It all started when I recalled a particular scene from the movie, “School of Rock.” Jack Black gives an underestimated tour de force as frustrated-rocker-turned-substitute-teacher, Dewey Finn, and there’s a charming moment when Dewey meets his students, and the plot suddenly finds its trajectory. Mentioning it with to some friends, our discussion quickly escalated into a list of memorable movie scenes involving music and musicians.

So this is one of those fun blog posts, something different than what you’d normally expect. Now I’ve done a few of these posts before, including Ten Favorite Move Quotes About Creativity & The Arts, Ten Quotes By Writers On Writing, Most Quoted Movie Quotes by Musicians, and Six (Netflix) Movies For Artists. But I don’t think I’ve ever posted the actual film clips before.

So—from 1920’s southern gospel to 1700’s classical music, from the intensity of jazz to the playfulness of early-sixties rock and roll—here are ten great movie scenes about music and musicians. Hope this puts a smile on your face.

[Note: I don’t necessarily recommend these movies, just the scenes described.]

“We hear you pay good money to sing into a can.” From the movie, O Brother, Where Art Thou.

“We got both kinds of music here—country and western.” From the movie, The Blues Brothers

“A record record record?” From the movie, That Thing You Do.

“Occasionally, it seems to have…too many notes.” From the movie, Amadeus.

“Don’t tell me nothing—show me.” From the movie, Green Book.

“Here comes the train, on the track.” From the movie, Begin Again.

“You know what they say—we got a little bit more work to do.” From the movie, Ray.

“So Connie got a little lost in it. That’s a good thing!” From the movie, Soul.

“You tip it on it’s side, cello! You’ve got a bass.” From the movie, School of Rock. [Warning: Short bathroom scene.]

“I’ll cue you in! Caravan!” From the movie, Whiplash. [Warning: Some salty language here.]

Do you have a favorite movie scene about music or musicians? Share it with us!