Trailer music

History and character

Trailer music is music written to sell a film in 1–3 minutes. Until the 1990s trailers mostly used library music from other films; then specialized production houses emerged that compose tracks designed for trailer editing and license them through libraries: Immediate Music (1993, Yoav Goren and Jeffrey Fayman), X-Ray Dog, Two Steps From Hell (Los Angeles, 2006, Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix; public albums Invincible 2010 and Archangel 2011, tracks such as Heart of Courage, Protectors of the Earth, Victory), Audiomachine (2005), Brand X Music, Position Music, Really Slow Motion, and composers such as Zack Hemsey (Mind Heist, 2010). Many of these houses later released albums for the public, creating the “epic music” genre.

Three strands: (1) orchestral-choral epic (orchestra + chorus + enormous percussion + synths, lyrics in Latin or invented languages); (2) hybrid/sound design (electronic pulses, impacts, risers, “braams”, silences, few melodic elements); (3) dark covers of pop songs (“trailer version”: famous songs slowed down, in minor, with whispered vocals and a crescendo, the historic example being the choral cover of Creep used in the trailer for The Social Network, 2010).

The BRAAAM — the low blast of brass and synthesizers that became the signature of 2010s trailers — is associated with Inception (2010), but its authorship is disputed: Hans Zimmer tells of brass played inside a piano with the pedal down and then processed; Mike Zarin, who worked on the first trailers, claims the sound; Zack Hemsey wrote the music for the third trailer; similar earlier uses have been pointed out in Transformers (2007) and District 9 (2009). The trailer's form is rigid (three acts plus the final “button”) and dictated by the editing: the composer writes knowing that the editor will cut, repeat or skip sections, so the tracks are built in blocks, with sharp breaks and impacts every 4–8 bars, and are delivered with stems and alt mixes (without chorus, without percussion, sound design only).

Scales and keys

Few scales, used with great clarity. Roman numerals in minor relative to natural minor.

Natural minor (Aeolian) — the foundation

• Formula 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 (2-1-2-2-1-2-2). D minor: D E F G A Bb C.
• Characteristic note: b6 (Bb): the “epic-tragic” color.
• Chords: i (Dm) ii° (E°) III (F) iv (Gm) v (Am) VI (Bb) VII (C).
• Use: i–VI–III–VII loops, string ostinatos on the tonic, choirs rising by step on 5–b6–b7–1.
• Example: Two Steps From Hell — Heart of Courage (2010), built on an epic minor with chorus and ostinatos.
• Common mistake: staying on the same progression and in the same register for all three acts: the third act has to change (modulation, Picardy third, richer harmony).

Phrygian — tension and menace

• Formula 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 (1-2-2-2-1-2-2). C Phrygian: C Db Eb F G Ab Bb.
• Characteristic note: b2 (Db). Chords (relative to natural minor): i (Cm) bII (Db) III (Eb) iv (Fm) v° (G°) VI (Ab) vii (Bbm).
• Use: tonic–b2 ostinato in the basses and act 2 synth pulses, i–bII in the brass before the hits.

Harmonic minor — drama

• Formula 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7 (2-1-2-2-1-3-1). D harmonic minor: D E F G A Bb C#.
• Characteristic note: leading tone C# and augmented second Bb–C#. Chords: i (Dm) ii° (E°) III+ (F+) iv (Gm) V (A) VI (Bb) vii° (C#°).
• Use: major V before the final impact, dramatic chorus lines.

Dorian — “hopeful” epic

• Formula 1 2 b3 4 5 6 b7. D Dorian: D E F G A B C. Chords (relative to natural minor): i (Dm) ii (Em) III (F) IV (G) v (Am) #vi° (B°) VII (C).
• Use: i–major IV for adventure and fantasy trailers, slowed-down pop covers (Mad World: Em–G–D–A, the A is the Dorian IV).

Major and Mixolydian — the heroic finale

• Major: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7. D major: D E F# G A B C#. Mixolydian: 1 2 3 4 5 6 b7 (D Mixolydian: D E F# G A B C).
• Use: the third act can “open up” to major (Picardy third) with bVI–bVII–I (Bb–C–D in D).

Clusters, chromaticism and absent tonality

• Act 1 of thrillers and horror: string clusters, glissandos, sustained notes sul ponticello, textures without a tonic; the tonic is revealed only when the pulse enters.

How to choose

Teaser and horror: Phrygian, clusters. Action and fantasy: Aeolian + Dorian, major finale. Dramatic: Aeolian with added harmonies (add9, sus2) and chorus. Cover: keep the original melody but move it to minor or Dorian and slow it down by 30–50%.

