How LotR's "Concerning Hobbits" creates a Sense of Home | Howard Shore Music Analysis

[Music] howard's source concerning hobbits is arguably among the most beloved themes in modern cinema history and has a very special place in my heart and that of many the lord of the rings film fans

[Music] its delicate beauty and simplicity has been resonating with people all over the world for years until today

the theme is often associated with emotions of nostalgia peace and most of all a sense of home but how does it achieve this my name is

kevin and today i'd like to find out concerning hobbits is one of the first tracks played in the fellowship of the ring the movie starts with a dark and foreboding prologue speaking of

historical battles betrayal and a world that is about to be changed forever but the true start of the movie's journey comes after that in the shire a regional middle-earth known for the

scenic beauty of its soft green hills rivers and fruitful lands the shire is the homeland of this beautiful song just as it is the homelands of the hobbits themselves the song perfectly supports the scene

where bilbo baggins introduces and characterizes the hobbits to the viewer being placed immediately after the sinister prologue concerning hobbits offers the viewer to catch their breath and find relief and hide for a bit from the

menacing darkness of the movie's intro but concerning hobbits stands for a lot more than just a happy interlude at the beginning of the movie by taking a deeper look into this beautiful piece we can already identify

many core elements of the entire lord of the rings story inside the composition first of all the song's chord

progression is a simple one mostly consisting of the very basic building blocks 1 4 5 and 6.

you won't find many abrupt harmonic turns but rather fluid and soft variations as the theme progresses keep in mind that this theme is about the hobbits and the hobbits like to stay

away from the struggles and the changes of the outside world they value a simple life and that is reflected in the choice of harmonies and progressions here the song starts with a playful intro of

short shallow and bass notes going from the root note d to its fifth a then to the octave d and back the bases are played pizzicato which means that the player plucks the strings

with their finger rather than using the bow it produces a very distinctive sound often referred to as playful or innocent

this is followed by a lyrical flute melody playing very fluently legato with ornaments breathing life

into the melody flute melody can be divided into four short phrases or statements

[Music] and each of these phrases moves up and back down in pitch ending either directly back on the root

note d or very close to it [Music] this creates a sense of stability and certainty gently like waves in the ocean or the

soft hills in the shire itself the melody first rises then softly falls again or it leaves for a little while and then returns each time the phrases once again reach

the root note d the harmonies are also playing the tonic chord d major evoking a feeling of coming back to a

familiar and stable place in the next part a solo violin plays an accentuated melody with short staccatos

this change in note length stands in contrast to the previous legato flute melody but it still suits the folky and positive mood of what we've heard before

it adds some new colors to the picture but now something changes unlike the parts before the violin melody doesn't return to the stable tonic d major

but ends on a more mellow notion in its parallel minor b minor it opens up the song and allows a string ensemble to take over the soul of island in an emotional climax

let's listen to the melody first note that it does not seek its way back to the root note d not this time [Music] and now have a look at the full ensemble

and see how the song travels farther away from its home key d major [Music] this part adds a lot of depth to the

composition and perhaps foreshadows a little bit frodo's calling to leave the shire to take the leap and go for a journey full of uncertainty and hardship

the theme returns to a more optimistic mood again and lets the solo violin take over with the first five tones of the melody that we've heard before but now it goes into two full-step

modulations upward to end on a triumphant a-sharp

it's even backed by a trumpet making it appear like a fanfare this elevation evokes notions of pride and achievement and overcoming an obstacle

almost as in look what i did i made it it's no coincidence that such modulation comes after an emotional and dramatic part you first have to introduce an obstacle before overcoming it and celebrating the

victory howard lets us enjoy this first success for a little while by following up with the calm part taking away the tension and letting the mind rest for a bit

[Music] but not long until it comes back this calling in b minor that tests our two hobbits strength and courage as they venture out to destroy the ring

a flute plays rhythmical staccato shorts rising higher and higher like musical footsteps of frodo and some

who are leaving their safe home further

and further towards the unknown during their journey the hobbits are confronted with a profound problem

how to return and live life as if nothing happened after facing so much darkness and sorrow they both have a unique approach to this problem and we can learn from both of them

sam proves that he's indeed one of the wisest characters in the lord of the rings he explains his concept of darkness as a shadow that will never last forever shadow needs light and with this metaphor he

suggests that hope love and everything good in people is the light that will ultimately drive away the darkness he believes that the sun will always reappear after the rain

and being a gardener knows that things can come back to life even after the strongest of storms if you take care of them it gives him the immense strength to

have faith in the future and carries frodo through his darkest times howard shore musically supports sam's

philosophy as we saw previously the intro flute melody is constantly drawn back to the root note d but even if we zoom out a bit the different larger parts and sections of

the song also tend to return to the tonic of the home key d major and even further the song's ending finds its way back to where it came from

it's almost identical to the intro the darker parts in between enrich in the song and allow it to grow but eventually the light will win just like in middle earth

frodo on the other hand is afraid that the darkness changed him in ways that he can no longer return home after being severely wounded both physically and mentally he says to gandalf the memory of darkness is heavy on me

there is no real going back though i may come to the shire it will not seem the same for i shall not be the same don't we all sometimes have these thoughts when facing dark times in our own lives

unsure of how we can ever go back and live our life as before with the fate of frodo we learn a very important life lesson here just because you can't always go back to

the way life was before doesn't mean that you cannot carry a piece of home with you memories of your past that shine a light on your path through life throughout the entire movie you can hear

elements of concerning hobbit's melody comforting frodo sam proved that he some wise the brave can go back but not everyone can and that's okay

frodo decided to move on towards the new land so far away from everything he had known before but listen and you can hear that he still has memories of home giving him company

life sends you on many journeys and some of them are horrifying leaving you full of doubt and uncertainty it happens to all of us but every adventure has its good things it can develop you as a person and reach

new heights in your personality and your being but what the lord of the rings tells us is that it can help to carry a piece of home with you for one day you might come back one day

we might all come back and there will be open arms and hope and if your journey leads us to different destinations we can carry that sense of home with us

concerning hobbits is an emotionally evocative piece that speaks to me in many ways it tells a story about a very special place called home and it paints this place as somewhere you come from where your roots are

a place you're also drawn back to after a long journey but most importantly a place you carry with you on your way the motifs of leaving and coming back and the valuable experiences you collect

on the way are an essential message of the lord of the rings series after all bilbo's book is called there and back again a hobbit's tale concerning hobbits is part of this tale

of light and hope and of the darkness that can never last forever due to everything good inside of us and everything good that we share with each other [Music]

it is an anthem to the biggest of emotions in a small context not a hymn for great halls but a hymn

for some very precious corners

inside all of us

[Music] you