The Music Behind The Magic

Even before I started playing horn and became a semi-legitimate musician, I was always one to appreciate music. In fact, I clearly remember the first time I discovered that one could buy movie soundtracks. I had arrived early enough to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban to see the end credits from the previous showing, and tucked somewhere in that block of text was a note about the production and composition of the John Williams score. Excited and surprised, I rushed out to buy the disc within the next few days, and I spent weeks listening to it.

Now, there are (naturally) a few film composers more well-known than others: John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, and Hans Zimmer are a few that come to mind. There are also a few movie scores that are exceptionally popular, such as those from the Harry Potter (John Williams, Patrick Doyle, Nicholas Hooper, Alexandre Desplat), Star Wars (John Williams), and Pirates of the Caribbean (Hans Zimmer) series.  Once you venture outside the realm of musicians and music appreciators, however, you start to lose a lot of the recognition that film composers deserve.

Personally, I’ve been listening to the Doctor Who soundtrack a lot, and the music is absolutely brilliant. I have five of the songs from the series downloaded and have listened to them literally 75 times in the past two weeks or so. As is the case with so many movies and television programs, fans will rave about the love triangles and relationships and characters and effects and storylines, but so very few will listen to what’s happening behind all of the acting.

In my mind, here’s the truth: The music tells the story. The composer has just as much control over a program as the actors do. A brilliant composer can bring another dimension to a scene, and even a novice has the ability to accent what is already there. As a society, we take film scores for granted. We notice them, sure, but we never really sit back and fully appreciate.

We buy the albums of rappers and pop singers and heavy metal bands, but few of us buy scores. With that said, there is always going to be a powerful fan base for movie/television music, but it always seems to be overshadowed by more popular artists. Honestly, when was the last time you heard a film score on the radio?

Here are a few of my favorite movie scores, in no particular order:

• Star Trek, by Michael Giacchino
• Inception, by Hans Zimmer
• Avatar, by James Horner
• Doctor Who (assorted series), by Murray Gold
• Pirates of the Caribbean, by Hans Zimmer
• Harry Potter (assorted films), by John Williams/Patrick Doyle/Nicholas Hooper/Alexandre Desplat
• The King’s Speech, by Alexandre Desplat

The next time you’re listening to a movie or watching a program, take a moment to see through the visuals and appreciate the music as well. If you’ve found something you like, watch the credits for the name of the composer. Look up the tracks on YouTube. Run out to Best Buy or FYE and buy the album. Download it from iTunes. Support the film industry in a different way, and learn to listen to things in a new light.

I may be a skeptical, often cynical 17-year-old, but there’s one thing I will always believe in, and that’s music. Not window-rattling, bass-heavy rappers or auto-tuned artists, but music that makes me feel something. A piece like “Time” from Inception or “Enterprising Young Men” from Star Trek that raises goosebumps and makes me imagine heartbreak or power or unexplored worlds. Something that makes me think, not just dance in the privacy of my bedroom. Music that does and will always mean something. That’s where my faith lies.

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For more of my thoughts and my YouTube video blogs, you can find me at my personal website,www.alexiswrites.com.