Meaning & use
incidental music
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Meanings
noununcountable
Music written to be played during a play, film, or other performance, usually in short sections between or under the action.
Grammar: Uncountable: say 'incidental music was written', not 'an incidental music' or 'incidental musics'.
Patterns
- write incidental music for something
- incidental music to a play
The director asked a young composer to write incidental music for the school play.
The incidental music swelled as the actor walked slowly across the stage.
Much of the incidental music in the film is played by a small string group.
noununcountable
Music that is not the main focus of a performance but is played quietly in the background.
Grammar: Uncountable and often used after 'as' or 'for': the music serves as incidental music.
Patterns
- serve as incidental music
- use something as incidental music
The piano piece was originally written for a play but is now often used as incidental music in documentaries.
They kept the incidental music very soft so the narrator could be heard clearly.
Common combinations
- write incidental music
- She was hired to write incidental music for the new radio drama.
- incidental music for a play
- He composed incidental music for a play by Shakespeare.
- a piece of incidental music
- The orchestra played a short piece of incidental music before the scene changed.
- incidental music swells
- The incidental music swells whenever the hero appears on stage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- background music
- Background music is any music played quietly behind action or speech; incidental music is specifically written for a play or film.
- score
- A score is the complete music for a film or show, while incidental music is often just the short pieces played between scenes.
Word family
- incidentally adverb
- Used to add a related but less important point; it does not mean 'as incidental music'.
- incidental adjective
- Happening as a minor part of something larger; 'incidental music' uses this sense.
Commonly confused: incidental music or incidental expenses?
incidental music vs incidental expenses
Incidental expenses are small extra costs, not music. The word 'incidental' means 'minor' in both phrases.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'incidental music' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Incidental music' is uncountable, so it cannot take 'an' or a plural form. Only option 3 uses it correctly as an uncountable noun.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “incidental music”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.