Rear Window - J. Miley

To me, the portion of Rear Window’s soundtrack that stood out the most (and the part that is probably the most obvious) is the pianist’s music. Specifically how his turmoil as an artist parallels that of Jeffries’ and to a lesser extent Jeffries’ and Lisa’s relationship as well the plot as a whole. At one point Lisa makes a comment about the artist’s music, “It's almost as if it were being written especially for us.” Jeffries responds, “No wonder he's having so much trouble with it.” While this would seem ridiculous in real life (that a pianist’s music would reflect his neighbors lives), this is actually how the film treats the artist’s music.

At the beginning of the film, we see the pianist struggling to write his song. However, we only see him struggle while Jeffries is on the phone arguing with his boss about his ability to do an assignment. In this scene, Jefferies is trying to find his place, his purpose while he’s handicapped. In a similar manner, the pianist is trying to write music (i.e. to figure out where the notes go- their place). Once Jeffries gets off the phone and Stella arrives, the pianist goes back to playing music well, ceasing to struggle.

Later on we see the pianist’s drunkenness (presumably in response to some sort of musical failing), which coincides with Ms. Thorwald’s murder. Then, the next day, as Jeffries begins to become obsessed with Thorwald, the pianist struggles with even playing the piano just as Jeffries struggles to put the pieces of the murder together. That night we hear his playing is labored and frustrated. Then he stops, but as Jeffries starts to come to a conclusion, the artist starts to play again.

From there, the artist’s music actually parallels Jeffries’ investigation, not simply the plot. Jeffries plotline climaxes (obviously) with his showdown with Thorwald but the pianist’s plotline climaxes before then. Once Jeffries and Lisa have everything figured out, that is the point in which the pianist experiences his musical success. It is once Jeffries has the pieces to his puzzle that the pianist is able to do the same and write a successful song.

By using this subsidiary plotline (that of the pianist), Hitchcock is able to design a diegetic soundtrack that mirrors the emotional tone of the story and influences the way that the audience perceives to story much like a non-diegetic soundtrack would. In this way, it performs like a non-diegetic soundtrack by having a layer that only the audience can understand. Conversely, the pianist’s music is not just a soundtrack but also a plot device that save Ms. Lonelyhearts’ life, making it an intricate part of the story.