How To Write Like John Williams! Secrets of Film Scoring Part 1

hi everyone I'm Rick Beato in today's episode of everything music we're going to talk about how to write in the style of John Williams we're going to analyze some chord progressions and I'm going to show you how you can utilize these progressions in your own writing let's get started the first idea like to talk about is using two major triads that are at write on a part in this case I'm going to use b-flat major and E major I'm gonna use a brass sound and show you how you can voice these chords Oh okay so what am I doing there I'm simply alternating between a b-flat major in the E major chord let me show you a quick example of how you could use this in an orchestration very simple orchestration with just brass and strings that's simply using those two triads there's no extra tones at all another idea using two triads is the idea of using to try as a whole step apart two major triads to create a Lydian sound this is a very common sound you hear in many film scores because it creates an uplifting uh ethereal sound you'll hear it here so I'm going to use a D triad and an E triad for example but I'm going to use it over a pedal tone so I'm going to use D in the bass you can also do this in a lower register as well I can simply do it or even lower that is a great way just using two triads major triads a whole step apart will create a Lydian sound I mean you could use F and G Latin accent really works well when you're playing if I were to do b-flat and see if I play have the sus4 in the third on the sea hoard there's a really really tense sound but that idea of using two major triads a whole step apart to create a Lydian sound isn't very effective here's an example from the John Williams Superman theme where he's using these two triads so what he's doing there simply outlining the D major chord so he's playing D F sharp a and then up to F sharp decreed that spread red and then he's got the E major chord here it has never be in it I don't think there's a B in it let me listen here there is a B in there too that's a perfect example of those two triads he uses it all over the place as do many other film scores the next example is using a minor and a major triad together in this case G minor to e major here's an example you've all heard that type of progression before so really effective so it's a minor triad moving down to the major triad a minor third below G minor to E major you could also do from C minor to a major so here it is and what I would do is practice that in all different keys another example of using two triads to create a particular mood is uh right here listen okay so what is he doing there going from C minor it's got a C pedal going f-sharp minor so C minor to F sharp minor now we're doing tritones with minor chords you you can do the same thing another key let's say you take a minor and move a tritone away from that okay a tritone away from that would be a flap to be a minor to E flat minor so it might be like something like this really great powerful sound so I'm using a pedal point but I'm using those two minor triads that are a tritone away you can simply do it in the upper register as well let me play it again now I'm going to do it with a woodwind sound or if I did it with a minor and E flat major how you do it like this another example of using two minor chords would be something like this now you'll probably recognize that sound from John Williams soundtracks as well what that is is simply an E minor triad - a flat minor okay so you've got a minor and you have the common tone in the middle of that voicing so essentially the two outer voices in this inversion of the court is the first inversion a minor chord and they contract in so these outer notes and the inner voice stays the same as a real brooding kind of mysterious sound the formula for that is a minor triad moving to a minor triad a major third above to transpose it to C minor that would be from C minor and then up a major third to E minor so check it out I'm going to use the G as the common tone of it so I'm going to doing this inversion or you doing this inversion I'll keep my G as a common tone or in this inversion I'm keeping my G gamma John but I think the strongest voicing actually is when you do it with the first inversion minor chord where the outer voices contract and the inner voice which would be the fifth of the chord in the C minor B the G stays as a common tone that's a much more powerful voice leading hearing that contract you can do a lot using simple triadic structures and knowing what types of formulas work well together you can actually string even more of them together I can start with C minor resolved it D minor to G minor to E flat minor right and then I could go F sharp minor F major to be augmented you should keep a log of these triatic formulas which ones sound good to you which are ideas that you want to use in your own writing also practice them on the keyboard so that you become familiar with how to move between them and using the proper voice leading this is going to help your arrangements have a lot of cohesiveness that's all for now thank you for watching as always please subscribe here and in my everything music facebook page if you haven't already also please check us out on patreon at the link provided I'm Rick Beato

Channel: Rick Beato

Views: 217,295

Keywords: Rick Beato, everything music, film scoring, how to write film scores, orchestration, music theory, jazz theory, john williams, star wars, Indiana jones, the music of john williams, scoring for films

Id: xZtvm3DEQzY

Length: 10min 52sec (652 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 26 2016