Introduction
1. About me
It all began with a couple of thoughts while watching and observing the music behind films. Thoughts of experimentation that I had since my early childhood passing through my early years in the imaginary world of music composition. Why does that film’s score evoke my ‘x’ or ‘y’ feeling and why at the same time, when I am filtering that through logic, I hear instruments and music scales that have nothing to do with the location this film is based on? I wonder what would happen if I changed this instrument with that instrument, introduced and blended exotic scales between different scenes in order to create new emotional textures etc. This scepticism has brought me to the point where I felt the need to explore into more depth the music behind the picture and create my own unique portfolio of works in which I wish to discover new music paths as well as seeing how these may reflect my own personality.
2. Abstract
This PhD thesis is based on the exploration of the Hollywood film industry in view of scored music and the association between the latter and Middle Eastern music culture. It aims to determine how the music relates to the picture, what are the direct or implied associations with Eastern music styles are and if they exist, to what extent these represent Eastern physiognomies or a westernized model of perceived ethnic authenticity. Due to the vast amount of material available for researching and discussing, this study’s angle focuses mainly on silent and science fiction cinema.
The study explores these areas by presenting and discussing the lack of communication between the visual and Eastern ethnic music implementation in view of scoring composition and instrumentation. It explores a number of films that relate to the issue, or associated subcategories of the main issue. It presents and discusses scoring segments in terms of music implementation and gathers information in view of the composing techniques used. Additionally it demonstrates interrelating examples and approaches where this is relevant and draws conclusions in view of the original question considering Middle Eastern music. Collected information is then processed sculpting the following creative part.
In order to test the hypothesis of audiovisual fluidity and relevance, it then demonstrates a number of originally composed music examples on how films can be scored in a controversial way, with an increased sense of authenticity in terms of ethnic instrumentation, harmonic progression and rhythmic structure, drawing parallel lines when necessary with the preliminary films’ exploration outcomes. Naturally, this is always related to each film’s corresponding visual, chosen for its appropriateness in terms of ethnic portraiture, insinuation or potentially dynamic experimentation.
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Considering the latter, Middle Eastern ethnic instrumentations artistically combine with the Western symphonic orchestra on numerous occasions and the results of this amalgamation are being discussed and evaluated accordingly. Additionally, in view of experimentation, there is an effort to unite the two previous angles (Eastern ethnic and Western symphonic) with computer sound design procedures with the intention of constructing hybrid scores specifically for the science fiction genre. Thus the study explores, identifies and demonstrates the potential of ethnic instrumentation in a film genre in which the visual does not necessarily equate, or imply, an Eastern scoring character.
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The end results of this study determine and discuss the observed lack of depth in view of Eastern music character. Out of the composed scores’ presentation and analysis, the research verifies the originality of this attempt focusing also in the associated physiognomies between the music and the visual. Furthermore it explores and presents the scoring potential in view of Eastern ethnic instruments and sound design, especially in the directly related science fiction genre.
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Finally, the problematic nature of the outcome, as well as thoughts and concerns about the superficial use of Eastern music in the Hollywood cinema, are being discussed under a variety of different angles including technology, social culture, film industry, politics, et. al.
3. Acknowledgments
Music cannot be written without any form of inspiration and guidance. In order to take a big step forward, you must first make sure that you have solid foundations and genuine support.
Therefore, I would firstly and most importantly like to express my most sincere gratitude to my PhD supervisor and personal mentor Dr Julio D’Escrivan to whom I owe the biggest part of completing this project. His support throughout time was unquestionably vital in both terms of academic research and psychological support. His special way of transmitting positive energy together with his theoretical knowledge and practical music skills contributed to a greater extent to each of our personal meetings. Above all, I would like to thank him for making me believe in myself by treating me respectfully and as an equal.
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Secondly, I would like to thank my close surrounding circles but mostly my wife, brother and close friends for having confidence in me and supporting me in any way they could at any time given. They were the people that all I had to do is think about them in my times of difficulty in order to find the strength to carry on. I would also like to thank my parents for their patience and long term financial support as without it I would not have the luxury of pursuing and realising my dream.
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Last but not least, I would like to thank the University of Huddersfield and the staff for the opportunity of cooperating with (Monty Adkins, Lisa Colton, Frances Phillips, Rukhsana Browning, Tony Gray, et al.) for all their support and immediate help provided at any stage of my research. Their sense of humanity and commitment made a significant contribution to my progression.
4. Table of contents
Introduction
5. Preliminary terminology discussion
Before starting this research, it is important to have an upfront discussion and clarification of some specific terminology that is intended to be used frequently in the following chapters. This terminology is consists of the words ‘authenticity’, ‘exoticism’, ‘ethnic’ and ‘orientalism’.
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Beginning with the term ‘authenticity’ and given the study’s Middle Eastern music standpoint, I must clarify that my position is going to be in terms of describing the more accurate, the closer-related to the picture representation in terms of geographical location but also in terms of music cultural tradition. It is a fact that it is impossible to be precise and literally claim that an original composition is authentic in absolute terms, in the sense of replicating the exact music idioms that existed in time periods where the music structure information is quite limited, or in some cases non-existent. Nevertheless, the matter of authenticity, in terms of validity, can be examined by focusing mainly on the following two interconnected facets.
