DRAFT IN PROGRESS
Introduction
Writing music for film is a good option for the free composition, but it is really important to have an idea of the style you are aiming for and some techniques to copy, just as in WCT composition. On this page the examples are largely taken from John Williams and a range of Romantic / Early C20 influences, but if you want to write in a different style then you need to go and find some good examples. At the end of this page are some links to other great examples of film music.
Some tips for getting started:
- Don’t begin with a massive score (e.g. the default film/Romantic orchestra on Dorico) as it is too daunting. Start off with a string orchestra and add other instruments as you need them.
- Start by composing some sharply contrasting ideas that embody the characters / emotions / situations you are going to portray, you can think about structure and transitions once you have main themes in place. It is easy to work with good material, so take your time at this stage of the project.
- Your structure might be a narrative scene, the music for the main title at the beginning of the film, a trailer or a concert suite based on your imaginary film and its music!
Basics
You can use many of the resources scattered over ALM. These ones might be particularly helpful:
- Basic WCT harmony – a lot of film music is based on this
- WCT Fingerprints – plenty of good effects that can be used
- Advanced chromatic harmony – some cool tricks here
- Modulation
- Texture and sonority examples (also look at the string techniques and orchestral examples)
- Some techniques and examples from Twentieth Century Composers
- Storm episode – some examples of writing dramatic music portraying storms
Learning from John Williams
John Williams is a prolific and iconic film composer whose scores are incredibly effective. He has a very wide range in terms of style and language but you will find some techniques cropping up repeatedly. These are some notable ones with links to examples and explanations.
| Technique | Summary | Examples |
| Modal mixture | Borrowing chords from the parallel minor (e.g. using chord iv from C minor in a C major passage). | Star Wars Main Title & Leia Theme |
| Pedal points | Moving chords over a tonic pedal. The difference from WCT pedal points is that any chord is fair game, chromatic or diatonic, in any combination (try ii, bIII, IV, #IV etc). Often he uses parallel chords. | Jurassic Park Excerpt |
| Quartal harmony | Chords stacked up in fourths | Star Wars Opening |
| Polychords | A chord made up of a combination of two (unrelated) chords creating eerie / dramatic dissonances. | Star Wars Main Title Transition |
| Third Progressions | Harmonic progression by thirds. This is a massive extension of the Classical trick of going from I to bVI. Go from any chord to any other chromatic or diatonic chord a major or a minor third above or below. | Star Wars Main Title & Leia Theme |
| Modal inflections (particularly Lydian) | Using modes to create inflected harmony. The Lydian mode creating a major chord II is particularly common. | Jurassic Park Excerpt |
Some other things that Williams often does that you can try:
- reharmonising a melody to change its emotional content
- Using leitmotifs to represent a character or dramatic theme (like in Wagner operas)
- using a rhythmic ostinato (like in the Imperial March, which Williams borrowed from Holst’s Mars)
- Unusual intervals, particularly landing on b2 and b5 of a scale in the melody
- Moving between minor chords a semitone apart
Orchestral examples
Williams is famous for his well-chosen borrowings from Holst (Planet Suite), Stravinsky (Firebird and Rite of Spring), Tchaikovsky (Nutcracker, Violin Concerto in D, Marche Slave), Rimsky Korsakov (Scheherazade) and many others. You could do worse than study just those pieces but here are some specific orchestral ideas that you might take inspiration from more generally.
| ID / Link | Composition | Description of piece |
|---|---|---|
| M5 | Dvorak – New World Symphony, movement 2 | Brief description |
| M6 | Tchaikovsky – Symphony No. 5, movement 1 | Brief description |
| M8 | Rimsky Korsakov, Tsar’s Bride | Brief description |
| M11 | Tchaikovsky, Swan Lake | Brief description |
| M12 | Glazunov, The Seasons | Brief description |
| M17 | Mussorgsky, Pictures at an Exhibition, Cattle | Brief description |
| D02 | Wagner, Flying Dutchman | Brief description |
| 34, 35, 36 | Ravel, Rhapsodie Espangole | Brief description |
| 37 | Sibelius, Symphony 4, opening | Brief description |
Further film examples
Hans Zimmer
Enrico Moricone
Alan Silvestri
James Horner
John Powell
Maurice Jarre
Jerry Goldsmith
Debbie Wiseman
Elmer Bernstein
Eric Coates
Max Steiner
Nigel Hess
John Barry