This article is a fulfillment of an obligation from the charity drive. GuitarMaster donated money to charity for the privilege of picking a piece of music for me to analyze and write about. He picked the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, which is about twelve hours long, and is perhaps the greatest and most complex soundtrack ever written. Much scholarship about this soundtrack has already been written, including an entire book, so I will distinguish this article from those materials by writing for a general audience, i.e. one that is not a film-music scholar. So, how should one listen to film music generally, and the Lord of the Rings soundtrack specifically? The most important musical concept used in the Lord of the Rings soundtrack is the leitmotif. A leitmotif (or leading motive) is a small musical idea or phrase which recurs throughout a work, undergoes a variety of transformations, and often musically represents a character, location, group, or idea (such as love, evil, greed, etc.). Leitmotifs undergo transformations such as fragmentation, re-harmonization, or re-orchestration, and the changes made to a leitmotif tell us something about the plot. Leitmotifs are usually associated with Richard Wagner’s operas, specifically his cycle of four related operas: Der Ring des Nibelungen. Wagner is a controversial figure in music history, and was a terrible human being, so I will not discuss him any further, except to say that the compositional techniques used in his operas are still used widely in film music today. The Lord of the Rings soundtrack might be the second-most comprehensive use of leitmotifs in a composition. The composer, Howard Shores, uses between 90-100 different leitmotifs throughout the trilogy. This article will discuss the most important leitmotifs used in the soundtrack, and how they are used and altered throughout the films to reflect the action of the plot. I will include links to specific time stamps when necessary to introduce your ears to each theme I discuss. Though I will not assume any musical background of the reader, I will assume that the reader is somewhat familiar with the Lord of the Rings plot, music, and movies.
The Shire Theme, first fully realized in “Concerning Hobbits” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SBQvd6vY9s&t=236s is one of the most recognizable and potent leitmotivs used throughout the film trilogy. To understand the significance of this theme, one must understand some background information about the Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien created Middle Earth and all the stories therein as a mythology for Britain. He was well-studied in lore, mythology, and languages, and indeed, borrowed a great deal from Norse mythology. In this mythological world, the Shire represents Great Britain. Tolkien was quite a lover of nature, and despised industry, machinery, and the like. In his stories, machinery and industry were associated with evil (Saruman), while nature was associated with all that was right, fair, and good. So, he set the Shire as a place free of factories and industry. A place of beautiful green pastures, agriculture, and simple living. Howard Shore’s musical representation, therefore, had to reflect that simplicity and natural beauty, and it does so admirably. Anyone who is familiar with Christian hymnody immediately recognizes the opening line of the Shire Theme as bearing a striking similarity to the hymn “This is My Father’s World.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32dsCyNCYGE This hymn is about many of the same themes: creation, nature, beauty, and peace. Interestingly, the original melody from this hymn, “Terra Beata,” is a traditional English folk tune which first appeared in English hymnals in 1906, during the lifetime of Tolkien, who was a devout Catholic and may have been familiar with the “Terra Beata” tune. Regardless, the connection to religion, nature, and English folk music through the potential allusion to this hymn tune is a wonderful way to introduce the music of the Shire. More generally, the Shire Theme ought to be considered as an example of something music scholars call the “pastoral” style. “Pastoral,” derived from “pasture,” is a style of music which is associated with fields, pastures, and idyllic rural settings. This style has been used by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers and features flutes and other woodwinds playing simple folk melodies. Here is an example of a pastoral style composition from a British contemporary of Tolkien.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxxqotHA...EvCQyhC85k
