"The Murder" is a cue in the cinematic score written and composed by Bernard Herrmann for the horror-thriller film Psycho (1960) directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
The cue was composed for the famous "shower scene", the murder of Janet Leigh's character, Marion Crane.
Hitchcock originally wanted the sequence (and all motel scenes) to play without music,[1] but Herrmann insisted he try it with the cue he had composed.
While there is no direct melody, the fast-paced runs constantly switch around between the keys of F, F#, C#, and D, with a few sections played in G. A notable feature that Herrmann implemented is the use of alternating eighth-note semitones to create a sense of approaching and imminent danger.
The cello and contrabass start the third movement with long, low, drawn out dotted half-notes that are answered with minute, staccato stabs from the rest of the string section.