# Let's get BETTER: The Quidditch Match!



## NoamL (Sep 17, 2020)

To get some good theory discussion going on VI-C, I'm going to analyze 20 bars of John Williams a day, focusing on his complex and interesting action cues.

The transcription will be posted here every day, and *everyone* *is welcome to comment your thoughts and insights! 

TABLE OF CONTENTS*

*JUMP TO CUE #1:* _I Can Fly Anything_ from _The Force Awakens_

*JUMP TO CUE #2:* _The Quidditch Match_ from_ Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone_


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## NoamL (Sep 17, 2020)

Let's kick things off with the cue *"I Can Fly Anything"* from The Force Awakens.

You can watch the film here:



This will be an analysis of the released CD version however:


*I CAN FLY ANYTHING - PART 1*

























The cue starts by establishing B minor. The oboe introduces a little dissonance which then gets played out over a pivot to G major and then back to B minor. So far John is keeping his chords "up in the air" without strong roots, which helps the mysterious feeling.
6-7: The low strings outline B harmonic minor, and the tension starts to build around that. The identifying notes of B _harmonic_ minor are B, D, G and A#. John gives a clear picture of those notes in the bass.
It's interesting how simple this arrangement is. You have the horns and low strings trading staccatos; the violas playing their little "on your mark, get set" idea; and the trill in the background. Bars 11-12 are even simpler, the only pitch is B.
Bars 13-15 start to get "that Star Wars feeling" with a classic JW "boom tss", and the trumpets expand into a fanfare gesture 8va trombones. Where they end on Gm, that emphasizes we're still in B harmonic minor (Bb=A#). Bar 15 is notable for how JW fills up his bar, there's something on every beat, without making a dense arrangement. And today's excerpt ends with some effective unison noodling in the strings that feels like another "on your marks, get set" gesture...


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## Ian Dorsch (Sep 17, 2020)

This is awesome, thanks for posting this!


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## SupremeFist (Sep 17, 2020)

This is one of the rare good reasons for the internet to exist.


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## Mike Greene (Sep 17, 2020)

I think I know what the first item in next week's newsletter will be.


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## Alex Fraser (Sep 17, 2020)

<mashes “watch” button>


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## Kent (Sep 17, 2020)

Mike Greene said:


> I think I know what the first item in next week's newsletter will be.


Glad you started these up again!


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## Richard Wilkinson (Sep 17, 2020)

This is a great idea! And the short score illustrates the orchestration very effectively too


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## tonaliszt (Sep 17, 2020)

NoamL said:


> The low strings outline B harmonic minor, and the tension starts to build around that. The identifying notes of B _harmonic_ minor are B, D, G and A#. John gives a clear picture of those notes in the bass.


The chord progression in these measures is basically a back and forth between Bm-Gm (looking at just bass notes you mention). I don't think it is just a coincidence that Bm-Gm are also the main chords in the Imperial March (assuming you transpose it to B minor)! 

I also think it is interesting that exactly the notes you mentioned - B,D,G,Bb(what you have as A#) - are also the following things. 
1. The outline of a minor-major chord (Hello Bernard Herrmann!)
2. A subset of the octatonic scale
3. The distinctive opening chord in Williams' March of the Villians from Superman (and I'm sure used in numerous other pieces of his as well)

Looking forward to the rest! Really cool Noam!


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## ProfoundSilence (Sep 18, 2020)

Mike Greene said:


> I think I know what the first item in next week's newsletter will be.


Soup line, after we spent all our food money on samples


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## ChrisSiuMusic (Sep 18, 2020)

Great work man! Looking forward to much more.


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## Snarf (Sep 18, 2020)

This is fantastic! Looking forward to more!
My only suggestion would be a slightly more detailed description of which stave/line is which instrument/section


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## NoamL (Sep 18, 2020)

*I CAN FLY ANYTHING: Part 2*








This section starts with a move from B minor up to C minor, launching the music forward. The arrangement is simple and militaristic.
Next John goes quickly around the circle of fifths: C minor to G minor to D minor.






23-26 the downbeat is de-emphasized & various rhythms are mixed together. This gives a breathless energy to the music and contrasts with the march idea earlier.
23-24 these chords are JW classics. The minor b6 chord doesn't have have any function I think, it's just increased tension. The chord at 24 is something he uses often, a 6/4 minor chord with a #4 on top. Not sure if you'd call it Gm#11/D or something like that, but it works as an A7 substitute without using A. It's a maximally tense, dominant-ish chord that points back to D minor.
24-26 reminds us that it's D _harmonic_ minor.






