My Composing Process: Spitfire’s Bridgerton Scoring Competition (2022)

Hello Readers,

This past week, I posted by submission for the 2022 Spitfire Audio Bridgerton Scoring Competition. I participated in the 2020 version of the competition, which involved scoring a scene from the show “Westworld” (you can read about my scoring process here). The scene from Bridgerton comes from Episode 5 of the first season of the show, and involves a number of characters and plot points and moving parts, all revolving around the engagement between Daphne Bridgerton and the Duke of Hastings. In the end, I composed a modern-sounding score with mellotrons, a drum kit, bass and distorted synthesizers and mixed these elements with some early 19th century period instruments like harpsichord, strings, tin whistle, celesta, and fit in other percussive elements and some fun additions.

Let’s get started.

Starting the Scoring Process

I worked on this score quite quickly. In total it was probably around 3 hours of work. I started by loading up a Logic project and playing the CFX Concert Grand piano to the picture. The result was this demo:

While this definitely doesn’t sound like the final version of the score there are some elements that did influence what I wrote later. The most important thing was mapping out the feeling of the scene, and this demo definitely accomplished that. In addition, the general feel of the demo still translates to the final piece. The moments where the score is big and exciting, and the moments where it is sparse (or entirely quiet).

Mapping It Out

Now that I had gotten my feet wet, I decided to map out the score formally. Using the markers in Logic, I mapped it out as such: Cold Open - Opening Title - Queen - Man Running - Pause - Diamond of the Season - Duke of Hastings - Bride - Gossip - Sisters. Each of these markers signaled a change in the music in some way. If was from this map that I truly started to score.

The Score Breakdown

Cold Open - A collection of string tremolo samples from Spitfire Studio Strings (Celli (6), Bass (4)) as well as the Spitfire LABS Frozen Strings Cello. They are playing a period-style chord progression that leads into the Planet Fuzzy E-Piano cutting through the texture. This is the first sense that the score is going to have a modern twist (much like the show itself).

Opening Title - Over the opening titles, I add in the Mellotron Choir (from Logic), the Surdo and Zabumba drums (from the Logic Latin Kit) and Tubular Bells. The Mellotron Choir acts as a driving force playing a simple C major chord, leading into the next section.

Queen - This is where the DRUMS arrive. I used the LABS Drum Kit and laid down a simple groove with a lot of drive and momentum. I did a mix of three different bass sounds to create the layered bass choir. On top of the drum kit, there is also a rhythm from the European Folk Kit (from Logic). It uses the suspended cymbal, toms and tenor concert drum. All of this sits together to demonstrate the Queens awesome presence, her lavishness, her adorable dogs and the opulence and grandeur of her palace.

Man Running - The main melody kicks in as she begins to talk about the wedding plans. It is played by the Celtic Tin Whislte, LABS Micahs Choir and the Mellotron. The melody clashes with the basses (who are playing in the C minor key with an Eb), and this is the point. There is definite tension throughout this entire opening sequence, and the music is showing it through subtle dissonance.

Pause - When she asks the man about the gossip publication Whistledown, the music becomes more sparse. I throw in a harpsichord that plays a period-style solo and further shows the blending of classical and modern in the score. Underneath there is a Repique de Mao drum and an Open Tambourine.

Diamond of the Season - This was actually one of the first sections that I began officially scoring. I laid down the drum beat and added in the distorted e-piano, in addition to the harpsichord, grand piano and celesta. The overall feeling is a crescendoing jubilation ending with shock (when the Queen reads that her nephew is not marrying Daphne Bridgerton).

Duke of Hastings - At this news, the score basically breaks down. It ends on a jokingly happy major chord. You can just the egg shaker as Prince Friedrich awkwardly walks into the room. I specifically didn’t want a lot of music in this section, to highlight the awkwardness of it all.

Bride - This section purposefully does not have a lot of bass. As such it feels more airy and light and complements the narration and dialogue as Daphne details everything that she needs to do. The celesta, piano, tin whistle, cajon, egg shaker, darbuka drum and suspended cymbal make up this texture. The music gracefully moves between the C major and Eb major chords (a pretty drastic change, highlighting the upending nature of the situation. As the realization dawns on her that she is getting married so soon, Daphne has a semi-concerned expression on her face. To underscore this, the music becomes more dissonant (with a Db note thrown into the celesta and mellotron choir + flute and the thumb bass hitting a C).

Gossip - The gossip section is bombastic and intensely orchestral. It is centered around a very fast violin line that feels very period to the early 19th century. It is centered around C major and F minor chords. The violas, cellos and basses come in with a ascending line that ends with the brass (horns, trombones, trumpets from Spitfire Studio Brass), the Mellotron choir, Flute flutter (Spitfire Studio Woodwinds). As a rhythmic element underneath, you can hear the Medieval Lute and Spanish Flamenco Guitar (percussive not melodic). This entire sequence alludes to the scandalous nature of marrying quickly without a lot of note, so the score crescendos to a dramatic orchestral cadence to support this notion.

Sisters - The sequence ends with the sisters discussing what it is like to fall in love. Daphne carries an ironic tone in her response. The music highlights this tension by repeating the bass line from the Queen scene in low punches as the Lute, Celesta and Harpsichord play the main theme. A timpani has low hits in the background with the Spanish Flamenco Guitar acting as percussion once more. The score ends with the distorted e—piano and mellotron crescendoing to a dissonant ending line of C-B-Bb (essentially creating a C7 chord with the basses). This entire section underscores the tension that Daphne is feeling.

Closing Remarks

This was an incredibly fun score to compose. It was a rapid-fire process. I was basically just experimenting and quickly playing in lines to hear how they sounded. I love working like that. Something that I discovered during this process was that laying down a percussive rhythm (even as a placeholder) really helped me visualize a sequence. It already added a momentum underneath, and then all I had to do was build textures and melodies around that beat. The drum tracks in this score are a great example of this. As soon as I played in the drum lines, the picture completely changed and I could already hear how the other elements could complement it further.

Thanks to Spitfire for putting together this terrific competition. It is a great way to hone your skills. I found this experience especially helpful because it allowed me to experiment with my workflow, from composing to mixing to mastering.

Thank you for reading this blog post. If you have any questions about how I scored this play, or about the score itself, feel free to email me at nicholasescobarcomposer@gmail.com.

Your’s Musically,

Nicholas Escobar