Comments for Film Music Notes

Comment on The Story Behind Orchestrating Action 1 by Tim Hare

Tim Hare — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 20:26:10 +0000

Not enough time in the day to dive in as deeply as I’d like, but I can’t wait to jump into this course! Having studied composition in school, I must agree with Mark that there is a genuine dearth of subject matter on how to orchestrate around “textures.” I imagine there are quite a few similar techniques employed by the masters, each with their spin, but using the same technique tree.

Comment on The Story Behind Orchestrating Action 1 by Steve Batcup

Steve Batcup — Tue, 08 Jul 2025 08:36:28 +0000

Mark, this is incredible. I love that you're breaking new ground in the world of music analysis with this texture-first approach. I've only started on the first set of lessons but i'm already very excited about how the course will change my compositions for the better, as your other courses have already done. Matching textures to expression - I'm pretty sure there is nobody else even coming close to this. Certainly not online. Great stuff.

Comment on The Story Behind Orchestrating Action 1 by Josh Lucan

Josh Lucan — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 15:17:32 +0000

What an accomplishment! I can’t wait to get into this one! Your focus on the emotional meaning of musical choices really sets your teaching apart.

Comment on The Story Behind Orchestrating Action 1 by Art Leiby

Art Leiby — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 14:52:12 +0000

In reply to Michael D. I've gone through the first section of the course "Neutral/Battle Chase Textures" and I am as always amazed by your ability to break concepts down into digestible units. Breaking the orchestration down into their functions and demonstrating them through the audio is outstanding. Once again, you have created an amazing course, and I am looking forward to continuing the journey.

Comment on The Story Behind Orchestrating Action 1 by Michael D

Michael D — Mon, 07 Jul 2025 14:21:08 +0000

Fantastic work, Mark! Thanks for taking the time to put together this course. It’s very much appreciated. 🙂

Comment on Celebrating Star Wars Themes, Part 5 of 6: Across the Stars by Joseph

Joseph — Sun, 09 Mar 2025 15:50:52 +0000

One connection that I was hoping to see was the connection between Across the Stars and the Imperial March, specifically the A sections of both themes have a bunch of melodic overlap. These are aspects of Anakin’s story and to me it’s one of the strongest connections, melodically and thematically.

Comment on Diegetic Music, Non-Diegetic Music, and “Source Scoring” by Mark Richards

Mark Richards — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 17:12:20 +0000

In reply to Steve Batcup. Ha! Great example. I didn't know that one, but it works so well. It reminds me of The Long Goodbye, where the title song is played in several versions, all spliced seamlessly into one another as the film cuts from character to another, especially when Elliott Gould goes from his car, where we hear a soulful sung, into the supermarket, where it immediately cuts into a "muzak" (elevator music) version without missing a beat. And it does this many times in the opening scene!

Comment on Diegetic Music, Non-Diegetic Music, and “Source Scoring” by Steve Batcup

Steve Batcup — Wed, 19 Feb 2025 16:52:03 +0000

A great comedy example of non-diegetic music transitioning into diegetic music here from Gross Point Blank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1xoxtDcO08 Hard rock Guns N' Roses becomes pizzicato elevator style as he walks into the convenience store . Timed to perfection. The effect has been copied many times since.

Comment on The Hobbit: A Musical Journey by Mark Richards

Mark Richards — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 18:01:52 +0000

In reply to Rebecca.

Hi Rebecca – glad you’re enjoying the blog! If it’s leitmotifs you’re after in the two Tolkien trilogies, there’s a comprehensive list online at jwfan.com in this post:
https://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/23907-the-themes-of-howard-shores-the-hobbit/

Interestingly, there seem to be no appearances of the Fellowship theme in the Hobbit films. But there are plenty of LOTR themes that return in The Hobbit trilogy. In fact, that post begins with a long list of exactly that! I hope this helps, and best wishes for your research.

Comment on The Hobbit: A Musical Journey by Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 14 Oct 2024 00:38:01 +0000

Hi Mark
Love the website! I’m currently doing an analysis of the leitmotifs across the two trilogies. Just for interests sake, I’ve been looking to find specific instances in which the leitmotifs of The Hobbit give a nod to the events that only happen in the future (canonically, in The Lord of the Rings). I’ve done most of my analysis on The Shire theme but I am looking for something that is perhaps a bit less obvious. For example, do you know of any instances where The Fellowship motif appears in The Hobbit, even if just as a reinterpretation/base for one of the new leitmotifs?