Section V: Music Plays a Role Flashcards
Who is credited with reviving the large-scale symphonic film score in the 1970s?
John Williams
When was the first Star Wars movie made?
1977
After the first Star Wars movie was made, how many prequels did it have?
3
What cue was not played by the London Symphony Orchestra in the original Star Wars movie?
the cue “Cantina Band”
In Dune, why was the scene where an Atreides warrior played the baliset cut out?
because they felt it put too much emphasis on the music and less on the movie
What is another name for the “Main Title” theme in Star Wars?
Luke’s Theme
Why was Williams worried about the recording session for Luke’s Theme?
he thought the music was overwritten or overcomplicated
Why did Williams think Luke’s Theme was overwritten?
because of a particular part in the song where the trumpets have to play a high C, which if you didn’t know is difficult on trumpet
What is another phrase that means saturation scoring?
wall-to-wall music
What is saturation scoring?
where there is music in almost all of the movie and there are very few parts without it
When was saturation scoring dominantly used?
in the era of silent films
What award did the film score from Star Wars receive
a “Best Original Score” Oscar
In 2005, the American Film Institute published rankings of the best American film scores of all time. What rank was Star Wars on this list?
it was Number 1
Why was 20th Century Records hesitant to release an album of the Star Wars soundtrack?
It thought no one would be interested in symphonic music scores
In June, they started selling the Star Wars soundtrack. How many copies were sold by mid-July?
650k
How many sales did the “Main Title” single reach in total?
4+ million copies and 190 million dollars
What is the top-selling film album?
the Star Wars soundtrack
What is diegetic music?
music the audience and the actors can hear
What is non-diegetic music?
music the audience can hear but actors can’t
Why is the Cantina Band (in Star Wars) a favorite of audiences?
because music in sci-fi films is often non-diegetic and Cantina Band is diegetic
What does Cantina Band do to the atmosphere of that scene?
it relaxes it by a lot
In Star Wars, what was the bass line performed on?
an Arp synthesizer
How did Williams make the alien effects?
he had 9 musicians who played trumpet, saxophones, clarinet, a Fender Rhodes piano, a Caribbean steel drum, other percussion instruments, and an Arp synthesizer
Ragtime style is an example of what musical genre?
jazz
What does ragtime style feature?
many syncopated rhythm patterns with a steady accompaniment
Even though the music was made to imitate an alien effect, the musical structure was typical of what musical genres/styles?
jazz and ragtime style
What pattern were the alien effects in?
A A B A
What is a walking bass pattern?
pitches that ascend and descend by step
Why was music so essential in the movie Close Encounters of a Third Kind?
because that was how the aliens communicated with the earthlings
What is another word for “do”?
the resting tone
What was “do” labeled as in the Middle Ages?
“ut”
What pitches did Guido use when he created solfege?
“re-mi-fa-so-la”
Solfege is the focus of a song mentioned in the resource guide called ________.
The Sound of Music (1959)
The French call the successive pitches in a musical alphabet solfege. What do the Italians and English call it?
Italians - solfeggio
English - sol-fa
Who invented the hand signs for solfege?
John Curwen
What did he want the motif for alien/human dialogue to sound like for Close Encounters?
he wanted it to sound like a doorbell, more of a greeting than a melody, and he needed it to be fast
What key was the motif for communication in Close Encounters?
key of C
Why did Williams want the motif for communication in Close Encounters to end on a G or “sol”?
because it had an unfinished quality, suggesting the need for continuation
When did Back to the Future make its debut?
1985
What did the film Back to the Future do to imply that it needed a sequel?
it added a plot twist
What was the top-grossing film of 1985?
Back to the Future
How much was each Back to the Future sequel budgeted?
40 million for each sequel
When did Back to the Future II and Back to the Future III come out?
2 - 1989
When was WALL-E released?
2008
What year is WALL-E set in?
2815 A.D.
When was Inception released?
2010
Who directed Inception?
Christopher Nolan
What is the braaam?
a word that describes a heavily accented note that is loud, heavy, and is a low register chord
