The Musical Storyteller

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“The Musical Storyteller”
Translating Worlds, Characters, and Emotions into Music
Author
Steven, the “Tabletop Composer”
Copyright © 2021 Tabletop Composer

All Rights Reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the Publisher.
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This book uses several examples from existing films, television shows, and books.
These examples are used for the purpose of teaching and scholarship, and as such are under
protection of “Fair use.”
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976; Allowance is made for
"fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and
research.
Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit,
educational, or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners. No copyright infringement is intended.
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Dedications
This book is dedicated to my amazing family and friends who have supported my crazy journey.
In particular I would like to thank:
my dad for inspiring and fostering my love for music.
my mom for inspiring my love for storytelling.
Both of my parents, for standing by me when I put them through the stress of watching me
switch career goals with seemingly no warning.
Antonio, my best friend, for encouraging me to pursue my passions, and for helping to develop
the “Emotions in Music” tool, which served as the catalyst for this entire book.
My Abuelita, whom I desperately miss, and who gave me an example of what it means to
pursue one’s calling.
My Tia Maria for proofreading and editing this book so it could be the best version it can be!
All of my professors, mentors, and teachers who believed in me and have shaped my
development as a musician and composer.
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Introduction 6
Chapter 1: The Nine Parameters of Music 8
Tempo 9
Rhythm 11
Pitch 12
Articulation 14
Harmony 15
Timbre 16
Register 17
Dynamics 18
Texture 19
Summary and tools 21
9 Parameters of Music: Inspiration for Storytelling 21
Chapter 2: Story World as a Source of Inspiration 23

Story World and Music: Example 27
9 parameters (Example) 30
Story World and Music 33
Chapter 3: Characters as a Source of Inspiration 34

Characters and Music: Example 40
9 Parameters (Example) 42
Characters and Music 45
Chapter 4: Emotions as a Source of Inspiration 46

Emotion in Music Tool (Example) 53
9 Parameters of Music: (Example) 56
Emotion and Music 58
Chapter 5: Developing Musical Ideas 59
Appendix 62
9 Parameters of Music: Inspiration for Storytelling 62
9 Parameters of Music: For developing Ideas 64
Story World and Music 66
Characters and Music 67
Emotion and Music 68
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Introduction
My entire life, I have been surrounded by a persistent love for storytelling. Some of my
earliest memories are of my Mother reading to my siblings and I bedtime stories from her
rocking chair. There were five of us, sharing two bedrooms so she would read from the hallway,
to make sure we could all listen to her read Harry Potter at the same time. I also remember the
hilarious family stories and jokes that my Tia Alicia and Tia Maria would share with us every time
they visited. These memories form the catalyst for my deep love and enjoyment of storytelling in
all forms.
As I grew up I discovered the joy and power that comes from sharing stories with music.
I fell in love with musicals, films, and TV shows that all had incredible music and sounds to
share. I filled up my mp3 player with my favorite pieces from all my favorite films, and would
spend the long hours of my weekend paper route imagining fantastic stories and epic battles as
the music played in my ears.
However, as I started college, I was determined to put this passion on the backburner.
Growing up without a lot of money, I was eager to carve out a career for myself in the most
lucrative field I could find. Like many others, I started out wanting to be a doctor, when I found
out I hated that I thought I’d try being a lawyer, that lasted all of a week, before I decided that I
“wanted” to be a psychologist. In hindsight, I suppose I was drawn to this profession because it
connected me to the stories of others around me. I could study emotions and how they are
experienced on all different levels. It wasn’t until I was well into graduate school that I finally
discovered I was chasing the wrong dream.
Absolutely miserable, and feeling that I had wasted the previous four years of my life, I
turned to my old passion of storytelling and music. Even though I hadn’t touched my instrument
since highschool, I auditioned for the University Marching Band and was accepted. As fate
would have it, my school was selected by John Williams to be the very first marching band to
debut the official band arrangements of his most iconic themes. The experience of that show
was life changing. It revived the spark inside of me to pursue music in any way that I could.
I was fortunate enough that my graduate program encouraged “interdisciplinary

studying.” This meant that I was allowed to take up to half of my credits within a different school
in the University. Traditionally this was supposed to be the school of public health or sociology,
but I received permission to study with the school of music instead. Several incredible and kind
professors allowed me to enroll in their classes, despite the fact that I had absolutely zero idea
what I was doing. The very first music theory course I enrolled in (remedial music theory for
graduate students) nearly broke me.
I remember leaving the first class utterly crestfallen. I hadn’t understood a single word
the professor had used, and didn’t have the slightest clue how I was supposed to continue a
class that, for all intents and purposes, was in a totally different language! Fortunately I was
desperate to make things work, so I started a habit of writing down every word I didn't
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understand in the margins of my notes. Then, after every class, I would go to the music library
and look up each term I had written down and teach myself what they meant. Soon the
professor realized what I was doing, and started taking time to meet me in the library and help
me catch up. It was a defining moment of my journey.
Throughout the rest of my degree, I interned with the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit,
where I was surrounded by some of the most talented young people I have ever had the
privilege to meet! Their craft and love for their art continued to inspire me to learn more about
the craft of story writing. I spent every free hour I had studying music and pouring over every
book on story writing that I could get my hands on.
After graduating I took some time off for myself to continue my studies of music
composition and story writing. I grabbed a job as a strength coach for a nearby gym, and spent
every free hour honing my craft. Eventually I decided to take the next step and try my hand at
applying to a music school. I was accepted, and have continued to grow and develop as a
musical storyteller ever since.
In this book I share the approach I have developed over these past few years to writing
music for stories. It takes inspiration from the many approaches I learned while studying to be a
therapist, while working as a strength coach, while studying story writing, and while studying the
ins and outs of scoring for film in music school. It contains the level of structure and careful
thought that forms the foundation of my own writing style. It is an eclectic collection of tools that
I sincerely hope will prove to be as helpful in your own journey as it has been for my own. So,
without further ado, let’s get started!
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Chapter 1: The Nine Parameters of Music
Storytelling is easily one of the oldest, if not THE oldest art forms in human history! It
predates writing, and certainly predates western music. Sharing stories is part of being human,
and every person alive feels some level of compulsion to either listen to or tell stories. It’s why
we’re driven to movie theatres, to good books, even to small businesses that sell that one
product we just “really want to support.”
Almost every other art form imaginable can trace its history and development back to the
very human need to share a story, and this is certainly true for music! Music is one of the most
beautiful and abstract forms of storytelling! It can surpass the barriers of language and time to
portray tales of love, loss, and epic battle!
A composer is not just a writer of musical notes, they are a musical story teller! If all you
study is music, then how can you possibly delve into the intricacies and depth of a great story?
How can you find the music that exists naturally within the core of human emotion? Unless you
are a prodigy of Mozartian proportions, the answer, quite simply, is “You Can’t!” As a composer,
understanding how stories develop and grow as well as how human emotions are processed
and experienced are of equal importance to your command of harmony and melody.
To this end, I’ve written this book. In it we will be exploring different tools for dissecting
and understanding both stories and emotions in a more intimate and personal manner. Our goal
is that, together, we can learn to not just write music for stories but learn how music can grow
organically from the very core of a story itself! In order to do this, we first need to establish a
common language for us to use when describing music.
In this book I approach music as consisting of 9 different parameters: Tempo, Rhythm,

Pitch, Articulation, Harmony, Timbre, Register, Dynamics, and Texture. Now these 9 parameters
are not all encompassing, but they’re pretty darn close! They are the most fundamental
components of music that can be used for story telling. I did not invent these parameters, they
are not something to BE invented in the first place! They are simply aspects of music that have
been recognized and observed by musicians for centuries.
In this book we will briefly cover each parameter and learn how it can not only impact the
general feel and meaning of your music, but how it can be used as a powerful tool for
storytelling!
As a disclaimer, this book is not a textbook for musical theory. Explaining the intricacies
of functional harmony and counterpoint go well beyond the scope of this book. So when
discussing each parameter I will spend only whatever time I think is most necessary describing
its contribution to story crafting.
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Some parameters, like harmony, are already widely discussed for their ability to portray
emotions and stories. I won’t spend as much time on these parameters as I will on the ones that
don’t get nearly as much love and affection as they deserve for their storytelling prowess.
Once I have finished explaining the “9 parameters” approach, we will venture together to
learn more about how we can understand story worlds, characters, and emotions. It is my
sincere hope that by the end of this book, you can walk away having come to a better
understanding of this incredible craft, and with a newly sparked passion for musical storytelling!
So with that, let’s get started!
Tempo
Tempo is somewhat lamely defined in the dictionary as “the speed at which a passage of
music is or should be played at.” I suppose this definition is technically true, but it misses out on
so much more.
Tempo is the most basic level at which the energy of a piece of music can be
manipulated! It is the measure of how the music moves through time! At its very core, Tempo is
the key to understanding how music grows and develops within a story.
As human beings, we are born with an intrinsic and fundamental understanding of how
tempo and energy are related to each other. For example, think of your heart rate and breathing
pattern. What happens to them when you’re sitting down and relaxing? They remain, hopefully,
slow and steady. However, what happens when you try to sprint for any period of time or lift
something heavy off of the ground? They both increase! And, I might add, typically at a rate that
is directly related to how much energy or effort you put into the movement!
The same thing happens with our emotions! Any time we get angry, excited, gutted, or
disappointed, our heart rates and breathing patterns always react in at least SOME kind of
fashion! Understanding this relationship between energy and tempo is at the very core of
understanding how tempo and story are also intrinsically and irrevocably connected.
As a story unfolds, it will, inevitably, contain its own natural tempo at which things
develop and take place. As a musical storyteller, it is then up to YOU to understand how the
tempo of your music should be selected and even develop to either mimic or defy the tempo set
by the story! The latter option is often used to incredible effect to reveal the subtle complexities
contained within a given story.
When considering tempo as a parameter for your musical story, it’s important to
understand what impacts it. A common misunderstanding is to believe that “beats per minute” is
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the same thing as the tempo, but make no mistake. It is not! Tempo contains TWO foundations;
beat and pulse. Beat can be considered to be the mathematical expression of tempo, while the
pulse is more closely identified as the “feel” or “interpretation” of the tempo. Many times they are
one and the same, but not always.
Simple meters like 4/4 and 2/4 exist with both the pulse and beat in agreement, while
compound meters like 12/8 and 6/8 exist in disagreement. In the compound meters, the pulse is
typically counted in threes; every three beats equal one pulse. Most musicians don’t count 12/8
time as “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12” but as “1 + a, 2 + a, 3 + a, 4 + a”.
Yes, 12/8 meter does contain 12 beats per measure, but it only has 4 pulses! This
difference between pulse and beat becomes incredibly important when telling a story because it
opens the door to entirely new levels of nuance and ingenuity.
If a pulse can be considered as the manner in which the beat is “interpreted” then that
means the door can be opened to many different types of interpretations at the same time! Now
these different interpretations don’t all need to be as nuanced as the example of simple vs.
compound meters. A much simpler example would be simply emphasizing different types of
beat subdivisions within a single piece. (Yes, I know that we are starting to venture dangerously
close to “rhythm” at the moment, but as none of these 9 parameters exist on an island of their
own, I hope that you’ll bear with me for just a moment).
One of my favorite examples of this use of tempo is in Hiroyuki Sawano’s piece “Vogel
Im Kafig” from Attack on Titan Season 1. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Attack on
titan deals a LOT with the juxtaposition of characters wanting desperately to take action but
being powerless in the face of an insurmountable threat. Spoiler Alert: many characters spend
their entire lives training and struggling in the vain hope that they can keep humanity from being
hunted to extinction by the titans. Many of these characters then die unceremoniously, having
contributed absolutely nothing towards their goals or humanity. They are instead eaten and
killed (often in that order) by an unphased and apathetic titan.
The melody of Vogel Im Kafig is very slow-moving and even hymn-like at moments. The
BPM is around a slow 75, and much of the melody consists of quarter notes and half notes. This
interpretation of the beat and pulse is very low energy and dramatic, perfectly capturing the
tragic and seemingly hopeless nature of humanity’s struggle to survive. However, underneath
much of this, there exists a quiet but persistent ostinato in the strings focusing nearly entirely on
16th notes.
These driving rhythmic figures provide a subtle but urgent energy to the music, and are
then emphasized around the 5 minutes 11-second marker by massive, pounding drums making
a dramatic entrance!
These two interpretations of the 75bpm tempo marker are in direct contrast to each
other, but are also deliciously effective at creating the dramatic sense of urgency and
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desperation that are so crucial to the story itself! As we discuss Texture later in the book, we’ll
go more in-depth on how different layers of your music can be used to emphasize or convey
differing elements of the story, but for now, the biggest takeaway that I want you to have is that
both beat AND pulse are of incredible importance when considering how your Tempo can be
used to convey the story.
In summary, when approaching the tempo for your story’s music, there are many things
to consider, most of which will come from experience and time. However, some fantastic
questions to always get things started are:
1. How fast/slow should the bpm be?

2. How should the pulse(s) relate to the bpm?
3. Should the tempo increase/decrease at any point?
4. What meter should be used?
Rhythm
Naturally, after tempo, the next parameter that makes the most sense to discuss is
Rhythm. If Tempo is the rate at which both beat and pulse move through time, then Rhythm is
the tool used to make the most out of the tempo! It is the organization of your sound throughout
time. It consists of the individual lengths of each sound and pause found in your music, and in
many cases, it consists of the patterns that these lengths form with one another.
Rhythm is one of the most ancient and ingrained parameters of music found throughout
all of history and prehistory. It is linked to the very essence of human life itself! Rhythmic
patterns exist in the soft “Ba-Bum '' of our heartbeats, in the distinct “in-out,” of our breathing,
and even in the “open, close” of our mouths as we chew our food.
Rhythm is so ancient and intrinsic to life, that it is often considered the precursor and
origin of music in the first place! And as such an important parameter of music, it only makes
sense that rhythm should also have a vital role in telling stories.
There are many different ways that rhythm can be used to portray the different elements
of a story; ranging from ostinati to melody (rhythm and pitch being the two components of
melody). They can be used to manipulate energy, to represent characters, places, or ideas, and
much, much more! Your imagination and understanding of the story are the only two limiting
factors for applying this parameter.
One of the most common roles that rhythm plays in music is as a manipulator of energy.
This relates to the topic of pulse. Remember that a faster tempo is intrinsically tied to higher
energy! Since rhythm is, by its very nature, a tool for interpreting tempo, then it too is intrinsically
linked to the energy of a piece! The types of subdivisions you use, the number beats per pulse,
and the patterns you form are all crucially important to consider when telling a story.
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Shorter subdivisions help cram more notes into a single beat. This creates a perception
of faster movement through time, which equates to higher energy. The number of beats per
pulse works in a similar manner. Compound and odd meters can be useful tools for
manipulating energy because their pulse can have up to three beats at a time, instead of just
two.
The patterns you form can play an important role at a very basic level. If you place
shorter subdivisions at the end of a measure or phrase, they tend to build momentum that
launches you into the next one. Likewise, if you place comparatively longer subdivisions at the
end of a measure or phrase, they tend to “hit the brakes” if you will and start to slow down the
momentum leading into the next one.
Even the accents found throughout your rhythms can be used to provide a layer of
personality to the music. Regularly occurring and symmetrical accents throughout a measure or
phrase can be used to provide a sense of familiarity to your rhythm that it is expected in most
modern popular music. Interfering with that symmetry or regularity can be a fast way to upset
the expected paradigm and introduce a sense of urgency or alien importance to the rhythm.
Your rhythms can be as complicated or as simple as you think best serves the story, but
they must always be done deliberately and with purpose in mind! To that end, there are many
things to consider, but here are a few good ones to get you started:
1. Where should the rhythmic emphasis be within the meter?

