Four Types of Music in Silent Film
Piano Improvisation - A pianist would follow the action up on the screen and would attempt to reflect the mood and speed of the movie's action. "Instant Composer"
Published Musical Extracts - Cue sheets were sent along with the cans of film. Usually single pages of suggested music or extracts of musical selections that could be performed by either the pianist or pit orchestras
Prearranged Scores - Derived from musical sources. Theaters did not use the same music to accompany the film as it came out of Hollywood resulting in a wide variety of interpretations
Original Score - Created for specific films. Not yet practical due to the short life span of films, mixed levels of talent among studio musicians, and an unorganized distribution system.
Published Musical Extracts - Cue sheets were sent along with the cans of film. Usually single pages of suggested music or extracts of musical selections that could be performed by either the pianist or pit orchestras
Prearranged Scores - Derived from musical sources. Theaters did not use the same music to accompany the film as it came out of Hollywood resulting in a wide variety of interpretations
Original Score - Created for specific films. Not yet practical due to the short life span of films, mixed levels of talent among studio musicians, and an unorganized distribution system.