Jaws Sheet Music John Williams

Info Jaws John Williams

Theme From Jaws

“Jaws’” The original soundtrack for Jaws was released on LP by MCA in 1975, and as a CD in 1992, including roughly a half-hour of music that John Williams redid for the album. In 2000, two versions of the score were released: one in a re-recording of the entire Jaws score by Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Joel McNeely, and another to coincide with the release of the 25th anniversary DVD by Decca/Universal, featuring the entire 51 minutes of the original score. In 2005, it was ranked No.6 in AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores, a list which compiles the greatest American film scores.

John Williams composed the film’s score, which earned him an Academy Award, his second win and first for Original Score, and was later ranked the sixth greatest score by the American Film Institute. The main “shark” theme, a simple alternating pattern of two notes—variously identified as “E and F” or “F and F sharp” became a classic piece of suspense music, synonymous with approaching danger (see leading-tone).

Williams described the theme as “grinding away at you, just as a shark would do, instinctual, relentless, unstoppable.” The piece was performed by tuba player Tommy Johnson. When asked by Johnson why the melody was written in such a high register and not played by the more appropriate French horn, Williams responded that he wanted it to sound “a little more threatening”. 

When Williams first demonstrated his idea to Spielberg, playing just the two notes on a piano, Spielberg was said to have laughed, thinking that it was a joke. As Williams saw similarities between Jaws and pirate movies, at other points in the score he evoked “pirate music”, which he called “primal, but fun and entertaining”.

The primal opening notes are developed from the opening foreboding tone of Ravel’s La Valse. Calling for rapid, percussive string playing, the score contains echoes as well of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring.

John Williams  Sheet Music
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