This section is transitional, the main goal is to hit G minor at 33 when the TIE Fighter breaks the tether and Poe & Finn fly out of the hangar.
At 28-29, F#m is an interesting transition chord. With the D's in the brass you could call it DM7, but I think it's more like a brief bitonality in practice? Anyway, John goes back to D minor, and then uses Ebm as a transitional chord to G minor.
Those descending 4ths in the brass 28-29, and earlier 20-21, sure do sound a lot like Star Wars  I think these are a musical hint at the adventure to follow!


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## JohnG (Sep 18, 2020)

nice @NoamL !


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## Mike Greene (Sep 19, 2020)

This is great stuff. Thanks for doing this, Noam.


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## NoamL (Sep 19, 2020)

*I CAN FLY ANYTHING - Part 3*








33-36: extremely strong (& simple!) statement of G minor and 3/4, establishing the next chapter in the music.






The double-triad orchestration (Tpts 8va Horns) feels very bold and rich compared to the spare harmonization so far. And there's the first major chords we've heard since the cue kicked off (borrowed from G nat minor and G maj).






Using the #4 to get to D minor. With all the dialog in the scene, the brass only plays during the exterior shots of the TIE fighter zooming around.






On we go, to Bb minor. Despite no real prep for these modulations, the idea is clear to follow. This section aims at the next big hitpoint in the cue (Finn & Poe celebrate). Looking at this scene in the movie, you can hear they needed to insert a little extra music:








Either way the music is about hit a big gear-change in tomorrow's section!


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## Nils Neumann (Sep 19, 2020)

This is why I started coming here. Thanks Noam!


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## NoamL (Sep 19, 2020)

Thanks y'all. Just want to reiterate - I don't have all the answers, this is a free discussion for anyone to participate and comment on what they see in the music  so far the music has been fairly simple but there's some interesting stuff in the coming days...


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## anjwilson (Sep 19, 2020)

Thanks Noam for doing this.

Apologies for the late response, but a couple thoughts related to your observations.



NoamL said:


> 23-24 these chords are JW classics. The minor b6 chord doesn't have have any function I think, it's just increased tension. The chord at 24 is something he uses often, a 6/4 minor chord with a #4 on top. Not sure if you'd call it Gm#11/D or something like that, but it works as an A7 substitute without using A. It's a maximally tense, dominant-ish chord that points back to D minor.
> At 28-29, F#m is an interesting transition chord. With the D's in the brass you could call it DM7, but I think it's more like a brief bitonality in practice? Anyway, John goes back to D minor, and then uses Ebm as a transitional chord to G minor.



I'd call that a C# diminished 7 over tonic pedal at bar 24, rather than an extended Gm chord. As you later said, it's a dominant function chord, serving primarily to harmonize the A-Bb-C#-D melody, another of those harmonic minor scale fragments emphasized in this passage. Omitting the third of diminished sevenths is fairly common (the diminished fifth and seventh are enough to identify the chord by ear).

The F#m chord at 28-29 is unorthodox. I find it really interesting that he is using a transposition of that move to get back home to Gm (Dm-F#m up a semitone is Ebm-Gm). It suggests a possible expressive interpretation for the Dm-F#m as a kind of failure or crisis, followed by a gathering of strength and second successful effort in the subsequent Ebm-Gm.


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## NoamL (Sep 20, 2020)

Today's excerpt: "the good part" 

*I CAN FLY ANYTHING - Part 4 

*






















As shown in the sheet music, I suggest Poe's Theme is in *A Mixolydian* - what do you reckon? Haven't worked out the function of 60-63. The orchestration uses some classic JW strategies that you may be familiar with from his published concert suites. Pizzicato bass = the orchestra is flying!


It's notable how John transitions so easily into & out of this very melodic, heroic idea surrounded by action music. One thing he did very well, was set up the meter & tempo he wants for this theme _all_ the way back at the previous hitpoint when the TIE Fighter breaks the tether (beginning of part 3). Good planning!


The modulation into this theme is neat, too. Coming from Bb minor, JW used some scalar motion and a Bb bass to get into A Mixo. The film version of the cue uses an Ebm/Bb chord. In both cases it's smooth motion because the first chord of Poe's Theme is Em.


We don't get a complete statement of Poe's hero theme, instead ending on a dominant-feeling E suspended chord. Somehow this gets worked around (via the CM7?) so that the last bar of today's excerpt now reads as a B-dominant pointing to E as the new tonic.


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## SupremeFist (Sep 20, 2020)

anjwilson said:


> I'd call that a C# diminished 7 over tonic pedal at bar 24, rather than an extended Gm chord.


It doesn't really matter, but I'd definitely call it a first inversion of a Gm#11 given the doubled Ds (fifths in this description) in the bass and the Bb (minor third ditto) in the melody: in context it's simply a iv-i (with the C# contributing a bit of V flavour).


