#film music

[vcollies]

hi guys i need to be autistic about film scores for a second

so im rewatching mission impossible: rogue nation (for the third time in a week. don't mention it) and realized something about the non-diegetic music just before ethan goes into the opera: it features a flute. not just any flute, a bass flute!

this is most noticeable in the track starting right around the 3:40 mark. a few notes of the "mission impossible" theme is also played on bass flute at 4:40.

"now mav," you may be asking, "why do we care?" and to that i respond with two main reasons:

bass flute is a rare instrument to hear in film scores, mostly because it's a rare instrument in general. nearly every other time in the score when the typical mission impossible theme is played, it's introduced by your typical C flute, occasionally accompanied by piccolo trills. but this time, it's just one bar with a lone bass flute. why?

to answer the "why," it's highlighting joe kraemer's strike of genius in composing the score: he is using the instrument to foreshadow what comes next. the next scene shows a presumed musician getting his bass flute checked by security, and we later learn that there is a weapon hiding inside the flute (which, coming from a flute player, is a fantastic idea. nobody expects the bass flute!). by featuring the bass flute and having it play the mission impossible theme before we even see the plot-relevant bass flute in the film, we (the audience) are having something important alluded to us: this instrument is going to be relevant.

film composers love to do this; sprinkling blatant foreshadowing into their scores, telling the audience what's coming next in a way that the majority of viewers won't ever pick up. this is probably going to send me into yet another rewatch of the film where i try to find more silly little tidbits in the music.

anyways. that was a brief analysis of the importance of one singular instrument in a movie that came out a decade ago. thanks for letting me yap.

[haladriel]

Scherzo for Violin and Swords THE MUSIC OF THE RINGS OF POWER // EP I.V As Galadriel shifts her shoulders to easily dodge Valandil’s clunky thrusts, Sandy bursts on to the soundtrack with quick streaks of color. Each of Galadriel’s physical motions is replicated by lightning fast arpeggiations in Sandy’s nimble fingers, as Valandil tries futilely to score a hit. I simply could not resist the temptation to accompany every flick of Morfydd Clark’s blade with an equally impressive flourish from Sandy Cameron’s bow, timed precisely down to the frame. – Bear McCreary, The Lord of the Rings: Episode 105

[nelson-riddle-me-this]

Taking spotting notes for a short film I'm scoring, and thought of this moment from Charade (1963). I love when source music gets impressionistic. In this case what Henry Mancini wrote doesn't change, but it gets reverby.

Now when you put reverb on a track normally you actually send a copy of the audio signal thru the reverb so you're getting the direct sound and the reverb. But it sounds like here they're just getting the 'wet' reverb sound. It's a great way to sonically reflect how dreamy and intimate that moment is for her in a way that feels more elegant and clever than just say laying a lush string pad over it.

[badarchitectrecords]

Listen to this new, ambient track ‘Timeless Light’ by composer Judson Hurd

[citizenscreen]

Happy birthday, John Williams 🎹 🎼

[velvet4510]

I guess I’m one of those weirdos who so deeply feels the essence of an instrumental leitmotif from a film score associated with a particular character or couple, that I start associating said leitmotifs in my head with ANOTHER character from an entirely different film/book/series. And I’ve built up a whole library of leitmotifs for LOTR characters even though I ADORE Howard Shore’s original score for the trilogy. I consider these leitmotifs to be add-ons, NOT replacements.

Nor do I intend to completely disassociate all of these themes from their intended films/characters; some of them are perfect fits for the films they were written for. It’s just my mind going wild like usual. (But I admit, in some cases, the pieces are from films I dislike, and thus I would rather see these great songs associated with something of LOTR quality rather than what they were actually stuck with, especially when the lack of lyrics gives you the freedom to let the melody take you wherever it takes you, personally.)

In the case of Silmarillion characters and relationships, well, it’s a different story - it really is my attempt to cobble together what could be a hypothetical score, if it were brought to the screen. Obviously it’d never be this exactly, but I would hope a composer for a potential screen adaptation of The Silmarillion might be inspired by themes like these.

In some cases, the characters these themes were originally written for don’t resemble the corresponding LOTR characters very much, or at all. Also some of them have titles that by themselves could not be more different from and unfitting for Tolkien’s world. It’s just the melodies on their own, without context or even name, performed by these gorgeous orchestras, that have come to remind me of particular Tolkien figure(s).

I also have found lots of “love themes”, both romantic and platonic, for character relationships, as you’ll see. I’ve included romantic themes for canonical couples, as well as for pairings that I personally ship. I know Shore already gave Aragorn and Arwen a theme, but as I said, these are all extra additions and not replacements.

And yes I have a lot of Star Wars stuff in here, because I love Star Wars…but I love Tolkien more.

For the heck of it I’ll share some of these, with links to each song on YT. It’s hard to explain why I made these choices/associations, but maybe you’ll get it if you listen to some of them.

