A Brief Musical Analysis of The of The Shining The Shining is Shining is widely regarded as a modern horror masterpiece. The acting performed by Jack Nicholas is an obvious reason, as are the striking visuals of blood gushing from elevator doors and the decrepit, decaying woman in the bath tub of room 237. It is a film that sticks with those who watch it long after the ending credits have rolled across the screen. To this day, “Here’s Johnny!” remains a widely known line that has been parodied over and through. The film succeeds on many levels. However, one of the most important reasons why The Shining is Shining is such an effective and terrifying film that still thrills and chills to this day is not the brilliant acting or the gruesome gore. Instead, the case can be made that it is the music of the film that makes every scene and every word uttered just a little bit more horrifying. It is this extra level that the music propels each scene to which helps to craft a modern film masterpiece. The opening credits happen to be one of the best scenes where the power of the music to shape the viewer’s interpretation of the action on the screen is so clearly demonstrated. The Shining opens Shining opens with helicopter shots of The Rockies. The camera swoops over a glistening lake and then transitions to a birds-eye view of a car maneuvering a winding road through heavy woods. Next, there is a cut to a lower, shallow angled shot as the yellow car drives in the foreground of a dominant snowcapped mountain. As mentioned in the article “Rehearing the Shining”, with the music yet to be described it sounds as if this could be the makings of o f a car commercial for an SUV. The visual aspects of the scene are serene and awe inspiring, demonstrating the beauty of the Rocky Mountains. However, this interpretation is not at all what one considers upon viewing the opening of The of The Shining .
From the very beginning of this opening credit, the eerie and ominous medieval chant Dies chant Dies Irae is heard boldly through an electronic keyboard. The dark notes played slowly in succession ensure that the audience knows that something is amiss from the start. As the camera continues to follow the ca r, the music becomes increasingly unsettling. Ghastly rattling and metallic screeches build in frequency first, shortly followed by shrieking and moaning voices. It is immediately obvious that the car is approaching something wicked, soon discovered to be the Overlook Hotel. The shrieks and low repeating tones signal the terror that lay ahead. The music here is the only indicator of what type of film is displayed on the screen, however it is so powerful that no questions are needed to be asked regarding the film’s genre. Dies genre. Dies Irae tells us through its medieval chanting that what we are about to witness is nothing less than a very scary film. On numerous occasions throughout The Shining , the music gives us insight into a character’s thoughts or state of mind. The music also acts often to amplify what is occurring on screen. In this way, the music functions almost as a tertiary character instead of something that is normally expected in the background in films. The Awakening of Jacob is particularly interesting in that it is strictly used in scenes where Danny is concerned. It is first heard when Danny is seen talking to Tony, his strange ethereal ‘friend’, in the bathroom mirror. The horns playing long notes in succession when we see Danny “shine” for the first time in the restroom are used later in the movie when Danny discovers that room 237 is open. Before Danny reaches the room on his big-wheel we are already on the edge of our seats, expecting to find something horrifying because the music is immediately recognizable from the terror it was associated with in the earlier
sequence. The experience that this particular piece of music causes the audience to have is excruciatingly tense and maintains this discomfort for several minutes even though we are not witnessing anything particularly scary on screen. Stanley Kubrick realized that with music alone h e could induce a sense of tense anticipation. Violins skittering nervously in a high vibrato are a perfect musical analogue to a feeling of dreadful apprehension. Music functions very handily as a tool to manipulate the audience’s perception of each scene and the decision for it to play such a crucial role in the film was a brilliant decision by Kubrick. The screeching, high pitched note from Ligeti’s Lontano Ligeti’s Lontano preludes moments where a character such as Danny or Mr. Halloran shines and prepares the viewer each ea ch time for the horror to come. Instead of crafting original music, Kubrick utilized much of the preexisting classical compositions as leitmotifs for situations and characters. One of the most obvious leitmotifs in the film is Ligeti’s Lontano Ligeti’s Lontano.. It is heard every time a character is “shining” with the exception of the first scene in which Danny has visions of blood spilling from the elevator and the twin girls. The first time Lontano time Lontano is heard is when Danny is throwing darts in the game room. A very high frequency pitch is first heard, with sinister low horns underneath. The music is then ended with high unnerving strings playing in vibrato. The next time Lontano time Lontano is heard it is during the scene in which Mr. Halloran, the chef, “shines” “ shines” with Danny and telepathically asks, “How’d you like some ice cream, doc?”. The music here is almost identical to the first usage with the exception that it does not end in strings and instead fades-out. Perhaps this d ifference can be understood to be a deliberate distinction between the malign nature of the twin ghosts and benign nature of Mr. Halloran. The third time Lontano time Lontano is heard it accompanies
Jack as he stares blankly out of a window. The expression on his face is very similar to Danny’s and Mr. Halloran’s when they “shine” but the ability of Jack to “shine” would not be confirmed if it was not for the musical cue that accompanies the ability. Again, the power of the music to enhance the action on screen is demonstrated. Kubrick chose to use music to make the audience aware of something that otherwise they would not be so sure of. The next use of Lontano Lontano is when Mr. Halloran “shines” with Danny. This time a heartbeat accompanies the high pitched frequency and then Lontano then Lontano gives way to The Awakening of Jacob, Jacob, establishing the experience to be connected to evil. Variants of the leitmotif are briefly heard again while Danny shines in the bedroom during Jack and Wendy’s argument and when Danny, presumably under the full control of Tony, scrawls “REDRUM” on the bedroom door. However, the usage in these scenes is less distinct. There are other notable compositions that seem to be used as leitmotifs in the film. The Awakening of Jacob is heard during some of the most tense scenes seems to always accompany Danny in some form or another. Another prominent piece of music in the film, Music film, Music for Strings, Strings, has two parts that are used for specific purposes. The vertiginous, dream-like melody composed of sweeping harp and xylophone accompany Jack at times when he appears ap pears to be losing his mind. It is first heard as Jack stands looking over the model of the hedge maze and sees Wendy and Danny in the middle. The look on his face is crazed and lost from reality. It is again heard when Jack is aggressively typing in the hotel lounge what we later find out is the same repetitive statement over and over again. Lastly, it is heard when Jack attempts to reassure Danny of his love for him as they sit together on the bed. However, by the end of the scene the audience is thoroughly convinced that something inside Jack has broken.