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 20, 2020)

NoamL said:


> As shown in the sheet music, I suggest Poe's Theme is in *A Mixolydian* - what do you reckon?



A-mixolydian is the same pitch set as E-Dorian.

In my view the theme is well grounded with E as the tonic starting, on E Dorian scale, with modal interchange to E Minor scale at bar 57 with the C chord.

It gets murkier with the Fmajor chord at bar 59, could be construed as borrowing from E Phyrigian, or could more likely start to be modulating to something new because the upcoming Cm chord doesn't fit any E tonic based mode.

I would analyze the chord at bar 61 as Cmajor with tension notes added, which is still within that E Minor mode, but the Cm is really an abrupt sound change that sounds like a new tonic to me, especially followed by the FMaj.

however he works it back quickly to the Am Chord in the next bar......which is back to E Dorian, perhaps.


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 20, 2020)

As a side note, this is the first time I've ever been involved with breaking down Poe's theme analytically, but every time I have heard it...it has always struck me how it seems like its modulating to a new key with that Cm chord, but then backs out of it back to wherever it was. Its like a fake out modulation to C Dorian...


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## SupremeFist (Sep 20, 2020)

Dewdman42 said:


> I would analyze the chord at bar 61 as Cmajor with tension notes added, which is still within that E Minor mode, but the Cm is really an abrupt sound change that sounds like a new tonic to me, especially followed by the FMaj.
> 
> however he works it back quickly to the Am Chord in the next bar......which is back to E Dorian, perhaps.


For me bar 60 is Cmaj7 then G7(/C), which is the dominant of the Cm next. But Cm is just the bvi (and so arguably a substitute for the V) of Em, which I agree is the key: it all resolves to a basic Emadd4 at 65, followed by a strong V7.


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 20, 2020)

Cm is not the bVI of Em. Nor would it be a dominant substitute. Cm is definitely a very strong departure from Eminor or E dorian modes. The Cminor chord does not exist in any E based mode.

Its more like a chord progression by mediants. JW and other classic film score composers use the mediant progression often to go from say Em to Cm. Its dark and mysterious and found all over various film scoring work, but still Cm is outside of any E based mode... so it represents a modulation..which you can clearly hear at that point in the theme, though it comes back two bars later.


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## SupremeFist (Sep 20, 2020)

Dewdman42 said:


> Cm is not the bVI of Em. Nor would it be a dominant substitute.


Sorry, my typo, it's just the vi of Em. But the (minor) vi is actually a very common dominant substitute in jazz, and we know JW is a jazzer.


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 20, 2020)

Except in this case the Cm chord moves on to Fmaj, it does not functionally resolve to Em as a dominant substitute.


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## NoamL (Sep 20, 2020)

If I play the first four bars of the theme, 51-54, at the piano and "feel" for a tonic chord it feels like the music should end on D major. But if I play 51-58 at the piano and try to feel the tonic my mind changes to A Mixolydian...


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 20, 2020)

Yea I don't feel it that way at all, hehe but anyway these kinds of discussion always end up without agreement, so no surprise there.


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 20, 2020)

Noaml, I would suggest that the feeling you are seeking is for it to be a tonic in a major key. But the entire progression doesn't have a major key feeling to it. its a dorian/minor kind of feeling.


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 20, 2020)

and yes D major would be the relative major to E Dorian by the way.


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 20, 2020)

Just to get a little more nerdy about it... consider the following...

Its pretty clear that most of the pitch set up until the C chord is: `C# - D - E- F# - G - A - B` which has been interpreted as three different relative scales so far in this thread: *A-mixolydian, E-dorian, D-major*. The borrowed *CMaj* chord brings in the C pitch from another borrowed mode.

So let's use roman numerals on each of those for the given music, I put () parens around the modal-interchange borrowed *Cmaj* chord:

D-Major: `ii - I - ii - V - ii - V - (bVII) - I - murky after that`

A-Mixo: `v - IV - v - I - v - I - (bIII) - IV - murky after that`

E-dorian `i - VII - i - IV - i - IV - (bVI) - VII - murky after that`

Note that whenever we start talking about modal music its not hard to get lost in the trees because our western pop oriented minds are so accustomed to hearing major scale based music... That tritone on the *V7*, even if just implied, wants to pull us to hearing that...but by looking at the progression itself, and thinking about how it feels.. and looking and listening for cadences or not, you would expect to hear in a major-based sequence......we can determine a lot...

If this was meant to be heard as a *D-major* thing, we'd see and hear dominant-tonic cadence happening in there somewhere. Yes if you keep improvising its not hard to play that and think it sounds right..but JW didn't play that in the music.

So looking at the above...part of the reason I see and feel that as *E dorian* is because the opening of the theme would be starting on the tonic chord and goes back and forth between the *VII* and the *i*. The *VII* has a dominant function also, so this makes total sense and the *E* as tonic is being well established by repetition. This alone establishes that we are at least in some kind of *E minor-ish *key.

