Associated Press Replays of great moments such as Lynn Swann's diving catch during Super Bowl X in 1976 have been enhanced by powerful orchestra music. Click photo for larger image.

There's a soundtrack being written for the Steelers' incredible run this season, but it's music you're more likely to hear at Heinz Hall than Heinz Field.

You'd hardly expect a fan smeared in body paint or bedecked in black and gold to cheer for violins, timpani, horns and flutes. You'd never imagine Jerome Bettis, James Farrior and Hines Ward would battle to the strains of classical music. But they will.

Like Terry Bradshaw, Jack Lambert, "Mean" Joe Greene and Steelers of the past, the current squad will be seen in highlight shows recapping the stellar season and playoffs. And they will be accompanied by orchestral music that has become immensely popular over the years: NFL Films music.

A classical upset

Pundits and prognosticators have been ringing the death knell for classical music for years. They have written off living composers' ability to participate in contemporary culture or to write music of lasting value. With schools cutting music education, attendance dropping at orchestras and classical CD sales bottoming out, it would seem that art music is down a few touchdowns with time running out.

Things are bleak, but that outlook is not only exaggerated but also myopic. Turning one's sights away from the concert hall can be illuminating.

In an upset of Joe Namath proportions, orchestral music has been thriving in the realm of the football fan, rabid and otherwise. For 40 years, the highly regarded highlights of NFL games airing on such TV programs as "Game of the Week," "This Is the NFL" and channels such as ESPN Classic and the NFL Network have been accompanied by an orchestra. Based in Mount Laurel, N.J., NFL Films currently has an unheard of two composers on staff -- Tom Hedden and David Robidoux.

But this commitment has paid off. Over the years, NFL Films' music has grown beyond just background music to highlights.

"There is something about this kind of music that simply works," says Chuck Wilson, a national ESPN radio personality. "There are a certain number of us that love it. This is this perfect match for the slow-motion highlights. The music can take you to another place."

Confirming this popularity with fans, NFL Films has released a 10-CD box set -- no video of past games, no commentary by John Facenda, just the music. "Autumn Thunder," packaged in a pigskin cover for $98.95, is available at www.nfl.com. Names of pieces include "Hotdogs and Heroes," "Glory Day in Green Bay," "Dance of the Fumblers" and "March to the Trenches." NFL Films did put out a collection of this music before ("The Power And The Glory" in 1998) but never of this scope.

"NFL Films has a way of making exciting plays more memorable by the uncanny ability to [match] inspiring music to NFL action," says hall of fame coach Don Shula in the extensive notes to "Autumn Thunder."

Ask any football fan at today's Steelers/Jets game about this music and you will likely get a response mimicking its characteristic timpani and bass drum rhythm: "Da-da-da-da-dum, da-da-da-da-dum!" More than likely, another friend will soon imitate the gravely voice of Facenda, whose narration of these games is legendary.

"Because the NFL has been around since the '60s, they are familiar with the shows and when they hear the music it reminds them of it," says Stan Savran of Fox Sports 970.

Pigskin classics

A classic chicken-and-egg argument would be that this music has gained popularity because of its association with the NFL. From the beginning, with its first composer Sam Spence, to Hedden and Robidoux, the music is written ahead of time, then added to replays of the games. So, the music is not strictly programmatic, gaining a "football" meaning only when matched with the grace of a wide receiver's catch, the battle of interior linemen or the drama of a come-from-behind win.

But not just any music would fit the bill. These composers create music buoyed by energetic drive, clever use of motifs and skillful creation of atmosphere to match the heroism of its field subject.

NFL Films' music isn't Beethovenian in scope or artistry -- most must be under four minutes long. And much of the music is derivative (Copland, Shostakovich and spaghetti westerns influences abound), celebratory or march-like, with little space for contemplation ("What Dave and I might pine to do is quieter stuff," says Hedden).

What the composers have done within the limitations is admirable, however. "One of my most famous compositions, 'A New Game,' is in 15/8 [time signature]," Hedden says. "We have the creative freehand to be experimental, but the audience can't see the strings. They just need to say that's good football music."

Indeed, the box set shows that the music of NFL Films has successfully moved from the archetypal style of Spence -- macho, militaristic, percussion and fanfare-heavy -- to the more expansive and experimental work of Hedden and Robidoux, melodic, string-heavy, and eclectic.

"We may do bagpipes and fiddles, then ancient music from the Middle East or a huge number of cellos and viola but no violin," Hedden says. "You can use different styles, but it must have power. The thing about football is it is still being played by these unbelievably powerful human beings trying to overcome odds."

NFL Films music "approximates the game. It gives you a texture of the game, the violence and warlike nature," says Savran. "It increases the drama."

Time to call an audible

The success of NFL Films music speaks volumes about today's classical music scene.

On the one hand is the dearth of interest in new art music. The leading composers of our time would kill for a 10-CD set of their music, but interest from listeners and labels lags. Orchestral music of the last 40 years barely enters any American city's symphony hall. An avid football fan is likely to have heard as much contemporary classical music as your average concert-goer.

On the other hand is the declining attendance for all classical concerts, even those programming Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. Culture may have changed from the orchestra's glory days, but clearly managers and musicians are not mining every area for audiences if a group as large as NFL fans is not targeted. A PSO concert of Steelers-related NFL Films music alone would be a good start.

There's more beneficent news in this discovery than just concert ideas, however.

Much of the impact of NFL music stems more from the glories of a full orchestra than from the actual compositions, which after all are quite short. The average person goes through an entire week, month or even year without really listening to an orchestra. Film scores contain less orchestral music these days and even the best pop and rock can't compete with the expansive sonic splendor of a full orchestra. That the orchestra's overall sound has made such a strong impression with such brief exposure in some peoples lives (those football fans that don't attend the symphony) shows, almost proves, the art form's viability.

Perhaps rather than pushing the great composers all the time, symphonies could occasionally market the orchestra -- its timbre and grandeur -- instead. Once in the hall, patrons could discover the difference between Mahler and Bruckner, but focusing on the music's similar power and sound might be a better initial attraction for some.

Subsequently, contemporary composers would then be living testaments to the vitality of the orchestra, less burdened by the weight of the past masters. There's no doubt that today's composers have more instruments at their disposal and more experience in utilizing the entire ensemble than early composers -- today's orchestra is far larger than that of Mozart or even Tchaikovsky.

So, it's time to call an audible on this situation and appeal to people who like orchestral music, but don't realize it.

Savran has one musical suggestion all Steelers fans hope won't be needed: "If the Steelers lose in the playoffs, Mahler would be perfect."