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

While performances of the complete play with the incidental music are rare, a half-hour concert version, also rare but less so, proves effective.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026

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

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

When pop stars weren't available, he went back to his first job - writing incidental music for films and TV shows.

From BBC • Aug. 26, 2021

Mr Cecil Sharp arranged and composed the incidental music and songs for Granville Barker's most interesting production of this play at the Savoy, January 1914.

From Shakespeare and Music by Wilson, Christopher