Music Prof. Neil Lerner on the Sound That Scares Us All
May 10, 2019
We檝e all heard 淭he Drone of Death and we all know it means something bad is about to happen.
Those long, sustained tones have been amping up the tension in movies since the early 1930s.
Wall Professor of Music Neil Lerner recently appeared in a Quartz.com video about the subtle -- and sometimes not-so-subtle -- audio cue.
淚t檚 the sound of dread, Lerner told Adam Epstein, a Quartz reporter. 淎nd that檚 something that I think triggers fear in all kinds of creatures.
According to Lerner, a musicologist who co-edited the book 淢usic in the Horror Film: Listening to Fear, the 1931 film 淒r. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde was the first to use the drone to trigger unease.
Today, it檚 everywhere; popping up in dramas like 淭he Social Network or even last week檚 episode of 淕ame of Thrones.
The 渄rone of death can vary in tone and volume -- low, high, quiet or deafening -- but it has the same effect on viewers.
淒rones build up tension in their unwavering qualities, Lerner said, 渢hat reaction of unease; that檚 what it檚 there to do.
