In the film versions of “Pride and Prejudice” the music jumps and swells at all the right moments, heightening the tension and romance of that classic Jane Austen novel.
Will it do the same in the e-book edition?
Booktrack, a start-up in New York, is planning to release e-books with soundtracks that play throughout the books, an experimental technology that its founders hope will change the way many novels are read.
How Tricky is Dynamic Music?
People read at different speeds, so the music has to be adaptable for shorter or longer spans and to transition smoothly to the next motif when you turn the page or start a new chapter.
We’ve been doing it in video games for awhile now. Check out this great NPR piece on the score for last year’s Epic Mickey release for Wii:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2010/12/01/131702650/composers-find-new-playgrounds-in-video-games