At first Jack appears to think he has been discovered through Danny’s suggestion that he might harm his family. He then attempts to compose himself and reassure Danny that he would never hurt him. The way in which Jack says, “And I would never do anything to hurt ya,” is manic and wild. But the vertiginous and surreal melody that accompanies the dialogue does more to betray Jack’s true feelings than even his contradictory tone and facial expressions. Before he utters, “I love you Danny,” it is already clear through the spiraling melody that Jack is lying to Danny and that he is not sane or even himself for that matter. There is something that is innately eerie and discomforting in the music of The of The Shining . Often the music expresses solitude, particularly through the use o f Bartók’s Music for Strings. Strings. The melodies are slow and solemn, periodically interjected by single repetitive notes. Music notes. Music for Strings projects felt by Jack Strings projects the loneliness and isolation that is felt and Wendy inside the Overlook Hotel so that the audience too can experience their state of mind. The sound of tympani glissandi, the rolling from one pitch to another, further adds to the eerie loneliness established by the repetitive singular, wooden sounding xylophone notes. Music notes. Music for Strings is a collection of deliberate and somber melodies that, though part of the same overall ov erall piece, are almost isolated from one another. Music for Strings is used in the maze scene as Wendy and Danny attempt to navigate through to its center. The music in the scene first reflects a playful curiosity at the surface but also has significant undertones of dread, heard through the constant hum of strings under the more prominent piano and violin. The music works tremendously to exemplify what is occurring on screen. The mood of Wendy and Danny can be summarized through the melody that the piano and violin play as they run up and down
the musical scale. It is nearly oblivious to the faint background noise of the unnerving unn erving hum of strings, just as they are oblivious to Jack who is peering down at them via some odd connection between the maze model and real maze. On a deeper level, they are unaware of the reality that this may be one of the last good times they share. Their happiness is soon to be overwhelmed ov erwhelmed by the darkness and evil of o f the Overlook Hotel. It is also important to note that this melody from Bartók’s Music Bartók’s Music for Strings is used again in the following scene where Danny is riding his big-wheel through the halls of the Overlook. The music seems to tie the maze outside to the hall of the hotel. In the same way that Danny and Wendy explored the maze to find the center, Danny alone explores the halls to find room 237. Though it is not explicitly stated, the music suggests that Danny may purposely be searching for this room. The curiosity expressed through the melody expresses Danny’s own curiosity about the dark history of the hotel. Again, the underlying strings in vibrato seem to be a forewarning of events to come. As we know, room 237 is later the location of the more disturbing and bizarre scenes in The Shining . In the latter portion of the movie, the music tends to become more frantic and discordant as Jack descends further into darkness. The works of Penderecki are used with increasing frequency. When Wendy discovers d iscovers what Jack has been writing, the discordant skittering and plucking strings of Polymorphia Polymorphia reflect the shattered emotional state of Wendy as well as the violent insanity of Jack. Moments later when she has locked Jack in the dry storage cooler, Polymorphia cooler, Polymorphia accompanies Jack’s psychotic taunts and laughs. The piece is most prominently used during the famous scene in which Jack axes through the bathroom door in an attempt to murder his family. The sole use of Polymorphia Polymorphia is clearly
to intensify the hysteria of both Wendy and Jack and instill a deep discomfort in the audience that the situation is only going to get worse. Further contributing to the h orror, during the murder of Mr. Halloran a wooden rattling sound with accompanying strings seem almost to mimic the famous Knife famous Knife Cue from Psycho from Psycho.. There is of course other music used in the The Shining that Shining that is not so typical of the horror genre. Perhaps the most unusual is the use of 1920’s style dance tunes. It is very distinct from the eerie tracks in the rest of the film but that is not to say it is out of place. The music is used it is to create a connection to the past of the hotel and could even be some of the most important music in the film. The scene in which Jack attends the ball is essential in establishing Jack’s duality with Grady, the old caretaker who murdered his wife and children. This is reinforced by the usage of the same type of music at the very end of the film when Jack is seen in the framed picture from the July 4th Ball. The use of the 20’s music in both of these scenes creates a connection through time between the Overlook Hotel, the old caretaker Grady, and Grady (possibly) reincarnated as Jack. Upon a second viewing and with this in consideration, one can even interpret the ballroom scene as occurring 60 years beforehand. The Shining is Shining is driven and crafted by its music. The power of it is evidenced in the way of which it enhances scenes. The opening credits would not be distinguishable from any other genre of film if it were not for the low horns and haunting shrieks of Dies Dies Irae. Irae. When Jack attempts to reassure Danny of his love it is the vertiginous music that first betrays his true feelings. The scenes where Danny and other characters “shine” would not have the same effect if it were not for the low, sinister horns and high-pitched screeching that is unsettling in and of itself. Kubrick chose to use mostly preexisting music to
compose the score for The for The Shining , demonstrating his ability to recognize what will work most effectively might not always be an originally composed score. He was able to create leitmotifs from the preexisting tracks and often stage some of the action on screen to the music itself. The film contains all the necessary components to be considered a masterpiece. One of the most important of these is its music, particularly due to its ability to propel every scene to another level of excellence.