CHARACTER THEMES

The Valar = “Guardians of the Whills Suite” by Michael Giacchino

Lúthien Tinúviel = “Once Upon a Time in the West” by Ennio Morricone

Túrin Turambar = “Anakin’s Theme” by John Williams

Nienor Níniel = “Helena’s Theme” by John Williams

Frodo Baggins = “Romeo” by Nino Rota

Sam Gamgee = “Rey’s Theme” by John Williams

Aragorn = “The John Dunbar Theme” by John Barry

Gandalf = “Yoda’s Theme” by John Williams

Legolas = “Rose Tico” by John Williams

Éowyn = “Marion’s Theme” by John Williams

THEMES FOR LANDS/LOCATIONS

The Undying Lands = “Out of Africa” by John Barry

ROMANTIC LOVE THEMES

Frodo x Sam = “Love Theme from Ben-Hur” by Miklos Rozsa

Beren x Lúthien = “Love Theme from The Godfather” by Nino Rota

Faramir x Éowyn = “Han Solo and the Princess” by John Williams

Aragorn x Arwen = “Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso” by Ennio Morricone

Sam x Rosie = “Love Theme from Dances with Wolves” by John Barry

Bilbo x Thorin = “Andante Cantabile” by Bernard Herrmann

Thingol x Melian = “Indecent Proposal” by John Barry

Fingon x Maedhros = “Wuthering Heights” by Alfred Newman

Galadriel x Celeborn = “Central Park” by James Newton Howard

Finrod x Bëor = “Somewhere in Time” by John Barry

Aegnor x Andreth = “Love Theme from The Scarlet Letter” by John Barry

Finduilas x Gwindor = “Deborah’s Theme” by Ennio Morricone

Túrin x Beleg = “Midnight Cowboy” by John Barry

Mablung x Nienor = “Wanda and Vision” by Christophe Beck

Tuor x Idril = “Conversation Piece” by Bernard Herrmann

Eärendil x Elwing = “Tennessee” by Hans Zimmer

Elrond x Celebrían = “And Then I Kissed Him” by Hans Zimmer

Pippin x Diamond = “Love Theme from East of Eden” by Leonard Rosenman

Merry x Estella = “Love Theme from Rebel Without a Cause” by Leonard Rosenman

Elanor x Fastred = “Theme from A Summer Place” by Max Steiner (arranged by Percy Faith)

PLATONIC RELATIONSHIP THEMES

Elrond & Elros = “Brothers” by Hans Zimmer

Merry & Pippin = “Flying” by John Williams

Legolas & Gimli = “Rain Man” by Hans Zimmer

Boromir & Faramir = “Luke and Leia” by John Williams

Bilbo & Frodo* = “The Mother’s Love” by Miklos Rozsa

Sam & Elanor = “The Ludlows” by James Horner

I may add to this as I think of more, or even replace certain songs entirely if I come across a better match. Always return to the pinned post here to see the most recently updated list.

* Bilbo & Frodo’s melody is heard in the first minute of the linked track, 0:00–1:01, and again at 1:48. Also, the love theme I associate with Frodo & Sam starts playing at 1:03, making this whole thing fit all the hobbits even better.

[bttrflyblu]

Paolo Buonvino - Decadence (Soundtrack "I Medici")

[jimmiremy]

[captn-trex]

hey all :) just to let you know, I made a ko-fi!

it's mainly for offering commissions of my music compositions but I thought I'd spread the word here anyway! if it's something you're interested in and you want to hear some of my work I'll drop some recordings under the cut :)

[you can’t link soundcloud albums so I've just grouped them as they appear in their albums]

no album:

goodbye, old friend (originally set to clips from 'revenge of the sith'):

a witch leaves home (originally set to clips from 'kiki's delivery service'):

I’ll be adding some more of my old works to soundcloud as and when I find where I’ve saved them lmao - link to my account here

[no-life-without-music]

My favourite Sofia Coppola film. Decided to scan the cd booklet that comes with the soundtrack which is one of my favourites as well, it sets the vibe for the film so well.

[the-garden-of-electric-light]

The scores of man abide nothing but self indulgence--build nothing but futile lattices with which we vainly attempt to reach heaven. Until the sound of that cornet sends us tumbling back to earth--to our knees--humming incessant praise.

[mikrokosmos]

John Williams

( 8 February 1932 - )

Happy Birthday, John!

[jumpingbear]

Robot Dreams (2023)

[man-am-i-the-greatest]

Let me be passionate about something real quick. I just watched a video on Youtube about Hans Zimmer’s work on Interstellar, at the Royal Albert Hall performance. I don’t think people understand how much talent and work it takes to make film music. Especially to a film that has loads of elements and elaborate plots pieces. Music is the missing piece of a film, it’s what your mind takes in and it’s what’s guiding you to feel when watching the film. The video showed the texture and elements used in the performance, including instruments, voices and most importantly the organ. I think the one scene that stood out to me is where in the film Murphy finds the paper pushed in the bookshelf and in the paper it showcases how Cooper saw how the Dust Bowl made an impact on the atmosphere and the uneven pattern. I believe that when watching the main film before composing the music Hans zimmer saw the pattern on the page and decided to recreate that through the rhythm in the music in that specific scene. Also the ticking showcasing each day passing by is just so perfect, it’s the exact sound of something like a timer. Makes it an impression that they don’t have as much time as they think. That their life on earth will go by a lot quicker than they think. This ticking happens every 1.25 seconds. THE ACCURACY. I can’t lie i got goosebumps.

Look don’t quote me on the specifics but the little details are everything to film music and Hans knows exactly how to take the scene and give it emotions.