2. Will the rhythmic emphasis be symmetrical or asymmetrical? Regular or irregular?
3. How much syncopation should there be? What strategies will be used to make it?
a. Syncopation, pick-ups, triplets, dotted rhythms?
4. What kind of beat subdivisions will be predominant?
5. How frequently will the rhythmic patterns repeat, if at all?
6. What kind of variation can be introduced to each repetition to continue development?
Pitch
So, now that we have covered rhythm, which is one half of melody, it is time that we
discuss the other half; pitch. Pitch refers to the different ways of classifying sounds based on
how high or low they sound to us. They can be used for melodies, harmonies, sound effects,
you name it! However, this particular parameter could probably be re-named “melody” as it
focuses primarily on the melodic uses of Pitch in storytelling.
As I mentioned, Pitch is the second half of Melody. It gives new meaning, personality,
and depth to rhythm in order to create tunes, themes, and even short motifs. While rhythm is the
expression of music in time, pitch expresses the space and location of the sound! We’ll discuss
this more in our section on “register” but pitches exist along a spectrum, stretching to the very
lowest sounds perceptible to the human ear, all the way to the very highest.
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Each pitch in the spectrum exists both by itself and in concert with each of the others.
The relationships between every note in the sonic spectrum are what allows us to use them as a
tool for writing melodies and sharing stories. The concept of musical intervals is one such
example of understanding how these pitches interact.
Musical intervals have been associated with different emotions, ideas, and themes
throughout history. In western music, for example, the minor 3rd interval has come to be the
quintessential “sad” interval, while a major 3rd is happier. A perfect 5th interval is proud and
triumphant, while a major 6th has seen excellent use in a large number of love themes.
If you were to remove any variety from the underlying rhythms, and simply play each
note in a melody, one after the other, the relationships between each of these notes would be
thrown into stark relief. It would suddenly be the only parameter of the melody giving any
personality to the music.
Strong and memorable melodies remain one of the most time-honored and tested tools
in musical storytelling. Understanding the relationships of the different notes in your melody and
how they interact with each other (and their underlying rhythm) is of paramount importance for
understanding what role they play in this method. More so than that, you must also understand
how they relate to the pitches in your underlying harmonies.
Many things can impact the feel and personality of a melody. Using mostly notes found
in the underlying harmonies is a great way to anchor your melody in place, while a higher rate of
non-chordal tones can help cut your melody loose and make it sound more independent and
ambiguous.
What about the types of chordal tones? Will you stick mostly to the basic tones found in
triads and seventh chords, or will your melody feature prominent use of colorful and rich
extension notes?
The contour, or shape, of your melody, can also have a massive impact! Do the pitches
generally move upward or down? Do they move mostly by step (conjunct) or by skips and leaps
(disjunct)? Will these patterns remain constant, or will they shift dramatically at some point?
There is so much to consider, that melody writing is an art in and of itself, and an
in-depth discussion on tune smithing goes well beyond the scope of this book. However, when
considering which pitch collections and relationships you want to use, it is important to try and
keep the story in mind. Remember that the music MUST be an outgrowth of the story! Consider
what you want to convey with the music, and then think of how that translates into the various
parameters of your melody. There are numerous things to consider, but here are a few good
ones for starting out:
1. What kind of chordal tone to non-chordal tone ratio will you use?*
2. How many color tones will you use? What types?
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3. Are there any specific intervals you want to make use of?
4. What kind of contour shape will you use (upward moving vs. downward-moving?
Conjunct vs. disjunct?)
5. Will you be using a countermelody?
*Remember that these questions are meant to get you thinking, so stick to ballpark figures and
don’t try to get too specific.
Articulation
Continuing with our discussion on melody, it is important to understand the role of

articulation and performance techniques on the expression and personality of your melodies.
Now Articulation is not, strictly speaking, a melodic element. It can be applied to many different
aspects of the music, however, it IS a powerful tool to use in congruence with your melody,
which is why we will be discussing it within that context.
Articulations and performance techniques are methods in which specific notes are
performed. They bring new life to a performance, without actually changing any of the rhythmic
or pitched values. For example “staccato” is an articulation in which a note is performed for
approximately half of its written value, filling the remaining rhythmic value with silence. It’s a
fantastic technique for bringing a crisper, even bouncier (at times) sound to the music! If you
listen to two versions of the same melody, one normal and one completely staccato, you’ll find
that they have entirely different personalities!
The use of distinct articulations or playing techniques on some or all of the notes in a
melodic phrase can have dramatic impacts on the overall energy, personality, and emotion of a
piece. You can even think of it as giving an“accent” to your musical language. And as with all
accents, the trick is not how it impacts every single sound the music makes, but rather, where
the key shifts and changes take place.
There are many different types of articulations to be used, some of which are unique to
specific instruments or instrument types (we will call these “performance techniques”). The trick
is not to focus specifically on which particular notes require which specific articulations, but
rather to listen to the music itself and get a feel for how it wants to be performed. Does a certain
passage sound like it should be slurred together? Would it benefit from a bouncier or more crisp
performance? Or more interestingly, how does it shift between the two?
In many cases, articulations are something that will begin to come more and more
naturally to you, the more experience you gain for yourself. However, it is still important to
consider how different types of “accents” can re-shape your music to better fit a story. To this
end, a few things you can consider are:
1. What kinds of articulations could belong in the music?
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2. What kind of performance techniques could benefit the music?
Harmony
Now harmony is, quite possibly the most widely understood tool for expressing emotions
in music. You only have to make a quick google search to find a plethora of rich strategies for
how harmony can be used to emulate specific emotional responses, and we’ll discuss why I
take issue with that in our chapter on emotion, but for now, it is an incredibly important
parameter of music to understand for our storytelling approach.
A reductionist definition of harmony could be “the combination of various pitches to make

use of their communal effect and atmosphere.” This could be used in functional harmony,
tertiary harmony, set theory, chord relationships, you name it! There have been multitudes of
different approaches taken to harmony over the centuries since the Baroque Period (where the
modern approaches to harmony were largely developed). And it remains an incredibly powerful
and important tool for any composer to understand!
Harmony has been associated with storytelling for centuries, and many of our modern
associations with harmony types and emotions date back to the early days of opera! These
emotional connotations with harmony, such as minor keys being sad and major keys being
happy, are deeply ingrained, and useful (if a bit reductionist). Beyond this, the harmonic rhythm
of a piece is tied intimately to the pace and energy of the story it tells.
In this instance, Harmonic rhythm refers not only to the number of chords in a given
measure, but also the level of momentum each chord carries with it into the next (for example
moving from dominant to tonic).
One powerful, but less frequently used, strategy for using harmony to tell stories, is in
tracking the use of your keys! This approach comes from the early days of symphonic writing.
The concept is based on how your music modulates away from, and back to the home key.
The first time a particular theme is used, it is established as the “home key” of the theme.
Then, each time the theme returns, the key can be changed to either one with a higher tonic (for
happier moments) or to one with a lower tonic (for darker/sadder moments). The theme
continues to move around keys in this manner (up and down compared to the previous key)
until returning to the home key for the final iteration of the theme. This provides a subconscious
feeling of resolution!
There are countless ways that harmony can be used to tell your stories, to the point
where, like melody, it really deserves its own book. However, for now, a helpful starting point
would be to consider:
1. The scale type/key

2. The amount of dissonance used
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3. The pace of the harmonic rhythm
4. Chord types being used
5. The nature of the harmony (functional or not)
6. Types of cadences used at the end of each phrase and section.
Timbre
Timbre is the unique quality of a sound that makes it recognizable and even identifiable.
You can almost think of it as being a sonic “fingerprint.” It’s the reason why we can tell the
difference between a trombone and cello performing the same pitch! They have different
Timbres!
Now there are many different things that impact timbre, and they relate to the presence
of partials that exist within a given sound. However, an in-depth discussion on the physics of
sound is beyond the scope of this book. Instead, we want to focus our efforts on understanding
how timbre can tell a story.
Sound exists in everything that we do. It is an intrinsic experience of the way most of us
experience our daily lives! It shapes the way that we understand the world around us, and even
helps us to make sense of the things we can’t see! For example, if you’re sitting down with your
back to a door, there are still ways that you can know it is being opened! You may notice the
jingle of keys, the sound of the doorknob turning, or you may even hear the sound of the door
bumping into a pair of shoes that were left on the floor in front of it!
Sound exists all around us, and the unique timbre of different sounds is what helps us to
make sense of them all. This rings true for storytelling as well! All stories contain sounds within
them, even if we are not consciously aware of it, our brains will still process the fact that they
exist! So when writing music for a story, it’s important to consider what kinds of timbres and tone
colors fit the best.
Some composers have come to describe timbre choice as a “sound palette” and I think
this is a wonderful analogy! In painting, one of the first things an artist must do is select the
colors and types of paints they will be using! Then whatever new colors they need will come
from combining what they have readily available. This is the same exact approach you should
take with your music!
One of my favorite examples of a masterfully crafted sound palette comes from James
Newton Howard's score to “Raya and the Last Dragon.” In the movie, Howard works with three
distinct sound palettes. The first consists of instruments inspired by musical customs in
Southeast Asia. This palette is used for the bulk of the soundtrack. It clearly and effectively
portrays the characters and their themes in a manner that feels at home with the story world and
setting.
The second palette is similar to the first, but it combines an entire orchestra with the
original ensemble of ethnic instruments! This palette is used for moments where significant
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power or exceptional emotion is necessary. The orchestra is nearly unrivaled in its ability to
convey raw emotion and power since it has the benefit of the hundreds of years it has
accompanied stories in the forms of operas and, eventually, films. Combining the tradition and
power of the orchestra with the color and worldly sound of the first palette creates an optimal
blend of colors to support the story.
The third palette consists of a powerful female vocalist, and she is often combined with
the first two. Her voice is unique in that it is paired with a specific idea/theme of the story; the
indomitable spirit of Kumandra (the united peoples of the story world). Since her sound is paired
with such a specific idea, it gets used comparatively rarely in the film, but, even so, when it is
heard, she brings unrivaled depth and richness to the soundtrack.
Each of these palettes demonstrates key points to using timbre as a tool for telling
stories. First, that sounds can be associated with key characters, locations, ideas, or emotions
within a story! The Second, that sounds associated with different aspects of a story can be used
to support and build on each other.
There are many things that impact the types of sound heard in music. They range from
obvious things like the types of instruments being used to less obvious things like the specific
performer playing the music. When considering what sound palette you want to work with, I
recommend you take your time and think of what exactly you want to have available to you
when telling the story with your music. Some things you can start with are:
1. How many sound palettes do I need? Why?

2. What instruments should I use?
3. What size instrumentation works best?
4. What performer (or sound library) is playing the music?
5. What kind of space is it recorded in (and the size of the reverb used)
6. What types of microphones were used in the recording?
7. What techniques were used to make the recordings?
Register
As I briefly mentioned in the section on pitch, all musical pitch values fall within a
spectrum from lowest to highest, and one of the best ways for making sense of this spectrum is
to divide it into three segments; low, mid and upper.
These three registers, as they are called, are different for each instrument and context.
For example, the same pitches that make up the upper register of a cello’s range are the same
pitches that make up the low register of a piccolo. Likewise, a composition for piano that spans
just three octaves will have a very different “upper register” than would a large orchestral
composition that makes use of 5 octaves. Each register exists only in how it is compared to the
other two. There are no distinct values that can be assigned to them, but they can be used as
general reference points for understanding your music.
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Understanding the impact of registers on your music is a vital tool for any musical
storyteller. Register choice can have a dramatic impact on things like energy level and timbre.
Having a melody jump from one register to another can have dramatic impacts on the energy of
your music, while having a cello play in its lowest register will have a starkly different timbre than
it’s upper register. Beyond this, impacting the number of registers being used at the same time
can have astounding implications for the energy of your music!
Spreading a single musical element, like melody, across several octaves (and thus
several registers) helps it to take up more space across the sonic spectrum, thus demanding
more attention from the listener! This is why it is such a common strategy to assign climactic
and dramatic melodies to the string section, since they can be played across four different
octaves (one each for violin 1, violin 2, violas, and celi).
The movement from one register to another, or from one number of registers to another
has a great impact on the energy and personality of your music, and thus can be used to great
effect for telling stories. To do this, there are many things that you can consider, most of which
you’ll want to do with the timbral qualities and tendencies of your instruments in mind, but a
good starting point is to ask:
1. How many octaves do I want to work with across the entire sound palette?
2. What registers do I want to use?
3. How can I use shifts in the types/number of registers to tell the story?
Dynamics
Dynamics are pretty straightforward. They’re the overall volume that your music is being
played at. The volume of your music is one of the most basic but powerful ways to have a direct
impact on the energy level and intimacy of your story. Loud, bombastic music will command
more attention with its intensity, while quieter and more subtle music can bring your audience in
closer and enchant them with its sound.
However, for all the simplicity of their effect, dynamics can be deceptively intricate. The
way the volume ebbs and flows throughout a piece can bring incredible vitality and intricacy to
your music, especially when manipulated across multiple different parameters. Controlling not
just how the dynamics shift, but even the way in which they shift can do wonders for conveying
the subtleties of your story!
Any number of things can be manipulated to create your desired impact on the dynamics
of your music. Performance techniques, instrument registers, air control, instrumentation size,
and even the types of instruments used can all be used to organically manipulate your dynamics
beyond the simple use of a mixtable or fader.
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When considering what your story needs from the music, some of the most important
things you can consider, dynamic wise, are:
1. How will the dynamics change throughout the piece?

