John Williams for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first

John Williams is an American composer who was born in 1932. He wrote the music for Star Wars, Jaws, E.T., Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and the first Harry Potter films. He writes for a full symphony orchestra, so his film scores are a way into orchestra music for many children. The best first piece for a child is the main title from Star Wars.

Quick facts

• Born: February 8, 1932, in New York
• Era: Modern, and still writing in his nineties
• Plays: piano
• Known for: film scores, Olympic fanfares, and concertos
• Awards: five Oscars and more than 50 Oscar nominations, more than anyone except Walt Disney

The life in short

Williams grew up with music in the house. His father was a drummer who played in jazz bands and radio orchestras. John learned the piano as a boy and added trumpet, trombone, and clarinet.

The family moved to Los Angeles when he was 16. After school, he served in the United States Air Force, where he arranged music for bands. Then he studied piano at the Juilliard School in New York and played in jazz clubs at night.

Back in Los Angeles, he worked as a pianist in the film studios. He played on other composers’ scores, learned how film music was made, and began to write his own.

In 1974, a young director named Steven Spielberg asked him to score a film. They have now made 30 films together. The second was Jaws, whose theme uses two low notes, a half step apart, that get faster and faster.

In 1977, Williams wrote the music for Star Wars and recorded it with the London Symphony Orchestra. At a time when many films used pop songs, its score helped bring the full orchestra back to film music.

From 1980 to 1993, he was the conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. He has written fanfares for four Olympic Games and concertos for violin, cello, tuba, and other instruments. In 2025, at 93, he heard the first performance of his first piano concerto.

He writes with a pencil and paper at the piano.

What the music sounds like

Williams gives each character or idea its own short tune. When the character appears, the tune plays. This is the same idea Prokofiev used in Peter and the Wolf, and opera composers used it long before films.

His heroes get bold tunes for trumpets and horns that leap upward. His villains get low brass and marching rhythms. Magic gets bells, harp, and high strings.

Pieces to play first

Main title from Star Wars. One loud chord, then a trumpet tune that leaps up. Play the first two minutes.

“Hedwig’s Theme,” from Harry Potter. A music-box tune on the celesta, the same bell-like keyboard Tchaikovsky used for the Sugar Plum Fairy.

“The Imperial March,” from Star Wars. A villain’s march for low brass over a pounding rhythm.

“Flying Theme,” from E.T. A sweeping tune for strings that soars higher with each phrase.

“Olympic Fanfare and Theme.” Written for the 1984 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Trumpets open it alone.

Things to do together

Whose tune is it? Play ten seconds of three themes. Ask your child which character or film each belongs to and how the music tells you.

Hero or villain. Play the Star Wars main title and “The Imperial March.” List what is different: high or low, bright or dark, leaping or stomping.

Two notes. Play the two notes of the Jaws theme on a piano: any key and the key right beside it. Start slow and speed up. See intervals explained.

Write a theme. Ask your child to make up a short tune for a dog, a toy, or a family member. Is it high or low? Fast or slow?

Find the instrument. Play “Hedwig’s Theme” and the “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.” Both use the celesta.

From the film to the concert hall

Many orchestras play concerts of film music, and some play a whole score live while the film is shown on a screen. These concerts are a good first visit for a child who knows the tunes. See first orchestra concert with kids.

A child who likes the Star Wars music may also like “Mars” and “Jupiter” from The Planets by Holst.

Sources

Checked in November 2026.

• Classic FM (2025). 93-year-old John Williams gets standing ovation as he debuts his first ever piano concerto.
• Fox 11 Los Angeles (2025). Hollywood Bowl names stage after legendary film composer John Williams.

Print and play

Fill in a composer study notebook page for John Williams. For the instruments he writes for, see brass instruments for kids. For other composers of the last hundred years, see modern classical music for kids.

For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.