound a pitch other than that of unison 
 or its octaves. 
 
 Stops having several pipes to each note are called "Compound" stops 
 or are more generally known as " Mixtures. " 
 
 The following is a list of stops Ukely to be encountered on a journey 
 from a small two-manual to a large four-manual theatrical organ. Every 
 organ builder has his own ideas in the matter of stop nomenclature, but the 
 name generally gives some indication as to the tone-quahty. The stops 
 have been classified according to their orchestral usefulness, and not 
 divided into "organs," with the idea in mind that having once learned the 
 meaning of the various names, the player will be able to identify the stops 
 with ease, no matter where he may find them. In these days of "duplex" 
 organ building, one is never sure to find certain stops on the same manuals. 
 
 The manuals (or "organs") are usually arranged in the following 
 order : 
 
 1. Solo 
 
 2. Swell 
 
 3. Great 
 
 4. Orchestral (choir) 
 
 Small organs always lack the first manual, and sometimes also the fourth. 
 The stops are either in the form of draw-knobs at the sides, or in rows of 
 ivory tablets at the top, just above the upper manual, as indicated in the 
 various illustrations. In the use of draw-stops, the "coupler" tablets are 
 generally placed above. These " couplers " are mechanical devices whereby 
 the stops in any one manual may be added to any other manual. Thus 
 by turning down the tablet marked "Swell to Great" we can play on the 
 Great manual and yet have any or all of the Swell stops at our command. 
 When the prolonged playing on an upper manual becomes irksome, shut
 
 "ORCHESTRATION" BY MEANS OF ORGAN STOPS 49 
 
 off all orchestral stops from the orchestral manual and couple the "Swell 
 to Orchestral," and you have your "Swell" manual moved down several 
 inches. 
 
 These couplers are only used for joining less to greater, thus : Swell to 
 Orchestral, Swell to Great, Orchestral to Great — never Great to Swell, 
 A hst of "couplers" will be found at the end of the enumeration of stops. 
 
 Manual Stops 
 
 Foundation Stops 
 
 ' Voix Celeste 
 Salicional (Salicet) 
 Duleiana 
 Keraulophon 
 Gamba 
 
 Viol de Gamba 
 Gemshorn 
 Dolce 
 Aeoline 
 
 Geigen Principal 
 Dulcet 
 Viol d'amour 
 
 Stopped Diapason 
 8' tone { LiebHch Gedaekt 
 Rohrflote 
 
 Grosse Flote (great flute) 
 Doppel Flote (double flute) 
 Harmonic Flute 
 Melodia 
 
 Waldflote (woodland flute) 
 Flauto Dolce (sweet flute) 
 Concert Flute 
 Clarabella 
 Clarinet 
 Saxophone 
 
 Small Open Diapason 
 Large Open Diapason 
 
 Gemshorn (Alpine horn) 
 
 Salicet 
 
 Viol d'amour 
 
 4' tone I Flute Harmonique 
 
 Waldflote 
 Flute d'amour 
 
 Principal, or Octave 
 
 Strings 
 
 Wood wind 
 
 Organ tone 
 
 Strings 
 
 Wood wind 
 
 Organ tone
 
 50 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 2' tone 
 
 Piccolo (small flute) 
 Flageolet or Flautina 
 Gemshom (Alpine horn) 
 F^ifteenth or Super-Octave 
 
 Wood wind 
 
 16' tone 
 
 ' Contra-Hautboy 
 Contra-Fagotto 
 Contra-Posaune 
 
 [ Ophicleide 
 
 Oboe (orchestral) 
 
 Bassoon 
 
 Oboe or Hautboy 
 
 English Horn 
 
 8' tone 
 
 Vox Humana 
 French Horn 
 Trumpet 
 Tuba MirabiUs 
 Horn 
 
 Cornopean 
 I Posaune 
 
 Reed Stops 
 Correspond to the brass choir in orchestra 
 
 Same tone as their prototypes in orchestra 
 Imitation of the human voice 
 > Brass choir 
 
 4' tone Clarion 
 
 Very brilliant, flaring brass 
 
 Mutation Stops 
 
 5' 4" — Quint 
 
 2' 8" — Twelfth, or Octave-Quint 
 
 2' — Fifteenth 
 
 Compound Stops 
 
 „ , ^ , . f Echo comet 
 Each stop having 
 
 several pipes to 
 
 each note 
 
 Sesqmaltera 
 Mixture 
 Sharp Mixture 
 
 These stops, combining several tones in one, 
 add richness and brilliancy. They vary in 
 different organs as to tonal power, i.e. forte 
 or piano, and must be experimented with. 
 The tone-quality, generally speaking, of 
 compound stops is that of the wood-wind 
 section of the orchestra. 
 
 The following will gfive some idea of the sound of these stops : 
 
 "Mixture," play !/' || will sound ^ 
 
 'Sesquialtera," play *^ ^ will sound ^ ' ' | | 
 
 "Quint," play 
 
 will sound 
 
 "Fifteenth," sounding fifteen above the key struck.
 
