How John Williams Writes a Theme (We Wrote 5 to Prove It)

John Williams' themes have a formula — and once you see it, you can't unsee it. So we didn't just analyze his scores. We reverse-engineered the method and wrote 5 original cues in his style to prove the concept actually works. The pattern: he tends to open on a static pedal-tone foundation, then lets the harmony turn more adventurous in the second half of the theme — which is what makes the melody feel inevitable. In this video we show you the pattern, then put it to the test with 5 cues of our own. 🎹 DOWNLOAD THE MIDI FILES of all 5 cues (free): https://www.masterthescore.com/willia... What's inside: The pattern hiding in so many John Williams themes Why the harmonic "turn" almost always lands in the second half 5 original cues we composed in different Williams styles What worked, what didn't, and what it teaches you about writing themes Timestamps: 0:00 – Intro: The Pattern in John Williams' Themes 0:49 – Cue 1: Broad 7:20 – Cue 2: Soaring 11:03 – Learn This Yourself (Summer Sale) 12:15 – Cue 3: March 15:04 – Cue 4: Quirky 19:30 – Cue 5: Star Wars Style 25:24 – Outro Want to write music like this yourself? Master The Score offers in-depth online courses on film, game, anime and trailer music — from composition and orchestration to mockups, mixing and full orchestral music production, taught by working composers. 40% off in our Summer Sale until July 23: https://www.masterthescore.com/courses Subscribe for more deep dives into how great film music actually works. Photo: "John Williams performs with the Boston Pops" by Chris Devers (via Flickr / Wikimedia Commons), licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 — https://creativecommons.org/licenses/... — Image cropped and edited. #JohnWilliams #FilmScoring #FilmMusicComposition