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The Music of The Lord of the Rings Films: A Comprehensive Account of Howard Shore's Scores
Howard Shore's Academy Award-winning score for The Lord of the Rings has been hailed as some of the greatest film music ever written. Sweeping in scope, it is an interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth as music---an operatic tapestry of cultures, histories, languages, and peoples. The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films takes the reader on an unprecedented journey into the heart of this history-making opus with extensive music examples, original manuscript scores, a rarities CD, and fascinating glimpses into the creative process from the composer himself. Also included are a foreword by Howard Shore, an introduction by Fran Walsh, and sketches by John Howe and Alan Lee.
401 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 2010
87 people are currently reading
953 people want to read
About the author
Doug Adams
93 books3 followersAdams was an international scholar in religion and the arts, worship, dance and humor. He brought an enormous amount of energy and enterprise to establish religion combined with art and performance art on Holy Hill.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 15, 2020
howard shore... you absolute mad lad
February 14, 2022
An absolutely wonderful book on the masterpiece that is Howard Shore's amazing creation of the score of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. A lot of the musical explanations and instruments/orchestration information went way over my head, but the basic storytelling of Shore's motifs were right up my alley. I listened to each theme as Adams identified them, and then made sure to play back important parts of the annotated score as well. The rarities CD included with this book was a treat as well (though the only CD players I could access were in cars!) and allows you to hear some of the evolution and process behind Shore's music. It's not for nothing that Wikipedia calls the LOTR soundtrack the most complex one ever created! I love the soundtrack (and the films generally) and have taught myself to play some bits on piano, and generally consider myself a highly knowledgeable fan of LOTR. However, this really added an additional layer to that, because while I've read books about the making of the films and listened to the DVD commentaries, I'd never gone deep into scoring and orchestration before. I have to say, it was immensely fascinating, and I learned so much!
December 7, 2010
For serious fans of Shore's LotR music score. Five stars aren't enough for this book ~ I give it a galaxy of stars. Without doubt the best book I've added to my Tolkien library this year, maybe ever.
Under the slipcover, the book is bound in a black cloth cover with the elvish ring inscription embossed in gold. It's basically divided into two parts: Description of the major themes with musical examples, then a mavelously descriptive annotation of the scores for each of the three films. The rarities CD included in the back is filled with musical gems that have never before been released. I particularly loved the Shire/The Hobbits mock-up on the Synclavier and the sweetly poignant Frodo's Song that had originally been intended to be the last song of Return of the King until it was replaced by Into The West.
Love love love love this book. I plan to spend many happy months poring over it with the Complete Recordings sounding in my ears. Did I mention it's also laden with movie photos and sketches by Alan Lee?
Under the slipcover, the book is bound in a black cloth cover with the elvish ring inscription embossed in gold. It's basically divided into two parts: Description of the major themes with musical examples, then a mavelously descriptive annotation of the scores for each of the three films. The rarities CD included in the back is filled with musical gems that have never before been released. I particularly loved the Shire/The Hobbits mock-up on the Synclavier and the sweetly poignant Frodo's Song that had originally been intended to be the last song of Return of the King until it was replaced by Into The West.
Love love love love this book. I plan to spend many happy months poring over it with the Complete Recordings sounding in my ears. Did I mention it's also laden with movie photos and sketches by Alan Lee?
November 17, 2013
This 5 star rating is a combined rating for this book and the Lord of the Rings Complete Recordings CDs, which are three sets comprising a total of 10 discs. I'd really recommend owning the CDs alongside this book.
I can't imagine this book being as good if you didn't own those CDs, as most of its content is a track-by-track musical analysis of the scores. You could try reading the book while watching the movies but the score isn't always up front in the soundtrack, and you might be distracted by what's on screen anyway.
Anyway, the analysis of the scores is wonderful and has really enhanced my appreciation of Howard Shore's work for these films, as well as the process of composing in general. I have limited musical education (studied piano for a few years, over a decade ago) so Adams' technical language was a little challenging at points, but most musical terms that crop up are defined in footnotes, and I could follow along with the arguments being made in the analysis well enough.