2. How will performance techniques, instrument registers, instrumentation size, and
instrument types be used to manage these shifts?
Texture
Now let’s shift gears ever so slightly and talk about an oh-so-important parameter that,
sadly, often gets overlooked, and that is Texture.
Texture has to do with how a piece of music is organized into different layers. At the
most basic level, most music can be separated into at least two layers, foreground, and
background, with the occasional midground making an appearance. The foreground is all the
material that is most important for the audience to notice. Typically this is the melody. The
Background is all the material that exists to support the foreground, without stealing any
attention from it, often the harmony and rhythmic elements. As you can probably infer, the
midground exists somewhere between the two.
Your texture is the structure in which all other parameters of your music exist. Basically,
it’s the musical equivalent of the story world. Stories don’t exist in a vacuum. There are always
multiple things happening at different levels. Texture provides an opportunity to organize the
music in a similar manner. Material written to portray different events or themes in a story can
move in and out of the foreground, whenever needed.
Identifying these three layers, and determining how the different materials of your music
are sorted into them is at the core of giving your music the level of depth and sophistication
necessary to accompany a good story! A simple working model for this is to think of the
foreground material as the most important aspects of the music for sharing and/or supporting
the story. The material in the background is then all the musical material necessary to give the
foreground the proper context to make sense of its material and story. Anything in the
midground exists between the two, or can even be transitioning from one to the other.
In a very real sense, the texture is what allows your music to become 3-dimensional. It is
the aspect of music that allows you to divide your music into different layers, and develop it by
shifting the combinations of those same layers. It’s not an exhaustive list, but some of the most
common types of layers found in most music are:
1. Melody
2. Counter-melody
3. Rhythmic material
4. Counter-rhythmic material
5. Harmony
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6. Drones
7. Pedal tones
8. Atmospheres
Finding out what layers can best serve the needs of your story, and then figuring out how
to organize and configure them is one of the biggest tricks to becoming a competent composer.
Going back to our example from Attack on Titan, the way the tempo was used was in
keeping with this strategy. For most of the piece, the melody of “Vogel Im Kafig” remains in the
foreground, while the rhythmic ostinato is kept in the background in a supporting role. However,
when the pounding drums enter, the focus immediately shifts away from the melody and to the
newfound power of the ostinato. The melody shifts to the midground, as an important aspect of
the music, while the drums take their newfound seat at the very front of the texture.
Another great use for texture is as an opportunity for adding depth through contrast.
Depending on how intricate your music can be (in service to the story) you can include a
primary melody in the foreground, with a contrasting counter-melody in the mid or background.
The same goes for rhythms. Counter-rhythms are incredible tools for adding complexity and
drive to your music, especially in action-oriented cues. In fact, the same goes for any parameter
of your music! Contrasting articulations? Go for it! Contrasting Timbre? Why not?!?! Your
imagination is the limit! The main thing you need to remember is that the foreground will
ALWAYS contain whatever material is most important and thus must be given the most
attention. Every other layer should exist in service of this material.
There are many strategies to be taken for keeping the foreground, midground, and
background in their respective roles, and many will come with practice and experience.
However, I would be completely remiss if I didn’t at least share a few of them with you. My
favorite method is one that I like to fondly refer to as the PDART method, that is, the “Pitch,
Dynamics, Articulation, Rhythm, and Timbre” Method.
Hopefully, you recognize these as five of our 9 parameters. The main idea here is that
the more of these five parameters that you use to keep each layer’s sonic ground comparatively
unique, the more cohesively they will support each other without competing for attention. In
general, the most basic strategies for each of these are:
1. Pitch = predominantly use different pitch ranges/registers for each layer (higher
pitches demand more attention)
2. Dynamics = predominantly use different dynamic levels for each layer (louder
dynamics demand more attention)
3. Articulation = predominantly use different types of articulations for each layer
4. Rhythm = predominantly use different rhythms (or variations of the primary
rhythm) for each layer
5. Timbre = predominantly use different types of timbres for each layer.
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The scope and severity of these differences are up to you, but you should strive to use at least
two at any given time to keep the background and foreground separate from one another:
Typically Pitch and Dynamics being the most useful.
Once again, there are numerous things to consider for this parameter when thinking of
how it can tell your story, but some things to get you started are:
1. How many layers are needed to meet the story’s needs?

2. What kinds of layers can best accomplish this?
3. Where in the foreground/midground/background does each layer fit?
4. What kind of contrast can be included between each level to bring depth to the
music?
Summary and tools
So, now we have a common language to use for describing music within the context of
story telling! Right now, I’d like you to take a break. If you read this chapter all in one go, take
some time to process the information and ingrain it into your brain! You’ll need to have a
command over it in order to make the most out of the upcoming chapters. You don’t need to
have them memorized, in fact the next page will contain a summary of all the parameters and
their starter questions, but I do recommend at least internalizing how each parameter plays a
role in storytelling. In the upcoming chapters we will start to dive more fully into the craft of
understanding story worlds, characters, and emotions. In each chapter, we will use these
parameters to make sense of the things we learn.
9 Parameters of Music: Inspiration for Storytelling
● Tempo
○ How fast/slow should the bpm be?
○ How should the pulse(s) relate to the bpm?
○ Should the tempo increase/decrease at any point?
○ What meter should be used?
● Rhythm
○ Where should the rhythmic emphasis be within the meter?
○ Will the rhythmic emphasis be symmetrical or asymmetrical? Regular or
irregular?
○ How much syncopation should there be? What strategies will be used to make it?
■ Syncopation, pick-ups, triplets, dotted rhythms?
○ What kind of beat subdivisions will be predominant?
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○ How frequently will the rhythmic patterns repeat, if at all?
○ What kind of variation can be introduced to each repetition to continue
development?
● Pitch
○ What kind of chordal tone to non-chordal tone ratio will you use?
○ How many color tones will you use? What types?
○ Are there any specific intervals you want to make use of?
○ What kind of contour shape will you use (upward moving vs. downward-moving?
○ Will you be using a countermelody?
● Articulation
○ What kinds of articulations could belong in the music?
○ What kind of performance techniques could benefit the music?
● Harmony
○ The scale type/key
○ The amount of dissonance used
○ The pace of the harmonic rhythm
○ Chord types being used
○ The nature of the harmony (functional or not)
○ Types of cadences used at the end of each phrase and section.
● Timbre
○ How many sound palettes do I need? Why?
○ What instruments should I use?
○ What size instrumentation works best?
○ What performer (or sound library) is playing the music?
○ What kind of space is it recorded in (and the size of the reverb used)
○ What types of microphones were used in the recording?
○ What techniques were used to make the recordings?
● Register
○ How many octaves do I want to work with across the entire sound palette?
○ What registers do I want to use?
○ How can I use shifts in the types/number of registers to tell the story?
● Dynamics
○ How will the dynamics change throughout the piece?
○ How will performance techniques, instrument registers, instrumentation size, and
● Texture
○ How many layers are needed to meet the story’s needs?
○ What kinds of layers can best accomplish this?
○ Where in the foreground/midground/background does each layer fit?
○ What kind of contrast can be included between each level to bring depth to the
music?
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Chapter 2: Story World as a Source of Inspiration
Throughout film and media music there seem to be three primary sources of musical
inspiration: the story world, the story characters, and the story emotions/themes. These three
concepts tend to be the most common ones to get their own motifs or thematic statements, and
that makes sense. Together they form the foundation to any good story, but even more than
that, they all develop over time. This last point is absolutely crucial to music!
Music is a time based medium. Paintings, photos, and sculptures can all exist within a
single moment, but music requires time in order to be! Every piece has a start and a finish, and
somewhere in between it must develop in order to remain interesting!
Story worlds, characters, and themes (in any good story) must also develop across time,
which makes for a perfect marriage between music and story. Even if the physical structure of a
story’s world remains unchanged, the character’s and audience’s perception of it will almost
certainly have undergone a metamorphosis by the time the story ends.
In this chapter we will dedicate our time to the first of these “big three” inspirations,
which is Story World.
The story world is, broadly defined, as the location in which the entirety of a story takes
place, and the very first thing we must do before even thinking about writing music is to name
this world! We don’t always need a specific name like “Middle Earth” from the Lord of the Rings.
Sometimes we have a much more vague title like in StarWars, where the story world is simply
known as “A Galaxy far, far away”. In either case, all we really need is a name that can act as a
point of reference with which we can establish a framework for all of the sub-worlds within the
story.
A Sub-world is a specific location that is important to the story because either the
characters visit it or because it’s the source of an important plot point or story event. You can
kind of think of the story world as being a giant city where the entire story takes place, while the
sub-worlds are specific neighborhoods or buildings that impact our story!
Every single story world can be broken down into at least a few different sub-worlds and
these sub-worlds are of undeniable importance for understanding the context that gives a story
meaning!
You see, within every sub-world there is going to be at least some degree of differing
cultures, values, beliefs, etc. Oftentimes the exact size of these differences is going to be
dependent on how large the story world is, but regardless of any other factor there always WILL
BE differences!
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An example of a story with large scale differences would be the lord of the rings. In the
story we are introduced to Hobbits, Elves, Wizards, Men, a Dwarf, and more. Each of them have
their own cultural beliefs and values that originate from their respective sub-worlds. We see
some of these values clash at various moments throughout the story, like at the council of
Elrond, where characters argue over the fate of the ring.
On the other end of the spectrum we can look at the superhero comedy “Sky High.” In it
we have two primary sub-worlds in the form of a high school for future superheroes and the
home of the main character, Will Stronghold. On the surface, it appears to be a vastly smaller
story world than Middle Earth, but by looking deeper we can still find a rich source of culture,
values, and beliefs, each stemming from the expectations that both worlds hold for the main
character.
The first step to understanding these sub-worlds and their relationships is to name them.
Start by thinking of what locations are most important to the story. What different areas do the
characters visit? From which areas do important plot points or events unfold, even if we don’t
see them happen? Are there any locations that the characters are trying to reach? Create a list
of each sub-world, and make sure to write some short notes on why each of them are important
to the story! Nothing should make it onto that list without a reason why. Once you have a list of
the most important sub-worlds of the story, we can start dissecting them.
We’ll start out by looking at the physical descriptions of each sub-world. What kind of
climate do they live in? What kind of land do they have? How do you describe their people and
technology? Take your time with this and try to be as descriptive as possible, but don’t worry
about writing pages of notes. A paragraph or two is more than sufficient. Focus only on the most
important and defining features of each area. Then try comparing each of the different
sub-worlds to each other. How are they related to each other? How are they different?
This approach gets us in the right mindset for understanding what makes each sub-world
unique, and what roles they play in the larger story. By looking at the most obvious differences
between each sub-world we can prepare ourselves to start looking closer at the more intricate
details of each one.
After summarizing the physical nature of the story worlds, we can start to approach their
values and personalities. What are their most important cultural values? Do they adhere to
these values or do they not practice what they preach? What kinds of religious beliefs,
superstitions, traditions, celebrations, and fears do they have? Like with the physical
descriptions, focus mostly on the most important and defining features of each area, and then
compare them to the others. We want to understand what their most important cultural values
are (both real and perceived) and how these values are in conflict or harmony with those of the
others.
Identifying these values is incredibly important because they often provide a rich
resource for understanding the behaviors, personalities, and conflict that exist within the story.
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They’ll be an important reference to have available when we look more closely at the characters
of the story.
Once the cultural values of each sub-world are identified, the next natural step is to
consider how each sub-world views itself in relation to the rest of the storyworld. This is often
closely related to the previous step, but is none-the-less important.
Our identities as individuals do not exist in a vacuum. They are often informed by our
views of others in comparison to ourselves! This is just as true for the different sub-worlds in a
story. This idea of how each sub-world views others in comparison to themselves, is vital to
understanding not only the personalities of each world, but the varying degrees of conflict found
between them. Does one world believe itself to be superior to the others? Do the rest agree with
this opinion or resent it? What about sub-worlds that have an inferiority complex? Is one
sub-world unanimously pitied/despised by the others?
Understanding these types of views and beliefs on how each of your sub-worlds view
themselves in relation to the others is of crucial importance! I cannot stress enough that you
should take your time with this and develop the deepest understanding that time will allow you
to get.
Getting a solid foundation in how the sub-worlds view themselves is the key to
understanding the conflict between them. With this understanding in place, it’s important to
actually identify and state what kind of conflict and relationships actually exist between the
sub-worlds of the story. This can help flesh out the complexity of the story world, by providing a
political map that is informed by the context you have, by now, taken diligent notes on.
Which sub-worlds are friendly? Which ones are antagonistic to each other? Are there
any alliances? Are they genuine or purely political? Do any of them have a particularly dramatic
history with each other? Which sub-worlds don’t seem to have any kind of relationship at all?
Try answering each of these questions and more until you’ve figured out exactly how each
sub-world relates to each of the others.
Armed with a better understanding of how these sub-worlds exist and interact with one
another, the final things we want to consider are how they overlap with other aspects of the
story, like the hierarchy of power and the passage of time.
What kind of rules and hierarchies of power exist in each area? What gives these
hierarchies their power? And, most importantly, where do the important characters of the story fit
within that hierarchy?
Like everything else we’ve considered so far, these questions are important to
understanding the context of the story. Power (or the perception of it) is often the cause and
solution to many problems within a story. The way power is assigned and acknowledged in a
sub-world often goes hand in hand with understanding what they value as a culture. This
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knowledge provides an excellent lens through which we can understand the characters of a
story, and their struggles and desires as the story unfolds. We’ll get to understand this a bit
more in the chapter on characters, but for now think carefully about each sub-world and try to
make note on how each one is similar to or different from the others in how they identify power.
Finally, the very last thing we must consider is how much time passes in each of these
sub-worlds across the length of the story. By now we have established how important time is to
both music and storytelling. It only makes sense that, since both develop across time, we must
consider HOW the world that inspires them develops as well.
For each story world, consider how much time passes between the beginning and end of
the story. What are the most dramatic changes to happen in each sub-world during that time?
Some will be almost unrecognizable by the end, while others will have undergone minimal
growth, to the point of being unchanged. Focus only on the most dramatic or significant changes
that are important to the story as a whole. It can be helpful to revisit some of the questions
we’ve already tackled to see how each (if any) change during the story.
Now, armed with our new found expertise on the story world, it’s time to start putting that
knowledge to use for writing music. Take your notes, and start to review the 9 parameters of
music. Consider which story worlds should play the largest role in inspiring your music, and then
go through each individual parameter and write down your initial thoughts of how each one can
be used to portray these worlds! Use your knowledge of how each parameter can contribute to
storytelling, and don’t worry about being hyper critical of yourself. Trust your gut, and write down
the first things that come to mind for each one!
In the next pages you’ll see how this process is used to understand the sub-world of
“Tronjheim” and its dwarven people from one of my favorite series of books, the Inheritance
Cycle, by Christopher Paolini.
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Story World and Music: Example
Story World Name: Alagaësia
What important “Sub-worlds” does the Story Explore? What makes them important to the
story/music?
● Tronjheim
○ Tronjheim is the capital city of the dwarves and initial home to the rebel group
known as “The Varden.” It is where the hero spends much of his time training and
studying as well as the location of the climactic battle of Farthen Dur.
For Each Sub-world:
1. Describe the Physical World: climate, land, people, and technology. What are the most
important/defining features of each area? How are they similar/different from each
other?
a. Tronjheim
i. Climate
1. The city is built inside of a massive mountain and nicknamed the
“City of eternal twilight” by the elves. Sunlight does not reach the
city except for the sparse few hours that it is directly overhead. It
does not have much in the way of natural weather and relies on
underground heating vents and magical lights to function.
ii. Land
1. Carved out of mostly marble. It took centuries for the dwarves to
create the city. It is designed as a fortress and as such, does not
have much in terms of usable land outside of the city walls. On
three occasions it has been relied on to save the entirety of the
dwarven race from extinction. Due to its location and design, it
relies mostly on other dwarven cities to provide the agricultural
needs besides the natural tubers and mushrooms that grow within
the city walls. Despite this, the city is constantly well supplied and
garrisoned, in case it should ever be needed as a fortress once
more.
iii. People
1. The dwarves are amongst the oldest peoples of Alagaësia. They
are known for their short stature and broad features. They have
thicker and denser bones than humans, which contributes to their
hardiness and durability. They have a love for rocks and stones
and are known to ornate themselves with gemstones and jewelry
as a status symbol. The dwarven men take pride in keeping their
beards well-groomed, as a sign of maturity.
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iv. Technology
1. The dwarves are widely renowned for their master craftsmanship.
They do not rely on magic as heavily as the elves do, but their
long lives and patient natures have allowed them to develop
technologies and tools more advanced and intricate than nearly
any other non-magical society. They take great pride in their
craftsmanship and are known for erecting some of the largest
structures found throughout all of Alagaësia.
2. Describe the most important cultural values of each area. How are they similar and
different from each other?
a. Tronjheim
i. The dwarven religion is polytheistic, with many different gods and deities.
The dwarves are particularly fond of their god “Helzvog” who is said to
have created the dwarves themselves out of stone from the root of a
mountain.
ii. The dwarves place great importance on their religious views and
customs, each having to do with their relationship to the earth. Some take
their beliefs so far as to permanently live underground, never appearing
on the surface world (though they are viewed as extremists).
iii. The dwarven people are fiercely loyal to their clans and family. Many
traditions abound surrounding the duty that they hold to each other. If a
person should earn the trust and loyalty of a dwarf, but then betray it, the
consequences can be severe, with grudges often lasting centuries.
iv. Dwarven loyalties are first and foremost to their own people. This is taken
to an extreme in some cases, with many dwarves being xenophobes. In
other cases, some dwarves take it as a responsibility to the good name of
their clan to be hospitable and polite to outsiders.
v. In general, dwarves tend to get along better with humans than elves.
Humans are another mostly non-magical people with similar customs and
beliefs to the dwarven people. It is much rarer for the dwarves and elves
to get along.
vi. In rare cases, a non-dwarf may be acknowledged and welcomed as
members of a dwarven clan (if honored with an invitation by the clan
leader). Acceptance of this offer should not be made lightly. If accepted,
the person is then acknowledged as a fully-fledged dwarf, with all the
responsibilities and duties to their clan that it entails.
3. How does each sub-world view itself in comparison to the others?
a. Tronjheim
i. The dwarves view themselves as outsiders. They do not care much about
how the outside world works, so long as they are left to their own devices.
What matters most is that their way of life may be preserved. This is a
reason why much of the race opposes the housing of the Varden within
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the halls of Tronjheim. It is also why the dwarves are slow to join the war
against the Evil king Galbatorix. Some believe that the fact he has never
taken the dwarven kingdoms for his own is a sign that he can’t do it.
Others know better and believe that they should battle on their own terms,
and not wait for the day when he will attack.
4. What kind of relationship does each sub-world have with the others?
a. Tronjheim
i. The dwarven people are mostly friendly with both humans and elves.
Despite disagreement from individual communities within the kingdom,
the high king of the dwarves recognizes an alliance with both the humans
of Surda and the Elves, though cultural differences give rise to the
occasional conflict. However, after having fought alongside both elvish
and human soldiers, the fiercely loyal nature of the dwarves allows the
alliance to be genuine.
ii. The dwarves have a grudging relationship with the dragons. In the days
pre-dating the arrival of both humans and elves to Alagaësia, the dwarves
and dragons fought in many bloody battles against each other. In the light
of the betrayal and rise of Galbatorix, many dwarves have retaken a
mistrust of dragons and their riders. Many dwarven clans continue to be
mistrustful of the new riders and want nothing to do with them. Others
understand that only with the help of a Dragon rider, do they stand a
chance at overthrowing Galbatorix.
iii. The dwarven people outright despise the Urgals. Their animosity has
never known peace, and the acceptance of the Urgal Tribes into the
alliance of free peoples was a point of great contention. So much of the
dwarven culture is enmeshed with their hatred of the Urgals, that many
dwarven soldiers boast of having bows and arrows made specially from
the horns of Urgals that they have killed with their own hands.
5. What are the rules/hierarchy of power in each area?

