Music of Star Wars - wikipedia Music of Star Wars `` Star Wars soundtrack '' redirects here. For the score to the 1977 film, see Star Wars ( soundtrack ). John Williams, composer of the music of all eight Star Wars saga films. The music of the Star Wars franchise is composed and produced in conjunction with the development of the feature films, television series, and other merchandise within the epic space opera franchise created by George Lucas. The music for the primary feature films ( which serves as the basis for the rest of the related media ) was written by John Williams. Williams ' scores for the eight saga films count among the most widely known and popular contributions to modern film music, and utilize a symphony orchestra and features an assortment of fifty recurring musical themes to represent characters and other plot elements : one of the largest caches of themes in the history of film music. Released between 1977 and 2017, the music for the primary feature films was, in the case of the first two trilogies, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and, in select passages, by the London Voices chorus. Williams also scored the seventh and eighth episodes in the franchise 's sequel trilogy, and he is currently slated to score the ninth ( and last ) episode as well. The sequel trilogy was largely orchestrated and conducted by William Ross, and it was performed by a freelance Hollywood orchestra and ( in a few passages ) by the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Additionally, music for several animated television series spinoffs has been written by Kevin Kiner and Ryan Shore. Music for the spin - off films, other television programs, and video games, as well as the trailers of the various installments, were created by various other composers, with this material occasionally revisiting some of Williams ' principal themes, and - with the latest spin - off film, with Williams actually writing a new theme for the composer to use. Michael Giacchino was the composer of the first Anthology film, Rogue One, while John Powell will score the Star Wars film Solo. The scores are primarily performed by a symphony orchestra of varying size joined, in several sections, by a choir of varying size. They each make extensive use of the leitmotif, or a series of musical themes that represents the various characters, objects and events in the films. Throughout all of the franchise, which consists of a total of over 18 hours of music, Williams has written approximately fifty themes in one of the largest, richest collection of themes in the history of film music. Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Films 1.2 Television 1.3 Video games 2 Style 2.1 Inspiration 2.2 Structure 2.3 Performance 3 Orchestration 4 Musical themes in the scores 4.1 Romantic application of Leitmotifs in the score 4.2 Thematic inconsistencies between installments 5 Themes in the `` original trilogy '' 5.1 Star Wars ( A New Hope ) 5.2 The Empire Strikes Back 5.3 Return of the Jedi 6 Themes in the prequel trilogy 6.1 The Phantom Menace 6.2 Attack of the Clones 6.3 Revenge of the Sith 7 Themes in the sequel trilogy 7.1 The Force Awakens 7.2 The Last Jedi 8 Unconfirmed themes 9 Themes in the Anthology films 9.1 First appearance in Rogue One 9.2 First appearance in Solo 10 Concert suites 10.1 From the main episodes 10.2 From the spin - offs 11 Diegetic music 12 Reception 12.1 Awards 12.2 Certifications 13 References 14 External links Overview Films Year Title Composer Conductor Orchestrator Orchestra Choir Saga films 1977 Star Wars John Williams John Williams Herbert W. Spencer London Symphony Orchestra 1980 The Empire Strikes Back London Voices ( women ) Return of the Jedi London Voices ( men ) 1999 The Phantom Menace Conrad Pope John Neufeld London Voices ( SATB ) New London Children 's Choir 2002 Attack of the Clones Conrad Pope Eddie Karam London Voices ( SATB ) Boy choir ( synth ) 2005 Revenge of the Sith London Voices ( SATB ) Boy choir ( synth ) 2015 The Force Awakens John Williams William Ross Gustavo Dudamel John Williams William Ross Hollywood Freelance Studio Symphony Los Angeles Master Chorale ( bass ) 2017 The Last Jedi John Williams William Ross Los Angeles Master Chorale ( SATB, bass ) Spin - off films 2008 The Clone Wars Kevin Kiner John Williams ( themes ) Kevin Kiner Nic Raine Kevin Kiner Nic Raine Takeshi Furukawa City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra 2016 Rogue One Michael Giacchino John Williams ( themes ) Tim Simonec William Ross Tim Simonec Brad Dechter Jeff Kryka Chris Tilton Herbert W. Spencer Hollywood Freelance Studio Symphony Los Angeles Master Chorale 2018 Solo John Powell John Williams ( main theme ) Television Kevin Kiner composed the score to the film Star Wars : The Clone Wars ( 2008 ), the predecessor to the animated TV series of the same name. Both properties loosely use some of the original themes and music by John Williams. Kiner 's own material for the film includes a theme for Anakin Skywalker 's Padawan learner, Ahsoka Tano, as well as a theme for Jabba the Hutt 's uncle Ziro. Kiner went on to score the TV series ' entire six seasons, which concluded in 2014. A soundtrack album was released that same year by Walt Disney Records. Kiner continued his work with the franchise for the animated series Star Wars Rebels ( 2014 ), which also incorporates Williams ' themes. Ryan Shore serves as the composer for Star Wars : Forces of Destiny ( 2017 -- present ). Year Title Composer Additional composers 2008 -- 2014 Star Wars : The Clone Wars Kevin Kiner Takeshi Furukawa David G. Russell Matthew St. Laurent Reuven Herman Russ Howard III 2014 -- present Star Wars Rebels David G. Russell Matthew St. Laurent Sean Kiner 2017 -- present Star Wars : Forces of Destiny Ryan Shore Video games Year Title Composer 1998 Star Wars : Rogue Squadron Chris Huelsbeck Star Wars Rogue Squadron II : Rogue Leader Chris Huelsbeck 2003 Star Wars Rogue Squadron III : Rebel Strike Chris Huelsbeck 2008 Star Wars : The Force Unleashed Mark Griskey Star Wars : The Force Unleashed II Mark Griskey 2015 Star Wars : Battlefront Gordy Haab 2017 Star Wars : Battlefront II Gordy Haab Style Inspiration The scores utilize an eclectic variety of musical styles, many culled from the Late Romantic idiom of Richard Strauss and his contemporaries that itself was incorporated into the Golden Age Hollywood scores of Erich Korngold and Max Steiner. The reasons for this are known to involve George Lucas 's desire to allude to the underlying fantasy element of the narrative rather than the science - fiction setting, as well as to ground the otherwise strange and fantastic setting in well - known, audience - accessible music. Indeed, Lucas maintains that much of the films ' success relies not on advanced visual effects, but on the simple, direct emotional appeal of its plot, characters and, importantly, music. Lucas originally wanted to use tracked orchestral and film music in a similar manner to 2001 : A Space Odyssey, itself a major inspiration for Star Wars. Williams, however, advised to form a soundtrack with recurring musical themes to augment the story, while Lucas 's choice of music could be used as a temporary track for Williams to base his musical choices on. This resulted in several nods or homages to the music of Gustav Holst, William Walton, Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky in the score to Star Wars. Williams relied less and less on references to existing music in the latter seven scores, incorporating more strains of modernist orchestral writing with each progressive score, although occasional nods continue to permeate the music. The love theme from Empire Strikes Back is closely related to Williams ' composition for Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. The score to Revenge of the Sith has clear resemblances to the successful scores of other contemporary composers of the time, namely Howard Shore 's Lord of the Rings, Hans Zimmer 's Gladiator and Tan Dun 's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, with which the movie was most likely scored temporarily. Otherwise, however, his later scores were mostly tracked with music of his own composition, mainly from previous Star Wars films. Yet, In Williams ' score to The Last Jedi he, for the first time in the series, went so as far as to incorporate direct quotes of other compositions, namely `` Aquarela Do Brasil '' by Ary Barroso ( in a nod to the 1985 Terry Gilliam film Brazil ) and from his own theme for The Long Goodbye ( co-composed by Johnny Mercer ). Nevertheless, Williams also started to develop his style throughout the various films, incorporating other instruments, unusual orchestral set - ups ( as well as various choral ensembles ) and even electronic or electronically - attenuated music as the films progressed. Williams often composed the music in a heroic but tongue - in - cheek style. Structure Star Wars was one of the film scores that heralded the revival of grand symphonic scores in the late 1970s. One technique that particularly influenced these scores is Williams ' use of the leitmotif, which was most famously associated with the operas of Richard Wagner and, in early film scores, with Steiner. A leitmotif is a phrase or melodic cell that signifies a character, place, plot element, mood, idea, relationship or other specific part of the film. It is commonly used in modern film scoring as a device for mentally anchoring certain parts of a film to the soundtrack. Of chief importance for a leitmotif is that it must be strong enough for a listener to latch onto while being flexible enough to undergo variation and development along the progression of the story. The more varied and nuanced the use of leitmotif is, the more memorable it typically becomes. A good example of this is the way in which Williams subtly conceals the intervals of `` The Imperial March '' within Anakin 's Theme in The Phantom Menace, implying his dark future to come. Also important is the density in which leitmotifs are used : the more leitmotifs are used in a piece of a given length, the more thematically rich it is considered to be. Film music, however, typically needs to strike a balance between in terms of the number of leitmotives used, so as to not become too dense for the audience ( being preoccupied with the visuals ) to follow. John Williams ' music of Star Wars is unique in that it is relatively dense for film scoring, with approximately 11 themes used in each two - hour film, of which about 90 % is scored. Performance Williams re-recorded some of his suites from the first trilogy with the Skywalker Symphony Orchestra as an album. Several of his later themes were released as singles and music videos, and were