Harmony

Principles

• Slow, big harmony: 1 chord every 1–2 bars (at 120–140 bpm) or a pedal for an entire act.
• Minor loop without a dominant (i–VI–III–VII and variants): the tension never resolves until the third act chooses a closure.
• Pedal + moving chords: tonic sustained by sub, double basses and synths; chords change above (Dm – Bb/D – C/D).
• Chromatic and minor mediants for plot twists and “reveals”: i–vi minor (Cm–Abm: the harmonic “braam”), i–#iv (tritone).
• Picardy third or major bVI–bVII–I for the last heroic act.
• Modulation up a whole step or semitone at the entrance of the third act (the epic “truck driver”): renews the energy.
• Voicing: open fifths (orchestral power chords) in the basses and low brass for power without mud; thirds only in the mid-high register (horns, chorus, strings).
• Harmonic silences: 1–2 bars of emptiness before the impact are worth more than any chord.

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

• Perceived acceleration: act 1 without pulse or with long notes; act 2 in quarter notes → eighth notes → sixteenth notes at the same bpm; act 3 at full rhythm or in half time with dense subdivisions.
• Half time: low percussion “at 70” under ostinatos “at 140”: grandeur + urgency.
• Sixteenth-note ostinatos of strings (spiccato), synth pulses and toms, with 3+3+2 or 3+3+3+3+2+2 accents across the bar (syncopations that push).
• Hits and stops: impacts synced to the cuts and sudden silences (1–2 s) before the main hits and the title.
• Ramp-up: the last stretch of an act with percussion roll and risers that accelerate (eighth notes → triplets → sixteenth notes → roll).
• Tempo map: library tracks at constant bpm (to ease editing), often 120, 130, 140, 150; the rests must “measure” whole bars to allow cutting.

Drums

How percussion thinks in trailers

Percussion is the engine of the second and third acts and the exclamation point of every cut. You work in layers: impacts (hits), low ensembles, toms and taiko, snares, metals, electronic percussion.

Layers and roles

• Impact (hit): orchestral bass drum + low taiko + sub-drop + cymbal/reverse cymbal + enormous reverb, all on the downbeat of a section or on a cut. The title's “boom”.
• Low ensembles (taiko, bass drums, surdo): on 1 and 3 in half time or “1, 2&, 3” with syncopation; in act 3 in eighth notes.
• Orchestral toms and mid taiko: sixteenth-note ostinato with 3+3+2 accents (e.g. x..x..x. x..x..x.), velocity crescendo in the last 2 bars.
• Military snares / field drum: rolls and dotted figures in the third act (“battle” energy), often paired with crash cymbals.
• Metals: anvil, plates, cymbals, tam-tam; single hits that mark the changes.
• Electronics: distorted half-time kick, processed claps, rhythmic pulses (synth or strings chopped with a gate).

Example act 3 groove (4/4, 140 bpm)

• Low ensemble: on 1, 2&, 3, 4& (accent on 1 and 3).
• Toms: continuous sixteenth notes with 3+3+2 accents.
• Snare: on 3 (half time) with a flam; roll in the last 2 bars.
• Impact: every 4 or 8 bars on the 1.

Dynamics and microtiming

• Velocity 60–127 with programmed crescendos; round robin enabled; some hits shifted by −5/−15 ms so the low transient arrives on time.
• Impacts are built in “layers”: each one filtered into a different band (sub < 60 Hz, body 60–200 Hz, attack 2–5 kHz, tail/reverb).

Transitions

Risers (filtered noise rising, glissando strings, synths with pitch rising 12–24 semitones), “suck-back” (reversed reverb before the impact), total silence of 1–2 bars, 0.5–1 s whoosh.

Choice of sounds and typical mistakes

• A few large, coherent samples; the impact must have an identity (tuned to the tonic).
• Mistakes: too many impacts (they lose value), impacts not tuned to the key, toms covering the chorus, hits without space (reverb cut off), the same rhythm in all three acts.

Bass

• Instruments: double basses and cellos in octaves (spiccato or sustained), low brass (tuba, bass trombone, cimbasso), synth bass, sub-drop, “braam” (low brass + distorted synth + sub).
• Notes: tonic and fifth; tonic–b2 ostinato (Phrygian) or tonic–b6 in act 2; tonic pedal in act 3 while the harmony moves above.
• Rhythm: eighth or sixteenth notes locked to the string ostinato; in half time the bass holds long notes.
• Sub: 30–50 Hz sine on every impact, with a pitch drop of 12–24 semitones in 0.5–2 s; do not overlap it with the sustained note of the synth bass (sidechain or EQ).
• Braam: stacking of low brass in ff (or dedicated samples), a distorted sawtooth synth an octave below and a sub; duration 2–4 s, envelope with sharp attack and long decay.