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First and foremost, music travels through time and although its formation undoubtedly alters as it evolves, there is still one pipeline of this time travel that can be used in order to determine how this music was once composed and performed. This communication pipeline is folk tradition which, through ethnic cultures, can be traced back to the fundamental expression of an art form. For that reason, cultural heritage is a form of identity in art and in life expression in general. Consequently, by using ethnic music elements together with traditional harmonic constructions one could argue that, a more relevant ancient music reproduction, in terms of authenticity, can be actually pragmatic. This in turn proves the validity of using the term ‘authentic’ or more accurately the expression ‘more authentic than’ inside the research. Again, this is impossible to be monolithically accurate but it is certainly a valid process in order to examine the music history of ethnic groups and cultures.
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Secondly, there is historical evidence considering the instrumentation of Eastern music cultures. One of many examples in the Middle Eastern music tradition is the santur which, as the Islamic Culture and Communication Organization (1995) states, “has been identified through stone carvings dating back to the sixth century BC in Assyria and Babylonia”. It is important to mention that instruments such as the santur, oud, tambouras, saz, etc., are today some of the most widely used instruments in the reproduction of traditional Middle Eastern music in several countries.
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Considering the term ‘exoticism’, there seems to be diversity in opinions considering its meaning and interpretation. According to Mark Brownrigg’s (2007) summarization, exoticism ideologies are:
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"The use of a non-Western instrument; the use of Western instruments in imitation of non-Western ones; the use of a melody associated with a specific place; the concoction of a melody shadowing a tune with a specific geographic connotations, adopting the theoretical principles of a music culture in order to produce a simulacrum of it; harnessing rhythms evocative of a certain part of the world; using genuine music and/or musicians from the country the film is interested in evoking" (p.312).
Brownrigg’s interpretation is quite wide in context although in a more focused view of his opinion Buhler (2019) states that “the exoticism is usually tied to representing a place as distant and governed by customs alien to the “norms” of Western, tacitly white culture”(p.192).
On the other hand, according to Ralph Locke (2009), “exoticism generally includes a will to represent something that is other, to use representation to capture and objectify the other, and not all exoticism is so explicitly racialized, but the exoticism of racialized topics does reveal especially clearly the cultural stakes of topical signification. And it should be noted that a clear separation between the two is not easy to maintain”.
In view of exoticism, this research’s angle will be very much on par with Locke’s thesis and this has to do with its very nature. Explaining the last, since it is principally focused on the practical elements that construct a score and examines the relations between the score and the picture, irrelevantly if it is a matter of audiovisual authenticity or not, it is not possible to proceed if looking the subject exclusively from a political view most frequently portraying white culture supremacy over the ‘exotic’ ‘unknown’ or ‘otherness’.
Setting an example by forming a question, in a hypothetical scenario in which a composer is using the Western symphonic orchestra’s dynamics, for example low brass crescendos together with forte drums and percussion, to describe an American villain character, how would that change if the composer would attempt this by introducing a didgeridoo with bendir and frame drums on an Arab character? Would this instrumentation’s variation necessarily translate in a composer’s attempt to add his own stone in the creation of a negative ‘exotic’ stereotype? This example certainly isn’t specifically related thus it does not apply only to Eastern cultures as it could be the same for any other possible ethnicity used to set a similar paradigm.
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At the same time, this specific standpoint is not opposing a diverse opinion in view of other studies’ validity that is merely related to the exoticism as a form of actual stereotype realisation. It is just examining the issue from a different angle. Hence, in order to remain focused in identifying the music matters, it will use the term ‘exotic’ and exoticism’ agreeing with Locke’s opinion in view of the relativity of racial interpretation and topical signification.
Similarly, ‘orientalism’ will be excluded from this study as it is a term closer related to the Far Eastern countries. As a side note, the same rule would theoretically apply in this situation as well, since the main idea considering Western white culture supremacy over the others and the generation of the ‘otherness’ distorted image is similar to ‘exoticism’. In view of this matter, in his historical discussion considering orientalists Liu (2010) points out:
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“They have reconstructed an entire Orient by firstly dissecting or breaking the Orient into pieces and then reassembling those pieces together to create a mirror image of the Other. The process is highly selective because only those facts that help relegate the Other to inferiority in moral, social, cultural, religious, artistic and racial aspects are selected, rearranged, and devoid of their context before they are finally presented to the west” (p. 45).
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It is also important to clarify that for convenience reasons the term ‘Middle Eastern’ will be more often referred to as simple ‘Eastern’. Since these are somehow undefined terms as to which exact countries consists of the Middle East, this study will focus in the ethnic music traditions of the wider geographical areas of North Africa, Turkey, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran. The term ‘ethnic’ will also relate to the ethnic music and music tradition of these Middle-Eastern countries, unless it is stated otherwise. To avoid further confusion, ‘ethnic’ will be often accompanied by a directive word e.g. ‘eastern ethnic’.
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As a final point, it is significant to clarify that the naming of scales and modes will be mainly deriving from Middle Eastern titling, which was taken from books and links that are included in the end bibliography. Of course a number of the scales used in this research are the same, or bearing similarities, with scales used in Western harmony but it is important to mention that the specific ones are used predominantly because of their frequent appearance in Middle Eastern traditional music today. In fact, most of them, together with the amalgamation between them especially in Eastern improvisation, are used as a profound foundation for thematic music development. What is also important is not only the implementation of a specific music scale but also the combinations between them that, in conjunction with instrumentation and performance techniques, makes the actual difference in creating music context that has an imperative sense of Eastern music philosophy. After all, music around the world is created using continuous connections of music structural idioms and physiognomies used as an interconnected artistic entity.
A list of the scales and modes with complemented audio examples, as well as the fully constructed scores of the entire research, are included in the ‘Supplementary Audio-Visual Material’ chapter.