The Importance of Music in Film and its Narrative Impact

Highly regarded as one of the greatest films ever made is The Godfather. Francis Ford Coppola’s 1972 film kick-started the movement of the gangster genre as a true cinema classic. Innovative elements of the film make it not only one of the best of its time but also a staple in the industry even today.

The Role of Music in The Godfather

Coppola’s rendition of Mario Puzo’s best-selling novel tells the story of an unconventional New York family that experiences a transition of power from the mafia patriarch to the apprenticing son.

Coppola delivers this thrilling experience to his audience through a variety of ways that assigns the film the reputation that it has maintained through the decades. One of the most subtle yet revealing ways he successfully tells the story is through the score he accompanies to his film. The music in The Godfather highlights the difference between normalcy and the mafia lifestyle in order to show Michael’s journey to becoming the Godfather.

Character Representation through Instrumental Choices

The score, done by composer Nino Rota, foreshadows the transition of power from Vito to Michael by using the same main title track for both characters, only with different instruments. Rota’s instrumental choices were made for the sensational sounds and general connotations that these classic instruments are known for.

The Instrumental Representation of Vito and Michael

The trumpet is an instrument often paired with more traditional Sicilian instruments, which speaks to the strong Italian-American culture that influences the film. The trumpet also historically symbolizes deference and is known as the “top dog” of the brass family, as its high pitch always stands out in the orchestra (Metcalfe, 2017). It is for this reason that Rota chose the Trumpet to portray Vito, the passionately-cultured head of the mafia. The other instrumental solo piece in the main title is the oboe, which is “clean and clear” while also carrying a dark timbre that “provides relief” from other brass instruments (Curtis, 2017). This is the instrument that will represent Michael, for his pure appearance but dark nature.

Foreshadowing through Music

In the case of The Godfather, the music can be seen as a foreshadowing device that signals to the viewer that Michael will take over as the head of the family business from his father. While many viewers probably did not pick up on these hints during their first viewing, a closer examination will prove that Coppola’s use of this score was not solely for the traditional Italian folk sound—he added to the thematic experience by emphasizing the actions on the screen with dramatic connotations in the score. This technique is something that can be found in numerous other films, as it’s known that “music can be used as foreshadowing, especially when the dramatic context doesn’t permit a director to prepare an audience for an event” (Giannetti 208). Coppola specifically did this by asking that Vito and Michael both have their own versions of the main title that the audience will be able to attach to their character when it is heard. With the same base of the track, Vito’s principal instrument was the trumpet, and Michael had the oboe. At climactic points in the film, Vito’s signaling trumpet fades out as Michael’s oboe takes over the track. This accompanying use of the score with the film helps to solidify the important dramatic features of the film, as it is an artistic component of the film that contributes to the storyline without plainly showing the actions on the screen. In keeping with the realistic aspects of the story, the music “can suggest [the] internal—hidden—emotions” when “actors are required to assume restrained or neutral expressions” (Giannetti 208). In this case specifically, these “emotions” relate to the desire for power that is being foreshadowed. To specifically portray this aspect of the hidden ideas in the score, Rota created musical motifs to indicate who is of importance in the film and what their future in the story will shape out to be; “characterization can be suggested through musical motifs” (Giannetti 210). Even though Vito and Michael share the same title and music, their differing sounds contribute to their individual characterization. This characterization allows the viewer to see a side of them that has not yet been portrayed on the screen, so there is a foreshadowing effect happening. We can learn from the music alone that Michael will transition from an innocent family outsider to a power figure in the mafia business because of its characterization and foreshadowing.

Scene-wise Musical Transition and Character Evolution

At the opening of the film, we first hear the main title track, called “The Godfather Waltz,” which will become Vito’s signature sound. This version of the track is enunciated by the sound of the trumpet, which continues to play as we meet Vito Corleone, in his dark office, in the midst of his business affairs. The trumpet used in this piece is in the key C minor, which is appropriate to the context of the scene as it produces a darker, more dramatic sound (Metcalfe, 2017). Immediately, we correlate the sound of the brooding trumpet with Vito himself, and from this first scene, we get a sense of Vito’s position of power. The family business continues on as usual, leading up to the scene where Vito is shot on the street by a rival family. It’s almost 45 minutes later in the film that we finally hear that signaling trumpet again. Yet this time, as Vito lay almost dead in the street, the trumpet is much less pronounced than in the opening scene and is now frail and subdued. So far in the film, this track has only been played whenever Vito has been the only truly powerful figure in the scene. In this way, it’s clear that the trumpet is a pure indication of Vito’s strength. As this scene of an injured Vito dissolves into the next scene, we see Michael and Kay outside of Radio City Music Hall. The trumpet quickly fades out before Michael is seen on the screen, alluding to the fact that Michael is trying to live a normal life outside of his family’s business operations. It’s important to note, however, that Michael is now being seen on screen closer to when the main title is being played. This may be the notion that Vito being shot is the beginning of his end of the rule and when Michael will have to unconsciously start to take over the family business.