The A section of this theme which we have discussed at length appears throughout the rest of the series and grows in significance and meaning as it is developed, re-orchestrated, and appears in different contexts. I will admit that personally, I cry every time I watch the movies and this theme appears in “The Breaking of the Fellowship.” Sam tells Frodo that he is coming with him to Mordor and that he does not intend to leave him. They embrace and the Shire theme reappears with full orchestral chords sounding below the melody. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCY_Hjv7vKc
Unlike the A section of the Shire Theme, the B section of the Shire Theme https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=260 is rarely heard for the rest of the series. It is a lively and happy theme that represents Hobbiton. It is harmonized with a chord loop that is firmly tonal in nature. The simple harmonies give a clear sense of a single key, and one might even describe this theme as naïve and unencumbered. Perhaps its naivety makes this theme unsuitable for reuse later in the series as Frodo and Sam are forever changed by the great evil and hardship they endure throughout the series. There is one really interesting return of this theme that I noticed for the first time during this analysis. In The Black Rider, the B section of the Shire theme returns but is altered, and I believe that the musical changes have meaning within the plot. The theme is fragmented, and it is no longer rhythmically straightforward. The added syncopation and fragmentation evoke the idea that the Hobbits are being chased or are running around frantically. This grows into more panic as the theme becomes more disjointed and gradually speeds up over the course of the section. This is a great example how leitmotifs may be “transformed” to reflect something happening in the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SBQvd6vY9s&t=865s
Sauron Theme, first appearing in Shadow of the Past
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=480
The Sauron theme is probably the most recognizable of all the musical themes associated with “the bad guys” in the series. Often representing Sauron, or Mordor more generally, this musical motif is highly similar to the Ring Theme which I will discuss later. It usually is played with loud brass orchestration and opens with an ascending half-step which feels very tense. Then it moves back down and up that half step a couple times before leaping down a dissonant augmented second interval. It sounds like D harmonic minor to my ears, involving the leading tone, tonic, and flat-six scale degrees, the notes c-sharp, d, and b-flat, respectively.
The Fellowship Theme, with first major appearance in The Council of Elrond
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=2025
If you had to pick one theme as The Theme for the Lord of the Rings, this is probably it. It’s used so much throughout the movie, and it has such an uplifting and triumphant character. It first appears fully in “The Council of Elrond,” which of course makes sense, since that council is where the fellowship was first formed. However, it has some interesting partial appearances that appear earlier in the soundtrack which I may discuss later. Notice how The Council of Elrond seamlessly juxtaposes the Fellowship Theme with the Shire Theme as the hobbits meet their companions for the first time. Though fairly subdued here, the Fellowship Theme has some iterations later on which are played on huge brass sections at loud dynamics. Here is the first big appearance: https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=2185 Perhaps the most notable is when the company is broken and the Fellowship Theme migrates meanings (as I explained that leitmotifs are wont to do), now representing the Three Hunters, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. We hear the Fellowship Theme played while we watch the determined trio run tirelessly through beautiful scenery to try to save Merry and Pippin from the Uruk Hai in The Two Towers.
The Ring Theme
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=3238
The Ring Theme, called by one scholar “The Seduction of the Ring,” appears when the ring is exerting its power to corrupt. We hear it first after Lothlorien in “The Great River,” and the ring is about to corrupt its first member of the fellowship, Boromir. Of course, Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo to use as a weapon for Gondor. Frodo refuses and escapes, and Boromir dies soon afterwards, though redeems himself by slaying many orcs while protecting Merry and Pippin.
The Orc Theme and the Uruk Hai Theme
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=3415
These two themes are typically heard together. The orc theme is just a drum pattern, an asymmetrical pattern of five beats grouped as 2-3. The Uruk Hai theme is the brass melody heard at the linked timestamp. It is a strong theme that is syncopated against the unrelenting five beat pattern of the orc theme.
