Music Is To Movies What Butter Is To Popcorn

Music and the movies go together like butter and popcorn. Where would Close Encounters of the Third Kind have been without its winning theme song? Consider for a moment Pyscho or Star Wars minus their phenomonal scores.

The first moving pictures were introduced in the late 1870s and it turns out that those first silent films were not so silent. Showings of silent films almost always featured live music, starting with the pianist at the first public projection of movies by the Lumière Brothers on December 28, 1895 in Paris. Music was vital from the start. It created atmosphere and gave audiences important emotional cues. Moreover, theaters usually had a pianist on staff to supply this need. In the mid-1910s, large city theaters employed organists and or ensembles of musicians.

Massive organs were designed to fill a gap between the simple piano soloist and a larger orchestra. Theater organs such as the famous "Mighty Wurlitzer" could simulate some orchestral sounds along with a number of percussion effects including cymbals and bass drums. These instruments could also produce realistic sound effects ranging from rolling thunder to galloping horses.

The scores for early silent films were compiled of classical,theatrical and improvised melodies. Once full features became commonplace, however, themes were compiled from photoplays by the pianist, organist, orchestra conductor or the studio itself, which included a cue sheet with the film. As the times marched on, it became commonplace for the “big guys” (films with large budgets) to hit theaters with scores that were composed specifically for them.

Musicians had the creative freedom to add their own improvisational touches to compliment onscreen drama even when following written sheets. A special effect that was not indicated in the score, could be introduced. A theater organ might be heard mimicking the sounds of a galloping horse which enhanced an exciting chase scene.

By the height of the silent era, films were the single largest source of employment for instrumental musicians (at least in America). But the introduction of talkies, which happened simultaneously with the onset of the Great Depression, was devastating to many musicians and put most out of work.

Few film scores survived intact from this period. Soon after, many relevant inventions were made that gave a platform to the movie industry in the following years. By the advent of the 20th century, large numbers of films were made and many more were in production.

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