The Transformation of Michael as Signified through Music

When Michael begins to help out his hospitalized father in his daily responsibilities, we begin to sense that Michael may be starting to get more involved in the messy affairs. Coppola emphasizes this artistically by transitioning the main title, waltz, from being played primarily by the trumpet to the oboe. The waltz comes in again when Clemenza shoots Gatto in the car, but this time the trumpet component is skipped since Vito is still recovering from his injury and therefore is not the main powerful figure in the scene; in fact, he cannot even be in the scene at all. The scene then dissolves to Michael sitting pensively before dinner. The song starts out as the classic version previously heard in the film, but as soon as the scene cuts to Michael, the melody section of the piece that would hold the trumpet is now occupied by the oboe. The low registered oboe brings a separate dark, heavy, melancholy tone that symbolizes Michael’s general mood of the film (Vienna Symphonic Library). This clear instrumental transition is an excellent foreshadowing that Michael will take over his father’s duties as Don.

Michael’s Ascent to Power: Marked by Music

When Vito finally realizes his weakness in age and health, he begins directing all of his business to Michael. After Michael’s successful business trip to Las Vegas, he has proved himself to the family as being able to uphold the responsibilities of Don. A few years later in the film, Coppola shows a peaceful sit-down conversation between Vito and Michael wherein Vito describes more of the responsibilities that Michael must take on as Don. As the same waltz begins to play under the dialogue, we start to hear the same familiar sound resembling power. This is the first scene. However, that is played with both Michael and Vito in the same scene. The waltz comes in just as Vito is handing over the final arrangements of the job to Michael. Instead of the trumpet melody, however, we only hear the oboe being played in representation of Michael, as Vito tells him, “I never wanted this for you.” This time, the song signals the complete transition from Vito to Michael as Don. Michael is now the head of the mafia, and Vito, the bystander, the role reversal audience members may not have seen coming from the beginning.

In a marvelous concluding scene, we watch as Kay looks into Don’s office to see Michael conducting the horrific affairs. It’s almost a full circle effect, as the waltz plays for the last time, where it all began. We opened with “The Godfather Waltz” playing as Vito sat in that very office amongst his business, and now we close as the waltz plays and now Michael is the one in the office. Now, however, instead of a prominent trumpet or replaced oboe, there is a melodic mixture of the two instruments. Yes, Michael has taken over the business, as it was nodded to the last time we heard the waltz, but now there is a nostalgic reminiscence of Vito lingering in his undertakings. It is in this scene that Michael is first called “Don Corleone” and paired with the music; this truly signals that Michael’s journey to the position of power is complete. The mix of the oboe and trumpet tell the audience that Michael’s solo sound, the oboe, is now combined with the sound previously associated with the Don. Michael’s innocent side is far gone, and his commitment to the family business is in full effect.

The Role of Music in Cinema

Musical scores can either make or break a film. Composers and directors of the past and present attribute their success to one another, and those who do not work cohesively do not find favorable outcomes from the audience. That being said, most viewers do not even realize that the music is there, or if they do, they do not remember the sounds after the movie is over. Yet we continue to add the element of music because films would truly be empty without it. Coppola relied heavily on Rota for The Godfather to produce a score that uniquely matched his envisionment for the film. Today, that score is respected as one of the best of all time, not only for Rota’s accuracy of Italian folk music to match cultural aspects of the film but also with characterization and foreshadowing through musical motifs. Rota’s “The Godfather Waltz” was adapted into several versions in order to best fit Coppola’s story. The song is absent during Michael’s outsider lifestyle but soon represents him when he transitions into the head of the mafia. First, we lose the dominant trumpet with Vito’s power, and then the melody features an oboe as Michael rises to the position. When all is said and done, Michael fully takes over as Don, and we hear a mixture of oboe and trumpet, as Michael is the same person he was before in the film but now claims his father’s status as Don. The musical score in this film is something so subtly artistic that it doesn’t spoil the film for unsuspecting viewers but craftily hints at the plot’s destiny in a way that only adds to the excitement of the film. The viewer is unrecognizably able to connect sounds with images and can come to the realization better and faster with this layered detail of the score. The Godfather’s music fills the empty space of the film artfully and in a way that projects the outcome meaningfully.

Works Cited

1. Metcalfe, J. (2017). The role of the trumpet in cinematic scores.
2. Curtis, A. (2017). The dark timbre: Understanding the oboe in film music.
3. Giannetti, L. (2019). Music as foreshadowing in cinema.

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