Some bonus themes from The Fellowship of The Ring
Choral and Vocal Music
It seems to me that choral and vocal music is typically reserved for beings that are ancient and powerful. We do not hear choirs singing the Shire Theme. Instead choirs are used to portray Elves, Wizards, Ringwraiths, and the Balrog. Mixed choirs are used in The Prophecy. Music of the Elves is always sung by female soloists or choirs. The high and clear vocal timbre used to represent Elvish music reminds me of a certain vocal aesthetic popularized by the Tallis scholars in performing Renaissance Polyphony. https://youtu.be/UFIIBBXVzuk?t=97
We hear choral parts in the Rivendell theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SBQvd6vY9s&t=1696s
This theme is interesting to me from a music theory perspective. The strings and vocals both play tetrachords which do not fit in a traditional major or minor scale. The tetrachord is built of these intervals: major third, minor third, semitone (a major triad with a fourth note a semitone above the fifth). The strings then transpose down a major third and play this same tetrachord pattern, resulting in overlapping tetrachords which give us five out of the six notes in a hexatonic collection. Music theorist Richard Cohn has written about the “uncanny” effect of the hexatonic collection, and I believe that the use of this collection to represent the elves of Rivendell lends a sense of mystery, wonder, and the supernatural to this music.
We hear very different choral music in the Ringwraiths theme:
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=1147
This part is sung with a mixed choir, and gradually grows higher and more dissonant as the scene become more intense. I did some digging into the translation of this choral piece and found that it is written in a Tolkien language of Adunaic, the language of Numenor where these kings of old lived before becoming wraiths. Here is the translation in case you are interested:
'We deny our maker.
We cling to the darkness.
We grasp for ourselves power and glory.
Now we come, the Nine,
Lords of Eternal Life.'
This text is a brief history of the Ringwraiths wrapped up in their song. These former great kings of men rejected the goodness and plan of the creator, Eru Iluvatar, in exchange for power and glory for themselves. Though the nine rings given to men were able to extend the lives of the Nazgul, they were enslaved by Sauron, not having any will outside of the malice of the dark lord.
We also hear vocal music when Arwen is introduced, when the fellowship enters Lothlorien, when they meet the Balrog, and when Gandalf and Saruman fight. The song, May it Be, at the end of the first movie, is supposed to be Arwen’s song, and that is confirmed musically. The use of a major tonic triad in alternation with the flat-major-sixth triad creates the same hexatonic collection that we heard back in Rivendell, linking her to her home.
The Rohan Theme
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=4831
This is one of my favorite themes in the soundtrack. It perfectly captures the grandeur and majesty of the land of Rohan and its people. In technical musical terms, every time I hear a major chord built on scale degree four in a minor key song (reflecting the Dorian mode), I cannot help but think of this wonderful theme. Apparently, that unique-sounding instrument used to play that theme a bit after this time stamp is a Hardanger fiddle. This is a Norwegian stringed instrument used for folk music. This is such a great move by Howard Shores, tying in more folk music connections to the soundtrack. Furthermore, Tolkien was greatly influenced by Scandinavian mythology, and it is thought that Rohan in particular and its invented language was inspired by Scandinavian sources.
There is so much more to be explored in this complex and incredible soundtrack. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about specific parts of the soundtrack or something I mentioned in this article. I love these movies and the music is one of the reasons why these movies are so incredible.