Harmonic instruments

• Strings: spiccato sixteenth-note ostinatos (violins II, violas, cellos), tremolos and sul ponticello in act 1, long chords in the finale; violins I and chorus carry the melody in the third act.
• Brass: horns in unison on the heroic melody, trombones and tuba in fifths and octaves for power, trumpets on the final fanfares; “rips” and “falls” as effects.
• Chorus: sustained chords on “ah/oh”, phrases in Latin or invented syllables, low male chorus in act 2, mixed chorus fortissimo in act 3.
• Piano: single notes with very long reverb in act 1 (the “piano ping”), ostinatos in the low register in act 2.
• Synth: pulses (filtered sixteenth-note sequences), dark pads, arpeggios; rhythmic gates on pads and strings.
• Voicing: fifths and octaves in the bass, full triads only from C4 upward; in the final tutti melody in three octaves (chorus, violins, horns).

Melody and vocals

• Simple, big melodies: phrases of 2–4 bars with long notes, wide intervals (fifth, sixth), often only 4–6 different notes: they must land in a few seconds.
• Epic chorus: sopranos and basses in octaves on the melody, altos and tenors on the harmony; texts in real or invented Latin, chosen for the sound of the vowels.
• Solo female voice in act 1 (ethereal, heavily reverbed) or whispered male voice in covers.
• “Trailer version” cover: original melody slowed down and in minor, first verse with piano and voice, then chorus and orchestra.
• Effects: very long reverbs (5–10 s) on the voices, filtered tempo-synced delays, reverse vocals before the phrases, one-octave pitch shift for “monstrous” voices.

Instruments

Orchestra (strings, boosted brass, few woodwinds), mixed chorus and solo voices, percussion ensemble (taiko, bass drums, orchestral toms, military snares, anvil, metals), piano, synths (pulses, pads, basses), sound design (hits, braams, risers, whooshes, downers, stingers, reverses), baritone and distorted electric guitars for action trailers, processed voices.

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Modular V — Risers, sweeps, pulses: White noise through the Moog low-pass filter with slowly rising cutoff (8–16 bars) for risers; pitch-modulated oscillators for sirens and sweeps; sequencer for the act 2 pulses.
• Prophet-5 V — Pulses and basses: Synthetic sixteenth-note ostinatos (saw + pulse, closed filter with short envelope) and full basses for the braam: raise oscillator B an octave below and add external distortion.
• Korg MS-20 V — Braam and aggressive basses: High-pass and low-pass filters with pushed resonance and natural overdrive: perfect for the synthetic layer of the braam and for growling basses.
• Augmented Strings — Hybrid strings: Ostinatos with rhythmic movement (internal sequencer) and pads that turn into electronic textures in act 1.
• Augmented Voices — Chorus and vocal textures: Epic choir pads and granular vocal layers for the transitions.
• Synthi V — Effects and textures: Noises, ring modulation and strange sweeps for tension and horror.
• Jup-8 V — 1980s pads and arpeggios: For “retro” trailers (Stranger Things style): arpeggiator and wide pads with chorus.

Song structure

The three-act form (2:00–2:45)

Delivery (library)

• Full mix, “underscore” versions (without heavy percussion), “no choir”, “drums & FX only”, separate “stems” for editors.
• Alternate lengths: 60 s, 30 s, 15 s (with their own ending).
• Markers and editing notes: where it can be cut, where the impacts are.

Arrangement

Each act adds a family: act 1 = piano/voice/texture; act 2 = + pulse + percussion + bass; act 3 = + chorus + brass + full percussion + melody. Remove everything for 1–2 bars before the climax: the return will be stronger.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Maximum impact and clarity on cinema, TV and smartphone systems: physical impacts (sub and body), enormous chorus and brass, sound design separate from the music, narration (if present) always intelligible. It is the orchestral genre closest to the “modern” mix: high compression, saturation and loudness, but with dynamics between the acts.

