Abstract
The most common form of musical accompaniment for silent film screenings today is a single pianist, usually working without a pre-composed score, who deploys some species of improvisation—which is to say that musical materials are generated more or less spontaneously, in the course of performance. This research proposes that the silent film accompanist, working without a pre-composed score, is enmeshed within a normative, contingency-rich environment, structured by a distinct arrangement of freedom and restraint, and social and cultural expectations. This is the silent film accompanist’s predicament. Presenting a descriptive account of the underlying environmental and social factors with which the accompanist must contend, the research explores the connectedness of the improvising performer’s situatedness and the conduct of a series of documented live performances.The research traces a connection between contemporary and early twentieth-century practitioners of moving image musical accompaniment. It argues that, when considering the practice of silent film accompanists working without a pre-composed score, the dominant understanding of improvisation as the spontaneous generation of musical materials in the course of performance, can profitably be situated within a broader and less music-centric conception of improvisation as situational coping. Through the lens of improvisation-as-coping, and drawing upon close reading of primary sources, the research proposes a partial reconsideration of the relevance and meaning of improvisation to early twentieth century practitioners of moving image musical accompaniment.
The musical accompaniment of silent film is a practice which has largely escaped scholarly consideration within musical improvisation studies. Within the scholarship of silent film music, keyboard accompaniment has featured—though a lack of critical engagement with the ontological complexity of improvisation has sometimes hampered this engagement. This research might assist scholars of silent film music seeking to understand the practices and procedures of silent film piano accompaniment, both today and in the early twentieth-century. As a first-person account of practice, this research contributes to the developing understandings of improvised performance.
| Date of Award | 18 Nov 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Supervisor | Geoff Cox (Main Supervisor) & Catherine Haworth (Co-Supervisor) |