Music Pieces

    My parents are mega fans of Downton Abbey. When new episodes aired, the family would get together and watch, then talk about it later. During those conversations, my father always liked to point out small clever details about the show--like the way colors and light contrast were used. And one of the nice touches he particularly liked to point out how lots of the main characters have their own theme music.
    Which is really an interesting concept. A music piece that perfectly summarizes a character, place, or scene taking place in the story. There are lots of intricate aspects involved.
    Like, for example, the way instruments can reflect special details about a character. NBC's Heroes has a villain who used to work as a watchmaker, and sometimes during his main scenes, you can distinctly hear a ticking noise. Various instruments were being used to imitate the ticking of a watch, hinting at his rare skill and his old occupation. In another show, where the main character is a lady usually tasked with running errands, her music is calm but purposeful, a soft kind of sound with strong undertones. The choice in music not only perfectly characterizes her daily duties, but it also sums up her own personality as well.
    Music pieces can also set the mood for different places and societies. If you've watched The Hobbit movie trilogy, you know that the music sounds different when the plot takes the group to the Woodland Elves' territory than it does at the Shire, or at the Misty Mountains. Because the Hobbits, Elves, and Dwarves are very different peoples, and their music reflects the different values of their cultures. Hobbits are homely and value keeping peace, so their music is pleasant and almost sleepy. The elves value beauty and dignity, so their music is serene and elegant. The dwarves, finally, value strength and glorious building accomplishments, so their music has loud notes and a grandeur tone. The music serves as such a perfect reflection that a person could easily picture these places just by listening to its respective musical piece for just a few moments.
    Sometimes, certain music pieces can also signal a break in the action, the "normalcy status" in a story. They do this quite a bit in Downton Abbey, and also in Sherlock. This is usually snippets or variants of the main theme, played at a break in the action or between scenes, where the characters aren't directly pursuing their goal or working hard. It's kind of relaxing, actually; like taking a nice, deep breath before pushing on with the excitement.
    It's true that all of these things are generally applied to movies and TV, but I think they could also be applicable to a novel. A friend of mine was able to construct a setting, scene, and characters from one good instrumental song she heard, and another writer-friend even wrote a song to characterize her main protagonist. Lots of others like to listen to music while writing because it helps them get in the mood of the scene.
    So what do you think? Do you ever pay close attention to musical pieces in movies or shows? Do you have specific songs that fit characters/settings/scenes in your story perfectly? :)