Revisit Stars Wars score in The Force Awakens countdown

With The Force Awakens coming to theaters Dec. 18, it’s a great time to revisit what makes Star Wars so timeless: its epic musical score.

In cinema, musical score is one of the most important aspects of sound design. Without sound, the viewer would not experience the film in quite the same way. Music brings the characters to life and helps us become part of the movie. It helps bridge the visual and auditory gaps.

The Star Wars series is equally defined by the plot, characters and setting and the musical score. Anyone who hears the “Main Theme” or “The Imperial March” will immediately hearken back to their past Star Wars experiences.  Those who have never seen a film from the franchise will still recognize these tunes that have come to dominate popular culture and have made a resurgence with the release of The Force Awakens.

The score of the original trilogy are made iconic by John Williams directing and use of trumpets for the melody of his music. He has also scored many other extremely well-known movies — from Jaws to E.T. to Indiana Jones to Schindler’s List.

Yet Star Wars seems unique to all others because of its recognizable tune and arrangement. Two of Williams’ songs in the Star Wars original trilogy, “The Imperial March” and “Main Theme.” Williams uses the trumpet as the highlighting instrument, helping make each song recognizable.  

In the “Main Theme” especially, Williams, uses secondary instruments such as bells and other like sound effects to give it a science-fiction theme. It helps set the movie and creates an out-of-this-world atmosphere. Additionally, these secondary instruments help transition between different segments of each song.

Williams also plays with the volume in his score to help signify certain scenes and characters. The score starts loud and ends soft, and undergoes many volume changes in between. It is almost like you can hear the struggle between light and dark without seeing it.

This is especially apparent in “The Imperial March” — even without seeing Darth Vader walking down the corridor in the Death Star you can hear him coming.  In the “Main Theme” you don’t need to see Luke Skywalker standing behind the two suns of Tatooine — you only need to listen.  

Being able to visualize images from a film simply by hearing the chords of a score associated with it will always be a good indicator of a director’s success. And in that aspect, Star Wars is none less than pitch-perfect.

The following are iconic songs from each of the six existing Star Wars Films:

1. A New Hope – “Main Theme”
2. Empire Strikes Back – “The Imperial March”
3. Return of the Jedi – “Victory Celebration”
4. Phantom Menace – “Duel of the Fates”
5. Attack of the Clones – “Across the Stars”
6. Revenge of the Sith – “Battle of the Heroes”