Leitmotif

A leitmotif (pronounced "Light-motif") is a recurring piece of music (or at least melody) that represents a character, action, or theme. This is a well-established technique used in almost every medium that involves music and story. The leitmotif technique was codified by opera composer Richard Wagner in the second half of the 19th Century. In his later operas, not only would every character have their own musical theme, but so did many objects, places, and even abstract ideas. Leitmotifs are often named simply "<character>'s Theme" or "<noun> Motif."note They often make up the bulk of movie and anime soundtracks, and a fair chunk of video game soundtracks as well. This is different from an Image Song in that Image Songs exist only outside of the scope of the show that produced them. Compare with "I Am" Song. If a character with a distinctive-sounding Leitmotif is in a production or episode with No Fourth Wall (or at least some Medium Awareness), one of their fellows may lampshade how loud and annoying their theme music is. (To which the character will almost always reply, "What theme music?") Can become a Theme Song Reveal for audiences if (or after) they recognize the theme. The character might also have their leitmotif as their own ringtone, for a subtler joke; see also Left the Background Music On. Note that if a character's leitmotif starts playing during an action scene, it's probably a Theme Music Power-Up and a wise Mook would start running. Can become a Recurring Riff when used throughout a long-running series. Bootstrapped Leitmotif is such a variation, where a song that wasn't originally intended as a leitmotif later becomes one. One especially common leitmotif in video games is the Battle Theme Music, associated with monster battles in general. (Since RPGs Equal Combat, especially when Level Grinding Random Encounters.) If a specific character's Battle Theme Music is actually a remix of their Leitmotif, it may be a Boss Remix. See also Mood Motif, Standard Snippet. Super-Trope to Love Theme. Compare Arc Words, which is more or less the literary equivalent. Also compare AM/FM Characterization, when it's the character's music tastes that define them.