COMPOSE | FilmComp

Composing the Motif/Theme

Great job!! A funky ostinato, catchy chord progression, what's missing? Some kind of tune perhaps?

TASK 5. The Motif

You are to write a short tune/motif/melody that will fit in nicely on top of your ostinato and chord progression. Play around with the notes without your chosen key before notating or recording it down.

If you feel clueless about how and where to start, watch this video below:

TASK 6. Developing the Motif/Adding layers

Almost there! Here's where you can think about developing your motif/theme by adding more instruments to your film score, or even making slight changes to your current ones!

Let's have a look at how Zimmer developed the theme in TIME. Click on the speech bubbles below to find out!

Here are some other things you can do with your motif!

Now it's your turn! Here is a motivic development worksheet to help you get started!

Also have a think about:

Adding another ostinato to the mix! It might create a polyrhythmic effect against you original ostinato which is cool, or it might enhance it, which is also cool!
Rearrange your chord progression somewhere down the track, or even change a chord or two! Just might spice things up a little!
Adding a countermelody or creating a call and response effect!
Adding short motifs here and there to add variety and interest!

Here's what I did to the theme I wrote earlier! Feel free to check it out!