Hitting the Right Notes: Film Directors and Composers in Harmony - Hardcover

Lester D. Friedman; Charity Lofthouse

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1978833490 ISBN 13: 9781978833494

Publisher: Rutgers University Press, 2026

Synopsis

Hitting the Right Notes: Film Directors and Composers in Harmony is a unique, multi-disciplinary volume co-authored by scholars from both media studies and music theory. The book features a chronological and systematic approach that concentrates on analyzing representative scenes from a broad spectrum of mainstream movies as exemplars. With a distinctive focus on versatile analytical tools from film studies, music cognition, and music theory, each chapter supplies background on the time period, director, composer, and their working relationship, then a close reading incorporates both visual analysis and musical elements beyond pitch and harmony. Robust yet accessible, Hitting the Right Notes highlights up-to-date ways of understanding film music, directly demonstrates their application across eras and genres, and displays the artistic magic directors and composers create together. It is essential reading for those interested in film and music.

About this title

About the Authors

Lester D. Friedman is an emeritus professor and former chair of the Media and Society Program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. He is the author, co-author, and editor of over 20 books on film genres, American cinema of the 1970s, American Jewish cinema, British film of the 1980s, and Health and Humanities including most recently Citizen Spielberg, 2nd Edition.

CHARITY LOFTHOUSE is an associate professor of music at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

Edition details

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1978833490
• ISBN 13: 9781978833494
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 258