 ORCHESTRATION" BY MEANS OF ORGAN STOPS 51 
 
 Double Stops 
 
 I" Double-stopped Diapason 
 Of 16-foot length or tone { 16' Bourdon 
 
 Double-open Diapason 
 
 No duplicate in orchestra. 
 Soft & sweet, cloying if used 
 too much. 
 Full, rich organ tone. 
 
 Pedal Stops 
 
 The important distinction between stops on the Pedal Organ and those 
 on the Manuals is that the former are uniformly one octave lower in pitch. 
 Thus, as the Open Diapason of a Manual is of 8' tone, the Open Diapason 
 on the Pedal Organ will be of 16' ; also, as the Double stops of the manuals 
 are of 16' tone, those of the pedals are 32'. 
 
 Foundation Stops 
 
 Bourdon ff Smooth, full tone ; disturbing if used too much. 
 
 Bourdon pp Soft and generally useful. 
 
 Violone Excellent imitation of contrabass in orchestra. 
 
 16' tone I Open Diapason mf \ ^ „ 
 
 Open Diapason jf/ F""' «P^° ^^'-^^^ ^^'^^^ 
 
 Duleiana 
 Gamba 
 
 r Flute 
 8' tone < Violoncello 
 [ Octave 
 
 r Contra-Posaune 
 32' length i Bombarde 
 
 [ Contra-Fagotto 
 
 f Fagotto 
 Trombone 
 16' length \ Posaune 
 
 Ophicleide 
 Tuba 
 8' length Tuba 
 4' length Clarion 
 
 Light string tone, duplexed from manuals. 
 
 I Correspond to same stops on manuals. Rather 
 I assertive quality when used in pedal. 
 
 Reed Stops 
 
 ! Brass choir ; corresponding to the giant tubas seen 
 I occasionally in orchestras 
 
 > Brass choir 
 
 Brass choir 
 Brass choir 
 
 Double Stops 
 
 ' Sub-bass or 
 
 Double-stopped Diapason or 
 32' tone < Contra-Bourdon 
 I Diapason 
 [ Violone 
 
 Used in combination. 
 Only for special effects. 
 Typically organistic — 
 not orchestral. 
 
 Couplers 
 
 Swell to Swell 4' — (super-octave) 
 Swell to Swell 16' — (sub-octave) 
 
 Great to Great, 4' 
 Great to Great, 16'
 
 52 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 Swell to Great 
 
 Swell to Great 4' Solo to Solo 4' 
 
 SweU to Great 16' Solo to Solo 16' 
 
 Swell to Orchestral Solo to Great 
 
 Swell to Orchestral 4' 
 
 Swell to Orchestral 16' Swell to Pedal 
 
 Swell to Solo Great to Pedal 
 
 Orchestral to Pedal 
 Orchestral to Orchestral Solo to Pedal 
 
 Orchestral to Orchestral 4' 
 Orchestral to Orchestral 16' 
 Orchestral to Great 
 Orchestral to Great 4' 
 Orchestral to Great 16' 
 
 Orchestral to Solo 
 
 Pistons 
 
 The little buttons underneath each manual are called "pistons" and 
 are numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. By means of a board inside the organ or, on 
 the newer organs, at the organ desk, different combinations of stops may 
 be "set up" and locked under each of these pistons so that by pushing 
 a certain button with the thumb an entirely new set of stops may be had 
 in a fraction of time and effort. It is always safest to have the organ- 
 tuner show you how to work the various mechanical devices on a strange 
 organ. 
 
 3. Swell Pedals and Crescendo Pedal 
 
 Swell Pedals 
 
 Just above the pedal keys will be found two, three, or four, balanced 
 pedals the size of a foot which control the volume of tone emitted from the 
 various manuals. Usually the Solo is farthest to the left, the Orchestral 
 and Great next, being combined in one, then that of the Swell organ, with 
 the Crescendo pedal on the right. 
 
 Learn to use the swell pedals with either foot. Watch the constant 
 light and shade of the orchestra and try to imitate this, always careful 
 not to exaggerate. Do not thrust the swell pedals all the way in, every 
 time. By experimenting and listening to your own playing, you will soon 
 find that just a little "crescendo'^ or "diminuendo" is quite sufficient, and 
 more effective than a complete pp -==IIII!I!II2 /// 1-——^-^^^^ VV- A 
 continuous performance on this principle will soon find the audience in a 
 delightfully bewildered state of mind, bordering on nausea, caused by 
 "weathering" too many "tonal waves." 
 
 Crescendo Pedal 
 
 This pedal is either a great blessing or a great nuisance, according to 
 the use to which you put it. By means of it, the organist can, with a
 
 THE IDENTIFICATION OF TONE-COLORS 53 
 
 minimum of effort, merely by pressing the foot, throw on consecutively, 
 as regards increase of tonal power, all the stops in the organ. The trouble 
 lies in this very fact : ease of manipulation. It is so easy to keep the foot 
 on this pedal, working it back and forth without thought or reason, instead 
 of studying out stop combinations, usually keeping it at the full organ, 
 which is the motion picture organist's greatest bugbear : playing too loud. 
 
