The Sound of Music Day 1: Traditional Songs in Musicals, How Songs Reveal Plot & Musical Film Genre

Film Notebook:   The Sound of Music is typically seen as a popular and classic family musical, passed down from one generation to the next. What films have been important in your family? Why do you think your family shared them with you?

Types of Songs in Traditional Musicals: Record these terms & definitions in your film notebook  "I Want" song - expresses what a character is looking for, hoping for, longing for, typically toward the beginning of the show. A good "I Want" song can lay the foundation for strong character development, and set the audience's expectations for where the show might be headed.  Conditional love song - How do you get your characters to sing about being in love at the beginning of the show? You make it conditional, writing the love song with an "if," a technique pioneered by the great Oscar Hammerstein II. Sure, there's such a thing as love at first sight, but it's a lot easier to buy with a little dramatic irony: the characters don't know they're in love, but we do.dramatic irony  “I Am” song – expresses what a character feels in the moment or how a character is introduced to the audience early in the show

Types of songs continued:  Comic list song - expresses wordplay and rhyme through comedy; utilizes comedic elements to get the audience’s response to a situation  Dance craze song - more popular when musicals were more about dancing and individual songs rather than plot; today, they tend to involve some rambunctious character enjoining the entire gang to join in on the fun based on a silly or even serious situation.  11 O’clock number - It used to be that Broadway shows started at 8:45 pm. This meant that most shows would be wrapping things up at around 11 pm, and it became a common practice to craft an ultimate number that would really stop the show, often allowing the star a chance to shine, downstage center; many times the other stars are involved (but not always).

Identifying Types of Songs in Musicals:  Watch these clips and determine which category of song they best represent based on your definitions:  From Beauty and the Beast  From High School Musical 2

Traditional Musical Songs— Answers: Beauty and The Beast’s “Belle’s Reprise” is an example of an “I want” song --literally says “I want” --focuses on her desires/motivations for more than what she has right now High School Musical 2’s “Every Day” is an example of an Eleven O’clock song --features Troy & Gabriella, the main stars, as they are coming back together after having some relationship issues --occurs towards the end of the movie, but isn’t the very last number

Traditional Musicals, Songs & Plot Development:  As musicals evolved over time, they became less about stars and individual songs and more focused on the plot (or the “book”).  Many traditional musicals carefully craft songs to develop plot elements, like setting, conflict, etc.  As you watch “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” from Disney’s The Lion King, consider how the lyrics help to develop the plot of the film:

Musical Film: Genre & History  Musical Film: a genre of film where songs sung by characters are interwoven into the plot, sometimes accompanied by dancing.  Musical film evolved from Broadway musicals after the introduction of sound film quality and included background scenery and location shooting that a small theater could not handle.  Many traditional musicals were adapted for the screen as a result of their popularity, like West Side Story, The King and I, and Grease.

The Sound of Music (1965) Director: Robert WiseMusic: Richard Rogers & Oscar Hammerstein II Choreography: Marc Breaux & Dee Dee Wood  Based on the 1959 The Sound of Music musical  Follows the story of a woman (Maria) training to be a nun who has reservations about becoming one and becomes a governess to a retired naval officer’s (Captain Von Trapp) children, as he is widowed. After bringing love, laughter, and music back into their lives, she and the Captain fall in love and must try to escape Austria, as the Captain has been called to serve the Nazis, a decision he is vehemently opposed to.  The setting is Salzburg, Austria in 1938 as the Nazis are taking control.  Filmed from March 26 through September 1, 1964, with external scenes shot on location in Salzburg, Austria and the surrounding region.

The Sound of Music, starring:  Julie Andrews as Maria Von Trapp  Christopher Plummer as Captain Von Trapp  Eleanor Parker as the Baroness  Richard Haydn as Max Detweiler  Peggy Wood as Mother Abbess  Charmian Carr As Liesel  Nicholas Hammond as Friedrich

Background: The film is based on the true story of the Von Trapp Family Singers and specifically the first section of Maria Von Trapp's book The Story of the Trapp Family Singers (1949), but there were many alterations & omissions. -- There were 10 children, not 7, and their names & ages were changed --Maria came to the family as a tutor, not a governess --Maria said she originally married the Captain because she loved the children, but later grew to love him completely --The two married 11 years before the Nazi takeover, not right before it --The family was musically inclined before Maria came into their lives --Captain Von Trapp was a warm and caring father, not at all like he is portrayed early in the movie --The family did escape Austria before the borders were closed, but did so by train to Italy, not by dramatically walking over the Alps with suitcases --The family priest, not their uncle, was their manager

Awards and Importance:  Nominated for 10 Academy Awards  Won 5: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Music (Scoring, Adaptation), Best Sound, Best Film Editing  The film was a major commercial success, becoming the number one box office movie after four weeks, and the highest-grossing film of  By November 1966, The Sound of Music became the highest- grossing film of all-time—surpassing Gone With the Wind— and held that distinction for five years.  The film was just as popular throughout the world, breaking previous box-office records in twenty-nine countries. Following an initial theatrical release that lasted four and a half years, and two successful re-releases, the film sold million admissions worldwide and earned a total worldwide gross of $286,214,076. Adjusted for inflation, the film earned $2.366 billion at 2014 prices—the fifth highest grossing film of all time.  Continues to be a popular film with its own tour in Salzburg, Austria  A live remake featuring Carrie Underwood as Maria premiered on NBC on December 5, 2013  Lady Gaga performed some of the songs at the 2015 Grammy’s in honor of its 50 th anniversary.

Your Turn:  As you watch the film, continue to think about the various songs used, what categories of traditional songs they fit into, and how they develop the setting or plot of the film.