Learn piano with film scores by John Williams

The magical sound of film

The film industry has changed the way we both express and entertain ourselves. In a previous article covering the 2024 Oscar Awards, we touched on the history of music in film as a whole, and learned how musical ideas and all of the decisions of the recording process can change the impact of a movie entirely.

Once technology allowed us to do so, sound with moving picture opened the door for scoring to evolve beyond live performance in a theater. The ability to record the works enabled the mass distribution which could create a wider reach of emotional connection to a film than ever before.

Even when operating as simple background music, musical decisions are crucial and made when the film's director, production team and film composers work closely together.

Today, there is no film composer more famous than John Williams. We hope, if you're reading this as a beginner pianist or music fan in general, that you may also learn about other composers, some fun facts, or perhaps just how to play Star Wars theme on piano.

A musical score vs. film music

Today, it seems that behind every successful film is an iconic soundtrack, but it's important to note the difference between this term and the product of film scoring. A soundtrack generally indicates that film's music was already produced, written by popular artists of all musical styles. The album is made up of Alicia Keys and Billie Eilish, rather than than names you might not recognize like Franz Waxman or Bernard Herrmann.

This approach adds a unique emotional value to a particular set of scenes, characters, or the overall story. There are few more effective at doing this than the first Guardians of the Galaxy, which brought a number of 80s classics firmly into the hearts of generations born well after the music was popular.

Though the other way to include music in film is through what is called scoring. The role of the film composer is to deeply understand the script, the vision of the film's director, and write music to elevate the experience for the viewer. They are creating the sonic experience through which we understand all of the close encounters, action sequences, and emotional experiences of the characters.

A brief history of John Williams

John Williams is the most decorated American film composer of all time, having written original music for over 100 films, as well as music you might have seen on televised sports like NFL broadcasts and the Olympics. Some other names you might know are those listed above, Hans Zimmer, Hildur Guðnadóttir, and Ludwig Göransson. However many of these names would likely nod to Williams as an inspiration, as he stands as a truly generational talent in film composition.

An Air Force veteran, the early days of Williams' career were spent at the the prestigious Juilliard School. While he played a number of instruments at that time, his journey like many of ours began with the piano at the age of 6 – if you are a parent, take note!

Following studies, his early career included scoring for dozens of films including while stationed at a now-decommissioned Air Force base in St. Johns. We can't quite imagine where the time came from!

After nearly 20 years of writing, Williams' true "big break" came in the form of his first Oscar Award in 1974 for Fiddler on the Roof. From this moment onward, his composing was unavoidable. Over the span of the following decades, Williams gave us the unforgettable themes for blockbuster films such as E.T., Schindler's List, multiple Indiana Jones volumes, Jurassic Park, the first three Harry Potter films and more we'll touch on below.

Over his career, Williams earned a near-exclusive working partnership with Steven Spielberg, scoring all but three of the director’s films, as well as working with George Lucas. These two director relationships represent some of the biggest hits of Williams’ career, though he did not stop there and continues to share his gifts to this day.

If you are currently learning piano with LUMI, you’ll notice a number of these included in the LUMI app to fuel your learning! Transferring the passion we have for the magic of these films is one of the most powerful ways to spark your improvement playing an instrument.

Here are a few of our favorites:

A shelf full of awards

Williams stands as the only composer to hold the lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute. This evening in 2016 included nods from a number of those closest to his work on and off screen, such as Harrison Ford. As Ford puts it cheekily, the music of John Williams feels like it follows him around. It’s fair to say that it follows us all around, depending on which of the many films Williams has sonically brought to life holds a place in your heart.

To add to his five Academy Awards for best original score, he has also been nominated the most times of any person at 52. He has taken home over 20 Grammys Awards, and even holds a Guinness World Record for the infamous Cantina Band track in the original Star Wars trilogy. It remains the only instrumental song to reach platinum status. Of course, the likes of instrumental stars like Miles Davis reached this for entire albums, but the Cantina Band single’s success reflects a different kind of staying power.

It all starts with piano

We often compare the unique, recognizable layout of black keys and white keys as a map. Or perhaps a key, no pun intended. It is generally considered to be the primary tool for composing music given its range of octaves which can represent different instruments. The lowest note of this chord represents the upright bass, the next lowest note represents a cello, the next a viola, and so on. These can be referred to as "voices" in music, even if it’s not referring to a singer.

Many of Williams' fans touch on his approach to writing here, with a classic pen & paper approach on the bench you perhaps are also sitting on. No fancy music composition software or recording sessions until it actually becomes time to record for the film's trailer and official soundtrack.

Playing iconic soundtracks with LUMI

Within the over 500 songs in the LUMI Music App, John Williams’ music can be a centerpiece of your learning journey. Here are two examples of how you can learn these classics and improve your piano skills.

Song 1: Jaws Theme (1975)

The Jaws theme is very famous for its tense, nerve-inducing effect. The feeling of something approaching, increasing in speed, directly at us. It achieves this through dissonance, in particular only using two notes which are immediately next to each other on the piano keys.

The song includes much more than those two notes, however. As a piece set as "Intermediate IV" in the LUMI app, there are a lot more notes with a lot of distance between them than we might expect.

As such, one way to practice this is to change the playback speed. If it’s too fast, simply try half-time! You’ll notice the "wait" function is turned on in the image above, which will not continue the song until we as the player have hit the correct note(s). We highly recommend this, as it’s a way to begin learning more difficult songs earlier in your journey, even if you can’t play them at full-speed yet.

Here's a look at The Jaws Theme displaying in the ColorNote view, which is the third view and closest to standard sheet music.

Song 2: Imperial March from Star Wars (1977)

Here approaches the Empire! Battle is imminent, intimidation is high, but we know that hope somehow remains. Another excellent song to learn through the piano for it’s range of notes. Hand dexterity and sight reading skills will be greatly improved if you can master this "Beginner III" ranked track in the LUMI app.

You’ll notice above that another setting we can change is the tone of the piano. Try out switching from grand piano (the standard setting) to different types of organs, the LUMI Robot, or this writer’s personal favorite, the harp.

Here approaches the empire! Battle is imminent, intimidation is high, but we know that hope somehow remains. Another excellent song to learn through the piano for it’s range of notes. Hand dexterity and sight reading skills will be greatly improved if you can master this "Beginner III" ranked track in the LUMI app.

You’ll notice above that another setting we can change is the tone of the piano. Try out switching from grand piano (the standard setting) to different types of organs, the LUMI Robot, or this writer’s personal favorite, the harp.

Look at that octave! Can you hear it in your head? This section is excellent for stretching the hand and feeling the power of the force as you level up your playing. And again, you can always play it at a slower pace, as well as with or without a metronome to help your rhythm.

Additional film music with LUMI

Given a film score is often written as a set of orchestral works, these songs are a bit higher in skill level than, for example, Queen in the LUMI App. If E.T., Jurassic Park, or works by other composers speak to you more on the app, don't be shy to give them a try! We recommend trying out the themes from Skyrim, the Simpsons, Forrest Gump or a number of options from your favorite superhero thrillers.

And don’t get down on yourself if these are above your skill level; this is why and how we learn, and there are hundreds of other songs as well as lessons and games to give you a boost.

Not learning with LUMI yet?

We invite you to pick up an affordable, expandable travel-ready LUMI Keys to begin this journey. The instrument comes with the mentioned app, and is built for film buffs and music experts alike with more songs being added every month! Play on!