Previously, I made a list of my top favorite instrumental themes. However, those songs were the main themes of movies (like Star Wars, Jurassic Park, etc). I listen to a lot of more instrumental songs than just the main theme songs and I think that the music played throughout movies can be just as good as the main theme (and sometimes even better). I wanted to give those themes a shoutout in this post.
Since in my previous instrumental music post (which you can read HERE) I did top 11 songs, I have again selected a top 11 for this one. This list contains themes that are not the main themes of their movies and/or are main themes from lesser-known movies.
Without further ado, here are my top 11 instrumental themes in alphabetical order:
“Duel of the Fates”- Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace- John Williams
While a lot of people don’t like the prequels very much, one thing we can all agree on is that the music is epic! This song captures all the intensity and drama it’s meant to. John Williams hasn’t lost his groove even after all these years.
“Escape from East Berlin”- Man From U.N.C.L.E.- Daniel Pemberton
This song caught me by surprise. I had never heard of this movie until I was randomly dragged to it one night by my family, but I loved everything about it including the music. I’m not sure if you could consider this the “main theme” or not, but I consider this a lesser-known movie so it counts. This song is a lot of fun and you can just tell what kind of movie it is by listening to it: intense, sneaky, and a whole lot of fun.
“Flight to Neverland”- Hook- John Williams
John Williams does it again! I think this could be considered the main theme like before, but this is a slightly less famous movie, so I’m counting it again. Just through the sound, you can picture yourself in Neverland, flying up in the air. It’s got such a magical and adventurous sound and I love it!
“Flying”- Peter Pan (2003)- James Newton Howard
This one is a fairly more recent love for me. It fits the tone of the movie quite well: mixing old school magic with modern. I actually like that synthesizer sound and the percussion because it’s like “dropping the bass” and it sort of gives you shivers. Meanwhile the strings and other orchestra give it a magical fluttering feeling like flying (obviously). I love it!
“Forbidden Friendship”- How to Train Your Dragon- John Powell
This one is awesome because it has this other-worldly feel to it. The majority of it is just this sweet little tentative melody that matches the characters’s blossoming friendship in the film. I love how it grows steadily stronger and by the end is quite triumphant as the main character succeeds in gaining the dragon’s trust (though it ends on a very soft note).
“I Am the Doctor”- Doctor Who- Murray Gold
If you want an idea of who the Doctor’s character is simply through music, all you have to do is listen to this song. It has everything: a buildup, mystery, suspense, intensity, quirkiness, brashness, kindness, power, and so on.
“Imperial March”- Star Wars V: Empire Strikes Back- John Williams
Everyone thought John Williams outdid himself with Star Wars’s main theme, but then Episode V came out and he wrote the bad guys’s song and blew everyone away. Such a good song! It’s so intense and even if you haven’t seen Star Wars (and if you haven’t, you’re crazy), you can just see the baddest of the baddies marching in formation with a terrible leader at the helm.
“Kingdom Dance”- Tangled- Alan Menken
I love this one because of how unconventional it is. It sounds like an actual traditional tune you’d hear in some old medieval kingdom and dance a shanty to. It’s got a fun beat and is great to tap your toes to.
“Paperman”- Paperman- Christophe Beck
This is technically the main theme because it’s the only song in the short. However, like the other “main themes” on this list, it’s not very famous (though it really should be because this short is one of the best things I have ever seen in my life!). This theme is amazing! It’s so sweet and plucky, totally matching the theme of the short. I especially love when it picks up near the end and gets super triumphant and climactic (watching it with the short makes it 1000x better too). It’s simply a sweet tune that fills you with joy.
“Test Drive”- How to Train Your Dragon- John Powell
If you can’t tell, I like these melodies with the theme of flying in them. This song is so epic! Can’t you just envision yourself flying through the clouds when it plays? Because that’s what’s happening in the scene it plays over. I love the Celtic instruments incorporated too since the movie includes vikings. It’s just a great score!
“Transformation”- Beauty and the Beast- Alan Menken
What a beautiful theme! This whole movie is fantastic, but this scene and its music is so well done! The beginning is so sad and moving, then the actual transformation itself is exciting and epic, and everything after that is beautiful and triumphant. I love everything about this score!
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