 The main use of the crescendo pedal in theatrical playing is for sforzando 
 effects and orchestral accent. By placing the whole foot firmly on this 
 pedal, controlHng it by a turn of the ankle, an instant crash to /// and back 
 again to the p combination already set up on the organ, may be accom- 
 pHshed without harm to the instrument. Stabbing at the end of the pedal 
 with a thrust of the boot will jar the mechanism out of order. 
 
 This pedal is of course useful in building up long crescendo effects, but 
 these sustained effects are not so much encountered in theatrical work, the 
 effect here being accomphshed more by individual tone color than volume 
 of sound. 
 
 4, The Identification of Tone-colors for Descriptive Purposes 
 
 (Registration) 
 
 The term "tone-color" is a compound, linking conceptions that belong 
 to two different arts, which are music and painting. It is the simplest way 
 of describing certain qualities that tone possesses, qualities which enable it 
 to assume different hues and shadings, as it were. The painter has at 
 his disposal many colors, from which he chooses those particular to the 
 scene that he is depicting, selecting always such modifications of each color 
 as will express the very atmosphere that he wishes to give to his picture. 
 In this way we will find that the painter has at his disposal varying shades 
 of red, different tints of blue, greens which contain more yellow and others 
 which border on the black. The Papal manufacture of mosaics in Rome 
 differentiates actually between a little over 25,000 distinct color variations. 
 Tone-color, to be sure, is not able to take on such a formidable number of 
 gradations, but there are enough to give it a wide range of different quahties 
 which will react differently upon the Ustener. 
 
 It should be remembered that tone-color proper is one of the three 
 fundamental characteristics that constitute musical sounds, the other two 
 being pitch and intensity. Therefore the term tone-color should not be 
 mistaken for any one of the two others. A given tone-color may be apphed 
 to musical sounds of different pitch, high and low, and of different inten- 
 sities, loud or soft. 
 
 The following table will serve as first aid in "registration" or the use 
 of organ-stops (tone-colors) either singly or in combination.
 
 54 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 For "Neutral" Scenes (no emotion) scenery ; action ] String tones, 16', 8', 4,' 
 ha\'ing no definite intensity ; views from an aeroplane [ 2', as solo with accompani- 
 (when the hum of the motor is the only sound) or ^^ews | ment and in 4-pt. har- 
 from a great height. Also (see special effects) wind, J mony. 
 rain, etc. 
 
 For Specific Emotions, Moods, and Situations. 
 
 light 
 pedal 
 
 Love solo flute 4' — ace. of strings or harp. 
 
 close harmony strings 16', 8', 4', 2' and Vox 
 
 Humana, 
 saxophone solo — strings 8', flute 8' accom- 
 paniment. 
 Happiness 
 
 Springtime, sunshine . flutes, 16', 8', 4', 2' and strings. 
 Joy same as above, intensified in volume by coupUng the 
 
 various manuals together. 
 
 Hope flute 8' — string ace. 
 
 Victory full organ. 
 
 Exaltation organ tone, rising to full organ. 
 
 Prayer solo flute 8' or Vox Humana 4-pt. harmony. 
 
 Church scenes .... organ tone, coupled & heavj' Ped. 
 Impressive dignity organ tone, coupled & heavy Ped. 
 
 Suspicion clarinet solo with string ace. 
 
 Entreaty saxophone solo with string 8' and flute 8' ace. 
 
 Yearning Vox Humana solo with string 16', 8', 4', 2' ace. 
 
 Anxiety full string choir and Vox Humana in 4-pt. harmony — 
 
 tremolo. 
 Temptation .... clarinet or oboe with string ace. 
 Hatred soft toned reeds gradually increasing in volume of 
 
 tone to climax. 
 Suspense and impending The clarinet alone or any flute that is a near approach 
 disaster to an orchestral French horn when used as solo, 
 
 alone, and without the tremulant ; use a string ace. 
 
 tremolo. 
 
 Defiance reeds ???/. 
 
 Treachery reeds mj. 
 
 Rage reeds, varjing the volume of tone according to the 
 
 intensity of the mood. 
 Cruelty reed (Cornopean) either as solo and strings 16', 8', 
 
 4', 2' with double st. Diap. 16' as ace. or in 4-pt. 
 
 harmony. 
 
 Torture reeds /. 
 
 Grief oboe or clarinet solo, string and flute ace. or full 
 
 string choir and Vox Humana. 
 
 Despair clarinet solo. 
 
 Passion reed solo plaj'ed in lower octaves, strings, flute 8' and 
 
 clarinet as accompaniment, mf pedal. 
 Renunciation .... Vox Humana or mellow flute 8' played in lower 
 
 octaves of keyboard — no pedal. 
 Dreaming string choir 16', 8', 4', 2', and harp. Very light 
 
 pedal.
 
