Romance Film Composer

When the director is open to it, I believe a strong melody can be one of the most powerful elements in a romantic score.

Romance naturally creates opportunities for nostalgia, warmth and dreamlike textures. A memorable melodic idea can tie those different colors together and give the score a sense of cohesion as the relationship develops.

But a romantic melody does not have to express only happiness.

In fact, I often find that a small amount of sadness, tension or uncertainty makes the romance more convincing. Vulnerability is part of what gives the emotion depth.

One of the dangers in romantic scoring is allowing every musical decision to point toward the same emotion.

If the harmony, melody, orchestration and performance are all communicating uncomplicated beauty at the same time, the result can begin to feel overly sentimental.

I am often more interested in allowing something unresolved to remain inside the music.

The melody may be beautiful while the harmony introduces uncertainty. A warm musical moment may contain a trace of sadness. The score can express love while still acknowledging vulnerability, loss or the possibility that the relationship may not end the way we hope.

That complexity can make the beautiful moments more powerful rather than less romantic.

As with dramatic scoring, the emotional architecture of the entire film matters.

If the score reaches its fullest romantic expression too early, there is nowhere meaningful for it to go when the film reaches the scene that matters most.

Themes can begin more simply. Instrumentation can remain intimate. Harmony can suggest an emotion before fully resolving it.

Then, when the film earns its largest emotional moment, the score still has somewhere to go.

Cello and piano are two instruments I particularly enjoy for romantic melodic writing because both can be intimate while still carrying tremendous emotional weight.

In one romantic score, I combined those kinds of melodic voices with slow, warm harmonic textures — including major-seventh and minor-seventh chords with an almost jazz-like richness.

Those round, lush harmonies created an atmosphere underneath the melody without requiring the score to become enormous.

The result could feel nostalgic, intimate and dreamlike while still leaving enough harmonic complexity to keep the emotion from becoming one-dimensional.

If the film contains another emotional side — tragedy, separation, uncertainty, conflict or loss — I want the score to acknowledge it.

That contrasting musical world can ultimately make the romantic material stronger.

Romance becomes more meaningful when the audience understands what can be lost.