"Inception" Musical Analysis
Any score that has garnered so many imitators must be significant and should hold a place as one of the most influential and significant film scores of all time.
Hans Zimmer’s score for Inception was his third collaboration with director Christopher Nolan. This film is groundbreaking in its introduction of several Zimmer trademarks which have already become widely used, imitated and even parodied. The ending theme of the film, hinted at throughout, is a four note chord progression which starts softly, builds to a deafening volume, and then ends soft and contemplative. This outline for a piece of music is one that appeared in much of Zimmer’s later work. Inception’s score is the pinnacle of Zimmer’s hybrid orchestra technique, combining orchestral instruments with synthesizers, electric guitars, and even a few sound effects. He collaborated with guitarist and former member of The Smiths (a British rock band), Johnny Marr, whose guitar work is prevalent in the film’s score.
Zimmer’s loud “burst” of sound is one of his most recognizable trademarks and was first introduced in Inception, which he referred to as the “crazy low brass section.” Often labeled as sounding like “braaahhmmm” or as the “horns of doom,” Zimmer claims to have achieved the technique when trying to create a sound Nolan’s screenplay described as “massive, low-end musical tones, sounding like distant horns.” His method for creating the burst of sound was quite inventive. He placed “a piano in the middle of a church and I put a book on the pedal, and these brass players would basically play into the resonance of the piano. And then I added a bit of electronic nonsense.”
The score’s weakness is in its processed sound, which is a turn-off for many. Zimmer puts even traditional instruments through guitar amps and filters, which creates a unique sound, but a processed, electronic, and very loud blend. Inception’s score is bombastic, and not for the faint of heart (or the faint of ears).
The strength of Zimmer’s score lies in the many groundbreaking features that are still implemented in Hollywood film music. This score truly marked a new era in film music, and almost any action film music in the years following Inception beared some semblance to Zimmer’s. His use of electric guitars, drum sets, catchy four-chord progressions, and the burst of sound all found their way into later films and trailers, which has unfortunately diminished Inception’s value as an important film score. Many now consider the score to be cliche and overused; however, any score that has garnered so many imitators must be significant and should hold a place as one of the most influential and significant film scores of all time.