Hans Zimmer – Time (Inception) Piano solo arr. (with sheet music)
Sheet Music Download here.
Inception: Music from the Motion Picture
is the soundtrack to the 2010 film of the same name directed by Christopher Nolan, released under Reprise Records on July 13, 2010. Hans Zimmer scored the film, marking his third collaboration with Nolan following Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.
Browse in the Library:
and subscribe to our social channels for news and music updates:
Production
According to Zimmer, the soundtrack for Inception is “a very electronic score”. Nolan asked Zimmer to compose and finish the score as he was shooting the film. The composer said, “He wanted to unleash my imagination in the best possible way”. At one point, while composing the score, Zimmer incorporated a guitar sound reminiscent of Ennio Morricone and was interested in having Johnny Marr, former guitarist in the influential 80s rock band The Smiths, play these parts.
Zimmer’s reported inspiration was finding a synthesizer track that he had written similar to Marr’s guitar style. Nolan agreed with Zimmer’s suggestion, and then Zimmer approached Marr, who accepted his offer. Marr spent four 12-hour days working on the score, playing notes written by Zimmer with a 12-string guitar.
For inspiration, Zimmer read Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter because it combined “the idea of playfulness in mathematics and playfulness in music”. Zimmer did not assemble a temp score but “every now and then they would call and say ‘we need a little something here.’ But that was OK because much of the music pieces aren’t that scene-specific.
They fall into little categories”. While writing the screenplay, Nolan wrote in Édith Piaf‘s “Non, je ne regrette rien” but almost took it out when he cast Marion Cotillard, who had just completed an Oscar-winning turn as Piaf in the 2007 film La Vie en rose. Zimmer convinced Nolan to keep it in the film and also integrated elements of the song into his score; in particular, the film’s iconic brass instrument fanfare resembles a slowed-down version of the song’s instrumentation.
The trailers for the film feature specially composed music by Zack Hemsey, which does not appear on the official soundtrack. The soundtrack was nominated for several awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Grammy and a BAFTA.
James Southall of Movie Wave awarded the score five stars, calling it “Zimmer’s finest work in a number of years”, and Jim Lochner of Film Score Click Track, who said “Inception is one thrilling and trippy […] musical ride”, awarding the score four and a half stars out of five.
Track listing
All music is composed by Hans Zimmer.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | “Half Remembered Dream” | 1:12 |
| 2. | “We Built Our Own World” | 1:55 |
| 3. | “Dream Is Collapsing” | 2:28 |
| 4. | “Radical Notion” | 3:43 |
| 5. | “Old Souls” | 7:44 |
| 6. | “528491” | 2:23 |
| 7. | “Mombasa” | 4:54 |
| 8. | “One Simple Idea” | 2:28 |
| 9. | “Dream Within a Dream” | 5:04 |
| 10. | “Waiting for a Train” | 9:30 |
| 11. | “Paradox” | 3:25 |
| 12. | “Time” | 4:35 |
| Total length: | 49:13 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 13. | “Projections” | 7:04 |
| 14. | “Don’t Think About Elephants” | 5:35 |
| Total length: | 12:39 |
Hans Zimmer Biography
Birth Name: Hans Florian Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and executive score producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including Rain Man (1988), The Lion King (1994), Crimson Tide (1995), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Gladiator (2000), The Last Samurai (2003), The Da Vinci Code (2006), Frost/Nixon (2008), The Dark Knight (2008), Sherlock Holmes (2009), and Inception (2010).
Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the United Kingdom before moving to the United States. He is the head of the film music division at DreamWorks studios, and works with other composers through the company which he founded, Remote Control Productions.
His works is notable for integrating electronic music sounds with traditional orchestral arrangements. He has won two Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes, a Classical BRIT Award, and an Academy Award. Zimmer also has been ranked Number 72 on the list of the Top 100 living geniuses.