Music in Film History

Which excerpt from the passage best supports the author’s claim that film composers must

have a special personality?

• . . . work together quickly and be prepared to make changes to how their final product

  sounds.

• . . . can share computer files with the director during the production process.

• . . . might weave together four or five “themes,” or melodies.

• . . . to communicate ideas in the film with music.

Select the underlined word that means “to incorporate or contain as an essential part or characteristic.”

A full-length movie requires about an hour’s worth of music. The composer might weave together four or five “themes,” or melodies. Often, these melodies are associated with important places or characters in the story. These melodies occur repeatedly, perhaps on different instruments and maybe with sung lyrics. A listener might notice sound effects embedded in the music, such as a “crash” of piano keys as something hits the floor. A surprising harmony might go along with a surprise on the screen. The film composer’s job is sometimes to communicate ideas in the film with music.

• requires

• associated

• occur

• embedded

• communicate

Part A

With which statement would the author most likely agree?

• A film must use music created by expert musicians to be successful.

• Those who compose music for movies should be paid as much as a director.

• The music in a movie can fundamentally alter the meaning of a segment of the plot.

• Anyone with an interest in music can gain employment in the movie-music industry.

Part B

Which sentence from the passage best supports the answer to part A?

• With this genre, all possible forms of music can come together to set the tone for each scene in a film.

• They may work with singers, instrumentalists, or even an entire orchestra.

• In earlier years of moviemaking, a film composer received a script, wrote music, and supervised a recording.

• However, there are plenty of film composers who are self-taught or who work entirely on computers.

Read the inference.

Becoming a film composer is a difficult task.

Which pieces of evidence from the passage best support the inference? Choose two answers.

• A composer can work with a director to decide which music clips to use in a film.

• A composer learns about a variety of music and may have extensive training as a musician.

• A composer uses melodies that may be related to certain settings or characters in a story.

• A composer may work for years in different jobs before getting to write music for a movie.

• A composer may write things down while watching and listening to a movie.

Which sentences best express the central ideas of the passage? Choose two answers.

• Music adds an important element to films.

• Movies rely on various forms of music to create moods.

• People who create memorable music often win prestigious awards.

• Composing movie music is a challenging career that contributes great artistic value.

• A person must first have classical training on an instrument to create music for films.