Whether you're a composer, musician, producer or sound
designer, creating themes for movies and TV shows can be a tricky business. You
have to create a song that will fit perfectly with the scene as well as tell
the audience what is about to happen. Creating an original theme song can be
challenging but with these tips and tricks offered by professional musician and
composer Andrew Huggett, you'll find it easier than you think.
What is a theme song?
A theme song is a piece of music that plays before the
opening credits or main titles of a TV show or movie. It's often instrumental,
but some themes have lyrics.
The theme song is used to set the tone for the show and tell
viewers what's about to happen. For example, if you're watching Game of
Thrones, the theme song will play as snow falls during winter. This can be an
important element in setting up your audience for what they are about to see.
The art of sound design
Creating a song that fits the tone of the film or show
perfectly is difficult. In order to do so, you must first understand what the
song is going to be used for. Is it going to be a full-fledged musical number?
Is it going to be a calm and soothing theme song that plays at the beginning of
an episode? Once you've figured out what your song will be used for, you can
start planning how you'll write and create it, explains Canadian jingle master,
Andrew Huggett.
A wide range of instruments are available for use in sound
design: drums, piano, woodwinds, strings, brass, and percussion. You also have
different types of sounds like noise loops and voice samples that can help you
create your sound design. With these initial tools at your disposal, often all
you need is just one note to make your sound design sing!
How to create an original theme song
First, you should decide what genre of music you want your
original theme song to be in. If the movie is a comedy, then you might want to
use an upbeat and bubbly pop song. If the movie is a drama, then it would make
sense to use a more somber and serious orchestral song. Next, figure out how
long your theme will be: 15 seconds? 30 seconds? A minute?
Next, think about how many instruments you want to include
in your theme song. This can range from one instrument all the way up to three
or four. You might even want to string multiple instruments together such as a
piano and drums playing simultaneously.
Finally, think about how you want your themes sounds like
and what emotions you're trying to convey with it. Will it be dark and brooding
or light and whimsical? Will the lyrics be sad or happy? How fast or slow
should your tempo go? Andrew Huggett advises to think about these aspects of
your new theme song before moving on to compose it.
The process of creating an original theme song
The process of creating an original theme song is actually
quite simple. You just need to start with a short idea and build upon it. As
long as you have an idea and some small portion of the song, you can create a
full theme, states music composer Andrew Huggett. This can be done on your own
or with the help of someone else who will help you put the song together.
Once you have your idea in place, you'll need to find a
genre or style that will compliment it well. Once that's done, you'll find
yourself writing lyrics for the music. The lyrics should tell the story of
what's about to happen in the scene so that when people hear the music, they
know exactly what is happening in terms of what those around them are feeling
and thinking.
After your lyric ideas are all set, you'll need to find
someone who knows how to sing, so that they can give it life by singing it out
loud.
At this point, everything is in place but one last step:
editing! Editing will make sure everything sounds perfect and there are no
mistakes left for anyone listening it.
Conclusion
Your theme song will be an important part of your brand.
It's a song that will be heard everywhere, so make sure it's powerful enough to
stand the test of time.
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