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15-Minute Music Lesson on Star Wars with Free Printable Pack

Who out there loves Star Wars? I wrote today’s 15-Minute Music Lesson on Star Wars just in time for you to use it to celebrate May the 4th: May the Force Be With You!

15-Minute Music Lesson on Music of Star Wars. Learn about John Williams and his themes/leitmotifs.

Today’s lesson will introduce you to the film score composer John Williams, show you a bit about how a movie score writer records the music for a movie, and about the themes that Williams incorporated into the Star Wars movies.

John Williams

John Williams was born in 1932 and is one of America’s greatest composers. He truly made his mark on movie music composition. He wrote the music for the following films: ET, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Superman, Jurassic Park, and, of course, the Star Wars movies.

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Recording the Music for the Movies

This video shows actual footage of John Williams working with the orchestra and chorus while recording the music that was used in the film. You’ll see him talking with the director, who explains what kind of music he’s looking for in a particular scene. Be sure to notice the film playing up above the singers, so that Williams can make the music be the correct tempo (speed) to go along with the action in the movie.

Themes

John Williams used a musical technique called leitmotif, which was originally made famous by Richard Wagner in his operas. According to Wikipedia, “a leitmotif is a phrase or melodic cell that signifies a character, place, plot element, mood, idea, relationship or another specific part of the film.” They are also called themes. See if you can identify the musical phrases for each the following themes. If you enjoy these, John Williams has many more that you can research here.

The Force Theme (also known as Ben Kenobi’s Theme or Obi-Wan’s Theme)

The Imperial March, Darth Vader’s Theme

Princess Leia’s Theme

Luke and Leia’s Theme

Anakin and Padme’s Theme

Time is up for our 15-Minute Music Lesson, but if you’d like to hear the main Star Wars theme before you go, hear it here!

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10 Comments

  1. Very timely. Our children will be playing their violins and cello to the Star Wars theme this June. Thank you.

  2. Grandsons loved this lesson! The themes for each character really helped them understand how the sounds impact the movie. Thanks for sharing!

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Music Lessons for Holidays and Special Days self-paced online course for elementary students. Learn about some great music associated with holidays throughout the year, plus fun days such as Star Wars Day, Dr. Seuss Day, and Talk Like a Pirate Day!