Apart from the track-by-track section, this book also has anecdotes about the recording sessions (which are brief but entertaining), lyrics for all the choral pieces, and a thorough listing/explanation of every leitmotif and theme used throughout the score. Each one of these is demonstrated on the page in musical notation, so with a keyboard app open on my iPhone, I was able to play along, and found myself grinning as I recognised every leitmotif from the countless times I've seen the movies.
I can recommend this book highly if you're a combined Peter Jackson/JRR Tolkien fan and you like music; but really only get this book if you've already bought the Complete Recordings.
I can't imagine this book being as good if you didn't own those CDs, as most of its content is a track-by-track musical analysis of the scores. You could try reading the book while watching the movies but the score isn't always up front in the soundtrack, and you might be distracted by what's on screen anyway.
Anyway, the analysis of the scores is wonderful and has really enhanced my appreciation of Howard Shore's work for these films, as well as the process of composing in general. I have limited musical education (studied piano for a few years, over a decade ago) so Adams' technical language was a little challenging at points, but most musical terms that crop up are defined in footnotes, and I could follow along with the arguments being made in the analysis well enough.
Apart from the track-by-track section, this book also has anecdotes about the recording sessions (which are brief but entertaining), lyrics for all the choral pieces, and a thorough listing/explanation of every leitmotif and theme used throughout the score. Each one of these is demonstrated on the page in musical notation, so with a keyboard app open on my iPhone, I was able to play along, and found myself grinning as I recognised every leitmotif from the countless times I've seen the movies.
I can recommend this book highly if you're a combined Peter Jackson/JRR Tolkien fan and you like music; but really only get this book if you've already bought the Complete Recordings.
January 18, 2021
An astonishing deep dive of the greatest film score ever created. This book is best consumed while listening to the score. As I read this book, I kept saying "I never noticed that!" No other film score is this complex and intricate. Doug Adams writes with great sensitivity and attention to detail. Adams describes the music as if it is a living, breathing entity, indeed characters in the story in their own rights. He had a decade of unprecedented access to Howard Shore as he composed this mammoth score. This book includes original manuscripts from Shore himself, beautiful illustrations, stills from the movies, and stories about the orchestra's recording process. Each of the songs' lyrics are included, which I'm sure will fascinate Tolkien linguist fans.
What I wish it had: in the glossary, I wish each of the leitmotivs were written out so that we could quickly refer back to them. The author uses ALL CAPS to refer to the leitmotivs but there are *so many* that it's hard to remember precisely which one is being referenced.
What I wish it had: in the glossary, I wish each of the leitmotivs were written out so that we could quickly refer back to them. The author uses ALL CAPS to refer to the leitmotivs but there are *so many* that it's hard to remember precisely which one is being referenced.
July 6, 2017
The greatest film score ever written gets a deep-dive. After 400 pages and nearly four years, I finally made my way through this dense, incredible volume (while simultaneously listening to the complete recordings, naturally.) I now feel I understand about 1/1000th of this masterpiece.
December 19, 2023
I would give this book 6 stars if I could.
I love the Tolkien book, the Peter Jackson movies, and maybe most of all the Howard Shore scores to them. Doug Adams eloquently brings the reader into Shore's process as he composed, orchestrated, and recorded the music. He explores the melodic/harmonic construction of all of the themes and motifs, discusses the traditional and non-traditional instruments used, and walks you through them all as they appear in the movies, scene by scene. This is now easily one of my favorite books of all time. It has only increased my awe and appreciation of the movies and their music.
Small caveat that I am a professional musician and understand all of the score excerpts and musical theory/literature references, but these are all briefly and sufficiently explained when necessary. It's so well-written for a broad audience of casual music lovers, but having a music education really puts the icing on the cake. It would honestly be a 5-star book even if I couldn't read music.
I will be returning to this book frequently whenever I want to revisit my favorite movie soundtrack, and I plan on watching the extended versions with an entirely new perspective soon.
