What is the purpose of music?

Music has varying uses and impacts throughout different forms of interactive media. This includes games, movies, websites and more.

Games

Whilst there are many uses, music can be used to create an atmosphere in games and even support the main aim. Examples of this happening could be the way in which ‘Minecraft’ plays its original soundtracks specifically at different times of the day. Soundtracks will generally play at sunrise, sunset, noon and midnight as the days progress. The calming piano music invokes differing feelings depending on the time of day. For instance, having music playing in the morning might create an atmosphere which boosts determination, bringing forth within the player a rush of excitement as they gain some enthusiasm from the positive music – whether it be conscious or not.

This similar idea also applies when music is played near the end of the day. The accomplished feeling after exploring, building and fighting can be enhanced with the serenity of the music as it allows the player the feel a sense of relaxation after all of their in-game progress.

 

As for music having a main function, games like ‘Pixel Pop’ demonstrate this. The player must click in time with the music to complete the required action and survive for a set period of time. The fact that the music is the main function allows the game to increase or decrease difficulty very easily as obstacles are put into place and players can be lulled into a set rhythm only to have the game to go against what it had previously been expecting of the player. This feature makes it easy to control the audience, and in turn, an enticing game.

 

Movies

In movies, music is heavily present, both in the forefront and in the background and is used for many things including invoking emotion as well as emphasizing and foreshadowing particular moments.

In ‘American Psycho’, during the build up and process of a gruesome axe murder, soundtrack dissonance is used as they play the upbeat and feel-good song ‘Hip to be Square’, highlighting the absurdity of the scene by using contrasting music to ensure that audience members feel discomfort that someone can act in such way even whilst music of this sort is playing – the music doesn’t support the scene in the way it is expected to.

【Contains gruesome violence and strong language】

 

As for emphasizing events in movies, the soundtrack can be matched to a specific action within a scene to bring with it more weight and impact.

【Contains gun violence】

 

In the first 10 seconds of this scene in ‘The Matrix’, the sound of metal is in sync with the man’s footsteps, emphasizing his purposefulness and presence within the scene and therefore, audience members can infer that he is important in this moment and that something of great magnitude may occur.

Music engages audiences, creates atmospheres and can be used in interesting ways to have different purposes across interactive media products – both consciously and unconsciously – whilst consumers have the freedom to interpret its use in many ways.

 

Thanks for reading ～