later released a collection of suites from the six films as a compilation that played to a series of clips from the films, with sparse dialogue and sound effects. These became the basis for a series of hour - long concerts which featured Star Wars music to images from the films, Star Wars : In Concert, which took place in 2009 and 2010. First performed in London, it went on to tour across the United States and Canada, last playing in London, Ontario, Canada on July 25, 2010. The scores of the first trilogy ( in the form of its Blu - Ray Special Edition release ) and The Force Awakens are performed as Live to Projection concerts, but with greatly reduced forces. The performances follow the music of the finished film, with some of the music looped, tracked or omitted entirely, and do not feature any of the diegetic pieces and often omit the choral parts. Orchestration John Williams sketched the score for his various orchestrations and wrote the music for a full symphony orchestra ( ranging from 79 to 113 players overall ) and, in several passages, chorus ( ranging from 12 to 120 singers overall ) and a few non-orchestral instruments. The orchestration is not consistent throughout the different films, but generally the score makes use of a considerable brass section over a comparatively smaller string section, giving the series its heraldic, brassy sound. Several of the scores require larger forces, including a large ( over 100 - piece ) romantic - period orchestra, a mixed choir and even a boy choir, although none of the scores call for particularly immense forces compared to larger film or theater works. Nevertheless, due to added high woodwinds and percussion parts, scores such as Empire Strikes Back and Attack of the Clones call for 106 and 110 players, respectively. The former called for a third harp and fourth bassoon, while the latter ( and all prequel scores ) utilized a fuller string section. Revenge of the Sith also utilized a second set of timpani. Comparatively, the original Star Wars trilogy and the sequel trilogy films call for much smaller forces of as little as 82 players, and small choral accompaniment in select cues. The first spin off film, Rogue One, followed the prequel trilogy 's instrumentation, using a 110 - piece orchestra and 90 - piece mixed choir. In live performances, the forces are usually greatly reduced : Official Star Wars Concerts were held with as little as 60 - piece orchestras and 50 - piece mixed choral ensembles or with the choir omitted altogether. However, to recreate the eight scores as they were originally recorded, the following instrumentation is required : Woodwinds : 3 - 4 flutes ( all doubling on piccolo, one on alto flute ), 3 - 5 oboes ( one doubling on cor anglais ), 4 clarinets ( one doubling on bass clarinet, one on E-flat clarinet ), 3 bassoons ( one doubling on contrabassoon ). Brass : 6 - 8 horns, 4 trumpets, 3 tenor trombones and 1 bass trombone, 1 - 2 tubas. Percussion : 1 - 2 sets ( 4 - 6 ) of timpani at least three percussionists playing bass drums, tenor drums, snare drums ( including guillotine drums, side drums, military drums ), timbales, toms ( floor tom and hanging toms ), triangle, tambourine, cymbal s ( suspended, sizzle, crash and finger cymbals ), xylophone s, vibraphone, tubular bells, glockenspiel, and anvil on all episodes. Also required are temple blocks ( I ), claves ( II, V, VI ), ratchet ( V - VIII ), marimba ( I, IV, VII - VIII ), bongos ( I, IV, VII - VIII ), congas ( I - III, VI - VII ), log drums ( I, IV, VI - VII ), low wood block ( IV ), bell plates, clappers ( IV ), steel drum ( IV, VIII ), boobam s ( I, IV, VII ), medium gong ( VI - VII ), kendhang, rattle, sistrum, shekere, guiro, bamboo sticks, cowbells, hyoshigi ( VI ), bell tree ( III ), one medium Thai gong ( VI ), three medium chu - daiko drums ( II - III, one for VII - VIII ), washboard ( VIII ). Keyboard : piano, celesta, electric keyboard. Voices : 88 - piece SATB choir ( I - III, VIII ), 30 - piece boy choir, 1 Tibetan Throat Singer ( III ). Strings : 2 harps, 14 - 16 first violins, 12 - 14 second violins, 10 - 12 violas, 10 violoncellos, 6 - 8 double basses. Non-orchestral instruments : Cretan Lyra and cümbüş ( I ), electric guitar ( II ), toy piano ( VI ), kazzo ( VIII ). Musical themes in the scores John Williams wrote a series of themes and motifs for certain characters and ideas in each of the Star Wars films. The multiple installments allowed Williams to compose some 52 themes ( and counting ) and reprise some of them extensively, continually developing them over a long period of screen time. Williams introduced a few themes in each episode ( six themes on average ) and focused on making each of his principal themes long - lined and melodically distinct from the others so as to increase their memorability. Williams occasionally forges small connections between some of these themes, sometimes for a narrative purpose and sometimes in the more general favor of cohesion. This technique allowed him ( especially in his scores to the first trilogy ) to have each theme play out for a large number of occasions ( the Force Theme plays over one hundred times in the series ) and over long periods of time. Each score can be said to have a `` main theme '', which is developed and repeated frequently throughout the film, often to unusual extents ( such as the frequency in which The Imperial March is revisited during Empire Strikes Back ). Besides the main theme and a handful of other principal themes, Williams forged several smaller motifs for each episode, which are generally not as memorable and at times interchangeable. A main theme for the franchise exists as well ( which is the music of the main titles ) but, interestingly, a main theme does not exist to represent a particular trilogy. Instead, each trilogy ( and to a lesser extent, each film ) has its own style or soundscape. Williams ' Star Wars catalog remains one of the largest collections of leitmotifs in the history of cinema, although it still falls short of Wagner 's use of leitmotifs in the Ring Cycle or even Howard Shore 's work on the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings films. Both works feature many more themes for a similar or shorter running time ; and use the themes more clearly and with more nuance, where Williams prefers to write fewer themes ( to allow him to focus on them better ) and use them in a more straightforward manner and sometimes, solely for their romantic effect. Shore and Wagner 's themes are also inter-related and arranged into sets of subsets of related themes through various melodic or harmonic connections, whereas Williams prefers greater distinction between his themes. Romantic application of leitmotifs in the score Williams ' use of his themes in Star Wars is at times romantic rather than strictly thematic, the themes sometimes being used randomly because their mood fits a certain scene, rather than for a narrative purpose. For instance, the theme for Luke Skywalker is also used as the main theme for the entire franchise, as well as a generic `` heroic theme '' in conjunction with various characters without any connection to its namesake. Princess Leia 's Theme is used for the death of Obi - Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars, which has little to do with her character even though she is present in the scene. Yoda 's Theme appears several times during the Cloud City sequences in The Empire Strikes Back. The concert piece Duel of the Fates is used several times throughout the prequel trilogy, appearing over the entire final battle in The Phantom Menace ( as opposed to just the lightsaber duel for which it was written ) ; Anakin Skywalker 's search for his mother in Attack of the Clones ; and the unrelated Yoda and Darth Sidious 's duel in Revenge of the Sith. Williams ' original composition for the Geonosis Battle Arena in Attack of the Clones was used for the Utapau assault in Revenge of the Sith. Multiple uses of the Force Theme are also non-thematic. The Rebel Fanfare is applied to the Millennium Falcon throughout the original Star Wars, The Force Awakens, and The Last Jedi. It is also used for R2 - D2 's heroics during the opening action scene in Revenge of the Sith. Kylo Ren 's secondary theme, meant to evoke his more conflicted side, is often used interchangeably with his main theme, in a similarly menacing setting. The Emperor 's theme is used in The Last Jedi when Supreme Leader Snoke tortures Rey. Even the melodic connections between some of the themes sometimes do not represent a straightforward dramatic purpose, such as the connection of `` Across the Stars '' to Count Dooku 's motif and the Battle of Geonosis in Attack of the Clones. In fact, Some of Williams ' themes are written from the outset purely to convey a certain mood rather than evoke a character or setting, such as the Throne Room music of the original Star Wars or the Pursuit motif from The Force Awakens. Some of this music was re-tracked into other parts of the film, or even another film in the series, by the filmmakers. Attack of the Clones, the first film to be shot digitally, had major edits made after the scoring process, leading to the inclusion of tracked music over many of the digitally - created sequences such as the Droid Factory on Geonosis or the Clone Army 's arrival to the battle. These scenes used music such as Yoda 's theme or incidental music from The Phantom Menace with little dramatic connection to what is occurring on screen. In the original Star Wars, some of the music for the Death Star 's Trash Compactor scene was used over an extended shot of the arrival into Mos Eisley inserted in the film 's Special Edition. Musical similarities exist between the final scenes of The Phantom Menace with Finn 's confession to Rey in The Force Awakens, probably a result of temp - track choice. In other cases, the material was n't tracked but rather lifted from the original composition and re-recorded, such as in the big action scenes of Return of the Jedi, both of which lift material from the Battle of Yavin and Ben 's death. Other composers for the franchise used Williams ' principal themes in their own compositions, whether it be for the trailers to the main films, spin - off films, television series, or video games. More often than not, these composers also use the principal themes more for their emotional effect for their respective projects. Michael Giacchino, for instance, uses the Force Theme in some of the scenes where Rogue One 's Starship takes off. Thematic inconsistencies between installments Because Williams scores one episode at a time and attempts to base each score on new material as much as possible, the musical material does not have a particularly