The Difference Between Cues and Music Tracks
You have incredible action footage with a minimal amount of
dialog that you really want to punch up with some exciting music. The scene
runs nearly a minute; cutting footage to a song that has some “ear candy” would
be perfect.
As you audition tracks from the CSS Music library, you might
notice that some music doesn’t seem to go anywhere while other tracks build, evolve
and excite, sounding more like songs without lyrics.
A little history: Once upon a time production music was
pretty much composed to mimic songs. The structure (in songwriting speak) was typically
A-A-B-A-B-B with the “A” being a verse and “B” the chorus. (Sometimes a refrain
or “C” section was composed as well.) Music that didn’t follow this structure
was called Underscore music.
With the advent of reality television and what you guys in
the field are demanding, CSS Music now refers to the aforementioned Underscore
music as “cue music.” We still offer a healthy selection of “song styled”
tracks—like in the above scenario where you want the music to go somewhere to enhance your video—but
we’re finding your requests for more innocuous music growing in popularity.
What makes a track “cue music?” Often it’s based on only one
chord or a short chord progression. It’s all just a variation on an “A”
section. Variety and musical interest is achieved by bringing various
instruments in and out. While you probably wouldn’t create a road trip mix tape
with this type of music, it definitely works well keeping scenes moving or creating
moods--all without getting in the way of dialog.
CSS Music is adding as many styles and moods of cue music
that we can dream up. Feel free to let us know if there’s something you’d like
for your next show!
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