Cue of the Week: The Test

This is cheatin' music, though not in the country-western music sense. In this cue's scene, a classroom of students sneakily shares answers while their teacher's attention is elsewhere. The music is constructed on two motives: the arpeggiated figure that opens the piece, and the simple half-step interval. I particularly enjoy writing motivic music like this, where a larger form is constructed from simple pieces.

There's one music-to-picture detail here I've always wanted to share with the world: as Ean Mering's character glances at some social security numbers, a descending vibraphone line plays nine tones, one for each digit. Granted, this was so subtle an effect that it passed beneath just about everyone's radar. (Including my own - I almost never notice it when I watch the film.)

The Test