Overhearing Film Music

"""Brings a fresh reassessment and reappraisal of the practices and aesthetics of film music . . . addressing questions of how to define and recognize artistic significance in film music as the medium and its audience changes."" — William McGinney, School of Music, Texas Christian University ""Does a fantastic job of revealing the mindsets and stylistic approaches to film scoring. . . . For upcoming students, this book provides an incredible field guide straight from the source of the early foundation and progression of scoring.""— Christopher Lippincott, Department of Recording Industry, Middle Tennessee State University ""This book offers an accessible survey of firsthand experiences from composers. It manages to engage in a journalistic and scholarly manner, with an appeal to a wide readership. It will be helpful to introductory students in filmmaking, film studies, and film music, but also offers much for advanced students, scholars, and practicing composers seeking specific lines of inquiry. These in-depth interviews regularly contain surprising information and go beyond the formulaic approach seen in so many collections. I am impressed by the extent to which the author has been inclusive by including interviews with Jermaine Stegall and Rachel Portman, along with a strong survey on Black composers. I would be excited to use this book in the undergraduate Film Sound course I teach. In this course for seniors, the book would open many avenues for approaches to composing and research."" — Matthew Sorrento, Department of Film Studies, Temple University ""The greatest strength of the manuscript is the inclusion of composers of recent films, specifically Jermaine Stegall and Rachel Portman, and the interludes, especially on Black composers for film and choral music for film. . . . I would assign this in an undergraduate or graduate film music course."" — Reba Wissner, Schwob School of Music, Columbus State University"