The *Amaj* chord functioning as *IV*, establishes dorian mode, resolving *IV-i *back to tonic again, resolidifying E as the tonic in a dorian mode. Then it uses a borrowed *C major* chord right after that.

The borrowed *Cmaj* chord in *E-dorian* is an easy *bVI* based on the *E-minor* mode

The entire progression, based on *E-Dorian*, makes sense _functionally_.

On the other hand if you look at *A-mixo *and *D-major* as the analysis key center, there are all kinds of functionally problematic unresolved *V* chords and various strange things that don't really make sense when analyzed that way. If it was in the key of* D-major*, for example, the *A* chord should feel like resolving to *Dmajor*, but it doesn't..

But for me it comes down to playing the scale and using your ears. if you hit the *E* note six times then play *E dorian* scale and then listen to the theme...it fits. If you hit the *A* key 6 times and play the *A mixo* scale and then listen to the theme, it doesn't fit. Same notes! Totally different feeling. The difference is how chords are resolving or not and creating expectations of resolution that don't happen unless you keep playing and improvising to establish it to whichever one of the relative modes you seem to want to hear it as....which is why you want to keep ending on *D major.*.because the implied *A7-D* progression will grab you towards a major key resolution, but the theme itself isn't doing that.


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## SupremeFist (Sep 21, 2020)

I didn't learn this modal scale-chord stuff but that's all really interesting. (Still agree it's obviously in Em. )


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 21, 2020)

It’s true another way to analyze it would be that is based on E minor horizontal scale instead of E Dorian, and then the borrowed chord would be the A Major instead of the CMajor chord, borrowing from the Dorian mode, and the C major chord is still in E minor.

Actually now that I think about it I like analysis even better then using E Dorian for the horizantel scale because the A chord is the only one with C#. 

Still though, the Cm and Fmaj chords depart to a new key center, in my view. And that starts to make more sense this way to me because preceding them you have Em-Amaj, Which is i - (IV) ; the IV is borrowed from Dorian. Then it modulates to Cminor key center (mediant progression) and does the same i - (IV) progression with Cm to Fmaj.

That is the fake out modulation i always heard when I heard this theme before, though, because he brings the Fmaj back to Am, which is back in the key of Eminor again.


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## SupremeFist (Sep 21, 2020)

Dewdman42 said:


> It’s true another way to analyze it would be that is based on E minor horizontal scale instead of E Dorian, and then the borrowed chord would be the A Major instead of the CMajor chord, borrowing from the Dorian mode, and the C major chord is still in E minor.
> 
> Actually now that I think about it I like analysis even better then using E Dorian for the horizantel scale because the A chord is the only one with C#.
> 
> ...


Yes I certainly I agree the C-Cm-F sounds like a temporary or fakeout modulation, though you could argue that the subsequent Am already takes us back as the iv of Em as well as the iii of F (oh, I just realised you said basically the same thing.)


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 21, 2020)

heheh. Well there is a lot of chromaticism going on in that theme...and there are definitely different ways it could all be interpreted 

I should have gone to the piano before my last post. I revert to my original assessment that the theme is well established in E Dorian horizontal scale because of two trips to the A chord before going to the Cmajor chord...and its the C Major chord that first starts to sound like some kind of key departure..ie chromaticism; with its C natural pitch in it, borrowing from E minor mode. `i - (bVI)`

The little murky bit in bars 59-60 have my attention now. That has a very lydian sound. And to my ears that is where it definitely starts to sound like a new key center is happening (ie, modulation). It could be interpreted different ways, F lydian based is one. But then when it moves to Cm as some kind of repeat of that `i-IV` dorian motif.


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## NoamL (Sep 21, 2020)

Who would have guessed the most tonal passage in the piece so far is the most discussed! 

On we go to some spooky music underscoring a conversation between Kylo Ren and Hux.

*I CAN FLY ANYTHING: Part 5*
























my analysis -


74-76: sticking on B, which instead of going to E pivots to...
77-81: Ebm/G, intensifying to EbmM7/G. This is a very cool and STAR WARS-y chord voicing.
82-84: an open voicing of Bb aug M7 (in 1st inversion). The E played by the horns at 84 doesn't quite fit into that idea, does it?
85-86: I don't think there's any rhyme or reason to this chord other than being a half step away from Cm, which is the goal at:
87-91: as Hux orders the ship to fire and we cut to the exterior shot, there's a big and easily understandable buildup on C harmonic minor. The idea of the trumpets blasting in octaves above the entire orchestra, playing the ♭6 ♮7 of a minor tonality, is something John has done many times.
92: going back to the galloping figure which has glued the cue together since the beginning of the chase sequence (start of part 3).


