star wars Flashcards
1
Q
who composed it?
A
john williams
2
Q
when was it composed?
A
1977
3
Q
which film was it composed for?
A
A New Hope
4
Q
which character is associated with the main theme?
A
luke skywalker
5
Q
at what point in the movie is this found?
A
the very start
6
Q
what is the order of sections in the piece? (11)
you don’t need to know all of this but just remember the basic gist of it
A
- introduction (1-3)
- section A/ main theme (4-11)
- section B/ contrasting theme (12-20)
- repeated section A/ main theme (21-29)
- link (30-32)
- transition (33-35)
- camera pans to star-filled sky (36-38)
- appearance of planets and increase in tension (39-41)
- spaceship appears (42-43)
- larger spaceship in pursuit firing at the first (44-50)
- battle continues and action then switches to inside the rebel craft (51-60)
7
Q
what is the instrumentation?
A
a full symphony orchestra
8
Q
what are the four sections of a symphony orchestra?
A
- strings
- brass
- woodwinds
- percussion
9
Q
what are the instruments in the woodwind section? (5/6)
A
- 3 flutes (3rd flute also plays piccolo)
- 2 oboes
- 2 clarinets
- bass clarinet
- 2 bassoons
10
Q
instruments in brass section: (4)
A
- 4 horns
- 3 trumpets
- 3 trombones
- tuba
11
Q
instruments in percussion section: (7)
A
- timpani
- triangle
- snare drum
- tam-tam (gong)
- glockenspiel
- vibraphone
- cymbals
12
Q
instruments in string section: (4)
A
- violins
- violas
- cellos
- double basses
13
Q
additional instruments used which are not typically in a symphony orchestra (2)
A
- piano/celeste
- harp
14
Q
is there a lot of electronic effects or synthesisers?
is this typical of late 1970s music?
A
no
no, technology was important in popular music and film scores, especially those with a futuristic theme
15
Q
which musical period is this orchestration most similar to?
A
romantic period
16
Q
is there a lot of solo timbre/light texture?
A
no
17
Q
which family of instruments has the melody in the introduction?
A
brass
18
Q
between which two instruments is there free imitation in the intro?
A
trombones and trumpets
19
Q
what do the violins play in the intro?
A
- inverted tonic pedal
- played tremolando
20
Q
what is the metre of the intro?
A
quadruple time
21
Q
what are the dynamics in the intro?
A
ff
22
Q
describe the rhythm in the introduction
what type of music does it feel like?
A
staccato triplet figures
fanfare feel
23
Q
which instrument plays the melody in section A? (4-11)
A
trumpets
24
Q
how would you describe the chords in section A
A
- punctuated and syncopated
25
which instruments play the chords in the main theme?
- brass
- lower strings
- bassoons
| rhythm emphasised by snare drum
26
what do the upper woodwinds and violins play in main theme?
inverted tonic pedal + tremolando chords
27
what are the dynamics of the main theme?
ff
28
is the bass ascending or descending towards the end of the main theme?
descending
29
which instruments play the melody of section B (11-20)
all strings except from double bass
30
over how many octaves is the contrasting melody doubled in section B?
3
31
what does the glockenspiel do in section B?
it picks out the important notes of the melody
32
describe the chords in section B
block chords
33
which instruments play the chords in section B? (3)
- horns
- piano (LH)
- oboe
34
which instruments play the triplet figures in section B? (4)
| and what is the purpose?
- piano (RH)
- flute
- clarinet
- harp
| to reinforce the harmony
35
is there a dominant or tonic pedal in bars 12-15 (section b)?
dominant pedal
36
which instruments play the dominant pedal in section B? (give a general answer)
bass instruments
37
dynamics in section B:
mf
38
what is different in the melody in the repeated section a (21-29) than the first section a (4-11)? (2)
- melody doubles across three octaves
- melody played by violin, viola, cello, horn, trumpet
39
what do the upper woodwinds do in the repeated section A?
rushing upwards scale-like passages
40
what does the harp do in bar 29? (end of repeated section A)
| what is the purpose of this?
a glissando
| to make an effective link to the next section
41
dynamics of second section A?
ff
42
is the link section (30-32) like a fanfare?
