The principle
In music for picture, harmony serves to tell the viewer what to feel, often in a few seconds. Rather than functional progressions (V–I), film uses colors: third relationships, modal borrowing, pedals, ostinatos. Frank Lehman (Hollywood Harmony, 2018) has documented how neo-Riemannian theory describes this language well.
The main harmonic tools
| Technique | Example in C / A minor | Emotion |
|---|---|---|
| Minor subdominant | C – Fm – C | nostalgia, loss, “farewell” |
| Chromatic mediants | C – E, C – Ab, C – Eb | wonder, revelation |
| Hexatonic pole | C – Abm | uncanny, supernatural |
| Lydian (I – II) | C – D/C | flight, magic, childhood |
| “Epic” Aeolian | Am – F – C – G | melancholic heroism |
| Dorian | Am – D | “noble” heroism, hope in the minor |
| Phrygian (i – bII) | Am – Bb | menace, exotic |
| Minor with Picardy third | Am … A | redemption |
| Pedal + chords | C – Bb/C – Ab/C | breadth, landscape |
| Cluster and atonal | string cluster | terror |
Minor and major together
Major/minor ambiguity is one of the hallmarks of contemporary film music:
- I – iv (C – Fm): the major “cracks.”
- i – IV (Am – D, Dorian): the minor “opens up.”
- i – bVI – bIII – bVII: minor sliding into the relative majors, never cadencing.
- Chords without a third (orchestral power chords, hollow fifths) to leave the ambiguity open.
The “Zimmer sound”
In the work of Hans Zimmer and his school (Remote Control Productions) the following recur:
- Slow, repeated minor progressions (often i – bVI – bIII – bVII or variants) with orchestral and electronic crescendos.
- Time (Inception, 2010): a 4-chord progression Am – Em – G – D that repeats and grows in layers.
- Rhythmic ostinatos in the strings in sixteenth notes over pedals.
- Shepard tone (the illusion of an endless rise): Zimmer has explained that he used it as the principle for the tension of Dunkirk (2017).
- Synthesis + orchestra, very open chords, low brass.
John Williams and the tradition
- The Imperial March (Star Wars, 1980): G minor with the Eb minor chord over the G pedal (Ebm/G): the bvi minor creates the menacing color.
- Heroic themes often use third relationships and ascending fourths in the brass; magical scenes use Lydian, celesta, and harp.
Building a harmonic “cue”
- Emotion: decide on one word (loss, discovery, menace).
- Mode or relationship from the table.
- Pedal in the bass to give unity.
- Slow harmonic rhythm (1 chord every 2–4 bars at 60–90 BPM).
- Crescendo in layers: strings → brass → percussion → choir.
- Turning point: a chromatic mediant or a Picardy third at the key narrative moment.
Producer exercise
- Tempo 70 BPM, string ensemble and pad: Am – F – C – G (2 bars each).
- On the third repetition add a cello ostinato in sixteenth notes on A.
- On the fourth repetition create the “wonder” turn: instead of returning to Am go to A major (Picardy third), then from F major to Db major (low chromatic mediant, common tone F).
- Close with C – Fm – C (minor plagal).
Related topics
Chromatic mediants, neo-Riemannian theory, cinematic Lydian, Aeolian and Locrian, Picardy third, plagal cadence and minor plagal, advanced pedal point, clusters.