Parts

Parts Department

Some film music cues come with a title addendum like “Part 1,” and they are followed in the film’s soundtrack by a respective “Part 2,” which might in turn be followed by a “Part 3,” etc.

Cues were usually accorded multiple “parts” for one of three reasons. First, when a reel change occurs while music needs to be playing, composers will write the piece in two sections. Those two compositions can either have individual cue titles or else a “Part 1” and a “Part 2.”

Secondly, if more than one composer scores different parts of the same scene, rather than giving each cue its own name, sometimes the same cue title will be followed by different “parts.”

Finally, when a long piece of music is written for a particular scene, sometimes the composition will be divided into different parts to aid in the conducting and recording of it. The two parts of “Kay And The Monster” in Creature From The Black Lagoon are examples of this.