My goal with this ‘No Country For Old Men’ score was to provide subtextual information on the protagonist’s emotional shifts throughout the scene in the absence of obvious emotive indicators like facial expressions and communicative body language. I achieved this by focusing on building tension to then release it several times throughout the scene, using a range of instrumentation changes to paint a variety of auditory pictures reflecting the protagonist's mind. 

The score initiates at 0:11 as he lifts the tarp with a mysterious Amin6 (sus 4) chord and deep double bass pedal notes, creating tension as the scene starts in its ‘investigatory’ mood. This is accompanied with a ‘rattle’ sound effect that is heard throughout the score, alluding to the desert setting, inspired by the idea of an ominous rattle snake.

At 0:38 the lead melodic instrument, a virtual instrument called a ‘Guzheng’ rings E again, the dominant, along with a kick drum, building tension until the eventual cathartic release at 0:44 when the melody starts. This instrument was chosen as initially I had a midi electric guitar, which was selected to subtextually allude to the protagonist’s confident attitude, but was replaced when it just sounded ‘too MIDI’ and thus was distracting, taking away from the effectiveness of the score. The Guzheng was chosen as it offered a ‘guitar-esque’ sound with a beautiful, full reverb and a mellow tone that nicely matched the emptiness of the desert setting.

This melody, along with strummed guitar chords, the rattle sound and a marching band inspired beat reflect the first mood shift from an investigative role to that of a hunter. The A minor melody that is played is the motivic basis for the rest of the score, varied throughout to reflect the changing mood. Between 0:59 and 1:13, I paid careful attention to alter the melody around the protagonist’s dialogue, the silences (safe for the drums, who remain to maintain the momentum of the scene) give weight to his words, drawing focus to them – he is a man of few words, so every piece of dialogue is significant and must be treated as such.

At 1:13, the melody returns, this time with an additional rock drumbeat, a bass and a tuba counter- melody, which plays canonic ideas. Still in the ‘hunter’ phase, the slightly altered melody provides unity within this phase, signalling the continued momentum of his search, and reflecting the protagonist’s confidence.

As he crouches at 1:32, a new mood commences, the ‘waiting/ limbo’ phase, signalled by the breakdown of the score back to just the Guzheng, which resolves to the tonic at the exact moment the camera cuts to the tree where the target is clearly visible. A moment of silence follows, giving a momentary sense of hyperrealism and uncertainty. This moment is broken at 1:49, the exact moment the camera cuts to his watch, the Guzheng playing a tense tremolo motif, building tension. The ‘rattle’ sound effect is especially prominent here, representing the potentially imminent threat, and increases in prominence throughout this next section, ‘the approach’.

At 2:16, the tuba and bass build, building the tension, until catharsis is reached at 2:23 with the climax of the scene, a sudden silence as the target’s dead body is revealed, the final phase. For the next thirty seconds, a relaxed A major melody plays, signalling the arrival of the climax and the absence of tension within the protagonist. This continues until 3:04 when a descending chordal motif commences, ending in a discordant Am chord at 3:09 when the money is revealed in the case, followed by a unresolving Bm chord as the camera cuts to the protagonist’s unrevealing face, subtextually alluding to his discomfort at this reveal. The scene ends without music to allow the protagonist’s disgruntled dialogue to be heard and to create another moment of hyperrealism, not allowing the audience catharsis from this uncomfortable reveal.