incidental music

American  

noun

1. music intended primarily to point up or accompany parts of the action of a play or to serve as transitional material between scenes.

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incidental music British  

noun

1. background music for a film, television programme, etc

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Etymology

Origin of incidental music

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

The show’s theme was a cocktail culture cover of “Crazy Train”; incidental music transitioning one scene to the next was intentionally reminiscent of 1950s sitcoms.

From Salon • Jul. 24, 2025

In the middle of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s suite of incidental music for “Much Ado About Nothing,” there’s a march meant to accompany Dogberry, Shakespeare’s comic constable, and his fellow watchmen.

From New York Times • Apr. 14, 2024

Originally the concert was to include a staged performance by director Alberto Arvelo of Mendelssohn’s incidental music to “Midsummer’s Night Dream” with vocal soloists and the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 9, 2023

The evening opened with “The Consecration of the House,” an overture Beethoven wholly revised in 1822 from incidental music originally composed a decade earlier for August von Kotzebue’s play, “The Ruins of Athens.”

From Washington Post • Jan. 28, 2022

Of incidental music, specially composed, much has been written, but most of it is unimportant.

From Shakespeare and Music by Wilson, Christopher