Impacts and percussion

• EQ: sub-drops and bass drums high-pass at 20–25 Hz, emphasis at 40–60 Hz (+2/+3 dB, Q 1) for the sub and 80–120 Hz for the body; −3 dB at 250–400 Hz to remove the “cardboard”; attack +2 dB at 2–4 kHz.
• Compression: percussion bus with VCA or FET (4:1, attack 10–30 ms, release 80–150 ms, 4–6 dB); parallel with 10:1 crushed compression blended at 20–30%.
• Transient shaper: +attack on the toms if the samples are soft, −sustain if the tails pile up.
• Saturation: tape or tube on the percussion bus, soft clipper (StandardCLIP, KClip, Fruity Soft Clipper in FL Studio) for 2–4 dB of clipped peaks without losing punch.
• Space: enormous reverbs only on the impacts (hall or “cinematic” 4–8 s, pre-delay 0–20 ms), return with high-pass at 150–200 Hz so as not to swell the sub.
• Panning: impacts in the center; toms L/R 30–50; snares in the center or L/R 20.

Bass and sub

• Everything below 80 Hz in the center (mono). Sidechain the synth bass and low brass from the impacts (3–6 dB, release 100–250 ms).
• Saturation on the braam (harmonics audible on smartphones): tube distortion or moderate Decapitator.

Strings

• EQ: high-pass 80–120 Hz on the ostinatos (leave the bass to double basses and synths), −2/−3 dB at 300 Hz, watch 2–4 kHz (spiccato can sting); +2 dB shelf at 10 kHz for air.
• Compression: string bus 2:1, attack 20–30 ms, release 150 ms, 2–3 dB; heavier on the ostinatos that must stay constant.
• Space: hall 2.5–3.5 s, pre-delay 20 ms.
• Panning: highs left, lows right as in the hall, but with ostinatos duplicated L/R for width.

Brass

• EQ: horns body 300–600 Hz, trumpets −2 dB at 2.5 kHz if piercing, trombones +2 dB at 120–200 Hz for weight.
• Compression: brass bus 3:1, attack 20 ms, release 150 ms, 3–4 dB; tape saturation.
• Space: longer hall and less pre-delay (they are “behind”).

Chorus and voices

• Chorus: high-pass 100 Hz, −2 dB at 300 Hz, +2 dB at 8–10 kHz, de-esser; bus compression 2:1 with 3 dB; long hall reverb (3–4 s, pre-delay 30 ms) and full width (doubles L/R).
• Solo or whispered voice: high-pass 100 Hz, FET compression 4:1 + opto 2:1 in series (6–8 dB total), de-esser, 2 s plate + filtered tempo-synced delay (dotted eighth note, 25% feedback), reverb “throw” automation at the end of phrases.

Synths, pulses and sound design

• Pulses: high-pass 150 Hz, saturation, gate or tempo tremolo, alternating or wide panning.
• Risers and whooshes: high-pass 100–200 Hz, volume and width automation (from mono to full stereo) during the rise.
• Separate “FX” stem from the music.

Buses and groups

Buses: percussion, impacts, bass/sub, strings, brass, chorus, voices, synths, FX. On a “music” bus glue compressor (SSL-style, 2:1, attack 30 ms, release auto, 2 dB) and light saturation.

Sidechain

• Impacts → bass/sub, low brass, pads (3–6 dB).
• Trailer narration or dialogue → music (ducking 3–6 dB with release 300–500 ms) if you deliver a mix with voice.

Master

• Library “full mix”: chain EQ → glue compressor (1.5–2:1, 1–2 dB) → clipper → limiter (Pro-L 2 in “Modern” or “Aggressive” mode with lookahead). Approximate target: −12/−9 LUFS integrated for the whole track, short-term in the third act −8/−6, true peak −1 dBTP. Act 1 must remain noticeably lower (−20/−16 short-term) to leave room for growth.

Deliver stems without a limiter.

Common mistakes

• Everything “at maximum” from the start: no growth.
• Sub and kick masking each other; impacts not tuned.
• Chorus buried by the percussion at 1–4 kHz.
• Infinite reverbs on everything (mud); reverb on the bass.
• Lack of silences: the impact has no contrast.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Two Steps From Hell — Heart of Courage (2010).
• Two Steps From Hell — Protectors of the Earth (2010).
• Zack Hemsey — Mind Heist (2010).
• Audiomachine — Breath and Life (2012).
• Hans Zimmer — Mombasa (Inception, 2010) for hybrid percussion.

Reference listening

• Two Steps From Hell — Heart of Courage (2010)
• Two Steps From Hell — Protectors of the Earth (2010)
• Zack Hemsey — Mind Heist (2010)
• Scala & Kolacny Brothers — Creep (trailer di The Social Network, 2010)
• Two Steps From Hell — Victory (2015)
• Audiomachine — Breath and Life (2012)
• Gary Jules — Mad World (trailer di Gears of War, 2006)
• Hans Zimmer — Mombasa (Inception, 2010)