Film Score Composition

Deadline Thursday 11th December

Assignment 1 (Leitmotifs)
Compose at least 5 leitmotifs to represent a range of characters, either fictional (e.g. from films or
books) or real (e.g. famous people past or present).

They must last 4-8 bars each and may be melodic or harmonic (or a combination of these).

You need to submit your ideas in score format in a word document, therefore it is important to
always work carefully to the grid and quantize any ideas that are played in live.

Accompanying each motif should be a written description in which you explain how you think the
motif effectively reflects the character.

GRADING INFORMATION
To get a merit you should show a good amount of contrast between the motifs and your motifs
should succinctly and accurately reflect the character.

To get a distinction you also need to submit musical ideas that demonstrate inventive and original
treatment of musical elements.

This could include creative use of more unusual or experimental tonalities, rhythmic
elements or chord types.

Writing Effective Motifs

An effective motif should:
-

Be succinct, simple and catchy

Capture the true essence of the character in musical terms

Melodic Motifs Guidance

Tempo
Time Signature
Timbre and Register

Should be one of your first considerations

4/4 probably the most common. Others can be used to give particular feels e.g. a flowing feel, irregular times such as 5/4 can create a more unusual effect
Can have a huge impact on the way we interpret the character
Using white notes only but focussing on different pitches can give a variety of
moods. Here are a few:

Mode

C Major,
D Minor (medieval),
E Phrygian (dark),
F Lydian (magic)

Number of Pitches

Movement

Shape
Rhythmic Values

Most motifs use little more than 4/5 different pitches + octaves.
Select a pitch set carefully from your mode.
Most motifs contain some movement by step and some by leap. Consider your
character.
Should have a shape and rough sense of direction. Arch shapes are common
Upwards motifs tend to sound more positive than downwards.
Use a variety of rhythmic values to give some definition to the motif

Harmonic Motifs Guidance

Timbre

What sound will best convey the mood from your chords

Types of Chords

Which types of chord best sum up your character?

Harmonic Rhythm

How often are you changing chord?

Try and vary the rate

Voicing

How are the notes in your chord distributed?

Includes doubling, register, inversions etc

Flow

Make sure your chords flow nicely into each other unless a more disjointed effect is
required (chords sharing at least one note are likely to work together)