a. The dwarven people are separated into thirteen clans. Each clan has its own clan
chief, customs, and traditions. Each clan is also known for contributing a different
specialty to the dwarven people as a whole, and are mostly ruled independently
of each other. However, the hierarchy is topped by a singular dwarven King, who
is determined democratically by the votes from the thirteen chiefs and has the
final say on all matters impacting the dwarven people at large. Unlike the king,
the chiefs are determined by lineage, as each chief has the power to name their
own heir.
6. How much time passes in the story? What are the most dramatic/significant changes to
happen?
a. Several years pass over the course of the story. In this time:
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i. The dwarven king is killed and replaced by a new king.
1. In this process much of the dormant animosity against the new
dragon and rider surfaces.
ii. The dwarven people openly join the war against Galbatorix.
iii. The dwarven people grudgingly acknowledge a truce with the Urgals to
face their common enemy.
9 parameters (Example)
● Tempo
○ Dwarves are long-lived and patient. They don’t rush around like humans and take
their slow pace as a point of pride. The BPM should be on the slow side, maybe
around 60-70bpm. ‘
○ The Dwarves are master craftsmen, known for the simple elegance of their
creations. I think the pulse can reflect this, with multiple interpretations of the beat
on different levels, perhaps even at a specific ratio of each other (e.g., each pulse
being a multiple of 2 from the previous one)
● Rhythm
○ The dwarves are known for their master craftsmanship, I want this to be reflected
in the rhythm. There should be symmetrical and regular accents, to reflect their
symmetrical craftsmanship. However, I want the pulse subdivided across two or
three voices so that there is a kind of rhythmic counterpoint going on, where the
accents all match up.
○ The goal should be to create a deceptively intricate rhythmic foundation, that
sounds relatively simple at first hearing.
○ Within these rhythms, I’d like some simple syncopation using dotted rhythms and
possibly triplets, but I want it to be uniform and dependable. Its purpose should
be to establish a unique rhythm, and then stick to it!
○ No pick-ups, since the dwarves don’t use too many ornamentations in their
structures. They use lots of straight edges, so this can be reflected in the music
by keeping phrases within their own measures.
○ There should be a simple phrase structure, like 8 or 4 bar phrases. This can
reflect similarities between human and dwarf cultures (their music shouldn’t be
that different) as well as be more dependable as a form of solid structure to help
organize the rhythmic counterpoint.
● Pitch
○ The melodies should be simple. Not too many embellishments, and not too short
of subdivisions. I’m thinking of sticking mostly to chordal tones, with
embellishments used to move from one to the next, only when necessary.
○ The dwarves are famous for their unfathomably large-scale craftsmanship. They
build the largest structures in the Alagaësia. This could be reflected in the use of
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larger leaps throughout the melody, especially leaps of a P4, P5, m7, and M9 to
give a regal and noble air to the music.
○ Countermelodies are possible and could reflect the intricacy of their craft, but I
really want to focus on that rhythmic counterpoint. Any countermelodies should
be based on that concept, and work to serve it.
● Articulation
○ The Dwarves have a peculiar accent that seems based on the Scottish accent.
It’s fairly lyrical with many glottal stops. I think that using mostly legato phrasing
with a few carefully placed staccato markings near the middle and ending could
reflect this (afterall musical customs are often born out of how language and
lyrics impact early music).
● Harmony
○ Dwarves have some similarities in customs and beliefs with humans, to the point
where human members of the Varden find it easy to adapt to life among the
dwarves. I think that mostly functional harmony will work well for this music (I
don’t need to reinvent the wheel), but I want to borrow chords from the parallel
Phrygian and Mixolydian to give a bit of exotic flair and to reflect the Celtic
influence used in their accent.
○ The dwarves do not rush around. They live very long lives (compared to humans)
and are known to spend centuries focusing on the small details of their craft. I
think a slow harmonic rhythm will work well. One chord per two measures allows
more time to get the most out of each chord rhythmically and harmonically before
moving on to the next.
○ I don’t think too many extensions should be necessary. Simple triads will be most
effective for combining with complicated rhythms. We don’t want things getting,
too complicated.
○ In keeping with the calculated and practical nature of the dwarves, I think simple
but strong cadences will work best (not too many deceptive cadences). However,
this goes out the window for any scenes like the coronation. The dwarves
typically favor simple and effective over ornate and lavish, but the reverse comes
true when they’re trying to show off for special occasions. In scenes like this,
careful but deliberate use of deceptive resolution and modulation could be
appropriate.
● Timbre
○ Tronjheim is a royal and noble city of marble. I’m thinking that brass (especially
horns) will be important instruments to include.
○ The dwarves are also some of the oldest sentient beings in Alagaësia. Choir
might be an effective color to include as well (voices are amongst the most
ancient instruments)
○ They are also known for creating the largest structures in all of Alagaësia, so I
want MASSIVE drums to play a part in this (especially since they specifically
mention ridiculously huge drums during the coronation ceremony and battle of
Farthen Dur).
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■ I think these in particular can be a sound palette specific to the dwarves.
Perhaps added to the larger sound palette of the story whenever
appropriate or needed.
○ The Dwarves live in the largest mountain range in existence, the Beor Mountains.
The City of Tronjheim is inside a mountain so massive, that they even get their
own clouds inside the mountain on occasion. Some MASSIVE reverb could be
fun to play around with at key moments
● Register
○ Not too many registers should be necessary unless working with climactic
moments.
○ Many dwarves live deep underground, and they are known for creating absolutely
massive structures. To me, both of these scream out “low register!” I think using
predominantly low and deep sounds could work well. I’ll need to take care not to
let things sound too muddy though. A simple solution to this could be to use
conservative octave ranges (just an octave or two around middle C for the
melody and most accompaniment) but focusing on instruments that have a
powerful lower register that works within this area. Then using a super prominent
and powerful bassline to support it all from a much deep register.
● Dynamics
○ Dynamics will be fairly straightforward for this. I don’t foresee needing anything
too special beyond what is informed by the story and scenes as they unfold.
○ However, I DO want the bass line to be a bit more prominent than is typical,
almost serving like a countermelody. Dwarves are known for their stocky build
and stability. Everything they make is sturdy, even their bones are thicker and
denser than almost every other species! Reflecting this by placing the bassline
closer to the midground and in higher prominence than the rest of the harmony
could be a creative way to reflect this in the musical personality.
● Texture
○ Layers will be important to this music. I want a separate read of the pulse across
the foreground/midground/background. This is how the rhythmic counterpoint can
be set up.
○ The bassline should be in the midground, with the melody in the foreground. I
want a simple, almost gregorian chant-like relationship between the two. The
harmony should be present, but to a lower degree in the background.
○ Every melodic/harmonic voice should be informed by the rhythmic role of its layer
(possible exception being the bassline doing its own thing. Perhaps subtle
percussion or strings can be used to fill out the midground’s role in the
counterpoint).
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Story World and Music
Story World Name:
What important “Sub-worlds” does the Story explore? What makes them important to the
story/music?
For Each Sub-world:
other?
a. What kinds of religious beliefs, superstitions, traditions, celebrations, and fears
do they have?
b. Do they adhere to these values or do they not practice what they preach?
a. Which sub-worlds are friendly?
b. Which ones are antagonistic to each other?
c. Are there any alliances? Are they genuine or purely political?
d. Do any of them have a particularly dramatic history with each other?
e. Which sub-worlds don’t seem to have any kind of relationship at all?

