# Is there a name for this technique? Calm music over an edgy or violent scene?



## sonnenuntergangstunde

I've seen this occur frequently in films, an example would be in The Shawshank Redemption, with the warden and guards practically foaming at the mouth while a Mozart opera is playing:






It also happens in films where there is a particularly bloody gunfight or similar; the action is often portrayed in slow motion, but with calm, beautiful music playing on top. Does anyone know the name of this technique used in films, and can anyone provide any further examples? :tiphat:


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## quack

TV Tropes calls it Soundtrack dissonance and offers lots of examples http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SoundtrackDissonance


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## sonnenuntergangstunde

quack said:


> TV Tropes calls it Soundtrack dissonance and offers lots of examples http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SoundtrackDissonance


Great, thanks for that!


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## Mahlerian

I think of it as ironic use of music. That is, the music appears to be saying one thing, but is actually saying another. It's frequently used for comedic effect, but not as often for dramatic. I'm actually interested in hearing about more examples of this where the music is original, rather than just a piece of classical music stuck in.


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## Norse

I wouldn't place it in the ironic category, but Morricone's well-known "Gabriel's Oboe" main theme in The Mission (a sort of 'heavenly' Bach-ish tune, probably more famous than the movie itself) is used during the massacre towards the end.


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## PetrB

quack said:


> TV Tropes calls it Soundtrack dissonance and offers lots of examples http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SoundtrackDissonance


Nothing against, but _soundtrack dissonace_ sounds like a recently coined term, of which there are similar in music theory, (ex: _rhythmic dissonance_) Over the past few decades, there has been a tendency to micro-define, which I find actually silly, the terms more petty academic sounding than useful.

It used to be called _*playing against type*_ -- which does make actual sense. If you sing an up tempo song in a slow tempo, and that is what turns the upbeat song into a sad-sounding one, that _*plays against type*._

_Soundtrack dissonance_ sounds very learned, academic, and relatively new. (If you analyze the phrase, take it apart, it also sounds false, since it makes no literal sense: I am against non-sense.)

Though these days, _soundtrack dissonance_ it may be.

I'd keep _*play against type*_ in your back pocket, just in case someone does not know the new academese, or like me, even readily understanding the new academese, giggles when they hear such phrases as _soundtrack dissonance._


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## Crudblud

PetrB said:


> _Soundtrack dissonance_ sounds very learned, academic, and relatively new. (If you analyze the phrase, take it apart, it also sounds false, since it makes no literal sense: I am against non-sense.)


TV Tropes is quite a light-hearted site, I wouldn't advise taking their terms as serious academic terminology.


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## ahammel

PetrB said:


> It used to be called _*playing against type*_ -- which does make actual sense. If you sing an up tempo song in a slow tempo, and that is what turns the upbeat song into a sad-sounding one, that _*plays against type*._


I've only ever heard "playing against type" used to describe actors taking unexpected roles.

"Soundtrack dissonance" makes perfect sense to me: there's tension between the action on the screen and the mood of the score. I can see how it could be confused for actual sonic dissonance in the soundtrack, though.


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## PetrB

ahammel said:


> I've only ever heard "playing against type" used to describe actors taking unexpected roles.
> 
> "Soundtrack dissonance" makes perfect sense to me: there's tension between the action on the screen and the mood of the score. I can see how it could be confused for actual sonic dissonance in the soundtrack, though.


It is a theatrical term: it is also used to describe songs sung in a way opposite to their original intention, etc.

The OP is about a soundtrack used for film, also against type... that remains in the realm of theater


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## PetrB

Dupe _____________________________


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