Licks & Riffs : John Williams - Harry Potter Theme


It's not something that's immeditately apparent when you hear it, but the most famous "Hedwig's Theme" from Harry Potter owes a lot to Celtic folk music, and traditional songs like Greensleeves or Scarborough Fair. In particular the rhythm found in the opening bar:

John Williams




Follow the links to Greensleeves and Scarborough Fair above and you'll see they both use the same rhythm of dotted quarter note - eighth note - quarter note in a 3/4 bar. They also use a half-note, quarter note which is also found in the Harry Potter theme.

To show you the similarity a bit more, here, for example is a tune I've just invented, which uses those five notes as a starting point, but sounds much more like a folk tune.

John Williams




One of the main reasons the Harry Potter theme sounds so different is the instrument it's played on - a keyboard instrument called a celeste.

To prove the point, let's hear my tune again with a celeste sound.

John Williams




That's much more spooky, right?!

For more Harry Potter, have a look at the first page of Diagonal Alley, courtesy of our friends at sheetmusicplus:

» View First Page Sample

Sheet Music to buy by John Williams



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John Williams: Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone - sheet music at www.sheetmusicplus.com
John Williams: Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone (Selected Themes from the Motion Picture) Composed by John Williams. For piano. From the motion picture "Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone". Format: piano solo songbook. With color photos. Movies. 48 pages. 9x12 inches. Published by Warner Brothers. (WB.0639B)
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John Williams: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Selected Themes from the Motion Picture) Composed by John Williams. For piano solo. Format: piano solo songbook. With color photos. Movies. 48 pages. Published by Warner Brothers. (WB.0639B)
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"Themes From Harry Potter" Easy Intermediate Piano Solos - from the film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" By John Williams. Edited by Gail Lew. Arranged by Gail Lew. Piano method/supplement. 32 pages. Published by Warner Brothers. (ELM01080)
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Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Deluxe Score Suite for Orchestra. John Williams Signature Edition. Size 10.5x14 inches. 86 pages. Published by Hal Leonard. (4490214)
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Selected Themes from Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Flute By John Williams. Edited by Thom Proctor. Arranged by Victor Lopez. Instrumental collection (educational). Level: 2. 16 pages. Published by Warner Brothers. (0645B)
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