a. Who has the power?
b. What gives the hierarchy their power?
c. Where do the important characters of the story fit within that hierarchy?
happen?
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Chapter 3: Characters as a Source of Inspiration
Understanding story worlds is incredibly important, not only because it provides a source
of inspiration for our music, but because it sets up more context for our next source of
inspiration: characters.
Character themes tend to be much more common than world themes. This is because
the characters are what we, as an audience, tend to identify the most with. Our emotional
experiences of a story are shaped and guided by the experiences of the characters we most
identify with.
When a story is done we carry the memories of those characters with us for quite some
time. You only need to hop on Reddit or any other social media platform to find thousands upon
thousands of fan pages dedicated to fictional characters from countless different stories.
Well crafted characters have the ability to teach lessons, share philosophies, and even
influence our own perspectives and approaches to life. They stick with us, and become an
important part of who we are. This is why people get tattoos of their favorite characters, dress
up like them for Comic Con/Halloween, or even name their kids after them!
No matter what way you look at it, characters are important, and this is both a blessing
and a curse to the musical storyteller. On the one hand, characters can provide a brilliantly rich
and emotionally complex fountain of inspiration for our music! On the other hand, they can come
with incredibly high expectations, and the consequences of failing to meet these expectations
can be disastrous!
A properly written character theme should feel like an extension of the character
themself. The moment an audience feels, for whatever reason, that the music “isn’t right” they
will reject it outright. Just as how a masterfully crafted theme can enhance a story, a clumsily
and carelessly written theme can reduce a great story to a mere shadow of “what could have
been.”
To avoid this potentially story killing mistake, our best weapon as musical storytellers is
to thoroughly understand and know the characters before we begin to write even the first note!
We want to be able to see the characters as real beings. To understand their goals, their flaws,
their stories, and their values. In a way, you need to know them as closely as you do your best
friend.
Just like with understanding the Story world, our first step is to name our characters.
Names have power. They allow us to identify WHO we are working with. Start by figuring out
“who is the character you are writing for”, and After this we want to understand their “Function.”
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In his incredible book, “The Anatomy of Story” John Truby claims that every character
can be described as filling one of six roles, or ‘functions’; hero, opponent, ally, fake-ally
opponent, fake-opponent ally, or subplot character.
The function of a “hero” character is to be the person/being that drives the action in a
story. In other words, they are the character that the story is about! They don’t necessarily need
to be a “heroic” character. They don’t even need to be a good person! What defines a hero’s
function is not their moral compass, but rather the fact that they are the ones with the
problem/goal that pushes the story forward, and the story will not end until they reach the end of
the journey towards that goal (for better or for worse).
An ‘Opponent’ functioning character, is in opposition to the hero. Out of all the characters
in the story, they are the one that most desperately wants to keep the hero from achieving their
desire/goal. Once again, an opponent doesn’t need to be an evil character. What defines an
opponent, isn’t their moral compass, but rather that they are the hero’s biggest obstacle to
achieving their goal. Oftentimes the opponent is even working in direct competition with the hero
for the same exact goal!
All “Ally” functioning characters are the individuals that help the hero. They can help
directly by intervening on the hero’s behalf, or they can play a more passive role and act as a
sounding board and confidant to the hero. They often play the crucial role of allowing the hero’s
values and feelings to be heard and understood by the audience. A well written ally character
will have their own goals and aspirations, but most often they will at least be related, in part, to
the goals of the hero.
The “fake-ally opponent” is exactly what it sounds like. These are the characters that
appear to be the hero’s friend, but in actuality are an opponent. What makes these characters
so interesting is that they don’t need to be malicious! A fake-ally CAN be the conniving,
backstabbing type, or they can be a would-be ally that finds themselves opposed to the hero’s
goals out of some (often misguided) good intentions.
The “fake-opponent ally” is the exact opposite! They are the characters that appear to be
fighting the hero, but in actuality end up being an ally. They appear to be opposed to the hero’s
goals, but are instead revealed to be helping them. One of my favorite examples of this type of
character is Uncle Iroh from the early seasons of “Avatar: the Last Airbender.”
Finally, the “subplot character” is any being that exists to contrast how the hero or any
other second character deals with the same problem. Their primary purpose is to highlight the
hero’s character by comparing them to another, less vital character. These characters often exist
in passing, and don’t play the role of either ally or opponent.
As a musical storyteller, it’s important to understand what function your character plays
in the story! These functions provide context and insight directly into the role of your music! Your
themes are likely to be used most frequently with these characters present, and you must
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understand what function they play if you are to figure out what traits and aspects of the
character are the most important to enhance through the musical language.
Once we understand the most basic foundation of each character (name + function) it is
time to know them on a more personal level! Start out by asking yourself “What makes this
character unique? Why do they need their own theme in the first place?”
These questions might seem obvious, and for good reason! They are crucial! If you don’t
know why you’re writing a character’s theme in the first place then, here’s a shocker for ya, YOU
SHOULDN’T BE WRITING THE THEME!!!! Music is a precious commodity in storytelling, and it
shouldn’t be wasted as mere spacefiller. Every note you write should have a reason and a
purpose! The first step to ensuring this level of detail is to make sure that you understand why
you’re writing in the first place. What sticks out to you as being the most important trait(s) of the
character? Why do they deserve, nay, NEED their own theme? Spend some time to figure this
out, and write down a few brief words explaining why in your notes.
Once we are fully assured that a character needs a musical theme, it is time to start
looking at them with a more detail oriented lens. We can start off by looking at their background.
What do we know about the character’s history? What kind of historical, geographical, social,
cultural, and economic influences can be found in their personality and behavior? Here we want
to learn about the context surrounding the character. What is it about their upbringing and story
that has shaped them into who they are?
This information is incredibly important because it can provide immeasurably useful

inspiration to the style and approach we can take to the music. Take your time answering these
questions, and write a paragraph or two describing the character with the answers. Give a short
bio about the character, and how their past has shaped who they are during the time that we get
to meet them in the story.
With this context in place, we are better equipped to understand the driving factors of
who the character is, at their core. Once again we are going to look to our friend John Truby, to
understand how to undertake this daunting task.
In “The Anatomy of Story” Mr. Truby describes four keys to understanding a character
(among others); Needs, Desire, Values, and Power/Status/Ability.
A character’s needs are born of their weaknesses. They are the things holding them
back, that they need to address in order to achieve their goal or grow. Truby describes them as
being critically important and as “what they must fulfill within themselves in order to have a
better life.” These needs can be separated into two distinct categories; psychological and moral.
A psychological need is something that hurts only the character. The moral need is
something that hurts others around them (typically in how they interact or treat others). The two
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are often intimately related and frequently numerous, however, we only need to find the one(s)
most crucial to the story.
Keeping with my example from “Avatar: the Last Airbender”, an example of a character
with striking psychological and moral weaknesses is Prince Zuko. One of Zuko’s primary
psychological weaknesses is his belief that his honor is something that must be given to him by
his father. It is not an intrinsic value that he takes for himself, but something that has been lost
and must be returned by a source outside of himself.
His moral weakness is fed by his psychological weakness, in that his beliefs surrounding
his honor manifest as an obsession for capturing the Avatar to the exclusion of all else (a task
that he believes to be the only method of regaining his lost honor and returning to the home
from which he was banished). This obsession leads to him lashing out and mistreating everyone
around him; including his loyal soldiers and loving Uncle.
Part of the character’s enduring legacy is the catharsis we, as an audience, gain from
witnessing Zuko’s journey as he begins to become more aware of, and struggle with, these
weaknesses.
The Character’s Needs is what makes it possible to empathize with them. They provide
a deeper level of understanding and context for why the character acts the way they do, and
how they need to grow if they are to have a happy ending.
A character’s ‘Desire’ is what the character wants in the story. It is their goal that they
strive to achieve in the time that we have with them. In the case of the hero and opponent, this
desire tends to be what drives the action and momentum of the story in the first place! Desires
are often intimately related with the character’s needs, and often change as they grow and
become more aware of what it is they truly need.
As a musical storyteller, it is crucial to understand what a character’s desire is, because

it further informs the decisions they make and the struggles they face as the story unfolds. Their
desires become a lens through which we can understand not only a character’s motivations, but
the emotional journey that they undergo, and this last point is crucial!
Emotions do not exist in a vacuum! (that probably won’t be the last time I use that
“vacuum” statement). They are triggered and inspired by our perception and experiences of the
world around us. The emotions a character feels are intimately related to their perception of how
much closer or farther away each action brings them to their goal. Emotion is one of the most
striking and intimately binding traits of music, and this context is a highly important key to
unlocking a theme’s full potential! We’ll discuss more about emotion in the next chapter, but for
now, let us focus on the character.
After Desire, we need to understand the character’s values. Values act as a foundation
to the character’s behavior. What a character believes in and views as most important often
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creates boundaries between what they are willing or not willing to do or sacrifice in pursuit of
their desire. Their values determine just how far they are willing to go.
Everything we have looked at so far provides context into what the character values.
Their upbringing, desires, and needs can all provide valuable insight into what the character
believes in and values at their core. Oftentimes the most engaging conflict of a story is based in
how these values clash with the characters and world around our hero.
When faced with the cognitive dissonance of how their actions and values don’t line up,
the character must choose between one or the other. Will they change their actions, or abandon
their values? The answer reveals a lot about who the character truly is, and keeps us invested
in how things will turn out! The story can be even more engaging if a character learns that the
things they thought they had valued, actually pale in comparison to the true values and beliefs
they hold in their heart.
When exploring the values of a character, we want to ask “what do they hold to be most
important? What beliefs form the core of who they are? How do these values conflict or coincide
with the way they live their life?” and “How do these things change as the story develops?”
Armed with the knowledge of what our character values the most, we find that our
understanding of the character becomes much more intimate and personal. However, we are
not done yet! Next up we want to look at the character’s Power/Status/Ability.
These three concepts of power, status, and ability can be roughly summarized at “what
can the character do?” Where are they in the hierarchy of the story? What kind of action can
they take towards their goal, and more importantly, what can they NOT do to achieve their
goals? These limitations are important to understand in both how they hinder the character, and
where they come from. Is there an outside source that robs the character of their ability to take
action? Is it because they lack the power to take action, or because their position of power gives
them too many responsibilities to act? The answers to these questions provide further context
for where the character exists within the story world, and provides insight to the subtle (or
not-so-subtle) conflict within the story.
The actions a character takes and the consequences that follow are both born of the
power and ability that the character has to take those actions in the first place. Understanding
this relationship is an important key to understanding the types of conflict found in the story.
With these four parameters (needs, desires, values, power/status/ability) figured out, we
can iron out what makes a character sympathetic. We can understand why they act the way that
they do! This is important because the character's theme is going to develop and change
through many different emotional settings in a single story. Understanding who they are at the
core, allows us to know what traits are most important to remain constant or need to be
emphasized, as the music adapts throughout the story.
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However, even these core traits aren’t always immune to development. Many times the
character's values (or at least what they perceive to be their values) will change alongside with
their desire and power/status/ability, as they become more aware of just what they truly need.
Understanding how these changes take place is crucial to understanding the character’s
development across the story, as well as the type of development your music MUST reflect!
One effective method for understanding this change is to start by identifying what each
character's needs, values, desires, and power/status/ability are at both the beginning and the
end of the story. Then consider how they have changed. What exactly is different? How radical
of a change did they undergo? Then spend time considering how that change took place. Was it
sudden? Was it gradual? Did it come willingly or forcefully? All of these things should be
reflected in the music!
After we have spent sufficient time to understand each character as an individual, we

can gain further insight by looking at how they each compare to the other key characters of the
story. How does each character differ in their needs, desires, values, and power/status/ability?
How do they differ in what makes them sympathetic? How does their character development
differ? These differences are what keep a story interesting, and are crucial to understanding
what makes each character unique! Figuring out their differences is important for the music
because it can inform how to make each musical theme stand out on its own, as being
representative of a specific character.
Now, armed with our new found expertise on each character, it is time to start putting
that knowledge to use for writing music. Take your notes, and start to review the 9 parameters of
music. Consider which characters should play the largest role in inspiring your music, and then
go through each individual parameter and write down your initial thoughts of how each one can
be used to portray these characters! Use your knowledge of how each parameter can
contribute to storytelling, and don’t worry about being hyper critical of yourself. Trust your gut,
and write down the first things that come to mind for each one!
In next pages you’ll find an example of how this process can be used to better
understand the character of “Brom” from the same book series that we used for the last sample;
the Inheritance Cycle. As a heads up, there is a SPOILER WARNING in effect for anyone who
has not read the books, and may still want to.
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Characters and Music: Example
Character Name: Brom
Character’s Function: Ally
1. What makes them Unique? Why do they need their own theme?
a. Brom is a crucial support character in the story. He acts as a mentor and teacher
to Eragon for most of the first book, and is known to have set many of the story’s
events into action! There would be no story without him
2. What kind of background do they have? (historical, geographical, social, economic, etc.)
How does it shape who they are at the time of the story?
a. Brom was once a Dragon Rider. This greatly increased his life span and has
allowed him to live through many Eras throughout history. He was trained as a
rider at the height of their power, before the betrayal of Galbatorix. He then
survived the fall of the riders, though his dragon did not. The loss of his dragon
drove him nearly mad and colored the rest of his life’s journey. His desire for
revenge led him to co-found the resistance against Galbatorix, being responsible
for the death of 7 out of the 13 Forsworn. Shortly after the founding of the
Varden, he helped steal one of the three remaining dragon eggs, before going
into hiding in a small mountain village.
b. During his exile, Brom chose to hide as a storyteller in a small mountain village
called “Carvahall” He chose this location to be near his son (though he kept his
identity hidden). This simple identity was one he kept for over a decade and is
why Eragon turned to him to learn more about the dragons after Saphira hatched.
3. What are the characters:

