Psycho -Herrmann

• Verticalisations of melodic content to form chords

  Idea taken from serial (12-tone) music, e.g., 'Discovery', bar 1, where the first chord contains all the notes of the melody
• Chord types

  • Tritone chord (shower scene, bars 35-37)
  • Parallel 7ths ('The Toys', bar 3 onwards)
  • Diminished triad
  • Augmented triad ('The Cellar', bar 68 to the end, latterly combined with a diminished triad)
• 'The Prelude'


  • Built on the alternation of three motifs and melody, held together by driving ostinato, pedal points, and a strong focus on the opening Bb minor harmony. Constant elaborations and variations of the basic material, with a striking unrelated D at the close
• Recommendations for further listening

  • Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta by Bartók
  • String Quartets No. 4 and No. 5 by Bartók
  • Scores for Vertigo (1958) and North by North West (1959) by Herrmann
• Surviving traces of 'key'

  • Unrealised A minor at the close of 'The City'
  • Phrygian mode of 'The Toys'
• 'The Cellar'


  • Could be likened to a short introduction and fugue, with the fugue subject split between cello and double bass. Subsequent entries begin on G, and rhythmic dislocations of the subject occur at bars 32 and 40
• Some cues are so brief that it is only possible to speak of an underlying phrase-structure
• Structure and tonality

  In the absence of cadential harmony, Herrmann relies on pedals, ostinati, and 'signature' or characteristic recurring chords
• 'Finale'


  • Through-composed and atonal, with a final unresolved dissonance
• 'Discovery' is atonal and through-composed, with component bars reappearing in contrasting combinations
• The shower scene is virtually non-tonal and consists of two eight-bar sections, the second varied by use of glissandi. A 21-bar coda (death of Marion) is built on two chords
• Chromatically moving parallel dissonant chords

  'Discovery', bar 26 onwards
• Many aspects of Herrmann's writing in Psycho suggest the influence of Bartók
• Motif 3


  • Marked by dotted rhythms and sequential repetition
• The Prelude's remaining thematic element is a conjunct melodic line appearing three times, contrasting with the motifs
• Harmony in Herrmann's film score

  1. Non-functional harmonic writing avoiding cadential harmony

  2. Notable for high dissonance levels and chromaticism

  3. Even the less ferocious movements avoid consonance, characterized by a more diatonic approach
• 'The Cellar' is markedly more chromatic throughout with pitch outlines anticipating chromaticism and expanding intervallically
• 'The Toys' is a very brief cue and diatonic with a descending conjunct line and three three-bar phrases
• The shower scene has no discernible melody
• Typical devices in Herrmann's film score

  • 'Signature' chord of B minor plus 7th
  • Use of pedal points
  • 'Higher' dissonances like 13th chords and characteristic minor 9th
  • Simultaneous false relation
  • Diminished 7th and half-diminished 7ths
  • Added 6th chords
  • Suspensions
  • Extreme dissonance formed by major 7ths and diminished octaves
  • Tritone chord
  • Parallel 7ths
  • Augmented triads and diminished triads
  • Verticalisations
  • Serial (12-tone) structures
• Chromaticism in 'The Finale'


  • Notable for chromaticism
  • Angular intervals, especially augmented 4ths and diminished 5ths
  • Three-note motif (F-E-D) quoted from Herrmann's own Sinfonietta for Strings and his cantata Moby Dick
• Motif 2


  • Triplet figure supported by semitonal ostinato with the same pitches in even quavers
• 'Discovery' is highly chromatic with prominent semitones, tritones, and perfect 4ths, relating to 'The Cellar' with its first three notes being a retrograde of the opening motif
• The melody of 'Marion' is in diatonic C major and marked by a descending sequence of a three-note figure with perfect 5ths
• 'The Prelude' is based on three short motifs and one more extended melody. The first is less melodic than harmonic and rhythmic in bars 1-3
• Fast-paced music can be found in 'The Prelude' (Allegro (molto agitato)), 'The Cellar' (Allegro molto) and 'Discovery' (Allegro feroce) with extremely fast triple time music
• The Prelude's remaining thematic element is a melodic line which appears three times. It contrasts with the motifs because it is conjunct and consists of three four-bar phrases in 'Prelude' bars 37-48
• 'The City' consists of four three-bar phrases (two bars plus one bar), the opening descent answered by a loose inversion in the second. A similar pattern is used in the remaining two phrases
• The entire film score is orchestrated for strings only, rather than a full symphony orchestra or jazz band as initially suggested by Hitchcock. The forces required were 14 first violins, 12 seconds, 10 violas, 8 cellos, and 6 double basses. Furthermore, the strings were muted throughout except for the shower scene
• The shower scene is a moderately paced, but relentless triple time movement
• In general, Herrmann avoided leitmotifs, preferring to compose individual material for each cue. However, the opening chord reappears intermittently
• Motif 3 is marked by dotted rhythms and sequential repetition in 'Prelude' bars 21-22
• Herrmann covers a full range of dynamics from ppp in 'The Toys' to sffz at the opening of the shower scene
• 'The Toys' is notated unmuted sffz at the opening of the shower scene
• 'The City', 'Marion', and 'The Toys' are in a much slower quadruple time, while the slow 'Finale' music alternates between quadruple and triple time
• 'Prelude' bars 5-6 consist of the same pitches, now in even quavers
• The set of Psycho was largely modeled on Edward Hopper's painting, The House by the Railroad (1925)
• Techniques used in the film score

  1. Double stopped chords ('Prelude')

  2. Repeated down bows ('Prelude' and shower scene)

  3. Combinations of arco and pizzicato ('Prelude' and shower scene)

  4. Glissandi (shower scene)

  5. Tremolandi (on divisi strings) ('The Cellar')

  6. Sul ponticello ('The Cellar')

  7. Relatively high lines ('Finale')
• Alfred Hitchcock: ''33% of the effect of Psycho was due to the music''
• The strings in the film score were muted throughout except for the shower scene