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 21, 2020)

I love the dissonance build from from 80-86, and especially in 85-86 which I would like to better understand how he arrived at it.


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## NoamL (Sep 22, 2020)

*I CAN FLY ANYTHING: Part 6*
























This passage is built around "quasi-stretto" entrances of the themes JW has used so far - the galloping strings theme and the arpeggio theme in the horns & winds. It's the same technique as in a fugue but with more liberty. With this economy of material, JW can walk through all the following keys without losing anyone's attention -
94-101: straightforward G minor (coming from C minor at the end of Part 5).
101: wrenching upward modulation to Bb minor accompanies the exterior shot of Finn & Poe's TIE Fighter dodging enemy fire. The 2/4 bar and chromatic trumpet gesture are pretty good musical depictions of "G forces"!
101-106: continuing in Bb minor. No dialogue on this shot, so JW unleashes the horns with a "bravura" section solo and the "uh oh" trumpet gesture.
107-111: now down to A minor, repeating the thematic material more quietly under dialogue.
110-112: and B(♮) minor.


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## sbarrettmusic (Sep 22, 2020)

I'm late to the party but this is great stuff, thanks for sharing!

I agree that Poe's theme is in E dorian. Dewdman pretty much nailed it with his analysis, that progression of i bVII i IV is like the essential progression to establish a dorian sound, it's used all the time. 

When I listen to this theme, it sounds like it modulates to A minor when it gets to the C chord at m57. A minor is the iv chord in E minor and that's a common place to modulate in a theme so it makes sense to go there. If you look at the 4 chords that follow, you have C D F Cmaj7 (or G/C) which in A minor would be III IV bVI IIImaj7 (or bVII). Those are pretty common chords in A minor, the D major chord implies A Dorian and the F Major implies Aeolian so there is some modal mixture going on there. The melody notes in those 4 bars (E A C A B D) sounds very A minor-ish as well. 

Obviously the Cm doesn't fit into A minor, but I hear it as a substitute ii-V-i. The F to A minor in m62-63 is a common cadence (bVI to i), so just pretend the F chord is the V and then put the ii chord before it which is a kind of "jazzy" way of making sense of the Cm. Another way of looking at the Cm, in the context of E minor the notes in C minor exist in E harmonic minor, similar to the B minor and G minor chords that are happening earlier in the cue, so the Cm chord in E Dorian could be a borrowed chord from E harmonic minor.

I would also call that chord at m24 C#dim7/D because functionally it is leading us to D minor. The D in the bass is basically a pedal point, and also a common tone between G minor and D minor. Gm#11 doesn't imply a leading function, looking at that chord symbol I would just think it was a minor chord with some added dissonance but not necessarily leading anywhere. 

I love nerding out on this stuff. Looking forward to the rest!


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## jononotbono (Sep 22, 2020)

I really want to create a realistic sounding mock-up of Welcome to Jurassic Park. Where can I buy the full score of it? It’s one of the best pieces of music ever written! To create a realistic mock-up of that would be (for me) a great achievement. Have you studied it @NoamL 

Thanks for this thread.


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## Eric George (Sep 22, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> I really want to create a realistic sounding mock-up of Welcome to Jurassic Park. Where can I buy the full score of it? It’s one of the best pieces of music ever written! To create a realistic mock-up of that would be (for me) a great achievement. Have you studied it @NoamL



I've literally been working on this for the last couple of weeks. Trying to use only BBCSO to get familiar with that library. @jononotbono you can get the score here: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/theme-from-jurassic-park-sheet-music/19010307


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## jononotbono (Sep 22, 2020)

Eric George said:


> I've literally been working on this for the last couple of weeks. Trying to use only BBCSO to get familiar with that library. @jononotbono you can get the score here: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/theme-from-jurassic-park-sheet-music/19010307



Is this a correct price?


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## Eric George (Sep 22, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> Is this a correct price?



You can get just the conductor score for way less - that is what I linked to:


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## jononotbono (Sep 22, 2020)

Eric George said:


> You can get just the conductor score for way less - that is what I linked to:



Ok, but I want the full score!  

Typical.


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## Snarf (Sep 23, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> Ok, but I want the full score!
> 
> Typical.



Conductor score = full score!
The more expensive one you linked also includes all the parts for every player.


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## Richard Wilkinson (Sep 23, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> Ok, but I want the full score!
> 
> Typical.


That's what a conductor's score is. Your link was for the conductor's score AND 69 separate parts - one for every single player.