a. Needs
i. Psychological
1. Brom is a very suspicious and mistrustful person. The pain he has
experienced keeps him from connecting to others and leaves him
isolated from everyone and everything around him. He needs to
re-learn that he can trust and rely on others. He doesn’t have to do
everything himself.
ii. Moral
1. Brom’s mistrustful and suspicious nature leads him to keep an
abundance of secrets, which causes a lot of pain and problems for
his allies, especially his only living family member, Eragon. His
secretiveness even led many of his closest and only friends to
believe he was dead for more than a decade Eragon did not even
know he was his father until over a year after his death.
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b. Desire
i. Brom has two great desires. First and foremost he wants a peaceful and
happy life for his son, but he also knows that this is impossible unless
Galbatorix is defeated. To this end, his biggest goal is to overthrow the
King and establish a new era of peace by training the new rider. His entire
life has been an all-consuming journey to undermining and working
against the King on every level that he can possibly manage.
c. Values
i. Brom believed intelligence and creativity to be the determining factors in a
battle. His lessons with Eragon often focused on thinking fluidly and on
your feet. He also believed deeply in the teachings of the dragon riders in
their prime, striving to bring peace, freedom, and prosperity to the many
peoples of Alagaesia. He dedicates his life, even surrendering it, in the
service of training the Last Dragon Rider to Face off against, and defeat
Galbatorix.
d. Power/Status/Ability
i. As a former dragon rider, a recognized friend of the Elvish people, and
founder of the Varden, Brom commands incredible power and authority,
though he rarely uses it. Brom is a powerful and incredibly cunning and
intelligent magic-user. His presence alone is enough to frighten most of
his enemies when in battle. Despite his power, Brom chooses to live an
inconspicuous life, preferring to work from the shadows.
4. What makes the character sympathetic, if at all? (Why do they act the way that they do?)
a. Throughout his entire life, Brom has dealt with loss. He was taken from his
childhood home to be trained as a rider. He formed an abusive friendship with the
future traitor, Morzan. His Dragon, Saphira (the first), was slain in combat with the
forsworn, and he was forced to watch as the entire order that he had dedicated
his life to was systematically annihilated. Even when he finally found love, he
soon lost her as she died giving birth to their son. Despite this pain, he
perseveres in trying to free Alagaësia from the King. He knows that the king is
evil, but he also understands that the riders were imperfect. His goal is not to
replace the king with another rider, but to return power to the people so that they
may govern themselves.
b. What makes Brom Sympathetic is that he struggles to pursue his goals, despite
the pain and loss that his goals have cost him. He has suffered all throughout his
life, but he still pursues the greater good, despite everything he has experienced.
5. How do these traits change over the course of the story?
a. By the end of the story, Brom finally learns (at least to some extent) to entrust his
vision to others. He sacrifices his own life to protect Eragon, trusting that he will
be the one to overthrow the king. However, he does not truly learn what he
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needed, as he carries many secrets with him, even to his grave. He learns to
entrust his vision, but nothing else.
6. How does each of the above characteristics differ from the other characters?
a. Brom is a gruffer and much more experienced character than most of the others
that we meet. He is as wise and powerful as an elf but does not remove himself
from the world as they do. He is just as stubborn and gruff as a dwarf, but he
lacks their tendency to form close and loyal bonds. He exists as a character that
many respect and honor, but few truly get to know him.
b. His desire to overthrow the king is shared by many characters that we meet, but
the degree to which he jealously guards his secrets takes things much farther
than any other character. He plays a critical role in the success of the resistance,
but his secretive nature keeps many from knowing the part that he played.
9 Parameters (Example)
● Tempo
○ Brom Kept hidden for the final years of his life, but never completely out of the
action. I think a moderate-paced Bpm (around 90-100?) could be effective;
possibly slower. The melody can focus on quarter notes and half notes to aid in
the lyrical quality of his theme, while a second pulse of 8th notes (possibly
shorter) is used in the background material to portray the near-constant anger
and drive to act that is always just under his surface.
○ To help set up the room for some cool poly-rhythms, the meter can be 12/8 time;
which will allow for some interesting juxtapositions with a 6/4 time feel in the
background.
● Rhythm
○ I’m liking the idea of having a duality in his theme. Just like the character, what
we see shouldn’t be what we necessarily get. The melodic material of his theme
can have symmetrical and regular accents, with unique but predictable rhythms.
This can help establish a more lyrical theme. However, in the background, a
driving rhythmic figure can be developed with less symmetrical and rhythmic
emphasis. Something a bit more raw and primal. It shouldn’t be so powerful that
it upsets the foreground, but it should contribute to the context and feel of the
music in a significant way.
○ The melodic material will have some syncopation. 12/8 time denotes the use of a
triplet feel for the melody, but dotted rhythms can be helpful too.
○ I’m definitely thinking that pick-ups will be important to the theme. Brom preaches
about thinking fast and acting quickly. Starting each phrase early with a pick-up
could be a great way to represent this musically.
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○ Regardless, I think the primal 2nd layer should use more syncopation than the
primary, melodic layer.
● Pitch
○ Brom is constantly pushing to achieve his goals but practically cursed to never
see them succeed. At one point a witch in the story even laughs when she learns
his identity, saying that his fate is a point of dark humor in her community. He is
cursed to fail at everything he does, other than the slaying of his once friend,
Morzan. To this end, I like the idea of a melodic contour that mostly moves
upward at the beginning of each phrase, only to fall back down before the end.
○ Brom has a noble and heroic history, so using P4, P5, m7, and M9 intervals could
be appropriate, but not nearly as frequently as might be common in other heroic
themes. This should be used sparingly and only hinted at. His history is filled
with tragedy, so I want to focus more on minor intervals, but not too many! The
trick behind this melody will be to find the right mix of heroic and tragic to make
the theme appropriate for high-energy scenes, without betraying the core of the
character’s identity.
○ A counter-melody might be appropriate to introduce, in keeping with the “duality”
idea behind this theme. However, I want to focus on keeping that 2nd level more
primal, so the melody shouldn’t be too intricate and focus mostly on just having a
rhythmic identity.
● Articulation
○ Brom’s character is very tragic, so the first idea to pop into my head is the use of
legato-style articulations, where the notes blend into each other lyrically.
○ However, a lot about his character is “foreign” to the story world. He comes from
an isolated and highly superstitious village to the far south, that we never visit. He
spends most of his life being raised and educated by the Dragon Riders (who no
longer exist as they once did). Even when he settles down to live among
humans, he takes the identity of an old, secluded storyteller. I think the theme
needs to reflect some of this “foreign” or “other” quality of his character. A unique
blend of long and short articulations could be used to help with this. Right now
I”m thinking that something to subtly nod to the background ‘primal’ rhythms
could be interesting, but I’m going to keep this area purposefully open-ended. I
want to see what comes naturally from the music itself.
● Harmony
○ Brom is a tragic character, so minor harmonies would make sense, but his
complexity and “otherness” leave the door open for more interesting harmonic
choices.
○ I think that a steady Harmonic rhythm of 1 chord per measure could be helpful. I
also want to focus on functional harmony, so it’s easier to control how much
momentum each chord carries into the next.
○ In keeping with the idea of “duality” in this theme, I think I’ll use the major key as
the foundation while borrowing heavily from the Dorian, Phrygian, and Mixolydian
modes to color the theme with more pessimistic and exotic colors. While
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everything will be informed through the lens of a major key, it shouldn’t be too
recognizable as one. Dissonance will be important, but not overbearingly so.
○ I also want to avoid any kind of strong cadence. Brom is destined to fail at
everything he attempts. I think that heavy use of deceptive cadences can be
useful here, but I’ll need to be careful to find at least a few stronger cadence
types that can be used to provide shape to the theme, without too strong a sense
of “finality”
○ I also want to modulate relatively frequently throughout this piece. Brom values
quick and fluid thinking. Moving through multiple tonal centers in the theme could
be useful for reflecting this idea.
● Timbre
○ Brom is a unique character, and deeply related to the elves. I want a specific
instrument used to portray his character. I’m not sure what instrument that is, but
I want it to be both related to but different from the sound palette used for the
elvish people. At the moment I’m drawn to the idea of a wooden flute for the
elves, so possibly another woodwind instrument for Brom? A rich clarinet sound
might be appropriate, especially when we first meet him as a storyteller in a
festival-type setting (although flute seems more appropriate in that setting). Either
way, this will need to wait until I’ve fleshed out the rest of the story’s sound
palettes. If I want to make sure that this sound is both unique AND related to
other timbres, I first need to know what the rest of the palettes consists of!
● Register
○ Closely related to timbre, I can’t figure this out too much until I know just what
instrument I want to associate with Brom.
○ However, I think it’s safe to say that whatever timbral choices I make, the number
of octaves used at any given moment will be closely related to how much energy
I need to match in the story.
● Dynamics
○ When we first meet Brom, I want to start with lower energy in the dynamics. I
want to achieve this mainly by introducing his instrument as intimately as
possible. This might be as a solo statement, it might be with a small ensemble, or
it might even be a tag at the end of a larger cue. Regardless, I want to
manipulate dynamics across Brom’s theme mostly through instrumentation size.
● Texture
○ The most important layers in this theme will be the lyrical melody (foreground)
and primal rhythmic material (mid-ground). I’ll keep these two separate mainly
through pitch, timbral, and rhythmic differences.
○ The primal rhythm and melody should have distinct but related rhythmic
identities. The rhythmic layers should exist both independently of and in service
to the melody, and enhance the identity of the theme.Other than these two,
primary layers, others can be added to support as appropriate to the needs of the
story (mostly I’m thinking of chords and a bassline, but others can develop as the
story unfolds. I’m keeping an open mind).
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Characters and Music
Character Name:
Character’s Function:
(Hero, Opponent, Ally, Fake-Ally Opponent, Fake-opponent Ally, Subplot character)
How does it shape who they are in the time of the story?
3. What are the character’s:

a. Needs (both psychological and moral)
b. Desire
c. Values
6. How do each of the above characteristics differ from the other characters?
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Chapter 4: Emotions as a Source of Inspiration
So far we have discussed two of the big three sources of inspiration in writing music for
stories. We’ve learned how to draw inspiration from the story world and the characters that
inhabit it. In both of these discussions, as well as our initial discussion on the nine parameters of
music, the topic of emotion has cropped up time and again as a crucial ingredient.
Emotion is intimately linked with music! It is an instinctive parameter that almost

everyone seems to understand is crucial to the art form, but very few understand how to
express it. You only need to look at any given online forum to see musicians of all different
backgrounds asking “How can I write [insert generic emotion type] music?” only to get an
answer along the lines of “You imbecile! You utter buffoon! You doughy eyed, cabbage headed,
toe-breath, fool! Music HAS NO inherent emotion!” Obviously these kinds of snarky responses
aren’t helpful in any sense of the word, but neither are the questions! Bear with me.
These questions, while well intended, miss the mark! Yes, music CAN portray emotion.
This much is true. But you shouldn’t start with the music! You should start with the emotion itself!
The focus shouldn't be on finding cliches and templates to portray something as nuanced as an
emotional experience. Instead, it is much better to gain an intimate understanding of the
emotion itself and let the music grow organically from that experience!
For all the focus that modern music tends to have on emotional expression (especially
film music) it breaks my heart to know how little attention is typically given to understanding
emotions at a fundamental level! Having spent the better part of my formative years studying
psychology and training to be a therapist, this is something I know all too well to be not only
crucial to your development as a composer, but as a human being as well!
This concept of naming and understanding your emotions is at the core of many
established, and evidence based therapy practices, and it should be at the core of your
approach to musical storytelling as well! Emotions exist on a spectrum. They are many and
varied. No two experiences of a particular emotion are the same. The kind of happiness you feel
while eating a bowl of Reese’s puffs is very different from the kind of happiness you would feel
on your wedding day! So why should you be content to simply categorize them both as “happy”?
Yet, if all you have is a template for writing “happy music” that might be what you get stuck with.
Instead it is so much better to approach each emotion as a unique experience, and learn how
those experiences can write their own music!
Perhaps I should give a more specific example. In one of the classes I took on Film
scoring, I was once given an assignment to write music to a scene from the 2006 movie
“Akeelah and the Bee.” In the scene the titular character is practicing for a spelling bee when
she glances at a picture of her late father and has a panic attack. In her mind, she revisits the
memories of when she and her mother learned that her father had been killed in a shooting. She
then uses her spelling practice as a way to take back control and refocus, escaping from the hell
that is a panic attack.
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In this assignment we were tasked to use a template for “sad music” that we had spent
all week learning. I was taken completely off guard by this! A panic attack is NOT the same thing
as sadness. There is a desperation, a need to run or to fight, an overwhelming sense of “danger
is coming!” that can accompany a panic attack. It is NOT THE SAME THING as sadness! Don’t
get me wrong, I won’t say that the template was unhelpful. I have nothing but respect for the
professor and musician who created the templates we learned (he even inspired the tools found
in this book in the first place!), however, it did not feel appropriate for the nature of that particular
scene. Instead of using the template we had learned, I focused on blending it with my own
approach for presenting the dizzying and horrifying experience of a panic attack.
Moments like this crop up all the time! As a musical storyteller, you will never be asked to
score the same emotion twice! They might have the same generic name, like “sadness” or “joy”
or even “fear”, but the expression and experience of that emotion that each character and, more
importantly, your audience will have will always be unique. This is why you must be prepared to
approach each piece by first addressing how the emotion can describe its own music, instead of
how a template can be forced to fit into the scene.
As a disclaimer, the questions and tools used in this chapter were carefully cultivated
with the help of a close colleague of mine (who works as a trauma therapist). We undertook a
careful review of the peer reviewed literature surrounding emotional expression and
experiences and created a tool based on different functioning models for processing emotions. If
you are deliberate in your use of this tool, it can be a powerful aid in not only understanding an
emotional experience, but even experiencing a bit of it yourself! The human brain works in a
way so that by focusing on the somatic and subjective experiences of an emotion, you tend to
begin experiencing that emotion itself. I offer this as a warning. If you use this tool to process too
many negative emotions in a row, you’re setting yourself up for a bad time. Fun and positive
emotions are fine, but if you plan to visit a dark place, it is best to have an exit strategy! Be
prepared with things to cheer you up on standby, for when you’re done. With that in mind, let’s
get started!
So unlike the previous two tools, we are not going to start this one by naming the
emotion we’re working with. This will be the last step (if included at all). The importance here is
not on identifying a specific emotion, but rather understanding its subjective experience.
Instead, our first step is to consider the general level of “intensity” or “energy level” that is being
experienced.
In this step, we are going to assign the emotion a number on a scale of one to five based
on how intense the experience is. However, this is not to say that this number is a standardized
or ‘objective’ measurement. There is no specific rubric for identifying exactly where each
emotion measures on the scale. Rather it is a series of questions meant to get you thinking
about how powerful the emotional experience is. Start by picturing the scene and emotion that
you are attempting to capture. What would it feel like to live in that moment? To experience it
first hand? Once you’re there, answer these questions:
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1. On a scale of one to five: What kind of impact does the emotion have on your heart rate?
1 = no impact, you maintain your resting heart rate.
5 = Your heart is beating so fast, it feels ready to burst!
2. On a scale of one to five: What kind of impact does the emotion have on your breathing?
1 = no impact, you’re breathing as normal.
5 = You’re finding it hard to breathe / you’re out of breath!
3. On a scale of one to five: How intense do you perceive this emotion?

1 = Easily manageable, I’m in complete control.
5 = I’m overwhelmed! This is the only thing I can focus on!
4. On a scale of one to five: How surprising was the event that triggered this emotional
experience?
1 = I was expecting it
5 = It took me completely by surprise!
5. On a scale of one to five: What kind of consequences will the triggering event have?
1 = nothing changes for the character, this is a passing experience
5 = This event will have a lasting impact and consequences for the character!
6. On a scale of one to five: How important is this emotion to the story?

1 = it is a passing event, with little to no impact on the story.
5 = it is a major plot point/defining moment for the story.
Don’t overthink things too much. Trust your gut and assign the numbers that feel
appropriate to each question. Once you’ve answered each of them, add the numbers together
and then divide them by 6. This will give you the average answer for all six questions and the
overall “intensity/energy level” of the emotional experience in general.
This exercise is meant to help get you in the right frame of mind to start exploring the
emotional experience with more detail. To this end, it is time to start considering the somatic
experience of the emotion itself. This is important, because oftentimes understanding how your
body reacts to an emotion is the key to re-experiencing it on command! (As a little pro-tip,
learning how your body responds to being relaxed can actually be an excellent tool for teaching
yourself how to deal with anxiety or stress). Some of these questions will seem a little repetitive,
but they are still important to understand.
1. How does the emotional experience impact your heart rate?

