Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Out Now - The Music of the How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy

Recent from McFarland

The Music of the How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy: A Guide to the Scores of John Powell

Erik Heine

Full details and ordering information at https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/the-music-of-the-how-to-train-your-dragon-trilogy/


Format: softcover (7 x 10)

Pages: 208

Bibliographic Info: 101 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index

Copyright Date: 2024

pISBN: 978-1-4766-9367-5

eISBN: 978-1-4766-5232-0

Imprint: McFarland


About the Book

One of the many reasons why children and adults love the How to Train Your Dragon films is the music. John Powell composed the music for all three films, maintaining thematic consistency while writing new themes for each film. This book serves as a score guide for the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy. Every note has been examined to thoroughly discuss the music for Hiccup, Toothless and the other dragons, Vikings, and the enemies and friends that they encounter. It features interviews with the composer and nearly 100 musical excerpts.


Table of Contents

Acknowledgments viii


Foreword by Tim Greiving 1


Preface 3


Introduction 5


1. Musical Influences on the HTTYD Music 15


2. Pitch Collections 24


3. The Themes of the HTTYD Trilogy 30


4. How to Train Your Dragon Cue Analysis 58


5. How to Train Your Dragon 2 Cue Analysis 96


6. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Cue Analysis 134


7. Themes Across the Trilogy 174


Conclusion 185


Appendix 189


Chapter Notes 195


Bibliography 197


Index 199



About the Author(s)

Erik Heine is a professor of music theory at Oklahoma City University. He is the author of one book and several articles and book chapters concerning film music analysis.

No comments:

Post a Comment