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## jononotbono (Sep 23, 2020)

Snarf said:


> Conductor score = full score!
> The more expensive one you linked also includes all the parts for every player.



ok this is good news then. Thanks


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## madfloyd (Sep 23, 2020)

I'm an idiot when it comes to composition and theory but I'm trying to learn. I'm having trouble matching what I hear in the video to the score (the changing time sigs aren't helping).

Would anyone be willing to provide time-stamps for the first 4 images... as in :

bars 1-5
bars 6-8
bars 9-13
bars 14-17

If so, thanks. To all those laughing, I laugh with you.


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## brek (Sep 23, 2020)

bar 1: 0:00
bar 6: 0:12
bar 9: 0:19
bar 14: 0:26


As far as Poe's theme:

There seems to be a consensus around this being E dorian through m. 56, of which I agree.

Measure 57 (1:26) represents a melodic arrival point - something Williams _frequently _underscores to great effect with "surprise" chords (whether through modal mixture or modulation). 

I believe the C major also kicks off a series of 2 bar sequences through the last part of the theme ending at m. 63 (1:34).

The whole step movement of C - D is repeated up a 4th going F - G (over a C pedal). This movement repeats again up a minor 3rd, going from Ab - Bb, except oops - he substitutes Cm and F in their place. If you don't believe these form a sequence, look at the relationship of the melody in mm. 59-60 and 61-62. It's also very Williams'esque to disguise sequences. 

So we end up with a harmonic sequence in mm. 57-60 (disgusied by the pedal tone) passing off to a melodic sequence in mm. 59-62 (disguised by motivic transformation in m. 62).


With that, I think you could possibly argue this whole section is a modulation to C major. The D is borrowed from lydian (a la ET), then a standard IV-V, then a borrowed from minor bVI-bVII (The Duck Tales cadence) that is substituted with i-IV, finally resolving deceptively to Am. I should say, this analysis feels shaky, at best. The point of this phrase, after all, seems to be about a hero's journey into the unknown. 




NoamL said:


> Today's excerpt: "the good part"
> 
> *I CAN FLY ANYTHING - Part 4
> 
> *


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## BlackDorito (Sep 23, 2020)

NoamL said:


> If I play the first four bars of the theme, 51-54, at the piano and "feel" for a tonic chord it feels like the music should end on D major. But if I play 51-58 at the piano and try to feel the tonic my mind changes to A Mixolydian...


Maybe this has been mentioned already, but I read somewhere that we should not look for some overarching harmonic design in Williams' action cues - they roam wherever the action takes them and may not end where they started - but it's fascinating to see what harmonic and instrumental choices he makes locally for drama. Thx for putting this together.


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 23, 2020)

I have always felt, when listening, that Poe’s theme includes within the theme itself a modulation movement by mediant, at the Cm. That kind of harmonic movement is common in action scenes of films. You can advance by mediants indefinitely without ever resolving to an ending cadence and it moves the action along. In this case it’s literally embedded into the theme itself. Whether that was because JW wanted to infer poe is a man of action or whether this use case of the theme happens to be in an action sequence and JW was simply advancing the scene, hard to say. But i do remember sitting in the theater watching the film and thinking that the theme kind of has a fake out mediant modulation, because it doesn’t continue along in the new key. It repeats the i-(IV) sequence that was used earlier in the theme, but based on C instead of E. And then it’s already over as he drops to the Am which is something else new. In my mind it’s too quick and short to have been for the reason of advancing the action , but more about conveying an idea in the theme itself.

and in my mind that is how it always sounded to me, a mediant modulation repeat of the Dorian idea.

But the F - G/C thing in between also sounds totally different then E Dorian or C Dorian. There are different ways it could be analyzed but I hear Lydian-ness because of the B natural coming off the F chord and the C pedal tone solidifying them as connected.


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## sbarrettmusic (Sep 23, 2020)

brek said:


> bar 1: 0:00
> bar 6: 0:12
> bar 9: 0:19
> bar 14: 0:26
> ...


I was hearing that section as a modulation to A minor, mostly because the melody feels more A minor-ish to me (E A C A B D), but a modulation to C major (the relative major) makes sense to me as well. The lydian C to D movement is very typically of JW, and considering the C pedal I think that's a strong argument.

I agree with the sequence as well. In the extended version of the theme, he adds two more bars of the Cm F and continues the melodic sequence:



Another interesting thing is that the added melodic sequence (G Eb A F) sounds similar to the motif that happens in the first section. The first three notes of the theme in m51-52, E F# D, set up a motif that he uses again in m55-56, B C# A. In the extended sequence, if you take out the Eb, then you have G A F which has the same interval pattern.


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## NoamL (Sep 23, 2020)

thanks to @Mike Greene for the newsletter shoutout, and to everyone who's been following along, I've been reading your analysis enthusiastically and it's great!

