柯普蘭 (Aaron Copland, 1900-1990) 不僅為知名的美國作曲家，也實際參與當代的好萊塢電影音樂寫作，並留下了許多相關的著作和對電影音樂精闢的觀察。他曾在《如何欣賞音樂》一書中，歸納出五個明顯的電影音樂理論，定義了好萊塢傳統電影中的理想音樂功能。
柯普蘭寫作的最後一部電影《女繼承人》 (The Heiress, 1949) 為他奪得了當年的奧斯卡金像獎，並且被譽為柯普蘭最精妙的電影作品之一。筆者探討柯普蘭在《女繼承人》一片中，如何運用作曲的手法，達到以音樂輔助電影敘事的目的。此外，也從當時的電影音樂發展、好萊塢的電影工作者環境、以及柯普蘭寫作電影音樂的現況…等等，來剖析影響柯普蘭最後的音樂作品的環境因素。
在分析上，筆者以電影敘事為研究的主軸，再將音樂分成不同動機和主題，來探討其旋律、音色、節奏、速度和調性、曲式…等與電影敘事的關係。研究發現，柯普蘭善於運用音色和曲式，來創造敘事體中的時間與地點氣氛；使用動機的變化，加強或製造角色人物心理上的精細度；再運用音樂段落的連接，建立場景的連續性；並且運用音量和結構支撐場景中逐漸累積的戲劇效果、使之結尾有圓滿的感覺。 甚至在畫面需要時，運用旋律鋪陳作為填補對話空隙的背景音樂。
最後，以《女繼承人》的音樂寫作手法，呈現出了柯普蘭的音樂對電影敘事的貢獻，並驗證了本片在電影音樂理論上的重要意義。

一、專書
Adorno, Theodor and Hanns Eisler. Composing for the films. London ; Atlantic Highlands, 1994.
Aumput , Jacques and Michel Marie. L’Analyse des Films. Yuan- Liou Publishing Co., Ltd., 1996
Bazelon, Irwin. Knowing the score: Notes on Film Music. New york: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1975.
Berger, Arthur. Aaron Copland. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press,1971.
Bick, Sally. Copland on Hollywood. Edited by Peter Dickinson, Copland connotation – studies and interviews. New York: Boydell Press, 2002.
Brown, Royal S. Overtones and Undertones: Reading Film Music. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
Butterworth, Neil. The music of Aaron Copland. New York : Universe Books. 1986.
Copland, Aaron. What to listen for in music. New York: New American Library, 1953.
_________. Our New Music. New York: Norton, 1968.
Copland, Aaron, and Vivian Perlis. Copland: 1900- 1942. New York: St. Martin’s, 1984.
_________. Copland Since 1943. New York: St. Martin’s, 1989.
Flinn, Caryl. Strains of Utopia : gender, nostalgia, and Hollywood film music. N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1992.
Gomery, Douglas. The Hollywood Studio System. London: St Martin’s Press, 1986.
Gorbman, Claudia. Unheard melodies: narrative film music. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1987.
Jacques Aumont and Michel Marie.《當代電影電影分析方法論》(L’Analyse des Films)。吳珮慈 譯。台北：遠流，1996。
Karlin, Fred and Rayburn Wright. On the track : a guide to contemporary film scoring. London : Collier Macmillan, 1990.
Oja, Carol J. and Judith Tick ed., Aaron Copland and his world. Oxfordshire : Princeton University Press, 2005.
Palmer, Christopher. The composer in Hollywood. New York: Marion Boyars, 1990.
Pollack, Howard. Aaron Copland : The Life and Work of an Uncommon Man. New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1999.
Prendergast, Roy M. Film music: a neglected art: a critical study of music in films, 2d ed. New York: W. W. Norton, 1992.
葉月瑜。《歌聲魅影：歌曲敘事與中文電影》，2000.

二、論文
Bick, Sally. “ Composers on the cultural front: Aaron Copland and Hanns Eisler in Hollywood” Ph.D. diss., Yale University, 2001.
Cochran, Alfred Williams. ” Style, structure, and tonal organization in the early film scores of Aaron Copland.” Ph.D. diss., Catholic U. America, 1986.
McGinney, William Lawrence. “ The whole as a result of its parts: assembly in Aaron Copland's score for The red pony” M.M. diss., University of North Texas, 2003.

三、 期刊雜誌
Antheil, George. “ On the Hollywood Front.” Modern Music 15, no.3 (March-April 1938): 188.
Copland, Aaron.“ Second Thoughts on Hollywood.” Modern Music 17 (June 1940): 140-147.
_________. “ Tip to Moviegoers: Take Off Those Ear-Muffs.” New York Times Magazine. 6 November 1949, 28.

四、辭典
Mervyn Cooke: 'Film music', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed 3 October 2007), http://www.grovemusic.com

五、影音資料
Goetz, Augustus. The Heiress. produced and directed by William Wyler. 115 min. Paramount Pictures, 1992. videocassette
John, Steinbeck.Of mice and men. produced by Robert Hargrove and Gian-Ross Grimaldi and directed by Reza Badiyi. 150 min. Starmaker, 1990. videocassette.
_________. The red pony. produced and directed by Lewis Milestone. 89 min. Phoenix Learning Group, 1988. videocassette.
Steiner, Ralph. The city. produced by American Documentary Films. 44 min. Civic Films, 1999. videocassette.
Wilder, Thornton. Our town. produced by Sol Lesser and directed by Sam Wood. 88 min. Phoenix Films, 1980. videocassette.