2. How does the emotional experience impact your breathing?
3. How does the emotional experience impact your comfort level?
4. Are there any other physical responses to this emotion?
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When answering these questions, don’t focus on using numbers like we did previously.
Instead focus on writing a few sentences to describe each experience. Is your heartbeat
fluttering? Does it feel like it skipped a beat or two? Does it feel like it could burst out of your
chest at any moment, or does it feel like it has been nailed in place with an icicle? Try to live in
that experience, and be as descriptive as you can! After all, the goal is to take these
descriptions and translate them into music. That’s a whole lot easier to do, if you have a quality
description to work with in the first place!
A quick word on the last question “Are there any other physical responses to this
emotion?” This question is purposefully vague and open ended. It’s meant to be left up to
interpretation so that you can use it as your “catch all” for the many different emotional
experiences you will have to score. It can focus on actual physical experiences like sweating or
feeling nauseous, or it can focus on more perceived physical experiences like “having a weight
in the pit of your stomach.” Regardless of how you answer, focus on using descriptive language
that can portray how the emotion is physically expressed and experienced throughout your
body.
Armed with a stronger understanding of the physical experience of your emotion, you
should now be getting a clearer idea of what kind of emotion you are trying to portray. With an
understanding of the specific somatic responses that make this particular experience unique, we
can start to look more closely at the other subjective experiences of the emotion.
First off, we should figure out what kind of experience it is. Is it a positive one? Is it a
negative one? Is it somewhere in between? Figure out how you would classify the experience,
but don’t stop there. Once again, write a sentence or two describing why you made your
decision. What specifically makes this experience negative or positive to the degree that it is?
Once you have your answer, start to think about what event(s) actually triggered the
emotion in the first place. As I mentioned earlier in this book, emotions do not exist in a vacuum!
They are triggered and inspired by our perception and experiences of the world around us.
Different events can improve or worsen your mood as the day progresses.
Not only can events trigger emotions, but the degree to which these events were
expected, can also have a massive influence. Some emotions are just easier to manage when
you know they’re coming, while others will build up over time as the anticipation creates a more
extreme experience. Some emotions are at their most gut-wrenching when they happen out of
the blue, while others lose all potency and power if they have no build up.
For example, imagine that you are to lose a beloved pet. Is it better to have them die in a
veterinarian’s office, after you were given a week’s notice to say your goodbyes? Or for them to
die suddenly on a busy street, after running in front of a speeding car? A morbid example, I
know, I’m sorry. However, do you see how expectations of an emotion can shape its
experience? Some people would find it more painful to undergo the heartbreaking ordeal of
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saying goodbye for an entire week with the knowledge that their time is running out. Others
would find the pain of NOT being able to say goodbye to be much more heartbreaking.
The point that I’m trying to make here is that our emotions are colored by the way we
experience the world around us, and you need to consider this when trying to translate any
emotional experience into music! Take some time to reflect on the particular emotion you are
trying to capture. What event served as its catalyst? Was this event expected or not? Answer
these questions, and then spend a sentence or two describing how this impacts the experience
of the character and audience. (Keep in mind that the characters of a story are rarely aware of
the music, so more often than not you are playing to the audience’s experience of the emotion
instead).
Another crucial idea to consider at this point is the perception of whether or not the
triggering event was deserved. Both guilt and innocence are powerful lenses for coloring an
emotion. The degree to which a particular emotion is felt, is often colored by the knowledge of
what role we played in the triggering event. Perhaps one of the most widely known examples of
this is in the origin of “Spider-man.”
In “Spider-man” Peter Parker is presented with a chance to use his powers to stop a
robbery. He ignores the chance to do good, and allows the crime to be committed. Later he
discovers that his beloved uncle has been shot and killed by the same robber that he had let
escape. The guilt and shame Peter feels at his failure to take action becomes a formative
moment for him, where he commits to being Spider-man. The knowledge that his uncle would
still be alive, if he had intervened, haunts Peter for much of his life and greatly colors the
emotional experience of that memory. It is not only about the pain of loss, but also the guilt of
knowing that he could have prevented it all!
If Peter had NOT been present at the time of the robbery, then the loss of his uncle
would have been colored much differently. The pain and loss would still be there, but the
crushing knowledge that he could have prevented it would not weigh him down.
To use a more positive example, how much more enjoyable is it to nail an audition or win
a competition when you KNOW that the time and effort you put into it made you better than
everyone you competed against. In comparison, knowing that you cheated, or that your
opponent was sick can make the same victory feel hollow.
Regardless of what kind of situation you are working with, take some time to consider
what role the character played in setting up the triggering event for their emotion. Did they
directly influence it? Or did they have nothing to do with it? Did ANYONE have ANY influence at
all in how things turned out? Take your time to consider this, then write a few sentences to
describe what role the character played in setting up their own triggering event, and how that
role colors their experience of the emotion.
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The next natural question to ask is “What kind of impact does this emotion have on the
character/story?” This one may seem obvious, but it’s important to nail down. We need to
understand if this is a passing moment, or a character defining one. The difference will be
important to deciding how the music must be written. For example, is this moment in the story
worthy of inspiring its own theme or just temporarily coloring another theme inspired by
something else?
In the example of Peter Parker, his emotional experience was a character defining one.
The rest of his life will be spent as Spider-man, upholding the values and virtues that his uncle
passed onto him. It would be entirely appropriate to have some part of that tragedy color the
character’s theme throughout the story, and not just the scenes where he struggles with the
experience.
With all the work you’ve placed in so far, this question shouldn’t be too difficult to answer.
Simply take a moment to write a few sentences on whether or not this experience is central to
the story, and why or why not.
Finally the very last questions we want to explore have to do with what actions are
inspired by and taken after these emotions. This one is important! A lot of an emotion’s
experience is based on the conflict (or lack thereof) between how we want to act, and how we
can act. This kind of conflict is very common in good story telling. It adds a whole new level to
the emotional experience! The frustration of not being able to react the way you want, adds
additional color and emotion to the experience! Be as creative with these descriptions as you’d
like!
Some emotions are easy to describe. When you’re sad you feel like you want to cry.
When you’re angry, you might feel like you want to lash out. Depending on where you are, these
kinds of reactions may or maynot be feasible. However, some experiences are even more
nuanced.
Returning to our Spider-man example one final time, Peter has many things he wants to
do in reaction to his emotions. Chief amongst them, being his desire to atone! He wants to
rewind time and bring his uncle back, but he can’t! No matter how desperately he may want to
take back his actions, there is nothing he can do about it. Instead he moves forward and
attempts to atone by living his life in a manner that honors his uncle’s life and lessons.
Once again, I’m going to tell you to take your time. Write a few sentences (if not
paragraphs) describing what kind of action this emotion calls your character (and audience) to
do. Then discuss whether or not they can take these actions, or if they are forced to find relief
elsewhere. What impact does this have on both them and, more importantly, the story? Once
you’ve done this, you’re finished!
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One last, optional step that you can take, is to write down a few idioms, expressions,
and/or metaphors that are commonly used to describe a particular emotional experience. The
benefit of these mini tools is to provide a cultural lens through which an audience already
associates with a type of emotional experience. They typically consist of highly descriptive
language, and can be useful for inspiring musical ideas and concepts. Some quick examples
would be “Felt like a gut punch” (to describe rejection), “butterflies in your stomach” (to describe
young love), and “heart skipped a beat” (to describe surprise nerves or excitement).
It’s time to revisit our 9 parameters one last time, and jot down any ideas you may have
for translating this emotional experience into a musical one. Consider which aspects of the
emotion should play the largest role in inspiring your music, then go through each individual
parameter and write down your initial thoughts on how each one can be used to portray the
emotional experience! Use your knowledge of how each parameter can contribute to
storytelling, and don’t worry about being hyper critical of yourself. Trust your gut, and write down
the first things that come to mind for each one!
In the next few pages, we will look at one last example from the Inheritance Cycle. Once
again, a spoiler alert is in effect! In this example we will be analyzing the emotions experienced
in the hours before the Battle of Farthen Dur. The heroes have been warned of a massive army
of Urgles approaching the Dwarven City of Tronjheim. They are being lead by a Powerful shade,
and greatly outnumber both the Varden and Dwarven forces. With only a few days of notice, the
armies have prepared as much as they can, and have sent messengers to all of their allies, with
a warning of what is to come. It is too late to summon reinforcements, and all they can hope is
to give their allies enough heads notice, so that they will not be surprised if the city is taken.
The specific scene we will be analyzing for emotion is the final hours before the battle
begins. The army is summoned, and has prepared as much as they can. Now they can do
nothing more but wait for the approaching threat. Hours pass, and the heroes are left with only
their fear and anxieties of the impending battle.
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Emotion in Music Tool (Example)
Energy Level
1. Impact on heart rate
a. 4
i. The heroes are anxious, with their hearts beating quickly, but the battle
has not yet arrived and the full impact of what is to come hasn’t quite hit
them yet.
2. Impact on breathing
a. 1
i. The heroes are anxious, but their breathing has not changed yet. They
are left with their thoughts as they wait for hours until the battle begins
(even managing to get some sleep).
3. Perception of intensity
a. 4
i.
The anxiety is almost maddening. The heroes dread the upcoming battle,
but almost wish it would hurry up and arrive. The waiting almost feels
worse than the battle itself.
4. Readiness/Surprise factor
a. 2
i.
The news of the approaching army was a surprise, but by this point,
several days have passed, and the surprise has worn off. Now they know
that the impending battle is inevitable.
5. Consequences/impact
a. 5
i.
Everything will ride on the outcome of this battle! If the Varden are
defeated and Eragon and Saphira captured, there will be no more hope of
Galbatorix ever being defeated.
6. How important is this emotion to the story?
a. 3
i. This moment is a defining one, but the emotions themselves don’t impact
the story too much. However, the anxiety that precedes battle becomes a
recurring theme throughout the series, so while this particular experience
isn’t crucial to the story itself, the generalized emotional experience will
return many times.
SCORE = (4 + 1 + 4 + 2 + 5 +3) / 6 = 19 / 6 = 3.2
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Emotional Descriptors
Physical Experience?
1. Impact on heart rate?
a. The character’s heart rates are beating well above average. They are
experiencing an intense and almost maddening amount of anxiety in the hours
before the battle begins. The exact impact on their heart rates probably goes up
and down over time as they wait, and find ways to distract themselves. However,
frequent false alarms result in unpleasant spikes of both their anxiety and heart
rates.
2. Impact on Breathing?
a. The characters’ breathing remains relatively regular, in direct contrast to their
heart rates. The anxiety they experience doesn’t have too severe of an impact on
their breathing patterns until they experience a false alarm, in which the
adrenaline rush forces their hearts to race, and their breathing to match!
3. Impact on comfort level?
a. The characters are deeply uncomfortable. They are left with almost nothing but
their thoughts to occupy them. As the armies make preparations for the battle,
there is no way to escape the heat and fumes being created by the boiling pitch
and torches of the army. The battle is to take place within the giant mountain of
Farthen Dur, and there is no breeze to offer any kind of relief. To make things
even worse, the eerie sound of various soldiers sharpening their weapons
creates a chorus of dissonant, scraping noises that gets on the nerves of
everyone in the area.
4. Any other physical responses to this emotion?
a. While not directly associated with the emotion itself, the characters are
exhausted and stiff. They must stay prepared for battle, and as time stretches by,
their eyes get heavy, and their muscles feel stiff. Eragon manages to get some
sleep but is plagued by nightmares and fits until he is woken by the arrival of the
enemy.
Subjective Experience?
1. Is this a positive or negative emotion?
a. This experience is overwhelmingly negative! The heroes are left with only their
thoughts, as danger unlike anything they have ever experienced draws
relentlessly nearer.
2. Was whatever triggered the emotion expected/unexpected?
a. Yes and no. The news of an approaching army was a very nasty surprise, but
enough time has passed for the characters to understand and accept the news.
Now the fact that war and death are rapidly approaching, is completely
understood, with the knowledge that there is nothing they can do to stop it.
3. Was whatever triggered the emotion event deserved?
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a. No. As far as the characters knew, their location had been secret. They are
unaware of the traitors in their midst and are now left with the dread of having no
idea how the enemy found them.
4. What kind of impact does this emotion have on the character/story?
a. This emotion sets up a pivotal moment in the story; the climactic battle for
Farthen Dur. While the battle itself is incredibly important to the development of
both the characters and story, this particular moment (and its emotional
experience) is not. While this emotional experience will be important to capture in
the scene, it will not be one that needs to inform the identity of the characters’
themes in general.
Desired behavioral response?

1. How do you WANT to react?
a. The characters desperately want to protect their loved ones and the cause that
they fight for. They simultaneously dread the inevitable battle AND wish that it
would just hurry up and arrive. They want to stop sitting with their thoughts, and
actually act on them!
2. How CAN you react?
a. The characters are powerless to affect time. They must wait for the battle to
begin, and can’t make it start sooner. Instead, they must sit patiently, and try to
keep their thoughts and anxieties from getting the better of them.
(optional) What kind of idioms/expressions/metaphors are commonly used to describe this

emotion?
1. Waves of anxiety
2. Cold Dread
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9 Parameters of Music: (Example)
● Tempo
○ The characters are painfully aware of how slowly time is passing before the
battle, so the tempo should have a very slow BPM, and Primary pulse (around
60bpm?)
○ However, there is an important juxtaposition of fast heartbeats and steady
breathing in this emotional experience. There should be a subtle, quicker pulse
just below the surface, in the background. Similar to what we say in “Vogel Im
Kafig”
● Rhythm
○ The primary pulse should have a steady and symmetrical rhythm. Something to
portray the relentless, but the slow passage of time.
○ The secondary pulse should also have a steady and symmetrical rhythm, to keep
with this experience, but it should contribute an ever-so-subtle amount of
syncopation to the general feel of the music.
● Pitch
○ This piece strikes me as being more rhythmic than melodic. I think most of the
pitches used should be dissonant and slow-moving. We’re looking to create more
of an ambiance in this scene than a musical statement.
○ The goal should be to convey some of the discomfort the characters are
experiencing. Two great strategies to accomplish this are to remove any trace of
lyrical and steady melody, as well as to introduce some dissonance to the sound.
○ One option for the melody could be the top line of a homophonic chord
progression, with very little movement and only the most essential embellishing
tones used to give it an identity.
● Articulation
○ The characters experience frequent “false alarms” as messengers run throughout
the camps. One way to try and capture this is to use long, sustained (but
morphing) textures, with accented attacks.
● Harmony
○ Here I think using specific Chord Relationships could work well. In particular,
minor triads separated by a minor third or tritone would fit well with the mood.
Simple minor triad tertiary harmony could also be appropriate. Either way,
non-functional harmony seems like a perfect fit for the seemingly functionless
time spent waiting for the battle to begin.
○ A super slow harmonic rhythm (I’m talking 1 chord per phrase) seems like a solid
strategy for emphasizing how slow time seems to pass, while also contributing to
the atmospheric nature of the music. Additional color tones could be added and
removed at a pace of one to two measures at a time to give an illusion of
forward-moving momentum, without actually changing chords.
55
● Timbre
○ My gut reaction for morphing and atmospheric moments like this tends to be
synths, but that doesn’t seem appropriate for a Tolkien-Fantasy setting. Instead, I
want to try and emulate synths through the use of more traditional instruments.
To this end, I think strings and choir are a perfect combination. They can work
together to create morphing “pads” for harmony (and subtle melody), while the
percussion takes the foreground with the pulse and rhythmic figures.
○ The instrumentation size should ebb and flow, to mimic the emotional spikes of
“false alarms”
○ A strong reverb could be really fun to experiment with since the battle takes place
in a ridiculously massive mountain cavern.
● Register
○ I think the vast majority of this piece should fit in the upper register, with only the
percussion existing in the mid and low registers.
○ Dread is often described as “cold” in many idioms and expressions within
western culture. Sounds are often described as being “cold” when they lack lower
registers and frequencies. Emphasizing the upper register with only
higher-pitched sounds and sparse lower sounds could result in an eerie feeling.
● Dynamics
○ I want to use instrumentation size to manipulate the dynamics of the “pads” as
they morph. Throughout a phrase, some instruments will increase in volume
(crescendo) while others decrease (decrescendo) to create a morphing timbre,
while other instruments join in and drop out periodically to also contribute to the
morphing nature of the sound, AND manipulate the overall volume. The shifts in
volume should be used like waves to portray the ebbing and flowing of anxiety as
false alarms come and go.
● Texture
○ Here the foreground will consist of the primary, slow rhythmic figure.
○ The midground will consist of the ‘melodic’ voices of the harmony
○ The background will consist of the remaining harmonic voices and the secondary
rhythmic figure.
*SPECIAL NOTE: while I dissected this scene and came up with some musical ideas for how to
score the emotion, another entirely valid approach to this type of scene would be to avoid music
altogether! The lack of music can be a fantastic tool for enhancing the realism and seriousness
of scenes like this. If the goal is to make the audience experience the same level of dread and
discomfort of the characters, you shouldn’t underestimate the power of making them sit in
silence with the characters.
56
Emotion and Music
Energy Level
a. 1= resting heart rate, 5 = heart ready to burst
a. 1= no impact, 5 = completely out of breath
a. 1= manageable, 5= overwhelming
a. 1= expected, 5= completely unexpected
a. 1= nothing changes, 5= “This changes, EVERYTHING!”
a. 1= passing event, 5= major plot point.
Score each response, add them together, and divide by 6 to find the “average intensity/energy
level” of the emotion.