 THE IDENTIFICATION OF TONE-COLORS 
 
 55 
 
 Nature Scenes 
 Shimmering water 
 
 Birds singing . 
 Morning (Dawn) . 
 
 Night . . . . 
 
 Comedy 
 
 Tension 
 
 Agitatos ("hurries") 
 mobs, horse-races, 
 wild-west scenes, 
 fights, pursuits. 
 
 faUs 
 
 crashes 
 
 Misterioso 
 
 Scenes of mystery, or 
 suppressed alarm, sinister 
 forebodings, ghost scenes, 
 supernatural apparitions, 
 etc. 
 
 Recitative 
 
 For scenes as mentioned 
 above under misterioso, 
 for scenes of superlative 
 tension. 
 
 string choir 16', 8', 4', 2' in upper octaves with harp 
 
 arpeggios as ace. Very light pedal. 
 Flute Harmonique 4' or piccolo 2'. 
 flute 4' as solo — strings tremolo ace. ; no pedal 
 
 (increasing in intensity as dawn spreads, beginning 
 
 pp. with crescendo to full organ, if sun bursts forth), 
 mellow flute without tremulant played 4-pt. harmony 
 
 in lower octaves — no pedal. 
 
 flutes 8', 4', coupled to oboe 16' and piccolo 2' as 
 solo, with flute and string ace, played staccato 
 and at a lively tempo, make a bright setting. Use 
 light pedal. The heavy Doppel Flote or Grosse 
 Flote can be used in burlesque effect, staccato, 
 gUssando, etc. For "jazz" effects, use strings 8', 
 4', and clarinet in right hand ace, "jazzing" with 
 the left hand, using saxophone, or heavy flute and 
 saxophone with an assertive but not too heavy 
 pedal. The xylophone is always used as a solo. 
 Use xylophone and piccolo 2', or xylophone, 
 clarinet, flute 4' with string 8' and flute 8' accom- 
 paniment, light pedal. 
 
 These numbers should be characterized first by their 
 rhythm and tempo. The tone-coloring is according 
 to the mood — joy, suspense, hatred, etc. A pedal 
 cadenza often adds to the climax of a fight, mob 
 scene, etc. 
 
 Sudden opening and closing of the Crescendo Pedal. 
 
 All of the above effects are intensified or lessened 
 by the swell pedals, controlling the volume of tone. 
 
 Softest strings tremolo, and as the situation grows 
 more tense the music should rather become softer 
 than louder, yet the movement and the mood must 
 be sustained. The tremolo will be most effective 
 if the speed is accelerated, while the volume of 
 tone is lessened. Immediately before the cHmax, 
 it is well to go into a recitative, however short, 
 ushering in the climax either by means of an absolute 
 silence (in cases of horror or in the presence of 
 tragedy) or by a sforzando chord leading into the 
 proper motive (in cases of victory or successful 
 denouement of the tension). 
 
 The quaUty of the recitative must always be dramatic, 
 that is, it must be expressive of the proper mood 
 which it is to portray, either horror or mystery or 
 suspense. Samples of recitatives may be found 
 in a great many operas where they are employed.
 
 56 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 particularly in passages where the dramatic action 
 progresses quickly. To convey the appropriate 
 color, make use of the "uncanny" registers of the 
 clarinet and bassoon stops ; for cruelty, a coarse 
 reed such as the Cornopean will prove useful. 
 
 The player will often find moments when, on first 
 seeing a picture, the development of the story will 
 leave him puzzled ; rather than make a misstep, 
 he wiU do well to abide his time by means of a short 
 recitative, until the trend of events becomes 
 obvious. 
 
 There are situations in comedy dramas and in farces 
 where an occasional recitative will be most fitting; 
 naturally, the treatment of the recitative itself, 
 as well as organ stop employed, should emphasize 
 the humor of the situation. The use of a heavy 
 flute in a burlesque fashion will depict ludicrous 
 antics, and that of a hght screechy reed maybe 
 easily manipulated to indicate gossiping women, 
 
 etc. 
 
 « 
 
 Avoid constant use of too heavy pedal tone! Nothing gets on the 
 nerves of the audience quicker than the ever present deep rumble of the 
 pedal. Use pedal 8' rather than pedal 16', and learn to use it as part of 
 the harmony, not just hop toad fashion with the left foot, such as this, 
 
 ' ■■y' J y J » J » J ^ 1 ^^^ treat the bass as the foundation of the harmony 
 and as an independently moving voice, such as 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 m A 
 
 
 4V tt'l XX. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 r w 
 
 
 )• ff«/ ir-i— 
 
 1 i i 
 
 — i i 
 
 i» /■ 
 
 ? 
 
