Psycho

Because Hitch loves music and sound to create suspense, he hired the perfect man for the job. Bernard Herrmann is solely responsible for the screeching, high-pitched music some may compare to nails on chalkboard. Light jazz was what Hitch wanted for Psycho. It does sound unlikely, but this is what he wanted. The dark horror film was to feature some nice smooth jazz, just to keep the tension flowing. Personally I think it would have had negative impact on the film but Herrmann saw the perfect opportunity for the screeching sounds of a low budget, black and white film. The first scene I wanted to analyze is the second murder scene. (Detective Arbogast) This scene features a slightly changed reprise of the original murder music. In this scene Norman is finally caught and his motherly fetish was revealed there is a brief but intense cue that captures the madness of the moment. Then the music continues with the classic "RE RE RE RE" and "mother finishes him off at the bottom of the stairs.

We only hear these well-constructed musical scenes three times in the movie. First, during the shower scene when Norman kills Marion, Detective Arbogast's murder on the stairwell, and then the final attempted murder scene when Norman ("Mother") goes after Marion's sister in the cellar. Lila slowly creeps up to what looks like an old lady relaxing in a chair. When she turns the chair around and we all witness the real mother, the music cuts in and we all hear an ear-piercing scream from Lila. Once again we only hear the music when "mother" is close, so this insinuates that the particular character is her next victim.