musical cues
Orchestral timing indicators
Musical cues are signals in a composition or performance that prompt specific actions—an actor's entrance, a lighting change, a scene transition.
In film and theater, the term also refers to discrete segments of music written for particular moments: The composer delivered twelve musical cues for the second act.
Musicians watch for cues from conductors or fellow performers to coordinate timing.
- dramatic pauseIntentional silence for emphasis
- syncCoordinate timing or data
- leitmotifsRecurring thematic phrases
- pauseTemporary cessation of activity
- signalMessage-conveying cue
sound effects · underscore · film score · beat · rhythm · crescendo · stinger · tonal shifts · key change · swell · rising tension · minor chords · entrance · soundtrack · click tracks · audio cue · scene transitions · synchronization
- film musicfilm score, soundtrack, movie soundtrack, underscore, score
- musical theateract, musical theater, scene, cast recordings, Evita
- musical communicationsinging, humming, whistling, chanting, yodeling
- musical termsadagio, andante, allegro, lento, largo
- Game Musicbattle theme, boss theme, title theme, main theme, victory fanfare
- dance notationdance notation, free flow, weight transfer, hand gestures
musical cuesimprovisation
Spontaneous, unplanned creation
ad-libbing · extemporization · jamming · free jazz · jam session
musical cuessilence
Total lack of sound
dead air · missed cues · no signal · communication breakdown · ambient sound
musical cuesvisual cues
Seen indicators
verbal cues · hand signals · conductor's baton · stage directions