Today is the final section of "I Can Fly Anything" and tomorrow this thread is moving on to... another JW cue! It is an 8 minute action cue from the early 2000s 

*I CAN FLY ANYTHING: Part 7*



















113-119: some dark and clustery writing, I think the main point is the interaction between winds and low strings, playing chromatically "around" B harmonic minor.
120-121: the same harmonic minor 6-7 brass figure used earlier in the cue, now on B harmonic minor.
122-125: planing parallel minor chords ending on B minor... then BmM7...
127-129: intensifying to a tense and dissonant voicing of BmM7#5 (or Gm/B is an easier way to write it, but the B key center is clear).


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 23, 2020)

sbarrettmusic said:


>




Thanks for posting that, it emphasizes the theme better.

My last thoughts about Poe's theme..then moving on....

My harmonic analysis would be:

`E dorian: i - VII - i - IV - i - IV - (bVI) - VII, C dorian: IV - (V) - i - IV - i - IV - (vi) - VII`

So that's it, just one modulation from E dorian to C dorian (modulating starts with the first F chord.). Not that complicated. Some modal interchange thrown in (in parens).

The C dorian (V) chord (G/C) is borrowed from C major. Note that a borrowed major V7 chord is used in minor key classical works as well, creating a very strong leading tone. Could certainly be done in dorian too. So one could say that this still fits in very well with the C dorian idea, but allowing the 7th to be raised to the leading tone on the V chord. There is no "harmonic dorian" scale as such (_technically its the same pitches as melodic minor, but functionally its doing for dorian what "harmonic minor" does for works that are meant to be in minor_).

Borrowed chords create emphasis. We notice modulations, they strike us. Borrowed chords also tend to create strong emotional tugs. 

In this theme, that first borrowed Cmajor chord "soars" super man style. 

The borrowed V of C dorian, I feel does provide some lydian-ness, but functionally its also using the leading tone to make us want to feel like modulating to the key of C. Which it does, and makes us feel like action is happening; because of modulation by mediant.

The borrowed Am at the end also has a very strong emotional punch...different then the soaring bVI, this one has a more serious tone to it...like "yea..poe is the super man of action, but take him seriously"

alright...moving on...


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## NoamL (Sep 25, 2020)

Hey all,

took a day off to consider how I want to do the next cue. This one is going to be a short-score analysis with 2 lines each for winds, brass and strings. That means there will be some duplication of parts, but the orchestration is interesting & important in this cue. The reduction will also look more like the way JW actually writes, as this is his method (short score with 6 or 8 staves).

And the cue is..... *The Quidditch Match* from John Williams's 2001 score to _Harry Potter & The Sorcerer's Stone!_


*THE QUIDDITCH MATCH* - Part 1
















Simple establishment of G natural minor but with a lot of rhythmic interest, especially the rhythmic independence of the snare from the low strings.


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## NoamL (Sep 28, 2020)

Alright! Continuing on!

Trying something different, putting the analysis notes right in the sheet music, and questions/discussion below.


*THE QUIDDITCH MATCH* - Part 2


























As we go through a bunch of establishing wide shots with no dialogue, JW plays the Quidditch theme and reminds us of the School theme. Trills, flourishes, contrary motion, a rhythmically displaced bass, and alternating triplets and duplets are used to convey a celebratory, fanfare atmosphere.
27-28 are a little ambiguous, you could call beat 2 of both measures Bsus4, but the A major tonality continues in the background harmony parts.
Similarly in 22-24 the D6 might be more about the voice leading of the two contrary parts, than any harmonic idea.


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## Hansonek (Sep 28, 2020)

NoamL said:


> Trying something different, putting the analysis notes right in the sheet music, and questions/discussion below.


Love seeing the analysis right in the sheet music, as someone who's learning it really helps a lot! This series has been great for me!


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## NoamL (Sep 29, 2020)

Part three.... John Williams has got JOKES! 


*THE QUIDDITCH MATCH* - Part 3

























edit: fixed a silly French horn error 


It's worth thinking about how JW got from the key of F major at the end of yesterday's excerpt, to Ab major today. He used E major as his last chord yesterday, which was a secondary dominant in F major (V of iii) and in Ab major it's the borrowed bVI (enharmonic to an Fb major chord).
39-44 aren't perfectly clear either. I guess you could say he lets the melody get "stuck" on the Ab and then uses that to start raising the key signature??


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## jononotbono (Sep 29, 2020)

NoamL said:


> Part three.... John Williams has got JOKES!
> 
> 
> *THE QUIDDITCH MATCH* - Part 3
> ...




So my take away from glancing at this is that every time somebody tells me, "You can't write with parallel Octaves" they are in fact as clueless as a person can be.


