Sometimes a composer’s job is to not write music.

I put a lot of TLC into this cue accompanying Lady Usher‘s funeral scene. (Name of deceased redacted in order to prevent spoilers.) The score attentively follows the motion of the camera and the emotional dynamics of each of the bereaved. Well done, self.

But when I experienced the scene with sound design, including the distant tolling of a bell, I realized that the moment didn’t need music at all. So even though the cue was written, recorded, and edited, I petitioned director George Adams to omit it. The end result is a scene that breathes more naturally, and lets the performers carry the emotion.

The soundtrack, per tradition, will provide a home for rejected cues, as will this blog. Enjoy!

This music from Lady Usher accompanies a reflective moment in the shower which becomes visceral with the arrival of an unwelcome plus one.

The hair-raising effects at the end are entirely acoustic, with no processing other than reverb. One of the reasons I love working with live strings is because they’re capable of creating these kinds of alien sounds for moments of tension.

This mid-film cue from Lady Usher accompanies a complex scene where tenderness turns to passion, and then… something disturbing.

Thematically, this cue introduces a melody for the main couple’s relationship. This theme will recur as the tension mounts, and Morgan and Roderick start to face tough decisions about their future.

One reason I selected a string quartet for the score of Lady Usher is because strings are particularly capable of producing hair-raising acoustic effects.

This atmospheric cue uses unusual playing techniques to accompany a nightmare sequence, followed by a hesitant trip down Usher’s disturbing hallways.

This week’s music from the score for Lady Usher accompanies a classic “plot thickens” scene. We hear a reprise of the Lady’s theme, then a dark dance which underscores the increasingly-creepy dialogue about the Usher family.

Sorry… I meant to say the award-winning score for Lady Usher. I’m pleased to share that the music won Best Original Score at the New York Cinematography Awards competition. Read the details here!