The Three B's

Should You Use Classical Music or Modern Classical?

Anyone who has ever taken piano lessons learned about the three B’s—Bach, Beethoven and Brahms. An ivory bust of one of these guys may have even adorned your piano. These guys were really rock stars of the Classical music genre and they wrote music accessible enough that even a 7 year old could play them after a year’s worth of lessons.

Classical music is still frequently used in film music; it’s not surprising that these beloved melodies still hold up two centuries later. CSS Music has Classical tracks of well-known composers, but also film score music that pays homage to these great composers while offering a fresh, original approach.

The decision for you as an editor, music supervisor or music coordinator is this: do I want to use a familiar piece of music or something that approximates the mood of a Classical tune?

If the scene you’re editing contains important information that you want the viewer to remember, having a recognized Classical track may work against you. Remember we’re in a brave new world of multitasking. If the viewer is checking his/her email on their iPhone while eating a ham sandwich and taking in your show, information might get lost if they focus their listening on Bach’s “Air Adagio” (Super Themes, Opera and Light Classical).

If you used a track like “Scenic Sketches” (Super Themes, Acoustic Gold) instead, the music would become background; attention would focus on the narrator or dialog. And the email and ham sandwich. J Not to say that “Scenic Sketches” is blasé! But it’s a simple piano piece that sets a relaxing tone while providing motion to your scene.

So maybe save “The 1812 Overture” (Digital Ditties) for that fireworks footage and explore the CSS Music original pieces when you don’t want to call attention to the music.