cohesive structure as a whole : the themes for each score are only devised during each film 's post-production, so Williams will often come up with a new theme that, in hindsight, would have been preferably introduced, at least in embryonic form, in a previous score : This can be said for the love theme `` Across the Stars '' ( for Anakin Skywalker and Padmé Amidala ), introduced only in `` Attack of the Clones '' or even `` The Imperial March '', introduced in Empire Strikes Back. The same can be said about some themes only composed for the prequels ( such as Duel of the Fates ), which would have been perfectly applicable to the films in the first trilogy, had they been produced in the narrative order. In fact, since the prequels featured both their own stock of leitmotives and recurring themes from the previous films, they boasted a larger catalog of themes, whereas the use of the leitmotifs in a cycle of works typically involves increasing density towards the later installments in the narrative order. Also, the themes in the prequels appear in shorter, blockier statements and the motives themselves are often short, rhythmic ideas, as opposed to longer melodies used in the first trilogy. Also, in the prequels the motives are often associated with places and events, rather than with characters as they are in the rest of the scores, creating a further discrepancy in the musical narrative. Even within each trilogy, Williams often abandons a motif after a single score or two ( as he did with Anakin 's theme ), writes ( across several films ) multiple motifs that serve a similar function ( e.g. the Rebel fanfare, the Throne Room March and the Triumph Fanfare in Return of the Jedi ), or writes a motif that he only uses in one installment, such as the Droid motif. In other cases, a motif is supplanted by a new one, as the Imperial March replaced the original, Imperial motif - a problem only confounded when he returned to that theme with the prequels, only for it to disappear entirely for what is now supposed to be the fourth episode ; sometimes, the existing motif simply changes its thematic meaning : Ben Kenobi 's theme turned into a theme for The Force by Empire Strikes Back, and Luke 's theme - into the `` Star Wars theme ''. The Last Jedi, specifically, departs from Williams method of relying primarily on new thematic material, and instead relies heavily on pre-existing themes, in keeping with Johnson 's temp - track choices. As a result, a number of themes and motifs from the previous films are constantly repeated, often in very familiar settings, such as statements of Yoda 's and Leia 's theme that are lifted from the concert arrangements, a reprise of the Binary Sunset rendition of the Force theme, and recurring statements of Rey 's and Kylo 's themes. There are some incidental phrases similar to existing themes such as Battle of the Heroes, The Immolation scene, etcetra, and some deliberate, tongue - in - cheek references, such as a quote of the Death Star motif for a scene with a clothes iron that is shot to look like a landing Star Destroyer. Listed below are 51 leitmotifs identified in Williams ' scores ( and another one written by Williams for John Powell 's upcoming score to Solo ) thus far, although a few of them could be contested. Other pieces of music, described either erroneously or tenuously as leitmotifs, are discussed under `` unconfirmed leitmotifs '' below. Themes in the `` original trilogy '' Overture The main Star Wars theme, first `` ' hard ' '' theme Overture Second `` ' soft ' '' motive Problems listening to these files ? See media help. Star Wars ( a new Hope ) `` Luke 's Theme ( Star Wars theme ) '' `` The Rebel Fanfare '' `` Ben Kenobi 's Theme ( The Force Theme ) '' `` Princess Leia 's Theme '' `` Imperial motif '' `` Death Star motif '' `` Jawa Theme '' `` Throne Room Victory March '' Rebel Fanfare originally heard in `` Star Wars '' Ben Kenobi 's theme ( The Force Theme ) Princess Leia 's Theme originally heard in `` Star Wars '' Problems listening to these files ? See media help. The Empire Strikes Back Returning : Throne Room Victory March ; Luke 's Theme ; The Rebel Fanfare ; The Force Theme ; Princess Leia 's Theme `` The Imperial March '' ( Darth Vader 's Theme ) `` Han Solo and the Princess '' ( help info ) `` Yoda 's Theme '' ( help info ) : `` Droids motif '' `` Cloud City March '' `` Boba Fett motif '' Return of the Jedi Returning : Spaceship Battle Motif ; Luke 's Theme ; The Rebel Fanfare ; The Force Theme ; Princess Leia 's Theme ; The Imperial March ; Han Solo and the Princess ; Yoda 's Theme `` Parade of the Ewoks '' ( help info ) Primitive Ewok Theme `` Jabba The Hutt Theme '' `` The Emperor 's Theme '' `` Triumph Fanfare '' `` Brother and Sister motif '' `` Luke and Leia Theme '' `` Spaceship Battle motif '' Themes in the prequel trilogy The Phantom Menace Returning : Luke 's Theme, The Rebel Fanfare, The Force Theme, The Imperial March, Yoda 's Theme, Jabba 's Theme, The Emperor 's Theme `` Duel of the Fates '' `` Anakin 's Theme '' `` Droid Invasion March '' `` Qui - Gon 's motif '' `` Darth Maul 's motif '' `` Jar Jar 's Theme '' Attack of the Clones Returning : Shmi 's Theme ; Luke 's Theme, The Rebel Fanfare, The Force Theme, The Imperial March, The Emperor 's Theme, Anakin 's Theme, Trade Federation March, Duel of the Fates `` Across the Stars '' `` Dooku motif '' `` Mystery arpeggio '' `` Kamino Theme '' `` Pastoral Courtship motif '' `` Shmi 's Theme '' Revenge of the Sith Returning : Jedi Funeral Theme, Coruscant Fanfare ; Luke 's Theme, The Rebel Fanfare, The Force Theme, The Imperial March, The Emperor 's Theme, Anakin 's Theme, Trade Federation March, Duel of the Fates, Across the Stars `` Battle of the Heroes '' `` General Grievous ' Theme '' `` Lament for Anakin theme '' `` Mustafar motif '' `` Funeral Theme '' `` Coruscant Fanfare '' Themes in the sequel trilogy The Force Awakens Returning : Luke 's Theme, The Rebel Fanfare, The Force theme, Leia 's Theme, The Imperial March, Han Solo and the Princess `` Rey 's Theme '' `` Kylo Ren 's Theme '' `` Kylo Ren 's Conflicted Theme '' `` First Order Motif '' `` March of the Resistance '' `` Pursuit ostinato '' `` Poe Dameron 's Theme '' `` Snoke 's Theme '' The Last Jedi Returning : Luke 's Theme, The Rebel Fanfare, The Force Theme, Leia 's Theme, Yoda 's Theme, Luke and Leia, Han Solo and the Princess, The Imperial March, Spaceship Battle Motif, The Emperor 's Theme, Poe 's Theme, Rey 's Theme, Kylo Ren 's themes, Snoke 's Theme `` Rose Tico 's theme '' `` Luke 's Island motif '' `` Desperation motif '' Unconfirmed themes Since neither Williams nor his office ever provided a full list of the leitmotifs used in every Star Wars film, there is some controversy around the exact number of themes, with some taking an inclusive approach that identifies various leitmotifs, even where the composer probably never intended for, and others taking an exclusive approach. One of the key differences between the two approaches in the way in which Williams ' main, long themes are approached : some view them as comprised of several leitmotives that can appear ( once or several times ) in isolation from the unabridged theme, and may even represent a different facet of the plot element or character that the theme stands for, while others see them as a single theme with multiple components, which can appear in fragmented form by use of only one of the said components to suggest the entire theme. The featured list of themes follows what could be deduced to be Williams own approach, seeing as how he - in his liner notes - did n't refer to such pieces as the B - phrase of Luke 's theme, or the ostinato accompaniment or B - phrase of the Imperial March, distinct as they are, as separate thematic ideas. Its also, largely, the approach taken by Matessino and Adams. Certain analysts will also list a single melody multiple times under various guises. For instance, the emperor 's theme can also be labeled separately ( in the same glossary ) as the `` dark side '' theme, Darth Sidius ' theme, etc... The inclusive approach also tends to identify leitmotives even where they do n't meet the criteria of recurrence. This is the result of Williams ' propensity ( in these scores and otherwise ) to write material that is either melodic, rhythmic, harmonic or timbral specifically to an individual setpiece or none - recurring plot - element in the film, such as The Battle of Hoth, the Chase through Coruscant, or The Battle of Crait. These individual pieces of music have sometimes been described as having thematic significance, occasionally ( in fleeting comments ) even by Williams himself, but since they do not recur in a different part of the narrative, they are not truly thematic in any way. Even when some of these figures do recur, it is often unclear whether they are substantial enough to be assigned with thematic significance, as these instances often includes material that is incidental in nature ( such as several figures used in the finale of The Empire Strikes Back ) ; material that is purely rhythmic or timbral like various `` bouncing '' horn figures for Luke 's landspeeder search in the original Star Wars, the use of the synthesizer to represent Vader 's menace in The Empire Strikes Back, a women 's chorus for the underwater scenes of The Phantom Menace ; material that is of a generic nature, such as his use of `` mournful homophonic '' choir in The Last Jedi for climactic moments ; or material that is part of Williams ' stylistic choices as a composer, more than a thematic statement unique to the series. For instance, his use of tritones often denotes mystery, a device he uses for the droids landing on Tatooine and again in the concert arrangement of `` The Throne Room. '' He uses a related device to reflect the mystery of Luke 's whereabouts in The Force Awakens. However, similar devices are also used in Indiana Jones to represent the mysteries of the Ark and the Crystal Skull. Hence, it is more of a way for Williams to evoke mystery, than a motif conceived specifically for any one of these scores. Similarly, other gestures taken from pre-existing music ( such as Williams ' use of the Dies Irae melody to denote impending doom ) have been falsely identified as leitmotifs, even though Williams clearly described sections of music that rely on this gesture, such as his original take of the binary sunset, as non-thematic. In fact, sometimes the supposedly recurring material is similar, but not in fact identical. A good example would be the variety of gestures relating to the dark side, following a piece of music used in the opera - house scene. Lehamn however clarifies that those alleged following statements are `` similar but inexact '' to the earlier gesture. In other cases, variations on the same thematic ideas are erroneously labeled as two or more separate themes, such as a secondary droid motif or a motif for Anakin 's immolation, which is in fact a variation on his lament theme. Sometimes, the recurring material is question is not part of the original composition but is rather tracked after - the - fact, or at least lifted, from existing material into a different section of the film. This includes the Podracing fanfare and the ostinato accompaniment of the Rebel Fanfare, which otherwise does n't appear isolated from the unabridged theme more than once ; the mournful writing for French horn at Shmi 's funeral, the Arena March from Attack of the Clones etc. Even within the featured list of themes, some of the motifs are not entirely beyond questioning. The Jawa theme, for instance, is technically setpiece - specific ( with only a short segue to the Imperial material breaking it up ) ; The Throne Room March does n't have a clear association with any narrative element and therefore is `` certainly not a theme in the leitmotivic sense '' according to Adams, and similar doubts can be cast at some of the infrequent motives such as the quote of the `` Coruscant '' fanfare during Revenge of the Sith, the triumph fanfare from Return of the Jedi, the mystery arpeggios from Attack of the Clones, Shmi 's music, etc... Themes in the Anthology films Michael Giacchino, the composer of Rogue One The first Star Wars Anthology score for Rogue One, written by Michael Giacchino, utilizes several themes ( and recurring interstitial material ) from John Williams, mostly for their Romantic sweep ( such as The Force Theme and hints of the Main Theme ). It has its own catalog of themes, independent from Williams ' material, including a new, third theme for the Empire, although Giacchino also quotes both the original Imperial Motif and The Imperial March. First appearance in Rogue One Jyn 's Theme Hope Theme Guardians of the Whills Theme Imperial Theme ( Krennic 's Theme ) First appearance in solo For Solo, John Williams will contribute a theme for the character Han Solo ; all other leitmotifs and other material will be written and adapted by John Powell, the main composer for the film. Han Solo 's Theme Concert suites Instead of offering a full recording release of a particular film, Williams typically releases a condensed score on album, in which the music is arranged out of the film order and more within the veins of a concert program. These album releases typically include several concert suites, written purely for the end credits or the album itself, where a specific theme is developed continuously throughout the piece. Williams also re-edited some of his existing cues after the fact in order to `` concertize '' theme on the behest of conductors such as Charles Gerhardt. Five of the eight films also have unique credit suites that features alternate concert arrangements of themes and / or a medley of the main themes of a particular film. From the main episodes From Star Wars `` Princess Leia 's Theme '' From The Empire Strikes Back `` The Imperial March '' `` Yoda 's Theme '' `` Han Solo and the Princess '' From Return of the Jedi `` Parade of the Ewoks '' `` Luke and Leia '' From The Phantom Menace `` Duel of the Fates '' `` Anakin 's Theme '' `` The Flag Parade '' From Attack of the Clones `` Across the Stars '' From Revenge of the Sith The album does not feature a dedicated suite, but rather an edited - down form of the film cues featuring `` Battle of the Heroes. '' From The Force Awakens `` Rey 's Theme '' `` March of the Resistance '' `` Scherzo for X-Wings '' From The Last Jedi `` The Rebellion is Reborn '' From the spin - offs From Rogue One `` Jyn Erso and Hope Suite '' `` The Imperial Suite '' `` The Guardians of the Whills Suite '' Diegetic music Diegetic music is music `` that occurs as part of the action ( rather than as background ), and can be heard by the film 's characters ''. In addition to the orchestral scope that was brought on by John Williams ' musical score, the Star Wars franchise also features many distinguishing diegetic songs that enrich the detail of the audio mise - en - scène. Some of this diegetic music was written by John Williams ; some by his son, Joseph ; and some by various other people. From Star Wars `` Cantina Band '' and `` Cantina Band # 2 ''. Written by John Williams, it is played in the Mos Eisley Cantina on Tatooine. It is written for solo trumpet, three saxophones, clarinet, Fender Rhodes piano, steel drum, synthesizer and various percussion, including boobams and toms. According to the Star Wars Customizable Card Game, the diegetic title for the first Cantina band piece is `` Mad About Me ''. The liner notes for the 1997 Special Edition release of the Star Wars soundtrack describe the concept behind these works as `` several creatures in a future century finding some 1930 's Benny Goodman swing band music... and how they might attempt to interpret it ''. This piece also appears on an all the outtakes easter eggs on the DVDs from episode I and II and on the bonus disc of the 2004 original trilogy DVD set. From Return of the Jedi `` Jabba 's Baroque Recital ''. Mozart-esque John Williams composition ( featuring a synthesized harpsichord ) played while 3PO and R2 first arrive and play Jabba the message from Luke Skywalker. `` Lapti Nek ''. Written by Joseph Williams and translated into Huttese, this is played by the Max Rebo Band in Jabba the Hutt 's palace ( in the original cut of the movie ). `` Jedi Rocks '' ( composed by Jerry Hey ). This was composed to replace Lapti Nek for the 1997 Special Edition of the film. `` Max Rebo Band Jams ''. Heard twice in the film, once after Jabba sends the Wookiee Chewbacca to jail, and again on Jabba 's Sail Barge ( hence its title ). A recording of the first can be found on the official Star Wars Soundboards. `` Ewok Feast '' and `` Part of the Tribe ''. By John Williams. Heard when Luke and company were captured by the Ewoks and brought to their treehouses. `` Ewok Celebration ''. The Victory Song, whose lyrics were written by Joseph Williams, can be heard at the end of the original release of Return of the Jedi. `` Victory Celebration ''. By John Williams. The Victory Song at the end of the Return of the Jedi 1997 re-edition. From The Phantom Menace `` Tatooine Street Music ''. Joseph Williams wrote four separate pieces of unusual, vaguely Eastern sounding source music for the streets of Mos Espa, featuring a player on Cretan Lyra and Cumbus, and a solo, wailing female vocal. `` Augie 's Municipal Band ''. By John Williams. Music played during the peace parade at the end of the film. Its a sped - up, attenuated trumpet and boy choir composition. It is closely related to the emperor 's theme, but is n't an outright quote of it. From Attack of the Clones `` Dex 's Diner '' `` Unknown Episode II Source Cue ''. A second source cue is credited to Joseph Williams ' name for Episode II, but is not heard in the film. `` Arena Percussion ''. Originally meant to accompany the Droid Factory sequence, Ben Burtt 's attempt at composition is instead shifted to the arena, replacing the predominantly unused John Williams cue `` Entrance of the Monsters. '' From The Force Awakens `` Jabba Flow '' and `` Dobra Doompa ''. Written by Lin - Manuel Miranda and J.J. Abrams, these songs were played at Maz Kanata 's castle. From The Last Jedi `` Canto Bight ''. Written by John Williams, it appears when Finn and Rose first arrive to the casino planet of Canto Bight. It is written in the style of big - band jazz and is stylistically akin to the `` Cantina Band '' music from Star Wars. The track features solo alto saxophone, two bass saxophones, solo clarinet, trombones, kazoo, Fender Rhodes piano, bass, synthesizers, steel drums, and various percussion, including washboards. The track briefly quotes `` Aquarela do Brasil '' ( which also features hi - hat and ride cymbals ) by Ary Barroso as a reference to the 1985 Terry Gilliam film Brazil, and includes a brief piano statement of Williams ' and Johnny Mercer 's theme from The Long Goodbye. Reception Awards The score for the original Star Wars film of 1977 won John Williams the most awards of his career : an Oscar at the 50th Academy Awards for Original Score a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score at the 35th Golden Globe Awards a BAFTA Award for Best Film Music at the 32nd British Academy Film Awards in 1978 Three awards at the 1978 Grammy Awards for Best Instrumental Composition, Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special and Best Pop Instrumental Performance He also received the 1977 Saturn Award for Best Music for both the Star Wars score and his score for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Williams 's score for the 1980 sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, also earned him a number of awards : BAFTA Award for Best Film Music at the 34th British Academy Film Awards in 1980 two awards at the 1981 Grammy Awards for Best Instrumental Composition and Best Album Of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture Or A Television Special The Empire Strikes Back was also nominated in 1981 for Best Original Score the 53rd Academy Awards ( the award was won by Michael Gore for Fame ). Williams 's subsequent Star Wars film music was nominated for a number of awards ; in 1984 his score for Return of the Jedi was nominated for Best Original Score at the 56th Academy Awards. His compositions for the prequel trilogy also received nominations : the score for The Phantom Menace was nominated for Best Instrumental Composition at the 2000 Grammy Awards and Revenge of the Sith was nominated at the 2006 Grammy Awards for Best Soundtrack Album. In 2005 the 1977 soundtrack for Star Wars was voted as the `` most memorable film score of all time '' by the American Film Institute in the list AFI 's 100 Years of Film Scores, based on the assessment of a jury of over 500 artists, composers, musicians, critics and historians from the film industry. In 2016, John Williams was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Score, his 50th overall nomination, for his score to Star Wars : The Force Awakens. He would later go on to win the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media for the film, his 23rd Grammy win overall. Certifications The soundtracks to both Star Wars and Star Wars Episode I : The Phantom Menace have been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least 1 million units, with the albums for The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode II : Attack of the Clones being certified Gold ( 500,000 units ). The British Phonographic