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Psycho Analyis, String techniques, Background information - Coggle Diagram
Psycho Analyis
Structure
One of the roles of music in any film is to bring unity to the often rather fragmented visual. language of cinema. In Psycho, Herrmann used leitmotif technique to unify the musical cues, associating musical textures and gestures with characters and psychological states on the screen. In Herrmann’s case the leitmotif is usually a more complex musical gesture than the Wagnerian model, including harmony, texture and rhythm, as a well as melodic shape
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This can be seen in 'The Murder', which is used 4 times to signify the act of a murder
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String techniques
Mutes - A mute deadens the sound of the strings and adds a muffled quality - Herman uses this consistently throughout the score
Bowing - Herman is very particular about his bowing throughout the piece for example in murder the bows are all down bows to mimic the stabbing of the knife.
Divisi - Herman splits the orchestra into 8 parts in the cue "The City". This makes the chords played in the cue easier to play and to create an expressive tone.
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Sul ponticello - "On the bridge" it makes a scratchy, icy, untrue note. Herman uses this to create his spooky effect
Tremolando When you try and put as many up and down bows to create a shudder sound. This creates the horror effect
Glissando - Used at the beginning of the murder to glissando up to a certain note to create the stabbing action in "The murder"
Senza Vibrato - This is heard at the end of "The Cellar". Hermann uses this to cut out the vibration and this creates an inexpressive, cold sound
Background information
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Tells the story of a woman called Marion Crane who is on the run after stealing money and is killed by a motel owner in the infamous shower scene. Norman bates (the motel owner) is psychotic and convinced he is his mother
Bernard Herman composed the score for Psycho and worked closely with Alfred Hitchcock. Herman insisted on complete artistic freedom which makes the score so unique
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