I love the Tolkien book, the Peter Jackson movies, and maybe most of all the Howard Shore scores to them. Doug Adams eloquently brings the reader into Shore's process as he composed, orchestrated, and recorded the music. He explores the melodic/harmonic construction of all of the themes and motifs, discusses the traditional and non-traditional instruments used, and walks you through them all as they appear in the movies, scene by scene. This is now easily one of my favorite books of all time. It has only increased my awe and appreciation of the movies and their music.
Small caveat that I am a professional musician and understand all of the score excerpts and musical theory/literature references, but these are all briefly and sufficiently explained when necessary. It's so well-written for a broad audience of casual music lovers, but having a music education really puts the icing on the cake. It would honestly be a 5-star book even if I couldn't read music.
I will be returning to this book frequently whenever I want to revisit my favorite movie soundtrack, and I plan on watching the extended versions with an entirely new perspective soon.
March 28, 2025
Also ich fand’s gut dass er so frei über die Musik geschrieben hat und es gab auch viele Bilder und notenbeispiele die schick aufbereitet wurden und dann lag noch so eine cd bei dann konnte man das Buch weglegen und stattdessen die Musik hören wenn man noch ein cd Laufwerk hat
November 11, 2025
A comprehensive look at the music of Lord of the Rings. Perfect for fans of the movies and/or soundtrack. Howard Shore is a genius.
September 16, 2019
Possibly the most must read music appreciation book I've ever read. It should be read both by anyone that wants to better appreciate the art of film scoring, storytelling through music, and composition generally, but also by anyone that wants to write a book about those things. This book is a gold standard for what people want from analysis of classical music.
The first third of the book is essentially a glossary of the names of the themes Mr. Adams will be referring to later. The remaining 2/3's is a track by track analysis of the Lord of the Rings trilogy's complete soundtracks explaining exactly what Howard Shore conveyed with his music choices as well as why he chose to do those things.
I want this book for Wagner's Ring Cycle, Beethoven's symphonies, Tchaikovsky's ballets, and every single score John Williams has written or will write. I was already a music nerd and this book exposed me to an even deeper world of the incredible possibilities of music in the hands of an artist.
10/10 MUST READ!
The first third of the book is essentially a glossary of the names of the themes Mr. Adams will be referring to later. The remaining 2/3's is a track by track analysis of the Lord of the Rings trilogy's complete soundtracks explaining exactly what Howard Shore conveyed with his music choices as well as why he chose to do those things.
I want this book for Wagner's Ring Cycle, Beethoven's symphonies, Tchaikovsky's ballets, and every single score John Williams has written or will write. I was already a music nerd and this book exposed me to an even deeper world of the incredible possibilities of music in the hands of an artist.
10/10 MUST READ!
March 25, 2018
What a fantastic book! I want to thank Doug Adams for writing this wonderful guide to what is certainly the most AWEsome soundtrack of all time. I've been in love with the music ever since watching the Fellowship, and I'm so happy to have taken this deep dive into the score.
I guess some of the musical terminology and analysis will be lost on those of us without a musical education, but it remains a fascinating read nevertheless. Needless to say, having the complete recordings playing while one reads is simply a must.
I've rewatched the first two movies over the past two weeks (after studying the music for each one) and I'm now ready for the Return of the King! My respect and admiration for Howard Shore has never been greater, and it now extends to Adams for writing this treasure of a book, which now sits among my favorites.
I guess some of the musical terminology and analysis will be lost on those of us without a musical education, but it remains a fascinating read nevertheless. Needless to say, having the complete recordings playing while one reads is simply a must.
I've rewatched the first two movies over the past two weeks (after studying the music for each one) and I'm now ready for the Return of the King! My respect and admiration for Howard Shore has never been greater, and it now extends to Adams for writing this treasure of a book, which now sits among my favorites.
