The wailing woman is a musical motif and solo vocal effect that features "an exotic-sounding, ululating female singer" traditionally heard in the soundtracks of epic films and historical dramas.[2] Generally composed in half-steps and featuring heavy vibrato, the "ethnic sounding" wailing woman technique is a "melodious lament" with unintelligible words and an "ethnic" vocal timbre, usually set in the natural minor, harmonic and/or melodic minor scale.[1]
The mournful wail, typically sung in alto, may often deal with a tragic subject matter or a foreign locale, where it heightens the emotional moments in the scenes while expressing a dramatic mood. It has since been used in scores of film genres outside of drama, and as well as in television shows and video games.[1] Other nicknames for this musical technique include, wailing female or moaning woman.[3][4][5]
- ^ a b c Rachel L. Carazo (16 May 2023). "A Hero Will Endure": Essays at the Twentieth Anniversary of 'Gladiator'. Vernon Press. ISBN 978-1-64889-659-0.
- ^ Dave Roos (May 25, 2004). "Wail watching". Salon.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
- ^ Timothy Greiving. "Moaning Woman: Beauty is in the ear of the beholder". Film Score Monthly. Retrieved April 22, 2023.
- ^ Stephen C. Meyer (1 September 2016). Music in Epic Film: Listening to Spectacle. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-42586-1.
- ^ Felicity Wilcox (26 August 2021). Women's Music for the Screen: Diverse Narratives in Sound. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-55994-5.