 » i i 
 
 , i i 
 
 
 
 i i 
 
 
 —\— 
 
 
 
 =±==1^^<ULJ 
 
 
 -»*•*■■ 
 
 y=H 
 
 
 
 1 r^ * 1 
 
 ti 
 
 
 
 
 — 
 
 or, for a march time, in the style of the following 
 
 
 5. Special Effects, and How to Produce Them 
 
 The best, and the only safe, way of producing special effects, is to 
 leave them in the hands of a capable trap-drummer who has provided 
 himself with all the hundred and one noise-making apparatuses, now on 
 the market, for imitating everything from a baby's cry of "Ma-ma" to a 
 horse-laugh, "Ha-Ha"; whistles; squeals; imitations of the various 
 sounds made by machinery, i.e. sawmills, motors (aeroplane, automobile,
 
 O 
 '■J 
 
 y.
 
 SPECIAL EFFECTS, AND HOW TO PRODUCE THEM 57 
 
 motor boats, steam engines, motor cycles) ; shots (cannon, rifle, revolver) ; 
 crashes ; breaking glass ; crumbling of walls ; falling timber ; rain ; thun- 
 der ; surf ; tramp of marching feet ; knocks ; raps ; burlesque falls where 
 the hero, a Charlie Chaplin or Fatty Arbuckle, comes to earth with the 
 sound of a clap of thunder assisted by a dozen tin wash-boilers, topped off 
 by a Chinese gong. 
 
 There has been much discussion as to whether or not such performance 
 comes under the duties of the organist. The writers do not think so. No 
 one can play the organ artistically and at the same time work traps. It is 
 better therefore to let pass unnoticed such effects as cannot be produced 
 easily and legitimately on the organ itself. Of course, on the new unit 
 orchestra "organs," these traps are actually a part of the instrument, the 
 organist merely pushing a button or tapping a pedal for a certain effect. 
 The fact that these contraptions are usually out of working order takes 
 us back to the assumption that the organist had better let the traps alone. 
 
 The following are some of the legitimate "special effects" : 
 
 Rain — light string tone in quick arpeggii or tremolo. 
 
 Wind and rain — light string tone in fast chromatic scales in 3ds, 6ths, and 4ths. 
 
 Wind and rain and thunder — all the above with heavy pedal tone, holding down 
 
 two pedal notes at once when rumble of thunder is desired. 
 Crash of thunder — any heavy chord, played sfz in the lower register, full organ 
 
 and ped., with immediate diminuendo. 
 
 Whistles — a minor or augmented chord ; 
 
 ^N - ^ 
 
 Each organist should determine for himself a characteristic chord, by listening 
 to the town fire whistle or to the locomotive, and deciphering the tones for 
 himself. 
 Bells — Almost every theatrical organ has a set of bells ; hence there is no need of 
 imitation. On the piano, chimes may be imitated thus : 
 
 Glissando — This effect is especially useful in comedy, refined and burlesque. A 
 shp or fall is emphasized by a glissando with one hand followed by a bump with 
 full organ, swells closed as desired. The glissando is produced by stiffening 
 the thumb and dragging it up or down the length of the keyboard, using the 
 thumb nail as the point of contact. The glissando is used to illustrate a 
 "shp," sudden descent of an aeroplane, whizzing of an automobile around a 
 corner, any sUding sensation or one of intense speed.
 
 58 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 Bump or fall — Slap the keys with the palm of the hand, lower octaves for a 
 heavy fall, upper octaves for lighter effects. 
 
 Silence — This is one of the most important and telling effects when properly used. 
 Any extremely tense situation is heightened by a moment's silence, just before 
 the climax is reached. Suspense, such as when two people, searching for 
 each other, are almost in contact yet each unconscious of the other person's 
 nearness. In the presence of death, a "close-up" view of a dead person, 
 absolute silence is the only adequate description, dramatically, pictorially and 
 musically. 
 
 Recitative — Use recitative every now and then to lighten the musical setting, or 
 to heighten a tension. 
 
 Xylophone — This stop is useful in comedies. Use it only as solo, very staccato, 
 with light string ace. 
 
 Approaching a cUmax — Thereby is meant that tense moment when, in a great 
 automobile sweepstakes race, the cars are approaching "death curve," or 
 when we can see them in the distance coming into the final "home-stretch" ; 
 or where a man is on a great height and is about to fall, either to safety or 
 destruction, etc., etc. ; in such cases a low menacing rumble is of great help 
 in heightening the suspense. This is produced by a trill in the lower octaves, 
 with soft string and 16' bourdon tones. Sometimes just a pedal rumble is 
 the thing, produced by holding down two adjacent pedal keys. 
 
 ri—- ^^ 
 
 Manuals 
 
 m 
 
 M: 
 
 3 
 
 -T^ 
 
 or Pedal 
 
 PB5 
 
 (held to- 
 gether) 
 
 This rumble is frequently noticed in the orchestra during acrobatic acts in 
 vaudeville.! When the "thriller" of the act is about to take place, the or- 
 chestra stops and the snaredrum begins its subtle, sinister rumble, increasing 
 in volume until the successful fall or jump takes place, when the whole orchestra 
 comes in fortissimo to applaud the performance. 
 
 6 
 
 Any music Allegro - seems to convey this effect. 
 
 o 
 
 Galloping horses 
 
 Cavalry" Overture by Suppe seems to be the most popular selection. 
 
