I’m sure like many of you, I spent the weekend watching The Music of John Williams on Disney+!
(via Disney)
And it felt like a huge reminder of WHY I got into composing in the first place.
John Williams is such an icon in film music—the one who’s shaped so much of what we all know and love about cinematic sound.
Watching this made me feel that spark I had back when I first got interested in composing, and by the end, I actually felt inspired to sit down with a pencil and paper and started sketching out some ideas…
No DAW, no tech…
Just the love of music like when I first started out!
It’s wild to think about just how much of his music has been woven into our lives.
While watching, there were a lot of “oh, I forgot he did that too!” moments.
Everything from Schindler’s List, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jaws, and ET to Indiana Jones, Saving Private Ryan, Home Alone, and even themes for the Olympics and NBC!
(via Disney)
At one point, JJ Abrams talks about how his music just feels like it was meant to be, like it’s inevitable.
To me, it feels like Williams’ music feels was always supposed to exist!
One thing that really hit home for me was when John said all of his pieces are ways to say, “this describes me,” but that none of them fully do.
To us, he’s the maestro, the legend who created soundtracks that’ll outlive all of us.
But for him?
He’s just a musician with pieces that come close to describing who he is…but not entirely.
I found that so humbling and incredibly inspiring—there’s always more to express, and maybe we’re never quite “done.”
When asked how he managed to do so much work over the years and he said…
“I was busy the whole time but filled with the love of music. Music for musicians is like breathing. It supports us, sustains us, gives us energy.”
He talked about how much he loved every minute of working with great musicians and amazing orchestras.
One of the final lines of the film is of course from John Williams and it's incredibly impactful and I think a reminder why we need to embrace music today!
"Music is enough for a lifetime. But a lifetime is not enough for music."
That one hit hard.
It’s a reminder not to wait, not to keep putting things off.
This ties back to some thoughts I’ve shared in a recent video about not delaying your music career.
If music is what drives us, then there’s no better time to embrace your passion for music and DO something with it!
Watching this brought me back to why I started all this.
John’s story is a reminder that music is pure, it’s passion, and, most importantly, it’s meant to be shared!