Session 6:14 - Magic

[Arnorion]

do you suggest that when a person does magic, his/her own musical theme is played to show his/her being/essence being "projected"

Use of personal themes (for characters that have them) can help to communicate that they are putting forth their power to exert their will upon the physical matter of Arda, yes. Even using just a few notes of their themes could be enough. But we might also consider using themes of the Valar in some instances, or the Two Trees or even the stars for certain magical moments. I believe in the Hobbit we are told that the elves learned their greatest magics in the West, so maybe these sequences could draw on some of the music of Aman as well?

 

[Arnorion]

in the Hobbit we are told that the elves learned their greatest magics in the West

"For most of them [Wood-elves] (together with their
scattered relations in the hills and mountains) were
descended from the ancient tribes that never
went to Faerie in the West. There the Light-
elves and the Deep-elves and the Sea-elves
went and lived for ages, and grew fairer and
wiser and more learned, and invented their
magic and their cunning craft in the making of
beautiful and marvellous things, before some
came back into the Wide World."

Just because one source said they invented their magic in the West doesn't necessarily mean we need to use the music of Faerie, though. It was just a thought.

 

[Arnorion]

use of leitmotif whenever one's magic is used

We wouldn't even have to use a character's entire theme, just a few notes can be very evocative, think Jaws (two notes) or Star Wars rebels (two triads). Even the low-quality eighties cartoon Thundercats clearly communicates magic with very short and simple musical cues: Thundercat signal, sight-beyond-sight, Cheetarah's super speed, etc.
And for characters that don't have a personal theme of their own we could develop a generic elf-magic musical cue; perhaps something related to Varda's theme since the elves out of Aman are star-people.