 " Light 
 
 *j^ 
 
 m 
 
 ^ f * * y -d^- i y T =» 
 
 Bi^ 
 
 By playing this rhythm softly the effect of distance is lent ; increasing the 
 volume of tone brings the horses nearer in the mind of the listener. A more 
 ambitious player may also study the " Ride of the Valkyries " by Wagner, or 
 "Mazeppa" by Liszt. 
 Jazz band — The only way to imitate a jazz band is to hear one of these unique 
 organizations. There is no way of describing it. Each and every player 
 must hear these peculiar effects for himself and then imitate them according 
 to his impression thereof. The general idea is to have one hand play the 
 tune, while the other hand "jazzes" or syncopates around it, the pedals 
 performing the drum and double bass parts. The ability to lift your audience's 
 
 I By careful observance of good vaudeville performances, many ideas may be gained in 
 the way of special effects, particularly for comedy work.
 
 SPECIAL EFFECTS, AND HOW TO PRODUCE THEM 59 
 
 feet off the floor in sympathetic rhythm is the truest test ; that you will 
 distress the ears of really musical people goes without saying, but you will 
 not distress their sense of rhythm. This rhythm on your part must be per- 
 fectly maintained, no matter what stunts you may perform with hands and 
 feet. 
 
 Feathered animals 
 
 Hens cackling — 
 
 Rooster crowing — 
 
 Birds singing — high flute in trills — chromatically rising and descending 
 Robins — 
 
 Larks- 
 
 = E2 
 
 m 
 
 Cuckoo (or clock) — 
 
 ^^ Hi | 0< i H i ; || 
 
 (a minor third, not major !) 
 Parrot — Use a light reed tone in recitative in imitation of a person talking. 
 
 Grotesque animal sounds 
 Pigs grunting — 
 
 'f i ,j rjjite ■ i .r i -jiife 
 
 with any tone that will give a "grunting" sound. 
 Donkey braying —
 
 
 
 (Musical " cue-sheet ") 
 
 
 
 
 ''ROSE OF THE WORLD" 
 
 No. 
 
 Min. (.T)ille or CD)escr\ption 
 
 Tempo 
 
 Selections 
 
 
 
 
 REEL No. 1 
 
 
 1 
 
 n 
 
 At screening 
 
 2/4 Allegro 
 
 Farandole — Bizet 
 
 2 
 
 H 
 
 T — Rosamond English 4/4 Moderato 
 
 > Rose in the Bud — 
 
 
 
 
 
 Foster 
 
 3 
 
 u 
 
 D — Harry leaves 
 boudoir 
 
 2/4 Allegro 
 
 • Farandole — Bizet 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 T — For two months, 
 no word came 
 
 4/4 Allegro furioso 
 
 Furioso No. 1 — Langey 
 (Battle music) 
 
 5 
 
 u 
 
 T — Then the survivors 
 returned 
 
 4/4 Tempo di mar da 
 
 The Rookies — Dnmim 
 
 6 
 
 u 
 
 D — Rosamond and 
 Berthune 
 
 3/4 Andante sostentUo 
 
 ^ Romance — Milden- 
 berg (1st part only) 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 T — After a time 
 
 2/4 Allegretto 
 REEL No. 2 
 
 Canzonetta — Herbert 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 T — Surely you can 
 help me ? 
 
 6/8 Poco piu lento 
 
 En Mer — Holmes 
 (From Letter D) 
 
 9 
 
 u 
 
 T — Before her lay 
 
 3/4Andante sostenuto 
 
 1 Romance — Milden- 
 berg (1st part only) 
 
 10 
 
 2\ 
 
 T — Doctor finds body 4/8 Lento 
 
 Erotik — Grieg 
 
 
 
 in queer state 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 H 
 
 T — So Lady G. sailed 6/8 Andantino 
 
 Barcarolle — Hofifmann 
 
 
 
 for the homeland 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 3i 
 
 T — The first day at 
 Saltwoods 
 
 3/4 Moderato 
 REEL No. 3 
 
 Prelude — Damrosch 
 (From Cyrano) 
 
 13 
 
 2 
 
 T — At last Rosamond 3/ 4 Andante Cantabile An Indian Legend — | 
 
 
 
 sent for Major Ber- 
 
 
 Baron 
 
 
 
 thune 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 11 
 
 T — It's a letter from 
 Uncle Arthur 
 
 2/4 Allegretto 
 
 Air de Ballet — Borch 
 
 15 
 
 1 
 
 T — I am secretary of 
 
 3/4 Andante sostenuto 
 
 ' Romance — Milden- 
 berg 
 
 16 
 
 2 
 
 T — Then came agony 
 
 2/4 Allegro 
 
 • Farandole — Bizet 
 
 17 
 
 3 
 
 T — A little incident 
 occurred 
 
 2/2 Agitato 
 
 1 Implorations Neptune 
 — Massenet 
 
 18 
 
 U 
 
 T — What an inclosed 
 note told 
 
 2/4 Molto allegro 
 REEL No. 4 
 
 Le Ville — Puccini 
 (Battle music) 
 
 19 
 
 21 
 
 T — Prompt, etc. 
 
