How do you listen to a soundtrack?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the structure and presentation of movie soundtracks, particularly whether they are arranged to form a cohesive composition or follow the sequence of the film. Participants explore various examples, including soundtracks from musicals and films with predominantly background scores.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that soundtracks from musicals typically follow the sequence of the film to convey the story through music, citing examples like "Chicago" and "Evita".
  • Others note that soundtracks primarily featuring background music may not adhere to a specific sequence.
  • A participant expresses a preference for the "Nightmare Before Christmas" soundtrack, highlighting its sequential arrangement with the film.
  • Another participant mentions that some soundtracks may omit songs due to content restrictions, affecting their arrangement.
  • One participant praises Prokofiev's score for "Alexander Nevsky", discussing its transformation from programmatic music to structured concert forms.
  • A later reply shares a personal experience of watching a live performance of "Alexander Nevsky" alongside the film, emphasizing the impact of the orchestral score.
  • Another participant expresses admiration for the "Inception" soundtrack, describing its unique sound and emotional impact, which sparked their interest in soundtracks.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit a range of opinions regarding the arrangement of soundtracks, with no clear consensus on whether soundtracks should follow the film sequence or be structured as standalone compositions. Multiple competing views remain on the topic.

Contextual Notes

Some discussions touch on the limitations of soundtrack arrangements based on content restrictions and the varying purposes of music in films, but these points remain unresolved.

ppppparker
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When they release soundtrack do they pt the song order so it fits together as one connected composition or is it just like the movie sequence? Hans Zimmer Inception for example, does it follow some musical structure or is it exactly as youd hear it in the film?
 
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ppppparker said:
When they release soundtrack do they pt the song order so it fits together as one connected composition or is it just like the movie sequence? Hans Zimmer Inception for example, does it follow some musical structure or is it exactly as youd hear it in the film?

Depends on the type of movie. Typically, musicals will order them sequentially the way they appeared in the movie (re: "Chicago", "Evita", "West Side Story", etc...). This is because the tunes/music/songs convey the story themselves (in "Evita", there was very little dialog. The entire story was done via the music).

Others, where they are mostly background music, the sequence isn't as crucial.

My #1 most favorite movie soundtrack of all time is "Nightmare Before Christmas", and the soundtrack is sequential with the movie.

Zz.
 
ppppparker said:
does it follow some musical structure or is it exactly as youd hear it in the film?
Some follow, others hit little jumps as some songs are rated mild language for the movie and don't appear in them.
ZapperZ said:
My #1 most favorite movie soundtrack of all time is "Nightmare Before Christmas", and the soundtrack is sequential with the movie.
Zz.
My #1 most favorite movie soundtrack of all time is "Jack and The Cuckoo-Clock Heart". I recommend watching the movie in it's original language: French, with English subtitles for those who don't understand French. It's a great movie and the soundtrack as well.
 
By orders of magnitude the best soundtrack … EVER ... was Prokofiev's score for Alexander Nevsky. For concert he wrote a cantata based on that score.

This transformation from pure accompaniment/programmatic music to structured concert forms can also be heard in his Romeo and Juliet suits from the ballet. Beyond masterful, though there the gap was not as wide.
 
Some years ago our local symphony orchestra performed the Alexander Nevsky score while the film was shown on a large screen behind them. That was an impressive experience! There was also a VHS video of the film with the original low-fidelity soundtrack replaced by a modern performance by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. I don't think it has ever been released on DVD, or better, on Blu-ray, although Criterion has released a DVD edition with the original soundtrack.
 
Well i guess my all time fav soundtrack is Inception. Its actually the reason I got all interested in soundtrack questions.. I don't know technicals of music but I've never heard music like that before. The chords sound really menacing and almost scary lol.. The music sounds deadly serious to me, like it demands to be listened to.
 

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