O humor na música do cinema silencioso: uma análise das representações musicais destinadas ao acompanhamento de situações cômicas

Abstract

This research aims to comprehend the humor configuration in silent film musics in a very specific way: in the musical representations used in pieces and/or themes that intended to keep up with comic situations of movies which were published in New York in the 1910’s. In other words, it analyzes how some compilations and indications of musical accompaniment suggested humorus and laughter, bringing up the recurring patterns and the possible origins of these sonorous artifices. The selected sheet musics were studied in details from a multidisciplinary perspective in order to understand more the composition strategies than the formal elements proper, once that the improvisation was frequent during this time. Thereby, it was possible to list the common and recurrent elements, as well as the main strategies used by each composer, in view to elaborate a kind of mapping of the cliches and standardization disseminated by this musical practice.