Industry certified Star Wars and Episode I as Gold for shipments of over 100,000 units in the UK. References Jump up ^ For this later trilogy, Williams ' schedule was spread over a longer period of time, which required him to start composing and producing some of the music during the film 's editing, which is unusual for Williams who usually only composes once he sees the finished film. Nevertheless, director Rian Johnson has settled dubious rumors about the film being edited to the music. Jump up ^ `` 5 Highlights from Star Wars Forces of Destiny : `` The Padawan Path '' StarWars.com ``. StarWars.com. 2017 - 07 - 06. Retrieved 2017 - 08 - 23. Jump up ^ Williams generally uses the choir for texture, as humming or wordless voices. Several sections rely on repeated syllables in Sanskrit, as is the case of Duel of the Fates or Snoke 's theme. While the syllables are drawn from ( loosely ) translated texts such as Cad Goddeu or the writing of Kipling, Williams typically arranges them by ear and without heed to their meaning, so the choral text remains repetitive and meaningless. In other instances, the choir repeats a short albeit coherent sentence, such as with the Funeral theme or Anakin 's Dark Deeds. Jump up ^ Including all the alternate takes of the recording, Williams has recorded just under 21 hours of music for the series, although much of it remains unreleased. Jump up ^ Women were used for the special edition rescoring. Jump up ^ `` Dudamel Conducts Some Music for New ' Star Wars ' Film ''. The New York Times. December 15, 2015. Jump up ^ This orchestra consists of a group of individually contracted freelanced musicians, rather than being an organised orchestra that plays regularly as a group. Jump up ^ according to the closing credit roll Jump up ^ `` ' Star Wars : The Clone Wars ' TV Series Soundtrack Announced ''. Film Music Reporter. November 4, 2014. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Kevin Kiner to Score ' Star Wars Rebels ' ''. Film Music Reporter. April 21, 2014. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015. Jump up ^ Burlingame, Jon ( February 8, 2012 ). `` Spielberg and Lucas on Williams : Directors reminisce about collaborating with Hollywood 's greatest composer ''. The Film Music Society. Archived from the original on December 23, 2015. Retrieved December 23, 2015. Jump up ^ That particular score was first intended to be tracked with existing music from the classical repertoire or from older film scores, as was the case of 2001 : A Space Odyssey, which inspired George Lucas to write the film. After Williams convinced Lucas to have an original score ( which would excel a tracked score in that it will have set themes for characters, Williams argued ), those musical pieces were used as a temp track and Williams followed them closely, turning portions of the score into an homage to earlier film score and to romantic music in general. ^ Jump up to : Doug Adams, Sounds of the Empire : Analysing the themes of the Star Wars Trilogy, in : Film Score Monthly ( Volume 4, number 5 ), pp. 22 - 47. Jump up ^ These inspirations are evident in some of the orchestration choices, including the wide use of a SATB choir and boy choir and even a soloist ( including a moaning woman in `` Padme 's Ruminations '', similar to Lisa Gerard 's vocal work in Gladiator ). The orchestra was augmented with a second set of timpani as was the case with Shore 's Lord of the Rings scores, and with taiko drums, which have been used extensively by Shore and Zimmer. In particular, Anakin 's Dark Deeds with the humming boy choir opening leading into a Gothic piece for an adult choir, is evocative of `` The Treason of Isengard ''. Several tracks, including the music to the opening of the film, evoke the rhythmic music of the Orcs. http://www.filmscoremonthly.com/articles/2005/11_Apr---FSM_Forum_Star_Wars_Episode_III.asp http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/11905-where-did-jw-get-his-idea-for-anakins-dark-deed/ ^ Jump up to : http://www.musicweb-international.com/film/jwilliamsinterview.html Jump up ^ `` Episode 69 : Rian Johnson On The Music Of Star Wars & Other Movies ''. audioBoom. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 01. Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2527336/soundtrack?ref_=tt_trv_snd Jump up ^ Star Wars, liner notes. Jump up ^ It should be noted that using a leitmotifs merely as a `` stand - in '' for a character would be a devolved form of using leitmotifs, compared to the operatic practice. A theme can be used symbolically, such as hinting at Darth Vader 's theme when the decision to train Anakin is made in Episode I. Jump up ^ Williams full score often slightly overtakes the length of the film due to the recording of concert suites and several alternate takes. However, the amount of music written for the film proper varies from 80 percent, to scoring effectively the entire film. The finished film is always subjected to tracking, looping and muting ( especially Attack of the Clones ), so about 85 % of each finished film is scored. Jump up ^ http://www.playbill.com/article/five-time-oscar-winner-john-williams-talks-bringing-star-wars-scores-to-the-new-york-philharmonic Jump up ^ http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/27124-star-wars-live-to-projection-concerts-begins-september-2017-david-newman-conducting-new-york-philharmonic/&page=4 Jump up ^ Episode III required 109 players ( not including the conductor ) due to expanded string and percussion sections. http://www.jw-collection.de/scores/epi3_stuff.htm http://soundtrackfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/John-Williams-London-Symphony-Orchestra-Star-Wars.jpg The Empire Strikes Back required 104 players, not including the conductor or synthesizer ( rhttp://www.jw-collection.de/scores/tesblp.htmecalls ) due to the inclusion of a fourth flute, and sections that required a third harp, five oboes overall, an added piccolo and eight percussionists overall. If the Empire Strikes Back is to augmented with the string section size of Revenge of the Sith or the Skwalker Symphony Recording, it would require about 112 players and a small women choir. A Star Wars in Concert production that would follow the orchestration of the recording, would have to feature some of the expansions of the various episodes, requiring about 110 players, as well as the mixed choir and possibly the bass choir. Jump up ^ Star Wars and the sequel trilogy film use an 84 - piece arrangement, with the latter also incorporating a 24 - piece men choir. Empire Strikes Back uses 106 pieces and about ten women vocalists, Return of the Jedi uses a 100 - piece orchestra, about ten men, and a few women for the Special Edition ; The Phantom Menace uses a 100 - piece orchestra, 88 - piece SATB choir and 30 boys ; Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith use a 112 - piece orchestra, 89 - piece SATB choir and a synthesized boy choir. Jump up ^ Star Wars Concerts were held with as few as 130 performers, and some Live to Projection Concerts can therefore by played by as few as sixty players. By comparison, each of Howard Shore 's Middle Earth scores require a minimum of 230 musicians to stage ( ranging to as many as 500 ), and several stage works such as Gurre Lieder or Mahler 's Eighth Symphony can range from 300 to over a thousand musicians. Neverthless, amateur performances ( like the NJYS Playathon ) of Williams score, among other film scores ( including the aforementioned Howard Shore ones ) have utilized orchestral forces of 450 - piece or more. Jump up ^ The Last Jedi used 101 instrumental players ( including the diegetic band ), probably a result of added percussion and high woodwind players, a 65 - piece SATB choir, and a few additional pieces for the all - male choir. Jump up ^ Keyes, Allison ( July 24, 2010 ). `` ' Star Wars In Concert ' Puts The Force In The Music ''. NPR. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015. The Live to Projection presentations also feature various reductions, namely in the brass section, in line with Williams ' reduced orchestration for his `` Star Wars Suite '', and generaly omit the unusual orchestrations of Empire Strikes Back and synthesize or remove the choral parts The roster is between 50 and 90 pieces. http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/27124-star-wars-live-to-projection-concerts-begins-september-2017-david-newman-conducting-new-york-philharmonic/&page=4 https://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1718/WilliamsStarWarsANewHope.pdf Jump up ^ Star Wars used a 3.2. 3.2 arrangement and 3 saxophones, Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi used a 4.3. 4.3 arrangement. The prequels use a 3.3. 4.3 arrangements, and the sequel trilogy uses 3.3. 3.3. Sections of Empire Strikes Back, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith which have to do with depictions of machines such as Imperial Walkers or Droids feature an added piccolo and two oboes. Empire Strikes Back also features a fourth bassoon for Boba Fett, and Return of the Jedi features two recorders for the Ewoks. The Phantom Menace features one. Jump up ^ Star Wars used an 8.4. 3.2 arrangement ; Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi added a bass trombone and the former had horns 1 - 6 doubling on Wagner Tubas. The Skywalker Symphony recording added a fifth trumpet. Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones removed the second Tuba. The Sequel scores are recorded in a 6.4. 4.1 arrangement. Jump up ^ two sets for Revenge of the Sith only. Jump up ^ Most of the episodes feature six percussionists, although sections of the prequels and Empire Strikes Back require as many as eight, including two Xylophone parts, etc. Star Wars, however, only requires only three and the sequel trilogy requires four. Jump up ^ https://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1718/John-Williams-Star-Wars-The-Empire-Strikes-Back.pdf ; https://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1718/John-Williams-Star-Wars-Return-of-the-Jedi.pdf ; https://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/program-notes/1718/John-Williams-Star-Wars-The-Force-Awakens.pdf Jump up ^ Star Wars featured one player on a piano and a second player on celesta. The second player also doubles on Electric Piano. For select sections of Empire Strikes Back, both played on pianos. The scores also used synthesizers for electronic sounds and to mimic the Celesta ( a real Celesta was not used since Return of the Jedi ) and the Harpsichord ( for Return of the Jedi and Attack of the Clones ). In the Skywalker Symphony recording, one player doubles on all keyboards. From Attack of the Clones going forward, the synth is performed by the electric keyboard player. Jump up ^ Malone, p. 34. Williams uses the choir infrequently. Empire Strikes Back used a choir of ten women for a brief passage, and Return of the Jedi featured about 12 men for a small selection of cues. The sequel trilogy uses 24 men only for Snoke 's theme, which is slightly more than the number of bass singers present in a typical 80 - piece choir. The Last Jedi features a 64 - piece SATB choir and Snoke 's Bass chorus. The prequel trilogy uses a mixed choir ( 88 - piece ) and, for brief cues, a boy choir ( often synthesized ) and even short solo roles for a soprano and a male overtone singer, which was probably synthesized. Jump up ^ Star Wars used a string roster of 14.12. 