The Shire Theme, first fully realized in “Concerning Hobbits” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SBQvd6vY9s&t=236s is one of the most recognizable and potent leitmotivs used throughout the film trilogy. To understand the significance of this theme, one must understand some background information about the Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien created Middle Earth and all the stories therein as a mythology for Britain. He was well-studied in lore, mythology, and languages, and indeed, borrowed a great deal from Norse mythology. In this mythological world, the Shire represents Great Britain. Tolkien was quite a lover of nature, and despised industry, machinery, and the like. In his stories, machinery and industry were associated with evil (Saruman), while nature was associated with all that was right, fair, and good. So, he set the Shire as a place free of factories and industry. A place of beautiful green pastures, agriculture, and simple living. Howard Shore’s musical representation, therefore, had to reflect that simplicity and natural beauty, and it does so admirably. Anyone who is familiar with Christian hymnody immediately recognizes the opening line of the Shire Theme as bearing a striking similarity to the hymn “This is My Father’s World.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32dsCyNCYGE This hymn is about many of the same themes: creation, nature, beauty, and peace. Interestingly, the original melody from this hymn, “Terra Beata,” is a traditional English folk tune which first appeared in English hymnals in 1906, during the lifetime of Tolkien, who was a devout Catholic and may have been familiar with the “Terra Beata” tune. Regardless, the connection to religion, nature, and English folk music through the potential allusion to this hymn tune is a wonderful way to introduce the music of the Shire. More generally, the Shire Theme ought to be considered as an example of something music scholars call the “pastoral” style. “Pastoral,” derived from “pasture,” is a style of music which is associated with fields, pastures, and idyllic rural settings. This style has been used by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers and features flutes and other woodwinds playing simple folk melodies. Here is an example of a pastoral style composition from a British contemporary of Tolkien.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxxqotHA...EvCQyhC85k
The A section of this theme which we have discussed at length appears throughout the rest of the series and grows in significance and meaning as it is developed, re-orchestrated, and appears in different contexts. I will admit that personally, I cry every time I watch the movies and this theme appears in “The Breaking of the Fellowship.” Sam tells Frodo that he is coming with him to Mordor and that he does not intend to leave him. They embrace and the Shire theme reappears with full orchestral chords sounding below the melody. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCY_Hjv7vKc
Unlike the A section of the Shire Theme, the B section of the Shire Theme https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=260 is rarely heard for the rest of the series. It is a lively and happy theme that represents Hobbiton. It is harmonized with a chord loop that is firmly tonal in nature. The simple harmonies give a clear sense of a single key, and one might even describe this theme as naïve and unencumbered. Perhaps its naivety makes this theme unsuitable for reuse later in the series as Frodo and Sam are forever changed by the great evil and hardship they endure throughout the series. There is one really interesting return of this theme that I noticed for the first time during this analysis. In The Black Rider, the B section of the Shire theme returns but is altered, and I believe that the musical changes have meaning within the plot. The theme is fragmented, and it is no longer rhythmically straightforward. The added syncopation and fragmentation evoke the idea that the Hobbits are being chased or are running around frantically. This grows into more panic as the theme becomes more disjointed and gradually speeds up over the course of the section. This is a great example how leitmotifs may be “transformed” to reflect something happening in the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SBQvd6vY9s&t=865s
Sauron Theme, first appearing in Shadow of the Past
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=480
The Sauron theme is probably the most recognizable of all the musical themes associated with “the bad guys” in the series. Often representing Sauron, or Mordor more generally, this musical motif is highly similar to the Ring Theme which I will discuss later. It usually is played with loud brass orchestration and opens with an ascending half-step which feels very tense. Then it moves back down and up that half step a couple times before leaping down a dissonant augmented second interval. It sounds like D harmonic minor to my ears, involving the leading tone, tonic, and flat-six scale degrees, the notes c-sharp, d, and b-flat, respectively.
The Fellowship Theme, with first major appearance in The Council of Elrond
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=2025
If you had to pick one theme as The Theme for the Lord of the Rings, this is probably it. It’s used so much throughout the movie, and it has such an uplifting and triumphant character. It first appears fully in “The Council of Elrond,” which of course makes sense, since that council is where the fellowship was first formed. However, it has some interesting partial appearances that appear earlier in the soundtrack which I may discuss later. Notice how The Council of Elrond seamlessly juxtaposes the Fellowship Theme with the Shire Theme as the hobbits meet their companions for the first time. Though fairly subdued here, the Fellowship Theme has some iterations later on which are played on huge brass sections at loud dynamics. Here is the first big appearance: https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=2185 Perhaps the most notable is when the company is broken and the Fellowship Theme migrates meanings (as I explained that leitmotifs are wont to do), now representing the Three Hunters, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas. We hear the Fellowship Theme played while we watch the determined trio run tirelessly through beautiful scenery to try to save Merry and Pippin from the Uruk Hai in The Two Towers.
The Ring Theme
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=3238
The Ring Theme, called by one scholar “The Seduction of the Ring,” appears when the ring is exerting its power to corrupt. We hear it first after Lothlorien in “The Great River,” and the ring is about to corrupt its first member of the fellowship, Boromir. Of course, Boromir tries to take the ring from Frodo to use as a weapon for Gondor. Frodo refuses and escapes, and Boromir dies soon afterwards, though redeems himself by slaying many orcs while protecting Merry and Pippin.
