Worldbuilding Music: Types of Musical Worldbuilding In Media Scoring
- ethantoavs
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
In many film and game scores, composers make musical choices that are designed to immerse the audience into the fictitious world of a piece of media. Some composers may make simple choices, like using the double-harmonic major scale to represent a desert setting. Other composers might go all in, combining musical elements from a wide array of cultural influences to create a truly fresh and distinct musical sound. It is here that lies the essence of what I call, "Musical Worldbuilding."
Types of Musical Worldbuilding
I like to categorize "musical worldbuilding" into two types: "Literal" worldbuilding and "symbolic" worldbuilding. "Symbolic" worldbuilding involves the use of musical choices to create an abstract feeling that the listener is immersed into a fictional world. "Literal" worldbuilding involves designing a coherent musical culture for a fictitious society - that is, the music that the characters would be playing or listening to.
In the context of a media score, "Symbolic" worldbuilding occurs in the form of the underscore, and "Literal" worldbuilding occurs in the form of diegetic music.
Between these two extremes exists a fascinating middle ground: "Source Scoring," which composer Mark Richards proposed in his article, Diegetic Music, Non-Diegetic Music, and “Source Scoring". [1] Richard defines this as any music that shifts between being diegetic and being non-diegetic underscore. I have adapted this idea for my own purposes, and I have come to define it as "the combination of diegetic and non-diegetic musical elements into a larger but cohesive musical whole."
In this article, I will demonstrate examples from film score cues that fit into these categories—highlighting specific musical choices that I feel help to achieve these effects.
Examples of Each Type
Underscore
2009's Avatar, scored by James Horner, contains a couple of cues of interest. In the cue, "Pandora," the choir is singing with a very bright and piercing technique resembling the "White Voice" technique found in a lot of Slavic vocal music. The instrumentation contains a mixture of orchestral elements, non-western percussion, and an "ethnic"-sounding flute that I cannot identify. The flute plays descending slides at the end of phrase, and the cue overall makes use of some strong Dorian harmonies. In the cue, "Bioluminescence of the Night," note the use of the mallet and bell-like synths, as well as the delicate piano with heavy reverb.
2004's SimCity 4, scored by Jerry Martin, contains many fascinating influences. In the cue, "Electric City," Martin employs an eclectic instrumentation: synth strings and flute; drums, bass, and synth; and a sitar. Note how the flute makes use of reverb and delay. The cue also contains a mixture of Dorian and Phrygian harmonies.
2023's Elemental, scored by Thomas Newman, contains influences from the Indian Hindustani and Carnatic traditions. The cue, "Beach Glass," makes use of orchestral strings, guitar, vocals, tabla, sitar, and tanpura. The vocals use the rhythmic singing technique known as Konnakol. The cue, "Bubble Date," is most interesting with its sound design: note the various sampling techniques employed first on the vocals, and later on a dulcimer.
Diegetic
1977's Star Wars: A New Hope, scored by John Williams, contains probably the most iconic example of diegetic music: the Cantina Band. This piece has an instrumentation of Saxophone, Synth Bass, Clarinet, Handpan, Trumpet, Electric Piano, Drum Kit, and Hand Percussion.
2003's Beyond Good and Evil, scored by Chirstophe Heral, is a treasure trove of diverse musical influences. Most iconic is the song, "Propaganda," which plays at a bar in the game's setting (the bar is the headquarters of an underground resistance). The instrumentation contains strings, electronic drums, vocals, subbass synth, and musical sound design. The strings play in octaves and use heavy portamento, reminiscent of some Arab string writing styles. The vocals, sung in mostly French, resemble a mixture of rapping and Indian Konnakol. The subbass instrument is heavily sound-design oriented and does not play a concrete pitch. The only clear notes are what are played in the strings" D#-E-F#-G, but without any clear tonic. As a result, there is complete harmonic ambiguity.
Source Scoring
2007's Battle For Terra, scored by Abel Korzeniowski, contains an example of this "Source Scoring" concept—with a mixture of diegetic and underscore elements. The cue, "Ceremony of Life," is written for an instrumentation of flute, an unidentified wind instrument, choir, bells, shakers, gran cassa, and erhu. What is most fascinating about this cue is how it employs sound design to differentiate between the underscore and diegetic elements: the underscore elements sound very close and dry, while the diegetic elements are hauntingly placed far in the distance via extensive reverb.
1999's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, scored by John Williams, contains another example of this. The horn-like instrument, snares, and timpani represent the diegetic elements (the Gungan marching band on screen), and these are compliment with the underscore elements of the orchestra and choir. Of particular interest is how diegetic elements are treated with sound design: the horn is heavily distorted, and has a lot of reverb. These snares sound almost electronic, and have a machine gun-like effect. The timpani is distorted and the low subbass frequencies are saturated.
1983's Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, also scored by John Williams, contains yet another example of this. The cue, "Victory Celebration," contains a mixture of diegetic (choir and some hand percussion) and underscore (orchestra and bass guitar) elements. The diegetic choir (depicting the Ewoks on screen) gradually morphs into the concert choir of the underscore towards the end of the cue.
Conclusion
At its essence, musical worldbuilding is a tool through which a composer can achieve novel musical ideas. By mixing and matching elements of many different musical cultures, one can combine these influences to create a distinct musical identity for a project. It is through this that fantasy and science fiction media can become truly otherworldly experiences—the truest form of escapism. Therein lies the beauty and wonder of musical worldbuilding.
Works Cited
Mark Richards, https://filmmusicnotes.com/, accessed 13 Apr. 2024, retrieved from: https://filmmusicnotes.com/diegetic-music-non-diegetic-music-and-source-scoring/'
About The Author
I am Ethan Toavs, and my music is all about exploring new worlds! I specialize in combining cinematic styles with influences from a variety of cultures, and employing unorthodox methods of composing. I have a master's degree in Contemporary Media & Film Composition from the Eastman School of Music, and a bachelor's degree in Music from Coastal Carolina University. If you are an author, artist, or other creator who wants music that breathes life into the worlds of your characters and stories, then please reach out to me.
Have thoughts on this blog post? Feel free to chat with me about it in my Discord server!