Film music is used both in a diegetic sense and a non-diegetic sense. Film music that is non-diegetic is often used to manipulate the viewer’s emotions. For example the orchestral works of composers such as Max Steiner, as mentioned by the BBC, being a Hollywood film scorer, was one of the first of its kind to produce music that both fits the picture and amplifies the emotions of the scenes within the films. His scoring of ‘King Kong’ is said to be revolutionary in the film-scoring world.
The non-diegetic music of films amplifies the emotions in a general sense, but sometimes the opposite emotional type of music can be played, which is used by genres such as comedy and also horror. For example, in horror films, children’s music has famously been used in the background to send chills down the viewer’s spines, becoming something that is always associated with the conventions of Horror.
The effects of music have been researched, in conjunction with film. Music is said to “alter the meaning of the film” (Marshall and Cohen, 1988). This relates to the view that the music is symbolic of changing the emotions of the viewer by mentally shifting the moods of the scenes being shown. Sad music being played in a film can change the feelings of the viewer towards particular subjects and objects/ people.
Music within film is effectively a communication on a subconscious level with the viewer. “It is believed to fulfill its role in communicating the underlying psychological drama of the narrative at a subconscious level” (Lipscomb1989).