The Orc Theme and the Uruk Hai Theme
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=3415
These two themes are typically heard together. The orc theme is just a drum pattern, an asymmetrical pattern of five beats grouped as 2-3. The Uruk Hai theme is the brass melody heard at the linked timestamp. It is a strong theme that is syncopated against the unrelenting five beat pattern of the orc theme.
Some bonus themes from The Fellowship of The Ring
Choral and Vocal Music
It seems to me that choral and vocal music is typically reserved for beings that are ancient and powerful. We do not hear choirs singing the Shire Theme. Instead choirs are used to portray Elves, Wizards, Ringwraiths, and the Balrog. Mixed choirs are used in The Prophecy. Music of the Elves is always sung by female soloists or choirs. The high and clear vocal timbre used to represent Elvish music reminds me of a certain vocal aesthetic popularized by the Tallis scholars in performing Renaissance Polyphony. https://youtu.be/UFIIBBXVzuk?t=97
We hear choral parts in the Rivendell theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SBQvd6vY9s&t=1696s
This theme is interesting to me from a music theory perspective. The strings and vocals both play tetrachords which do not fit in a traditional major or minor scale. The tetrachord is built of these intervals: major third, minor third, semitone (a major triad with a fourth note a semitone above the fifth). The strings then transpose down a major third and play this same tetrachord pattern, resulting in overlapping tetrachords which give us five out of the six notes in a hexatonic collection. Music theorist Richard Cohn has written about the “uncanny” effect of the hexatonic collection, and I believe that the use of this collection to represent the elves of Rivendell lends a sense of mystery, wonder, and the supernatural to this music.
We hear very different choral music in the Ringwraiths theme:
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=1147
This part is sung with a mixed choir, and gradually grows higher and more dissonant as the scene become more intense. I did some digging into the translation of this choral piece and found that it is written in a Tolkien language of Adunaic, the language of Numenor where these kings of old lived before becoming wraiths. Here is the translation in case you are interested:
'We deny our maker.
We cling to the darkness.
We grasp for ourselves power and glory.
Now we come, the Nine,
Lords of Eternal Life.'
This text is a brief history of the Ringwraiths wrapped up in their song. These former great kings of men rejected the goodness and plan of the creator, Eru Iluvatar, in exchange for power and glory for themselves. Though the nine rings given to men were able to extend the lives of the Nazgul, they were enslaved by Sauron, not having any will outside of the malice of the dark lord.
We also hear vocal music when Arwen is introduced, when the fellowship enters Lothlorien, when they meet the Balrog, and when Gandalf and Saruman fight. The song, May it Be, at the end of the first movie, is supposed to be Arwen’s song, and that is confirmed musically. The use of a major tonic triad in alternation with the flat-major-sixth triad creates the same hexatonic collection that we heard back in Rivendell, linking her to her home.
The Rohan Theme
https://youtu.be/_SBQvd6vY9s?t=4831
This is one of my favorite themes in the soundtrack. It perfectly captures the grandeur and majesty of the land of Rohan and its people. In technical musical terms, every time I hear a major chord built on scale degree four in a minor key song (reflecting the Dorian mode), I cannot help but think of this wonderful theme. Apparently, that unique-sounding instrument used to play that theme a bit after this time stamp is a Hardanger fiddle. This is a Norwegian stringed instrument used for folk music. This is such a great move by Howard Shores, tying in more folk music connections to the soundtrack. Furthermore, Tolkien was greatly influenced by Scandinavian mythology, and it is thought that Rohan in particular and its invented language was inspired by Scandinavian sources.
There is so much more to be explored in this complex and incredible soundtrack. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about specific parts of the soundtrack or something I mentioned in this article. I love these movies and the music is one of the reasons why these movies are so incredible.