Chords for Hans Zimmer Tutorial: How to Orchestrate Hype

So you guys wanna know how Hans Zimmer creates hype and tension in his music?
Well, let's use Pirates of the Caribbean [Dm] as an example. _ _
_ [Bb] _ _ [F] _ _ [C] _ _ [Bb] _
_ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ [B] _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ _ [Gb] _ _ _ [C] _ [E] _ _
[Bb] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ [A] _
_ _ [D] _ _ I'm talking specifically about this ring passage right here.
Having stuff like this allows you to create [C] a lot of tension and make effective transitions
that make the track [A] flow a lot more easily.
Something that beginners neglect [Em] to do and that's why their music sounds like [Am] beginners.
If you start implying stuff like this in your music, it [Gm] becomes way more professional.
How the hell do you do that?
[E] Well, the title of this video says Hans Zimmer, but this is [D] something that many composers do.
Hans is just great at taking ideas from many [Bm] different genres of composers
and applying it in his [C] music to make it sound amazing.
In this case, this can be [G] explained if we go and check out [A] a dubstep [G] remix of Kingdom Hearts
that I wrote.
I know [C] that's not what you came here for, but we're gonna go back and forth between
this remix and the Hans Zimmer track to make you understand this concept in a way
that's easy to understand.
Say for example, you have this build [A]-up right here.
_ _ [Bm] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ _ _
When you feel this, you expect [Eb] something's about to come.
What is the reason [Eb] why you feel that you expect something?
What is the thing that entices the [G] listener to prepare for the drop?
[N] Well, one of the things is this. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ This type of sound is called a riser.
A sound that has a very specific tone that keeps on [B] rising [Bb] chromatically.
When I say chromatic, I mean it's doing [F] all the possible [G] notes in the 12-tone scale,
which is exactly what is happening [C] in the strings [D] here.
_ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ [Db] _
_ _ [D] _ _ This is essentially an orchestral riser.
They are sometimes going out of the key that the track is in, and that is completely fine
as long as you try to [Ab] use this as a device [C] to increase tension.
That is used a lot in horror music too. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [N] Writing with chromatic scale, just ignoring for a second the concept of writing in a key
[B] really helps because what [A] you do is you [Ab] create this sense of tension and easiness.
It's like a [G] car going_ _ _ _
You're like, oh shit, it's going faster and faster.
Now, that is not enough.
That needs to be backed by [Am] something that makes the listener feel like I'm in a safe [B] place.
Before we talk about what holds you in [A] check during this [D] crazy transition,
I want to talk about how the strings were written.
I'm using Metropolis Arc 1.
Hans Zimmer did a thing on double basses and cellos where they essentially played
the [Bb] scale in which the track is in.
They're not playing chromatically.
They're going up [D] and down the scale like this.
[F] _ From [G] up to down, [E] and then they go [G] up [Bb] and up [Eb] and all the way until [G] C5 almost. _
[A] And when you [Gb] hit around this note [C] here, that's where the double basses and cellos
start to sound out of their natural [F] register and also the strings on double basses when
we kind of reach so high.
So instead of going higher and higher, Hans Zimmer reverted to going back down again,
_ [A] _ _ [F] _
_ _ _ _ _ [D] which is very cool, but this is [G] not chromatic.
So he gave a sense of foundation by doing the normal [D] scale with the lowest strings.
But when it comes to the higher ones, [C] like violas and violins and shit, it just went fucking crazy. _
_ _ [G] _ _ _ [D] _ _
This is [E] a pattern.
One down, two up.
One down, two [Bb] up.
One [E] down, two up.
And [B] it goes that [D] way throughout this passage.
At a certain point, it repeats again. _
_ _ _ [C] _ _ [D] _ _ _
_ _ Now, once again, here with this G6, we [Gb] reach such a high note that, you know, keeping them
going [Bb] higher would probably be too mental.
And also after a certain amount of rising, what [E] you want is to create this [G] sense that
the tension is about to break by making it [Bm] peak.
One way to make tension peak is to add [Gb] repetition.
That is what Hans Zimmer did here. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [E] You know, like that, it really makes it stay on the edge.
Now, wherever there's repetition in music, you also want something else to kind of guide
the track forward too.
So when the violas and violins go crazy like that, you're going to notice that's exactly
where the bass starts to go down.
_ [F] _ _ [D] _ _ [Bb] _
_ [Gm] That is a very good collaboration [Ab] in the string [D] department.
But that's just the string department.
You have the brass doing something very similar, actually.
[D] _ _ [Bb] _ _ [Dm] _ _
_ _ _ [Am] _ _ [A] _ [Bb] You notice the trumpets are doing_ _ _ _
with triplets.
So this now, the brass is kind of doing the same thing, but it's giving [Gm] a sense of novelty
because it adds different sorts of rhythms, [Am] which is pretty cool.
But what's most [G] important is the percussion, which does something [N] like this. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] Now, I made a five minute tutorial on this percussive passage alone.
It's called like, Autobite percussion by Hans [Ab] Zimmer or something like that.
Go find it if you want to learn how I made these collaborations I use, etc.
But the way this percussion helps the track is that they give you something to hold on to.
The rhythm stays [C] quite steady for a bit.
It's interesting, but it's steady.
It doesn't change.
It's not chromatic, [Gm] crazy, _ infuriating.
But [E] at the end of the passage, that's where it goes a bit crazy. _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Am] _ [A] _ _ [Gb] You know, you want that.
Like the same thing happens in electronic music.
Like if we go back to this build up.
[Bm] _ _ _ _ [B] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [Gb] _ _ [G] _ _ _ _
_ [Em] The one thing you notice maybe is that the drums [Gb] are going kind of crazy.
[G] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Ab] _ _ _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ [A] You know, that kind of creates some anticipation.
[Am] And as the transition is reaching to its end, that's where [D] you get those feels like _
in symphonic orchestral music.
You can [B] definitely play with making your drums way [C] more powerful, way more [G] layered,
adding some, [Bb] you know, taiko rolls and stuff like that [D] that I explained in the drums tutorial.
So when you put all of that together, you get a baseline that guides you.
Drums that make you feel safe and also [Em] give a sense of power.
[C] And the strings that are just like these [G] hysterical kids that scream the highest possible until
they reach the peak and they can't anymore.
[D] But they keep on screaming [Bb] while the baseline guides the transition to its end.
Let's listen to [D] it once again.
_ _ [G] _ _ _ [B] _ [Am] _ _
[D] _ _ _ _ [Gb] _ _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Dm] _ _ [A] _ _ _ So that's one way in which Hans Zimmer creates tension in Pirates of the [B] Caribbean.
There's [N] like 7,000 more because music is not only about learning one trick.
Sorry to let you down.
Writing professional music is about learning thousands of new tricks and learning to imply
them all in your musical creations.
That's where it starts to sound very professional, which is why one tutorial will not save you.
A hundred tutorials might teach you a lot.
A course might teach you even much more.
By the way, speaking of courses, Evenant is back.
Those of you have been asking me about when they will open their courses again.
They're open now.
You can get them all, I think.
And there's many new courses that just came [Dm] out like cinematic music [E] too.
So I would recommend you to check out the [D] courses.
Link down below in the description of this video.
Or if you are broke and you don't want to spend money on those, watch this tutorial channel.
There's way more information here than you even need to make orchestral music at a professional level.
So both resources are valid.
You can do it.
You just have to get working, write a little music.