March 25, 2021
I had high hopes for this book and it exceeded all of them. For any fan of the Lord of the Rings music, this book is a must. It is not filled with pages of muddled music theory but instead achieves a narrative that somehow allows the reader to explore the films again in an entirely new way.
The most enjoyable way to experience this book is to have the themes playing on your headphones softly while you read along at a pace where you can hear exactly what Adams is writing about.
Highly recommend!
The most enjoyable way to experience this book is to have the themes playing on your headphones softly while you read along at a pace where you can hear exactly what Adams is writing about.
Highly recommend!
May 4, 2023
I spent a great deal of time with this book. I will tell you: it is good. It really does have the power to build appreciation for the extraordinary scores of these movies. Although Adams gets a little high-schooler-with-Roget's at times, he writes very well; his descriptions are pithy and coherent, and his knowledge makes him a good interpreter of Shore's magnum opus. Again, cannot recommend highly enough to those with an inkling of the score's greatness.
May 13, 2017
Um verdadeiro tratado sobre a banda sonora de uma das sagas mais fascinantes de sempre.
O entendimento da construção dos motivos musicais e a explicação da interligação dos temas à narrativa tornarão a experiência de ver 'O Senhor dos Anéis' numa experiência ainda mais especial.
Para os aficionados pelos filmes e para os amantes da Música em geral !
O entendimento da construção dos motivos musicais e a explicação da interligação dos temas à narrativa tornarão a experiência de ver 'O Senhor dos Anéis' numa experiência ainda mais especial.
Para os aficionados pelos filmes e para os amantes da Música em geral !
August 29, 2018
A masterpiece, that every movie music lover should possess. It contains a very detailed description and usage of the multiples themes that are used in Lord of the Rings series. And it's a perfect companion for the Complete Recordings albums.
I wish that Doug Adams can do the same work on Star Wars saga, but for now I'm looking forward for the release of Music of The Hobbit :)
I wish that Doug Adams can do the same work on Star Wars saga, but for now I'm looking forward for the release of Music of The Hobbit :)
April 25, 2018
This was super fun to read. I probably have an intermediate knowledge of music theory, and this book can definitely be appreciated by people from all levels of musical backgrounds.
January 11, 2021
A wonderful companion to the films. Great for newcomers and experts in musicology.
December 28, 2024
I’ve watched the trilogy more times than I can count, but being able to watch it from the perspective of the music was amazing and added new layers to the story I love. Flawless.
December 29, 2022
This is full of information about the movies, music and production of the LOTR. This is good for movie buffs, those studying music, and even for me, who is somewhere in between. Very well done and completely worth it!
April 6, 2017
A beautiful book, one of my favorites. Douglas Adams is such a pleasant, gifted writer, (with a talent for describing music), Howard Shore composed the greatest film score of all time, and there's a CD with rare/bonus tracks. How much more can you ask for?
January 28, 2014
The Music of Lord of the Rings is a wonderful, in-depth look at the score from the amazing film trilogy. Adams presents a fascinating journey through the themes and leitmotifs in the score and this is a gorgeous companion book for fans of the films.
One word of caution though - to fully appreciate this book, I would suggest at least an intermediate understanding of music theory is required as Adams goes into some depth and it would not mean anything to non-musicians who are unfamiliar with the topic.
One word of caution though - to fully appreciate this book, I would suggest at least an intermediate understanding of music theory is required as Adams goes into some depth and it would not mean anything to non-musicians who are unfamiliar with the topic.
August 19, 2015
Fans of Lord of the Rings and film music alike will enjoy this in-depth analysis of Howard Shore's music for the LOTR movies. Adams begins by presenting all the various themes used in the score, then describes how Shore weaves them all together in the films going through each movie from beginning to end. The accompanying demos/rarities CD has some interesting pieces, as well as a conversation between the composer and the author.
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May 29, 2011Great for fans of the LOTR movies who happen to be serious music lovers. Interesting analysis of the LOTR soundtrack.
February 15, 2015
I found it quite an interesting read, even if I didn't understand most of the musical terminology. Listening to the soundtrack while reading really helped too.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews