New Book Global Soundtracks: Worlds of Film Music Analyzes International Film Music

In this first of its kind ethnomusicological study of world film music, editor Mark Slobin brings together a truly global analysis of the subject. Where most film music studies concentrate on the great composers and film scores of Hollywood, Global Soundtracks: Worlds of Film Music fills a huge gap by also considering music in films from subcultural America, China, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Indonesia, and both north and south India. Historical surveys of film music practices as well as examples of specific films and the work of individual directors are included.

These essays by top scholars examine how and why music works in films around the world. It is argued that music works not just for narrative enhancement and hinting at the motivations of characters, but also as a sort of "invisible narrator" that passes cultural information about the society in which the film is set.

In addition to the breadth of cultures looked at in Global Soundracks, the book also spans nearly a century of film-from the earliest work of the silent era to today’s global film and media industries. The book contains examples of a variety of ways to approach the study of film music: individual film analysis, directorial or star specificity, genre studies, production methods, cultural siting of scores, and matters of U.S./non-U.S. interaction.

Mark Slobin is a professor of music at Wesleyan University. He is the author of Fiddler on the Move: Exploring the Klezmer World (2000) and Subcultural Sounds: Micromusics of the West (1993, 2000).

Buy the book:

• In North America: Global Soundtracks: Worlds of Film Music
• In Europe: Global Soundtracks