Inside the Score

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Most composers think climaxes are about bigger chords. They’re not. They’re about making the listener want the arrival — and then waiting just a little longer.

In this video, I break down how John Williams stretches the climax in the E.T. finale, the storytelling idea behind it, and the exact tools you can steal to make your own music hit harder.

0:00 - Why this climax hits so hard 0:26 – The real principle behind powerful arrivals 1:59 – Fragment and repetition 3:02 – The anchor underneath everything 3:56 – The upward pull 4:58 – The almost-right moment 5:53 – Letting the climax land 6:29 – How to use this in your own music