emotion?
57
Chapter 5: Developing Musical Ideas
We are rapidly reaching the end of this short book. So far we have discussed three
incredibly rich sources of inspiration that can be found in any story, as well as a framework of 9
musical parameters that can be used to develop themes organically from the material in the
stories themself.
Throughout each chapter of this book an important theme has been the role of time in
how both music and stories unfold. Therefore, I would be completely remiss, if I didn’t at least
mention how this development can be reflected in your music.
So far we have discussed the 9 parameters as a methodology for finding inspiration for
music, but they can also be used as a tool for understanding how to develop it! In every musical
theme you write, there will be some degree of development necessary to keep it from growing
dull. A key strategy navigating this type of development is to start by using the 9 parameters to
understand what your music needs to look like at the beginning of a cue, and how it must look at
the end. A musical Point “A” and point “Z” if you will.
For example, let's say that you are scoring a scene for a movie. You and the director
have talked about what the music needs to do to best serve the story. You want to start the cue
with a rendition of the hero’s theme, and slowly morph into the theme for the opponent. In this
situation, you can start by clearly defining how each of the 9 parameters will be used at both the
beginning of the hero’s theme and the beginning of the opponent’s theme.
Once you’ve done this, take some time to figure out just how each theme differs across
each of the 9 parameters. How is the tempo different in each one? What about harmony, timbre,
tempo, etc.? In his masterful book Music Composition: Craft and Art, Alan Belkin advocates a
similar strategy in which he suggests you assign a number to each parameter to see just how
much it changes (on a scale of one to ten, with one being no change and a ten being the
musical equivalent of shaking an etch-a-sketch; completely unrecognizable). These numbers
serve to not only inform you on how each parameter changes, but which parameters change the
most dramatically!
Your next step is to understand how quickly one theme must transition to the next! Is it a
short cue? Do you only have time for a hint of the hero’s theme before the opponent’s theme
takes over? Is it one of the longest cues in the film, that will take several minutes in order to
complete the transition? Or is it somewhere in between? Once you figure out how much time
you have to transition from one idea to the next, you can put together a plan for what
parameters to change (and by how much) in each beat/measure of the music!
As a general rule of thumb, the slower the transition, the more seamless and fluid the
development will be! Making only small changes to a single parameter at a time will result in a
smooth transition from one idea to the next, while changing multiple parameters at a time will
58
result in a more immediate and jarring difference. Neither is inherently better than the other, but
they are both appropriate in different contexts.
When deciding how to adjust each parameter, you can use these considerations as a
starting point:
● Tempo
○ Increase/decrease the tempo
● Timbre
○ Increase/decrease overall instrumentation
○ Change the tone color of the foreground/midground/background
● Texture
○ Increase/decrease the number of layers being used in the music
○ Shift the types of layers being used
● Rhythm
○ Change the meter
○ Change the rhythmic emphasis within the meter
○ Increase/decrease beat subdivision
○ Increase/decrease the amount of syncopation
○ Add/remove pick-ups
○ Add/remove triplets/dotted rhythms
○ Add/remove counter rhythm
○ Introduce a new rhythmical idea
● Register
○ Increase/decrease the number of registers used across the
foreground/midground/background
○ Shift material into new/different registers
○ Introduce new/unused registers
○ Remove previously used registers
● Dynamics
○ Increase/decrease volume by manipulating dynamics,size, and/or
instrumentation
● Articulation
○ Shift the types of articulations used in the foreground/midground/background
○ Shift the types of performance techniques used in the
● Melody (Pitch)
○ Introduce a new melody/musical idea
○ Restate a previous theme
○ Adjust percentage of chordal tones vs non-chordal tones
○ Adjust use of color tones
○ Consider specific intervals to be used
○ Consider shifts in phrase lengths
○ Consider the shift in general contour shape
59
○ Consider adding/removing a counter melody
● Harmony
○ Change scale type
○ Move tonic
○ Increase/decrease dissonance
○ Increase/decrease harmonic rhythm
○ Arrive at a significant harmony
○ Consider chord types
○ Consider the nature of the harmony (functional or not)
○ Consider cadence types.
And with that, we have reached the end of this book! My sincere wish is that you walk
away from this experience with a deeper appreciation for the relationship of music and story.
Both art forms exist and develop through time. Templates for writing specific types of music can
be incredibly useful for learning how the 9 parameters can be applied to musical storytelling.
However, there is no substitute for approaching a story as a source of inspiration to help
organically grow the music directly from the source!
The story world, characters, and emotions should all be approached as primary sources
of inspiration for your music. Rather than think of how past customs and established templates
can help support a specific story, first begin by seeing how the story itself informs the musical
choices you should make!
No matter where you are in your musical journey, I wish you all the best as you continue
to develop and grow as a vital character in the story of our world and time! Know that all music
you write is intrinsically valuable and beautiful by nature of it being something you have created!
The world contains countless amazing stories, and is made richer and more beautiful
with every contribution you make! So keep studying, keep working hard, and keep writing new
music!
All the best,

Steven, the Tabletop Composer
60
Appendix
9 Parameters of Music: Inspiration for Storytelling
● Tempo
○ How fast/slow should the bpm be?
○ How should the pulse(s) relate to the bpm?
○ Should the tempo increase/decrease at any point?
○ What meter should be used?
● Rhythm
○ Where should the rhythmic emphasis be within the meter?
○ Will the rhythmic emphasis be symmetrical or asymmetrical? Regular or
irregular?
○ How much syncopation should there be? What strategies will be used to make it?
■ Syncopation, pick-ups, triplets, dotted rhythms?
○ What kind of beat subdivisions will be predominant?
○ How frequently will the rhythmic patterns repeat, if at all?
○ What kind of variation can be introduced to each repetition to continue
development?
● Pitch
○ What kind of chordal tone to non-chordal tone ratio will you use?
○ How many color tones will you use? What types?
○ Are there any specific intervals you want to make use of?
○ What kind of contour shape will you use (upward moving vs. downward-moving?
○ Will you be using a countermelody?
● Articulation
○ What kinds of articulations could belong in the music?
○ What kind of performance techniques could benefit the music?
● Harmony
○ The scale type/key
○ The amount of dissonance used
○ The pace of the harmonic rhythm
○ Chord types being used
○ The nature of the harmony (functional or not)
○ Types of cadences used at the end of each phrase and section.
● Timbre
○ How many sound palettes do I need? Why?
○ What instruments should I use?
○ What size instrumentation works best?
○ What performer (or sound library) is playing the music?
○ What kind of space is it recorded in (and the size of the reverb used)
61
○ What types of microphones were used in the recording?
○ What techniques were used to make the recordings?
● Register
○ How many octaves do I want to work with across the entire sound palette?
○ What registers do I want to use?
○ How can I use shifts in the types/number of registers to tell the story?
● Dynamics
○ How will the dynamics change throughout the piece?
○ How will performance techniques, instrument registers, instrumentation size, and
● Texture
○ How many layers are needed to meet the story’s needs?
○ What kinds of layers can best accomplish this?
○ Where in the foreground/midground/background does each layer fit?
○ What kind of contrast can be included between each level to bring depth to the
music?
62
9 Parameters of Music: For developing Ideas
● Tempo
○ Increase/decrease the tempo
● Timbre
○ Increase/decrease overall instrumentation
○ Change the tone color of the foreground/midground/background
● Texture
○ Increase/decrease the number of layers being used in the music
○ Shift the types of layers being used
● Rhythm
○ Change the meter
○ Change the rhythmic emphasis within the meter
○ Increase/decrease beat subdivision
○ Increase/decrease the amount of syncopation
○ Add/remove pick-ups
○ Add/remove triplets/dotted rhythms
○ Add/remove counter rhythm
○ Introduce a new rhythmical idea
● Register
○ Increase/decrease the number of registers used across the
○ Shift material into new/different registers
○ Introduce new/unused registers
○ Remove previously used registers
● Dynamics
○ Increase/decrease volume by manipulating dynamics,size, and/or
instrumentation
● Articulation
○ Shift the types of articulations used in the foreground/midground/background
○ Shift the types of performance techniques used in the
● Melody (Pitch)
○ Introduce a new melody/musical idea
○ Restate a previous theme
○ Adjust percentage of chordal tones vs non-chordal tones
○ Adjust use of color tones
○ Consider specific intervals to be used
○ Consider shifts in phrase lengths
○ Consider the shift in general contour shape
○ Consider adding/removing a counter melody
● Harmony
○ Change scale type
○ Move tonic
63
○ Increase/decrease dissonance
○ Increase/decrease harmonic rhythm
○ Arrive at a significant harmony
○ Consider chord types
○ Consider the nature of the harmony (functional or not)
○ Consider cadence types.
64
Story World and Music
Story World Name:
What important “sub-worlds” does the story explore? What makes them important to the
story/music?
For Each Sub-world:
other?
a. What kinds of religious beliefs, superstitions, traditions, celebrations, and fears
do they have?
b. Do they adhere to these values or do they not practice what they preach?
a. Which sub-worlds are friendly?
b. Which ones are antagonistic to each other?
c. Are there any alliances? Are they genuine or purely political?
d. Do any of them have a particularly dramatic history with each other?
e. Which sub-worlds don’t seem to have any kind of relationship at all?

a. Who has the power?
b. What gives the hierarchy their power?
c. Where do the important characters of the story fit within that hierarchy?
happen?
65
Characters and Music
Character Name:
Character’s Function:
(Hero, Opponent, Ally, Fake-Ally Opponent, Fake-Opponent Ally, Subplot character)
How does it shape who they are in the time of the story?
9. What are the character’s:

a. Needs (both psychological and moral)
b. Desire
c. Values
12. How do each of the above characteristics differ from the other characters?
66
Emotion and Music
Energy Level
a. 1= resting heart rate, 5 = heart ready to burst
a. 1= no impact, 5 = completely out of breath
a. 1= manageable, 5= overwhelming
a. 1= expected, 5= completely unexpected
a. 1= nothing changes, 5= “This changes, EVERYTHING!”
a. 1= passing event, 5= major plot point.
Score each response, add them together, and divide by 6 to find the “average intensity/energy
level” of the emotion.


emotion?
67

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c a l

Translating Worlds, Characters, and Emotions into Music

Steven, the “Tabletop Composer”

Copyright © 2021 Tabletop Composer

my dad for inspiring and fostering my love for music.

my mom for inspiring my love for storytelling.

Chapter 2: Story World as a Source of Inspiration 23

Chapter 3: Characters as a Source of Inspiration 34

Chapter 4: Emotions as a Source of Inspiration 46

Chapter 5: Developing Musical Ideas 59

I was fortunate enough that my graduate program encouraged “interdisciplinary

In this book I approach music as consisting of 9 different parameters: Tempo, Rhythm,

So with that, let’s get started!

1. How fast/slow should the bpm be?

1. Where should the rhythmic emphasis be within the meter?

Continuing with our discussion on melody, it is important to understand the role of

1. What kinds of articulations could belong in the music?

A reductionist definition of harmony could be “the combination of various pitches to make

1. The scale type/key

1. How many sound palettes do I need? Why?

1. How will the dynamics change throughout the piece?

1. How many layers are needed to meet the story’s needs?

Summary and tools

9 Parameters of Music: Inspiration for Storytelling

For Each Sub-world:

3. How does each sub-world view itself in comparison to the others?

5. What are the rules/hierarchy of power in each area?

For Each Sub-world:

3. How does each sub-world view itself in comparison to the others?

5. What are the rules/hierarchy of power in each area?

This information is incredibly important because it can provide immeasurably useful

As a musical storyteller, it is crucial to understand what a character’s desire is, because

After we have spent sufficient time to understand each character as an individual, we

Character’s Function: Ally

3. What are the characters:

5. How do these traits change over the course of the story?

3. What are the character’s:

5. How do these traits change over the course of the story?

Emotion is intimately linked with music! It is an instinctive parameter that almost

3. On a scale of one to five: How intense do you perceive this emotion?

6. On a scale of one to five: How important is this emotion to the story?

1. How does the emotional experience impact your heart rate?

SCORE = (4 + 1 + 4 + 2 + 5 +3) / 6 = 19 / 6 = 3.2

Desired behavioral response?

(optional) What kind of idioms/expressions/metaphors are commonly used to describe this

Desired behavioral response?

(optional) What kind of idioms/expressions/metaphors are commonly used to describe this

All the best,

9 Parameters of Music: Inspiration for Storytelling

For Each Sub-world:

9. How does each sub-world view itself in comparison to the others?

11. What are the rules/hierarchy of power in each area?

9. What are the character’s:

Desired behavioral response?

(optional) What kind of idioms/expressions/metaphors are commonly used to describe this

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