10.10. 6, and the two sequels feature two added contrabass parts. The prequels featured a fuller section of 16.14. 12.10. 8, as does the Skywalker Symphony recording. The sequel films, however, return to the roster of the original Star Wars. Most of the installments use two harps, although sections of Empire Strikes Back featured a third harp, while the Skwalker Symphony recording only used one. Jump up ^ Williams is not usually keen to stray far from the orchestral instrumentation. The Cretan Lyra and Cumbus are used briefly for diegetic Tatooine music for Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, composed by his son, Joseph, and were originally played by one instrumentalist. They may be omitted entirely in a live performance. The Electric Guitar is used in small inserts during the chase through Curoscant in Attack of the Clones ( albeit muted in the film on the request of George Lucas ). Williams also used three saxophones for the Cantina Band, although those could be doubled by the clarinet players. He also once claimed to have used Kazoos in that sequence, although the liner notes make no mention of it. Jump up ^ the theme recurs thirty times or more in a two - hour film. Jump up ^ The scores to the original three films are melodic and romantic, as is - largely - the score to The Phantom Menace. However, Episodes II and even III feature much more rhythmic music, and Revenge of the Sith in particular is more operatic in its use of choir and even solo vocals. The sequel scores feature another evolution of Williams ' musical style, which is less obtrusive, with more lilting musical themes like Rey 's theme, reminiscent of some of Williams ' work on Harry Potter. Jump up ^ Williams themes for Star Wars have been classified based on Williams own comments on the LP release, Mike Matessino 's Special Edition Liner notes, and further analyses provided by Doug Adams, John Takis et al. On FilmScoreMonthly. Anchiliary sources include Frank Lehman 's `` Complete Catalogue of the Motivic Material in Star Wars '', which includes a lot of `` incidental motifs '' including stylistic gestures and tracked material ; Karol Krok 's FilmsonWax thematic catalogue, and an overly - inclusive timpestamp list by Faleel from the John Williams Fans board. Jump up ^ Williams wrote some 51 themes for over 16 hours of cinema, with an average of six new themes per film and 12 themes used in each film overall. By comparison, Howard Shore wrote over 160 leitmotifs for 21 hours of cinema in the Middle Earth films, of which he uses 40 or more in each film. Richard Wagner wrote 176 leitmotifs for the 15 - hour Ring cycle. Jump up ^ In thematic works such as those of Wagner or Shore, all the leitmotifs which are thematically connected ( e.g. all of Alberich 's themes or all of the Hobbits ' themes ) are connected in melody, harmony, key and orchestration, so as to create a sets and subsets of inter-connected thematic `` families. '' This allows the composer to introduce new themes later in the work while having the new theme evoke associations which the audience already felt towards existing related themes. Williams ' various themes do share certain connections, but they are basic enough as to nullify any attempts to categorize them except in the broadest of strokes, such as themes for the protagonists and themes for the antagonists. Jump up ^ Using leitmotifs as a suggestion of mood or emotion rather than as themes, is a common practice for all composers in symphonies, operas and especially in film. Nevertheless, classical and romantic composers ( and even some film composers like Howard Shore in his Lord of the Rings and Hobbit cycle ) are generally much more strict with the application of leitmotif than Williams. Jump up ^ Since the princess is present at Ben 's death, her theme is said to `` represents Luke 's and the Princess ' reaction to leaving Ben behind '' ( Star Wars, Liner Notes ) although the romantic explanation has been favored by Adams and Michael Matessimo, the author of the special edition liner notes. Jump up ^ Yoda 's theme in Cloud City is said to denote Luke gaining courage as he `` remembers Yoda 's teachings and tries to apply them in this '', but the theme is later used in relation to Leia 's attempt at retrieving Han and even Lando 's order to evacuate Cloud City, giving more weight to the outright dramatic explanation. Jump up ^ Duel of the Fates as used in Tatooine, was often interpreted as signifying the internal struggle of Anakin, although no other occurrence of the theme is consistent with that line of thought. In fact, the internal struggle only presents itself in the next scene, where the theme is not used. Jump up ^ In Star Wars, the theme was conceived and used more as a theme for the character of Ben Kenobi rather than as a theme for The Force itself. Therefore, Williams originally did not have it play during the Binary Sunset sequence ( which has nothing to do with Ben ), and only did so on the request of George Lucas. He did use it, however, for the Throne Room sequence, although it has little to do with Ben. Since the theme became more associated with The Force in following installments, it was used more often, but sometimes against images that do not evoke the idea of The Force such as numerous wide shots in Attack of the Clones, e.g. Anakin and Padme departing for Naboo, Dooku arriving at Curoscant. Its also used during wide shots of the Battle of Hoth for no discernable reason. Jump up ^ It should be said, however, that some of the music in the later films was always intended to be acquired through tracking of pre-existing material, and that some of the tracking choices are very deliberate. Jump up ^ Hence, claims that Williams conceives his themes with foresight and subsequent attempts to draw tenuous connections between such pieces of music as Snoke 's theme and the drone in Palpatine 's Teachings, are dubious. In fact, Williams himself always notes that he only scores the film by watching the finished film, rather than reading a story outline or script. He, for instance, claimed to have had no idea that his score to the original Star Wars would result in sequels and further scores, and even shared the fact that he had, at the time, written a love theme for Luke and Leia, only to discover by Return of the Jedi that the two have been now written to be Brother and Sister. ^ Jump up to : http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/phantom_menace.html ^ Jump up to : Larsen, Peter, and Irons, John ( 2007 ). Film Music, p. 168. ISBN 9781861893413. ^ Jump up to : Star Wars LP liner notes ^ Jump up to : Michael Matessino, Star Wars : A New Hope Special Edition Liner notes. ^ Jump up to : Karol Krok, themes of the original trilogy, films on wax. ^ Jump up to : Faleel, The Thematic Material of the Star Wars films. ^ Jump up to : http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/star_wars.html ^ Jump up to : Frank Lehman, Thematic Material of Star Wars : Catalog and Commentary. ^ Jump up to : http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/star_wars.html Jump up ^ Adams unusually identifies the B - phrase of the theme as a separate leitmotif, but admits that it `` serves little leitmotivic purpose '' and that its application in the score proper is similar to that of the A-phrase, ranging between `` reflection and brash heroism - again, usually associated with Luke, but not always. '' While Williams ' original liner notes and the majority of his interviews do not share this distinction, one interview prior to the release of Doug 's analysis ( about 15 years removed from Return of the Jedi ) had Williams briefly mention a `` second theme '' which he describes as `` romantic '' and `` several themes within '' Luke 's music ( although in the latter case, Williams may be referencing the Force theme and the Rebel Fanfare which become closely associated with Luke over the trilogy ). Its also possible Williams misspoke, seeing as how is quoted as saying `` it 's one thing really in my mind, a lot of it (... ) You 'd be testing my memory to ask me how I used them all and where ( laughs ). '' ^ Jump up to : In The Force Awakens, Williams would use this theme in two variations, which are sometimes mistaken for separate leitmotives : a playful, fast variation for the concert piece `` Schrezo for X-Wings '' and an inverted variation for `` Jedi Steps. '' Jump up ^ This theme was composed for the character of Ben Kenobi but also used in a broader association with the concept of `` The Force. '' With subsequent installments, the character connection was reduced and the theme became more of a theme for `` The Force. '' ^ Jump up to : https://web.archive.org/web/20081020230931/http://www.moviemusicuk.us/starwacd.htm ^ Jump up to : Whether or not this constitutes a leitmotif is debatable. Jump up ^ According to Adams this is `` certainly not a theme in the leitmotivic sense '', hence its classification remains in doubt. ^ Jump up to : Michael Matessino, Empire Strikes Back : Special Edition liner notes. ^ Jump up to : Larsen & Irons ( 2007 ), p. 170. Jump up ^ This gesture appeared only once in the original Star Wars. It was reprised for the first time ( and therefore generally considered thematic, even though its narrative function remains unclear ) in the credits to Empire Strikes Back. ^ Jump up to : Empire Strikes Back LP liner notes ^ Jump up to : http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/empire_strikes_back.html Jump up ^ This theme is also sometimes called `` Han Solo 's theme '' although musically it belongs more to the princess. Jump up ^ This theme was also used briefly in Williams ' score of E.T. when the figure of Yoda ( here a boy in a costume ) appeared on screen. Jump up ^ Williams also composed what he described as a `` playful version of Yoda 's theme ''. Matessino refers to it as a `` playful wind rendition of Yoda 's theme '' which Adams further describes as a `` simpler spry tune in the second half of the unabridged theme. '' Jump