What does the new Star Wars trailer tell us about the soundtrack?

28 November 2014, 15:40 | Updated: 10 December 2014, 15:14

The Force Awakens has arrived - and the new trailer features new music from John Williams, recorded in recent weeks by the London Symphony Orchestra.

The first trailer for the new Star Wars movie has arrived, complete with a snippet of John Williams' new score. But what can we glean from this tiny preview?

First of all, those huge strident chords sound like they've been lifted straight from the Sarlacc pit scene in Return of the Jedi, but there's something much busier about it.

Frenetic strings are a John Williams staple, but does their presence so early on here suggest that the rest of the soundtrack is going to be equally manic? 

Watch John Williams conduct his iconic music for Star Wars

It's hard to tell - towards the end of the trailer it reverts to business as usual. That inimitable main theme returns and suddenly we're back on familiar ground.

Subtitled 'The Force Awakens', the film is the seventh instalment in the long-running sci-fi saga, and the first to be directed by JJ Abrams. Check out the music in the trailer below:

And here's the Sarlacc Pit scene. Recognise those chords?

What do you make of the new John Williams music in the trailer? Does it bode well for the film's full soundtrack? Let us know in the comments below.