Changes in posts requiring some music theory knowledge

 I have removed content from posts that require reading music notation plus some knowledge of music theory. These were indulgences of mine, in part because I admire the work of authors cited in those posts. The problem is that music notation plus music theory contradicts the priorities of the pedagogy in Hearing the Movies: to develop critical viewing and listening skills for a general undergraduate audience. 

Quoting from the book's Preface:

Students can get full benefit from the book without the ability to read music notation (the authors have taught courses based on this material to general undergraduate audiences successfully for more than ten years), but some musical examples have been included to enhance understanding for those who can read them.

The content of these posts has been moved to a file published on the Texas ScholarWorks platform: Film Music: Some Posts from Blogs. Here is the abstract:

This file (1) gathers posts on music theory, especially harmony and musical topics, from our blog Hearing the Movies, (2) likewise gathers some posts on film music from my blog Ascending Cadence Gesture in Tonal Music, and (3) adds a few notes and additional information.

Administrative

 Original post 1 February 2019; updated 8 August, 2022; 10 November 2023.

Guide to this blog: I created one in 2016 and covered the ~260 posts up to that time: see the link in the blog's sidebar under "Contributors." Since then, an additional thirty or more posts have mainly offered suggestions for classroom use based on both published and online sources, the latter including the blogs The Avid Listener, Musicology Now, OUP Blog, and the Library of Congress's blog "In the Muse."

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As of August 2022, I began work on updating the blog. After a hiatus, I am picking that up again in November 2023, fixing links where I can in previous posts (starting with the most recent ones and working back), adding information where relevant, and writing a few new posts similar to the ones mentioned under the "Guide" description above. 

Changes in the Tags (Labels)

I have revised the blog's "Chapter" tags.

If you look at the right-hand side of the screen, below "Blog Archive," you'll find our long list of "Tags." Some of them identify topics ("film form", "leitmotif", "home studio"), others name films discussed (Glory, Prisoner of Zenda), name people ("Victor Herbert", "Katharine Hepburn"), or name institutions, things, and places ("theaters", "cue sheets", "Kinetophone", "Berlin").

Early in the blog's history we used a tag called "pedagogy" to call attention to material particularly suitable for classroom use. That tag is still in the list, but I have rewritten another set, "Chapters," to pinpoint information by chapter. The "1e-" tags refer to the first edition; "2e-" tags refer to the second edition.

Note: I did not attempt to label the large number of posts containing a variety of documentary materials. These are concentrated in the period from July 2009 to March 2010; they are relevant mainly to Chapters 4 and 5 (early film sound and music practices; the transition period). The tags "early cinema," "exhibition," "music for the picture," "source material," and "talking pictures" are efficient ways to get at certain aspects of this material.

Guide to the blog available

I have put together a Guide to this blog, which now has more than 260 posts going back to February 2009. Tags are even greater in number. This document offers a topical guide, including live links. You can find it here: Guide. Update 12-06-22: For reasons unknown, I am able to open this link in Chrome but not in Safari. If you're also having trouble with that, apologies.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Part 1: Posts relating to pedagogy, with collation to the textbook, second edition
Part 2: Topical List of All Other Posts
    Film Production and Presentation
    Sounds
Music Catalogues and Handbooks/Guides
Music and Musicians
Music and Effects: Advice and Opinion
Composer Articles and Interviews
Sound Effects
Voices
Film Futures
Part 3: Alphabetical List of All Posts by Title
Part 4: Chronological List of Posts on Early Cinema, with Introductory Texts
Part 5: Topical List of Tags
Film titles
Actors and Performers
Directors, Producers, and Studios      
Genres, Styles, and Eras
Film and Film Music Terms
Film Production and Exhibition: general      
Film Production and Exhibition: Equipment                  
Film Exhibition: Illustrated Song
Composers and Composition
Music Publication, including manuals and catalogues
Columnists, Article Authors, Textbook Authors, and Scholars  along with some titles
Hearing the Movies pedagogy
Places, including Cities and Theaters
Site Administration and Unclassified
Part 6: Alphabetical List of Tags
Appendix: Documents for Erno Rapee’s Encyclopedia referenced in this HtM blog post: Rapee