Cue of the Week: “Holden on the Range”

An interlude of romance in a rustic setting inspires this week’s music selection from Lifetime’s Secrets Beneath the Floorboards. I particularly love scoring these kinds of moments, which provide rich opportunities for musical themes to breathe and develop.

Here I introduce a four-note theme that’s a leitmotif for romance in the film. Drawn from the pentatonic scale (a.k.a. the “all white notes on the piano” scale) it has a peaceful and faintly folksy sound. As the conversation turns to the protagonist’s troubled Oma (grandmother), that character’s theme briefly emerges on cello before the romantic mood returns. Props to Tom Strahle for the lovely acoustic guitar accompaniment.