What is a Leitmotif in Film Music?

Film music is composed using various techniques and tricks to impose the listener to recall and recognize various sequences and sounds from the film. Understanding music in film and how it is incorporated to produce an underlying characteristic element of the story is important. Leitmotifs are commonly used throughout film to evoke an emotion that people will remember and recall, but what is a leitmotif in film music and how can it be recognized?

What is a Leitmotif?

If you don’t have a background in music, there’s a good chance that you will not know what a leitmotif is or how the concept works in film or in music. Exactly what is a leitmotif in film music? It’s actually a concept that is underrecognized and largely unknown, even by those who have strong musical backgrounds. A leitmotif in film music represents the smallest single unit or piece of music to include a thematic or structural identity.

What does all of that mean? Leitmotif comes from the German meaning which is a “leading motif” and, although leitmotifs are rarely taught or discussed in music, they are relatively popular in film. A leitmotif is generally a recognizable melody or rhythm that represents specific progression of a chord or series of chords.

What is a Leitmotif in Film Music?

Knowing what a leitmotif is will help you to identify what a leitmotif is in film music. Leitmotifs are not the same as regular motifs in music. They are actually not in the music. They are found almost solely in film music, and can typically be associated with a specific character of the film, place in the film, or setting specific to the film.

Throughout film history there are a number of musical leitmotifs that audiences of all ages could potentially recognize. Even if you are not a music connoisseur and you have virtually no musical background, you can recognize a leitmotif if you hear it.

Think of any movie in which a character enters the scene and a particular piece of music place, for example:

“Whenever Luke (or others) uses the force in the Star Wars movies, a specific piece of music plays, called the “Force” theme.” (Hello Music Theory)

Recognizable leitmotifs

This is a leitmotif in film music. You may recognize many other instances in which musical leitmotifs are utilized in film to announce a character, situation, or place. In fact, throughout many films, characters and situations in the film have their own recognizable leitmotifs which are often included in soundtracks and commonly represented throughout the film.

When you ask, “what is a leitmotif in film music?” The answer that we can provide is that a leitmotif is essentially a snippet of music or sound that is used throughout a film to represent a particular character, setting, or place that offers specific cues as to the upcoming events of the film providing the audience with a feeling of continuity and reminding them of a particular feeling or emotion from a prior instance of character, setting, or place in the film. 

The music is associated with previous instances, and is recognized for similarity producing a sense of continuity from one film to the next, one scene to the next, or otherwise.