up ^ http://starwarsmusic.pashamusic.com/leitmotif.html ^ Jump up to : https://web.archive.org/web/20090929014718/http://www.moviemusicuk.us/empirecd.htm Jump up ^ Definite statements of the motif appear only in this film, but a `` playful wind motif '' that appears in Return of the Jedi `` suggest the tune '' of the theme, and has been erroneously described as a new motif for the Droids. ^ Jump up to : http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/empire.html Jump up ^ This composition is part of a set - specific piece of music written for `` TIE - Fighter Attack ''. The material was tracked twice in Return of the Jedi ( in Sail - Barge Assault and the attack on the Death Star ), and once in The Last Jedi ( Battle of Crait ), where it was also recapitualted in the credits. On account of being tracked, there is an argument to be had as to whether or not this recurrence reflects the intentions of the composers and therefore whether it is leitmotivic. H ^ Jump up to : Michael Matessino, Return of the Jedi : Special Edition liner notes ^ Jump up to : https://web.archive.org/web/20080307054714/http://www.moviemusicuk.us/jedicd.htm ^ Jump up to : Doug Adams, A Return or a New Hope ? In : Film Score Monthly, Volume 4, number 7, p. 32 - 34. ^ Jump up to : http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/jedi.html Jump up ^ This motif was also re-tracked into the A New Hope from Return of the Jedi. ^ Jump up to : http://starwarsmusic.pashamusic.com/classification-of-leitmotifs.html ^ Jump up to : Karol Krok, The themes of the Prequel Trilogy, Films - on - wax. Jump up ^ The components of this theme, such as the ostinato, choral verses, introduction fanfare, etc - are often treated as separate thematic ideas, although Williams never treated them as such. Adams does mention that the theme 's ostinato accompaniment is used `` thematically '' in the score, although he does n't list it as a separate leitmotif, per se, seeing as how it always appears as part of the unabridged theme, except for one instance. Jump up ^ http://www.movie-wave.net/star-wars-the-phantom-menace/ Jump up ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20080307054734/http://www.moviemusicuk.us/phantmcd.htm Jump up ^ Other than the introduction fanfare, this theme is the first `` none - pitched theme '', based on whispering voices and percussion figures. The latter have been confused for a separate, secondary motif specifically for Darth Maul or even for his probe droids, but Adams refers to them as mere `` drum patterns '' that are simply part of the theme. ^ Jump up to : This gesture appeared only once in The Phantom Menace, and became a leitmotif after - the - fact when Williams revisited it here. Nevertheless, John Takis called it `` tender music '' which is `` recalling Shmi. '' ^ Jump up to : John Takis, Star Wars Episode Tunes : Attack on the Score, Film Score Monthly, pp. 18 - 23. ^ Jump up to : Mark Richards, Across the Stars : Analysis. ^ Jump up to : Mark Richards, Battle of the Heroes : Analysis. ^ Jump up to : http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/attack_clones.html Jump up ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20090929014510/http://www.moviemusicuk.us/aotccd.htm Jump up ^ http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/attack_clones.html Jump up ^ The endcap of the theme 's B - phrase has been described as a separate motif for Anakin 's torment s and his subseqent descent into darkness. While it does n't appear as frequently as the main phrase and is often used in isolation, this seems to be more a result of the long - winded nature of the full theme, which renders the B - phrase ( in its entirety or just as the endcap ) very infrequent. Both Takis, Jeff Bonds and Jon and Al Kaplan refer to it as an integral part of Across the Stars rather than a separate motif. Lehman also identifies the embryonic form of the theme, introduced in the first scenes involving Anakin and Padme, as a separate leitmotif for `` gloom courtship ''. In a podcast discussion, Adams ' refers to it as a single theme, albeit one comprised of a verse, chorus and bridge. Lehman also describes the initial, embryonic form of this motif as `` gloomy courtship. '' Jump up ^ This motif, otherwise known as the `` separatist motif '', is also applied to Jango Fett in the score and is probably the motif that Williams reportedly was intending to write for Jango when he was composing the piece. When Jango fights Obi Wan, Williams ' derives an ostinato from it which underscores the fight scene. This motif, like the ostinato for `` Chase through Curoscant '' has been described as a leitmotif, but Takis describes those figures just as ostinati and `` rhythmic patterns '' and not as outright themes. Doug Adams later commented that the various action ostinati of the scores are `` shorter, clunkier motives seldom longer than a measure or two, and often more rhythmic than melodic '' and calls those passages `` episodic. '' Jeff Bonds adds that this writing is `` ultimately fleeting. '' Jump up ^ http://www.jwfan.com/?p=3417 ^ Jump up to : This is a piece of music written originally for Qui - Gon 's funeral in The Phantom Menace. It was reprised and repurposed here as a general `` funeral '' theme, being used for Padme 's death and her later funeral. ^ Jump up to : This fanfare from `` He is the Chosen One '', recurs ( possibly via a tracked cue ) in `` Palpatine 's Teachings '' for a transition to the view of Curoscant from Padme 's abode. It was used in the finished film rather for a shot of Obi Wan entering Bail Organa 's ship. Whether its of any leitmotivic significance is therefore up to debate. ^ Jump up to : http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/revenge_sith.html ^ Jump up to : https://web.archive.org/web/20081022015000/http://www.moviemusicuk.us/revengesithcd.htm ^ Jump up to : Williams recalls to have written `` three or four pieces of new material '' for this installment, including `` lamentations (... ) of Anakin 's turn from the light to the dark '', a `` piece with a lot of percussion for Grievous '' and `` Battle of the Heroes (... ) a motif based on four pitches. '' Jump up ^ http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/revenge_sith.html Jump up ^ the themes and motifs of Episode III, JohnWilliamsFans. Jump up ^ From The Force Awakens onward, the theme for Leia is hereinafter referred to as `` Leia 's Theme, '' as the character becomes a General in the Resistance and removes her royal title from her name. ^ Jump up to : http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/la-et-cm-star-wars-force-awakens-music-score-john-williams-20151217-story.html ^ Jump up to : Mark Richards, The Force Awakens themes. ^ Jump up to : https://moviemusicuk.us/2015/12/21/star-wars-the-force-awakens-john-williams/ Jump up ^ http://www.jwfan.com/forums/index.php?/topic/25913-the-force-awakens-complete-score-breakdown-chronological-order-film-spoilers-allowed/&page=15 ^ Jump up to : As with other long - lined themes on this list, components of Rey 's theme have been described as independent leitmotives, namely the wind and chime introduction figures of the unabridged theme. In his commentary on the score, Doug refers to the piece as a single theme. He also refers to the variation heard in `` Jedi Steps '' as `` Rey 's theme in counterpoint (... ) with The Force theme. '' ^ Jump up to : https://variety.com/2015/music/awards/oscar-icons-williams-morricone-and-horner-loom-large-in-score-race-1201657637/ Jump up ^ John Williams refers to a `` more ruminative part '' besides Kylo Ren 's main theme, which he though of as a `` relative of Darth Vader. '' Jump up ^ http://www.movie-wave.net/star-wars-the-force-awakens/ Jump up ^ This theme is often used in conjunction with the character of Finn, and was therefore often mistaken to be his theme. Rather, it is a motif for the more comedic action sequences in the film, in which Finn 's propensity to flee is used for comedic effect. Jump up ^ http://www.syfy.com/syfywire/please-your-platter-4-new-limited-edition-star-wars-force-awakens-vinyl-sets Jump up ^ This theme is written for voices in the Basso Profundo range, and has drawn tenuous comparisons to Palpatine 's Teachings, although the latter is based rather on overtone singing. ^ Jump up to : http://www.jwfan.com/?p=10287 ^ Jump up to : Mark Richards, The Last Jedi themes. ^ Jump up to : https://variety.com/2018/music/awards/john-williams-could-set-oscar-record-1202658996/ Jump up ^ Such an approach is taken by the programs to the live - to - projection priemerie, which is seemingly not based on new insight from Williams himself. Such an approach was taken by the programs to the live - to - projection premiere of the Star Wars films, where numerous motifs were identified ( seemingly with no new insight from Williams himself ), including a rancor motif, a motif for the droids in the original Star Wars, etc... Others to have taken to such an approach are Alfred Surenyan and Aaron Krerowicz. Even Ed Chang does this with several minor motifs he attributes to the various Star Wars scores, including a `` Imperial rhythmic motif '', a `` rhythmic Imperial skirmish motif '', `` exotic Bespin motif '', `` ' one with the Force ' motif '', `` trap theme '', a `` taking off motif '', a secondary Droid march, an Utapau `` motoric '' motif, and a `` Millennium Falcon rhythmic motif. '' Jump up ^ Doug Adams analysis of the first four scores only includes just about 35 `` themes '' ( with Adams himself casting doubt over some of them ), and Frank Lehman 's analysis of the entire series contains only 55 leitmotives, in spite of including `` retroactively inserted or tracked themes '', material that is revisited in Giacchino 's Rogue One, and `` B - themes (... and ) detachable polyphonic subcomponents '' but `` only when they are heard as detached in the underscore. '' Jump up ^ Such an approach is taken by Frank Lehman. Even Adams does this with the ostinato accompaniment to The Rebe Fanfare ( albeit admitting that its `` not a theme, per se '' ) and with the B - phrase of Luke 's theme, the former due to tracking, and the latter most likely due to certain, fleeting comments made by Williams in a preceding interview. Adams also mentions that components of various themes, such as the ostinato accompaniment of Duel of the Fates or Yoda 's playful side, are `` used thematically '' but does n't describe them as separate themes, per se, as he does Luke 's B - theme, for instance. Aaron Krerowicz also does this with Luke 's theme and the Jawa theme, which he describes as no less than three thematic identities. Ed Chung does this with the rhythmic accompaniments to multiple themes, which he describes as `` Imperial