- yes
| it is related to the introduction
43
which instruments play rapid ascending sequential figures in the link section? (3)
- strings
- bassoons
- flutes
44
what is the harmony in the transition? (33-36)
strange and unstable (sustained by brass and woodwind)
45
what do the strings do in the transition?
rapid arpeggio figures
46
what happens to the dynamics in the transition?
there is a general diminuendo
47
what is the texture of the ‘star-filled sky’ section? (36-38)
very sparse texture
48
which instrument plays the melody in the star-filled sky section?
piccolo
- plays an ethereal solo
49
which instruments play the chords/arpeggios in the star-filled sky section? (5)
- woodwind
- vibraphone
- harp
- celeste
- violin
50
what are the dynamics of the star-filled sky section?
pp, but crescendos a tiny bit
51
how is the tension increased in the appearance of planets section? (39-41) (3)
- scurrying ascending sextuplets in strings
- block chords build up
- general crescendo
| crescendo is very apparent in trombones and horns
52
dynamics of when spaceship appears? (42-43)
ff
53
which percussion instruments are used when the spaceship appears?
- tam-tam (gong)
- timpani
54
which instruments play a low C pedal when the spaceship appears? (general answer)
bass instruments
55
what does the timpani do when the spaceship appears?
it hammers out an ominous rhythm
56
what do the brass play when the spaceship appears?
| what do they represent?
two chordal figures
| the imperial forces
57
describe the chords when the larger spaceship fires at the first spaceship (44-50) (2)
| one point for harmony, one point for rhythm/texture
- dissonant/clashing
- rhythmic unison
58
dynamics of Larger spaceship in pursuit firing at the first:
ff
59
what happens to the tempo during the section in which the Larger spaceship in pursuit firing at the first? (2)
- ritardando (slows down)
- fermata (a pause)
60
what happens to the metre in the section where we see the Larger spaceship in pursuit firing at the first?
it changes to triple time
61
what is the tempo in the last section (51-60)?
fast, 160bpm
62
which instruments play an ostinato figure at the end? (general answer)
| on which note?
- low strings
- low brass
- low woodwind
| on C (in two octaves)
63
what rhythm do the upper brass and upper woodwind play at the very end?
| what does this represent?
- repeated march-like rhythm, using crotchets and quaver triplets
| shots of imperial forces
64
what are the dynamics at the end of the piece?
- ff crescendos to pp in last 2 bars
65
overall texture?
MDH
| some moments of imitation + polyphony
66
what is the tonality until bar 29 (until link section)
clearly Bb major
67
what is the tonality after bar 29
not very clear, lots of unstable harmonies and progressions
68
what is the key in bar 36?
C major
| there is a sustained C maj chord
69
which note is the music from bar 42 onwards based on?
C
70
which passage is almost atonal and which passage is almost bitonal out of 41-50 and 51-60?
41-50 almost atonal
51-69 almost bitonal
71
is the harmony mainly tonal or atonal?
tonal
72
does this piece use conventional progressions? (e.g: cadences)
not really (some occasions)
73
what is the harmony in the fanfare sections?
quartal harmony
74
what is quartal harmony?
| what does it evoke (when compared to regular triadic harmony)
when the notes in a chord are separated by fourths rather than thirds
| a sense of space
75
is there chromaticism?
yeah
76
are there altered chords?
yes (e.g: 36-38 piccolo solo has a C maj chord with some notes from C minor, an Ab and a Bb in the piccolo melody which produces a rich vibrant effect)
77
is there heterophony?
no
78
is there use of tritones?
yes, towards the end
79
what is the interval of a tritone ?
augmented fourth/ diminished fifth
80
compare the section A melody to the section B melody (9)
- A has melody in trumpets, B has it in strings
- B is in octaves, A is not
- A is ff, B is mf
- B starts on anacrusis, A doesn’t
- A has typically longer note values
- both use triplet quavers
- B has contrary motion at the end, A doesn’t
- B uses dotted rhythms, A is very on-the-beat
- both are mainly conjunct, with a few leaps but B is more conjunct
81
why is there a leap of a perfect 5th in the main theme?
it connotes ideas of heroism
82
what are the heroic intervals? (2)
- perfect 5th
- perfect 4th
83
is there use of sequence?
yes
84
is there use of ornamentation?
no