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 29, 2020)

Well, that is not an example of so called incorrect parallel octaves. Those octaved woodwinds are functioning as a single unison voice.

parallel octaves have to do more with when you have two different voices that are supposed to sound like unique voices.. Such as 4 part choral writing for the obvious example, but there are many more. If you want an individual voice to stand out and preserve itself as an equally hearable voice part..then you need to avoid parallel octaves of that voice with other voices that are you are also trying to avoid disappearing. To keep the independently sounding parts alive and well, avoid parallel octaves between those different parts.

If you want stuff to sound unison, as a single voice..then of course parallel octaves are completely ok.


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## Kent (Sep 29, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> So my take away from glancing at this is that every time somebody tells me, "You can't write with parallel Octaves" they are in fact as clueless as a person can be.


these parallel octaves are acting as a single voice though?

::edit:: ah, @Dewdman42 already responded to you on the next page.


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## jononotbono (Sep 29, 2020)

Dewdman42 said:


> Well, that is not an example of so called incorrect parallel octaves. Those octaved woodwinds are functioning as a single unison voice.
> 
> parallel octaves have to do more with when you have two different voices that are supposed to sound like unique voices.. Such as 4 part choral writing for the obvious example, but there are many more. If you want an individual voice to stand out and preserve itself as an equally hearable voice part..then you need to avoid parallel octaves of that voice with other voices that are you are also trying to avoid disappearing. To keep the independently sounding parts alive and well, avoid parallel octaves between those different parts.
> 
> If you want stuff to sound unison, as a single voice..then of course parallel octaves are completely ok.



Gotcha. Seems like I'm now not as completely clueless as I was before... providing you're not clueless and making this stuff up. Hard to know when I'm clueless.


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 29, 2020)

Highly recommend the following book:









Voice Leading


An accessible scientific explanation for the traditional rules of voice leading, including an account of why listeners find some musical textures more pleasi...




mitpress.mit.edu





which will explain in musical terms and scientifically, WHY the parallel octaves "rule" came about...but by getting into the WHY, you will understand that its not simply a rote simple verboten rule...it may seem like it when you're studying choral voice leading in the first year of university music theory, because in the context of that style of music...it pretty much applies that way, but in the broader context of music..its a big "it depends". The book above will explain why it matters, when it matters and then you can make your own artistic choice about when and how to watch out for it.

But generally... just remember..instruments in unison, sound like a single part. And that unison can be octaves. As long as that is what you want, then no problem. if you are wanting any particular part to be recognizable as a separate musical line that stands out from start to finish...doesn't disappear and merge into another part's melody line for example...but retains its own melodic entity...then you want to avoid that part going in a parallel, neither unison, nor by octaves...with another distinct part. Doesn't really matter if you have 2 or 5 or 10 instruments playing the same part, including in octaves..if the intention is for those instruments to sound like one part...then mission accomplished.


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## jononotbono (Sep 29, 2020)

Dewdman42 said:


> Highly recommend the following book:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Thanks man. I'll check out the book. I've always thought that if you had a melody in octaves then that is two voices and therefore parallel octaves that many talk about as something basically illegal in music. Same for the no parallel 5ths thing. What you have said makes total sense. Shows how little I know but then, I've never said I do know anything.  

Thanks for this thread.


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## Hadrondrift (Sep 29, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> every time somebody tells me, "You can't write with parallel Octaves"


Just ask him or her what he or she thinks the name "double bass" comes from, if it is not because of physical size.
(*Doubling* the *bass* line in unison, primarily an octave below the cellos)


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## jononotbono (Sep 29, 2020)

Hadrondrift said:


> Just ask him or her what he or she thinks the name "double bass" comes from, if it is not because of physical size.
> (*Doubling* the *bass* line in unison, primarily an octave below the cellos)



I'm proud to say even I know that!


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## Dewdman42 (Sep 29, 2020)

jononotbono said:


> Same for the no parallel 5ths thing.



Parallel 5ths, as a concept can be the same, but slightly different. There are some cases where using parallel 5ths in separate voices still sounds like a distinct voice. Its not nearly as clear cut as parallel octaves. But it can still detract from part distinction and make two parts sound like one chordal part. We use that a lot in pop music anyway, on purpose. We use guitar and keyboard voices all over everywhere with parallel 5th and octaves galore. It has a certain sound to it.

But you don't hear those successive chords as multiple distinct parts, you hear the chord progression itself as a single part... The keyboard part or the guitar part...its a single identifiable chunk of sound. So parallel 5ths can kind of contribute making a series of 5ths in a row, sound kind of like a single part. Remember the guitar solo in owner of a lonely heart? He's using a harmonizer at 5ths. Sounds like a single line solo, it doesn't sound like two people playing it. But if it was harmonized in thirds or 6ths, it can much more seem like two people might actually be playing two distinct parts.





So as usual it just depends.


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