Hedwigs Theme is one of the masterpieces by John Williams and it is

undeniably truth that the first thing that comes up to ones mind is it is magical and
beautiful. The main instrument for this leitmotif is celeste where it gives the magical
sound effect BECAUSE IT SOUNDS SO LIGHT AND DELICATE. Most people
could recognize the musical theme because of its uniqueness and catchiness. Though
new leitmotifs are created for every Harry Potter (HP) movies, this leitmotif is still
used in all of the movies. The music sounds uplifting and very promising when people
hear it for the first time. This theme is not always associated with Harrys owl,
Hedwig although it is called Hedwigs Theme. Williams had created two version of
Hedwigs Theme: Hedwigs a and Hedwigs B. Hedwigs a is softer than
Hedwigs B. This leitmotif has given a lot of impacts in Harry Potters to channel the
characters emotions and the meaning of specific scenes musically.
This leitmotif appears in the scenes: Mail Delivery (HP1) and A Walk in the
Woods/Winter Comes (HP3). Harry is serving cookies to Mr. Dudley when suddenly
he hears the sound of owl making noise and Hedwigs Theme is playing at the same
time. The sound of solo celeste can be heard clearly when Harry looks outside the
window. There are a lot of owls in front of the house. The way the music is playing
mirrors something that is unexpected happens when it less expect it. In this case,
Harry thinks he will not get a letter because there is no post on Sunday; but things
happen the other way around. Harry gets a lot of letters from the owls outside of the
house. The second repetition of the music pattern starts to get louder and it represents
uplifting moment. The music plays quickly when the first letter comes from the
chimney. It would seem that this leitmotif is used since it is related to owls and this is
the first time Harry sees unexpected thing happen in front of his own eyes as if magic

had happened. Then the woodwind instruments and string instruments (violins)
followed celeste when a lot of letters are coming out of nowhere

Hedwigs Theme and Its Transformations Analyze the use of Hedwigs Theme and discuss specific
instances of its use and how it musically and dramatically transforms in form, function and meaning in
the following cues.
1
2
3
4
5
6

HP1, Cue 5 (1M5), Mail Delivery 10:54-12:14

HP3, Cue 32, A Walk in the Woods/Winter Comes (revisit this cue for Hedwigs Theme) 57:17-51:28
HP4, Cue 1, 1M1, The Story Continues, Main Title 0:00-1:26
HP5, Cue 16, A Journey to Hogwarts 27:40-28:16
HP7, Cue 6 (1M6), Harrys Closet and Polyjuice, and Cue 8, Pt. 3 (The theme is quoted briefly in each of these
two cues.) 10:44-11:17 and 13:10-15:15
HP8, Cue 9, Dragon Flight

Introductory Paragraph: Introduce Hedwigs Theme and briefly describe its general musical makeup,
character and meaning.
a
b
c
d

Body:
Briefly give an overview of what the scene is about.
Note when Hedwigs Theme occurs and describe what is happening in the scene during the time it
occurs. Also mention any other themes that occur before and after we hear Hedwigs Theme and how
Hedwigs Theme relates to those themes.
Describe the musical development of Hedwigs Theme and its orchestration (or instrumentation).
Summarize Hedwig Themes function and meaning and how it helps support the scene, noting how the
theme changes from film to film.
Concluding Paragraph: Summarize how the theme develops through the film series and transforms
musically, dramatically, and in its significance and meaning.