 4/4 Risoluto 
 
 Cry of Rachel — Salter 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 
 T — The dregs of life 
 
 2/4 Allegretto 
 
 Canzonetta — Godard 
 
 21 
 
 2i 
 
 D — Rosamond leaves 
 table 
 
 3/4 Allegro 
 
 Appassionato — Berge 
 
 22 
 
 1 
 
 T — Have you noticed 
 any derangement 
 
 3/4 Allegretto 
 REEL No. 5 
 
 Air de Ballet — Herbert 
 
 23 
 
 3 
 
 T — The breaking 
 point 
 
 2/2 Agitato 
 
 * Implorations Neptune 
 — Massenet 
 
 24 
 
 3i 
 
 D — Jani enters with 
 urn 
 
 6/4 Allegro 
 
 Flying Dutchman — 
 Wagner (Overture — 
 omit sailors' song) 
 
 25 
 
 H 
 
 D — Doctor enters 
 
 4/4 Andante modterato 
 
 One Who Has Yearned 
 — Tschaikowsky 
 
 26 
 
 U 
 
 T — Wounded, Harry 
 
 escaped 
 T — The rainbow's end 
 
 6/8 Allegretto 
 
 Love in Arcady — Wood 
 
 27 
 
 U 
 
 4/4 Moderato 
 
 ^ Rose in the Bud — 
 
 
 
 
 The E>fD 
 
 Foster 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Repeated Selections 
 
 
 
 
 (WUh Mnd permission of the " Famous Plavers-Laskv CorpoTculon." 
 
 GO
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 Having explained in the foregoing what problems the motion-picture 
 organist or pianist has to face, and having shown how to solve them, it 
 behooves the aspirant to such position to provide himself with enough 
 equipment for a trial engagement. Let us now suppose we are setting out 
 for the theater. 
 
 Through the courtesy of the film-producing companies, the organist is 
 provided with a "cue-sheet," generally about a week or three days before 
 the picture is shown. Illustration of a sample may be found on the 
 preceding page. 
 
 By means of this sheet, the player will select his material, timing the 
 various numbers, the main theme, and the spaces for improvisation. Hav- 
 ing selected the music for a picture, place it in proper order within a folder, 
 marked with the name, so that when you arrive at the organ you will not 
 be scrambHng here and there and everywhere for scraps of paper. 
 
 Tuck your music under your arm and walk into the orchestra pit 
 (where the organ console or piano is placed) with a firm tread and a con- 
 fident heart. There is no time now for any misgivings. You have entered 
 an electric atmosphere. Whatever you feel personally, you will most 
 certainly convey to the audience. Nervousness, timidity, or fear must be 
 left with your hat in the dressing room outside ; they have no place in the 
 auditorium. 
 
 Seat yourself leisurely and with confidence. Turn on the lights, arrange 
 your music at a satisfactory angle, and you are ready to begin. 
 
 Here we reach an important point. Do not think you have to play 
 frantically every moment of the time. This is called most appropriately 
 ''crowding the picture." When you wish to change your registration at 
 the end of a theme, take your hands and feet off the keys and change it. 
 Do not, above all things, hold a chord church-fashion on one manual while 
 setting up new registration on another. Nor is it obligatory to play during 
 the announcement of " coming events." A little silence now and then is 
 rehshed by all audiences. 
 
 61
 
 62 MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT OF MOVING PICTURES 
 
 Keep in touch with as many concerns that publish "picture music" as 
 possible. Renew and enlarge your repertoire as often and as much as you 
 can. Visit the music shops, whenever you have an opportunity, and look 
 over the novelties in popular music as well as in the better class of publi- 
 cations. Never lose sight of the fact that you are placed in a position of 
 extraordinary advantage to raise and to improve the musical taste of your 
 audience. Use wisdom in combining "Ughter stuff" and artistic material, 
 work gradually towards a happy union of the two, with music of real worth 
 predominating. 
 
 If you are left in doubt concerning any point connected with the question 
 of "how to play for the pictures," the authors will be glad to receive your 
 communication, in care of the publishers, and will endeavor to answer 
 your inquiry as promptly and as satisfactorily as possible.
 
