Theme from Jaws (Jaws)

The simplest idea in film music history: two notes, a minor second apart, played on tuba, slowly. Then faster. Then the whole ocean becomes a predator. Williams understood that the imagination of danger is more terrifying than its depiction, and this theme weaponizes anticipation. The low register keeps everything below the surface, both literally and psychologically — this is not music that lives in the light. The ostinato builds with biological precision, like a heart rate increasing, and the dynamics follow the logic of something approaching from depth. It has no melody because melody requires intention; this is pure instinct made audible. People who hear it while swimming still glance downward.