rhythm motif '', `` Imperial skirmish motif '', a `` Droid Army Attack motif '', etc... ^ Jump up to : http://starwarsmusic.pashamusic.com/index.html Jump up ^ Alfred Surenyan describes themes for the Flag Parade, the Arrival on Tatooine, Jango 's Escape, Taun We ( which is mentioned in Takis analysis, but as a setpiece - specific piece ), Anakin 's Dark Deeds, The Dune Sea, The Emperor 's Throne Room, Starkiller Base, etc. Ed Chung describes an `` escape theme '' from the opening space battle of Revenge of the Sith, an Utapau motoric figure appearing in the fight with Grievous, an `` exotic Bespin motif '' for the finale of Empire Strikes Back, a `` taking off '' motif from `` The Phantom Menace '', etc... ^ Jump up to : Williams refers to the use of `` bouncing '' horns in Star Wars as a `` motif '' for Luke 's Landspeeder, although it is based on no fixed recurring melodic or rhythmic idea. He also once referred to the material for the Battle of Hoth as thematic ``, but Matessino 's notes ultimately conclude that `` thematic material is deffered '' in the piece. Lehman makes no mention of either motif, even as `` incidental '' motifs, and in fact stressed that `` Themes for self - contained, non-repeating set - pieces are not included. '' Adams also does n't list any setpiece - specific material in his thematic analyses, but did mention that `` the walker attack on Hoth (... ) was assigned a memorable and fully realized standalone melody '' but, unlike the melody of `` The TIE fighters chasing the Millennium Falcon away from the Death Star '', which went on to recur in a later installment, this motif ( like the Asteroid Field music ) is used `` with less thought toward a score - length arc of material than toward a series of self - contained vignettes. '' Jump up ^ One unusual case involves the revised music of the victory celebrations of Return of the Jedi, with Adams classifying it as thematic out of an expectation ( ultimately to be proven false ) of Williams to weave it into the prequel scores. Jump up ^ The finale features two interwoven pieces of music : rhythmic phrases in the strings for the shootout, and an `` ascending horn phrase '' for three individual and unrelated moments : Luke spotting Boba Fett, him confronting Darth Vader, and lastly, Boba taking off with Han 's effigy onboard. The latter has been described as a possible `` ambush '' motif, or as a secondary theme for Boba, but both seem to be too setpiece - specific to possess any leitmotivic significance, and are not described by neither Adams, Matessino or Lehman as leitmotifs of any kind, nor mentioned by Williams himself. Jump up ^ http://www.jwfan.com/forums/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=4922 Jump up ^ Adams, who also identifies this idea 's appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark, identified these as `` mystery chords '', stating that they `` may or may not '' have been conceived as a leitmotif, but concludes that they `` probably did n't mean anything. '' Lehman identifies the gesture from the original Star Wars as one to do with descending unto a planet, and the one from The Force Awakens as a motif for the map leading to Luke. Jump up ^ Lehman classifies all these types of recurring material as `` incidental motifs '' rather than proper leitmotifs. These include the aforementioned `` chromatic choral writing '' from The Phantom Menace underwater scenes, suspenseful string writing in The Force Awakens, `` Mournful homophonic choral progressions '' in The Last Jedi and a multitude of other material such as `` heroic descending tetrachords '', `` cascading trumpet lines '', etc... Jump up ^ The `` podrace motif '' recurs in tracked music and in a dedicated concert rendition of the flag parade. The action ostinato is an incidental accompaniment used for the Rebel Fanfare in the Battle of Yavin, which would end up tracked into Sail Barge Assault in Return of the Jedi, along with the third appearance of the X-Wing attack motif which Adams identifies therein. Jump up ^ Whereas Adams and Takis identify those motifs as such, Lehman dubs the latter two simply as `` Lydian fanfare '' and `` ominous arpeggios '' and lists them as incidental. Jump up ^ http://www.movie-wave.net/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story/ ^ Jump up to : https://moviemusicuk.us/2016/12/20/rogue-one-michael-giacchino/ ^ Jump up to : https://variety.com/2017/film/news/john-williams-star-wars-composer-han-solo-movie-theme-1202650282/amp/?__twitter_impression=true Jump up ^ While the original track is a film cue, Williams created a new suite based off of it in 2018. Jump up ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20080307054734/http://www.moviemusicuk.us/phantmcd.htm Jump up ^ http://www.movie-wave.net/star-wars-the-phantom-menace/ Jump up ^ There 's an alternate presentation over the end - credits, featuring a hint of Anakin 's theme as an ending coda. Jump up ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20090929014510/http://www.moviemusicuk.us/aotccd.htm Jump up ^ http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/attack_clones.html Jump up ^ http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/revenge_sith.html Jump up ^ Features a variation of Luke 's theme. `` The Jedi Steps '' Jump up ^ http://www.movie-wave.net/star-wars-the-force-awakens/ Jump up ^ This suite uniquly features not one but two of the three thematic ideas that make up the entire score : Rose 's theme, and Luke 's Island motif, notably stressing the former. Jump up ^ http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/rogue_one.html Jump up ^ http://www.movie-wave.net/rogue-one-a-star-wars-story/ Jump up ^ The dictionary definition of Diegetic at Wiktionary. Jump up ^ Hutchinson, Sean ( November 11, 2015 ). `` Alien Musicians in ' Star Wars, ' Ranked ''. Inverse. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015. ( Archived page contains a JavaScript that replaces article with page not found message. To prevent this stop page loading as soon as article text is visible. ) Jump up ^ Raftery, Brian ( December 21, 2015 ). `` The 9 Best Songs Ever Played in a Star Wars Movie ''. Wired. Condé Nast. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015. Jump up ^ `` The 50th Academy Awards ( 1978 ) Nominees and Winners ''. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` The 35th Annual Golden Globe Awards ( 1978 ) ''. Golden Globe Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Soundtrack 1978 ''. BAFTA Awards Database. British Acacdemy of Film & Television Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` 1977 20th Annual Grammy Awards ''. Past Winners database. Grammy Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Past Saturn Awards ''. Saturn Awards. Archived from the original on February 9, 2010. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Soundtrack 1980 ''. BAFTA Awards Database. British Acacdemy of Film & Television Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` 1908 - 23rd Annual Grammy Awards ''. Grammy Awards. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` The 53rd Academy Awards ( 1981 ) Nominees and Winners ''. The Academy Awards of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` The 56th Academy Awards ( 1984 ) Nominees and Winners ''. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Final Nominations for the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards ''. Billboard : 73. January 15, 2000. Jump up ^ `` Grammy Award Nominees ''. Billboard : 60. December 17, 2005. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Star Wars Tops AFI 's List of 25 Greatest Film Scores of All Time ''. AFI 's 100 Years of Film Scores. American Film Institute. Retrieved January 19, 2013. Jump up ^ `` Star Wars - Gold & Platinum ''. Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on January 8, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2016. Jump up ^ Certified Awards Search - BPI External links Star Wars portal The Official Star Wars Music Site ( Archived ) Star Wars Feature films Saga Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi The Phantom Menace Attack of the Clones Revenge of the Sith The Force Awakens The Last Jedi Anthology Rogue One Solo Other The Clone Wars Television Series Droids Ewoks Clone Wars The Clone Wars cast episodes Rebels characters episodes Forces of Destiny Detours ( unaired ) Films Holiday Special Caravan of Courage : An Ewok Adventure Ewoks : The Battle for Endor Other Radio show Production George Lucas Lucasfilm Characters Cast Changes in film re-releases Han shot first Filming locations Opening crawl Sequel trilogy Sources and analogues Music Soundtracks Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back Return of the Jedi Ewoks Episode I : The Phantom Menace Episode II : Attack of the Clones Episode III : Revenge of the Sith The Clone Wars The Force Awakens Rogue One The Last Jedi Themes `` Star Wars ( Main Title ) '' `` The Imperial March '' `` Ewok Celebration '' `` Duel of the Fates '' `` Battle of the Heroes '' Outside media Attractions A Galactic Spectacular Jedi Training : Trials of the Temple Star Tours The Adventures Continue Galaxy 's Edge Star Wars Hotel Star Wars Hyperspace Mountain Star Wars Launch Bay Star Wars Weekends Where Science Meets Imagination Lego List of sets Droid Tales The Resistance Rises The Freemaker Adventures Merchandise Action figures Kenner list Hasbro Vintage Collection Star Wars Transformers Games Star Wars Pez Manga Force Trainer Shepperton Design Studios Trading cards Vinylmation Star Wars Rollinz toys Television specials The Making of Star Wars SP FX : The Empire Strikes Back From Star Wars to Jedi : The Making of a Saga Other Video games list Shadows of the Empire Knights of the Old Republic The Force Unleashed The Old Republic Art Books non-fiction Comics list Expanded universe characters Cultural impact 501st Legion Comparison to Star Trek Fan films Parodies Force for Change Jedi census Jediism Rebel Legion Star Wars Celebration Star Wars Day Star Wars : In Concert Star Wars Insider Wookieepedia TheForce.Net Yoda conditions Book Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Music_of_Star_Wars&oldid=826765225 '' Categories : Music of Star Wars Compositions by John Williams Music by media franchise Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from February 2018 Articles with permanently dead external links Use mdy dates from October 2017 Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français ქართული Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 20 February 2018, at 21 : 58. 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Question: when was the star wars theme song composed
Answer: Released between 1977 and 2017