 INDEX 
 
 Agitato, 38, 55, (see "hurries") 
 animal sounds (grotesque), 59 
 animated cartoons, 35-37 
 anticipating the trend of the story, 3 
 anticipation, 18^ 
 approach of cUmax, 58 
 audiences, 3 
 
 Battle scenes, 30 
 bells, 57 
 
 "breaking" of a theme, 9 
 bugle signals, 39 
 bump or fall, 55, 58 
 
 Change of organ registration, 12 
 
 change of rhythm, 10-11 
 
 characteristics essential in player, 1 
 
 climax, 32, 55, 58 
 
 comedy (repertoire), 28 ; (registration), 
 
 comedy agitato, 38 
 
 comedy drama, 37-38, 56 
 
 "comedy touch," 36 
 
 compound stops, 50 
 
 couplers, 48, 51-52 
 
 crash, 55, 57 
 
 crescendo pedal, 52-53 
 
 "crowding the picture," 61 
 
 "cue sheet," 2, 60, 61 
 
 Death, 30 
 diapason, 49, 51 
 double stops, 51 
 
 Educational films, 40-41 
 elegiac moods, 27 
 emotional player, 3 
 emotions (registration), 54 
 exotic moods, 28 
 expressiveness of melody, 12, 26 
 
 Facial expression, 5 
 fashion pictures, 40 
 feathered animals, 59 
 feature film, 31-34 
 festive moods, 28 
 "flash-backs," 34-35 
 foundation stops, 48, 49, 51 
 
 55 
 
 Galloping horses, 58 
 "given key," 14-21 
 glissando, 39, 57 
 
 Handling of organ registers, 7 
 how to sit at the organ, 44-45, 61 
 hmnor, 3, 36. 
 hurries, 29, 38; (races), 39, 55 
 
 Impressive moods, 28 
 improvisation, 7, 22-26 
 independence of hands and feet, 46, 47 
 intensity of tone, 6 
 
 introduction of diminished-seventh chord 
 (for modulatory purposes), 20 
 
 "Jazz," 4, 37, 58-59 
 
 Keyboards, 44, (see also "manuals") 
 
 Legato touch, 47 
 light, graceful moods, 27 
 local color, 6 
 love themes, 27 
 
 Main theme, 8 
 
 manuals, 48 
 
 manual stops, 4^50 
 
 memory, 5 
 
 mental alertness, 3-7 
 
 misinterpretation of picture, 4 
 
 mixtures, 48, 50 
 
 "mock" emotions, 36, 38 
 
 modulation, 13-21 ; (with pivotal note), 
 15-17; (with pivotal chord), 18; (with 
 recitative), 19; (with diminished- 
 seventh chord), 19-21; ("psychologic" 
 possibilities), 15; (to dominant of 
 prospective key), 15 
 
 moods (registration), 54 
 
 musical atmosphere, 4, 7 
 
 musical "caricature," 36 
 
 musical characterization, 8, 30 
 
 musical interpretation, 4-5, 31-43 
 
 mutation stops, 48, 50 
 
 mysterioso, 55 
 
 63
 
 64 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Nature themes, 27 
 neutral music, 29, 34 
 nomenclature of organ stops, 49-51 
 
 Old age, 30 
 
 opera as a model, 6 
 
 orchestra as a model, 7, 47 
 
 Pedal as foundation of harmony, 56 
 
 pedal stops, 51 
 
 pedallijig, 45-46 
 
 pistons, 52 
 
 pivotal chord {see "modulation") 
 
 pivotal note {see "modulation") 
 
 popular music, 3, 37, 62 
 
 "prospective key," 14-21 
 
 "psychologic" possibilities of modulation, 
 
 15 
 psychological insight, 4-5 
 
 Quint, 50 
 
 Rain, 57 
 
 recitative, 55-56, 58; (transitory), 19 
 
 reed stops, 50, 51 
 
 registration, 7, 9, 47, 53-56 
 
 related keys, 14—15 
 
 repertoire, 3-30 
 
 resourcefulness, 1, 7-26 
 
 Scenery musically illustrated, 6, 12, 41- 
 
 43 ; (registration), 54-55 
 selection of musical material, 61 
 sesquialtera, 50 
 silence, 6, 58 
 
 slap-stick comedy, 35-37, 56 
 special effects, 36, 56-59 
 staccato touch, 47 
 standard overtures, 29 
 
 storm scenes, 30 
 "striking" themes, 12 
 subsidiary themes, 8 
 suspension, 18^ 
 swell pedals, 52 
 
 Tempo, 6 
 tension, 55, 58 
 theatrical organ, 44-5G 
 theatrical values, 5 
 thematic development, 8-13, 26 
 thunder, 57 
 
 tonality (changes in), 13; (character of), 13 
 "tone color," 53 
 tragedy, 30 
 transition, 13-21 
 transposition, 21-22 
 traps, 56 
 
 travel views, 41-43 ; (inappropriate 
 music), 4 
 
 Unison pitch, 48 
 
 Variety (in metre), 11; (in tempo), 13; 
 
 (in keys), 13 
 vaudeville effects, 58 
 villanous characters, 30 
 vox humana, 54 
 
 Waltzes, 29, 39, 40 
 water scenes, 41, 55 
 weekly news pictures, 38-40 
 whistles, 57 
 wind, 57 
 
 Xylophone, 55, 58 
 
 Youthful characters, 30
 
 Los Angeles 
 This book is DUE on the last date 
 
 stamped below. 
 
 APR 18 1994 
 
 R ? '^ e > w I? r:^ 
 
 APR 1 S 1994
 
 UCLA-Theater Arts Library 
 
 MT 737 L252m 
 
 L 006 285 995 4