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star wars Flashcards

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Ultimate Music Theory flashcards
1
Q

who composed it?

A

john williams

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2
Q

when was it composed?

A

1977

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3
Q

which film was it composed for?

A

A New Hope

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4
Q

which character is associated with the main theme?

A

luke skywalker

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5
Q

at what point in the movie is this found?

A

the very start

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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)
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7
Q

what is the instrumentation?

A

a full symphony orchestra

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8
Q

what are the four sections of a symphony orchestra?

A
  • strings
  • brass
  • woodwinds
  • percussion
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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
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10
Q

instruments in brass section: (4)

A
  • 4 horns
  • 3 trumpets
  • 3 trombones
  • tuba
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11
Q

instruments in percussion section: (7)

A
  • timpani
  • triangle
  • snare drum
  • tam-tam (gong)
  • glockenspiel
  • vibraphone
  • cymbals
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12
Q

instruments in string section: (4)

A
  • violins
  • violas
  • cellos
  • double basses
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13
Q

additional instruments used which are not typically in a symphony orchestra (2)

A
  • piano/celeste
  • harp
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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

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15
Q

which musical period is this orchestration most similar to?

A

romantic period

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16
Q

is there a lot of solo timbre/light texture?

A

no

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17
Q

which family of instruments has the melody in the introduction?

A

brass

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18
Q

between which two instruments is there free imitation in the intro?

A

trombones and trumpets

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19
Q

what do the violins play in the intro?

A
  • inverted tonic pedal
  • played tremolando
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20
Q

what is the metre of the intro?

A

quadruple time

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21
Q

what are the dynamics in the intro?

A

ff

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22
Q

describe the rhythm in the introduction

what type of music does it feel like?

A

staccato triplet figures

fanfare feel

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23
Q

which instrument plays the melody in section A? (4-11)

A

trumpets

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24
Q

how would you describe the chords in section A

A
  • punctuated and syncopated
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25
Q

which instruments play the chords in the main theme?

A
  • brass
  • lower strings
  • bassoons

rhythm emphasised by snare drum

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26
Q

what do the upper woodwinds and violins play in main theme?

A

inverted tonic pedal + tremolando chords

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27
Q

what are the dynamics of the main theme?

A

ff

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28
Q

is the bass ascending or descending towards the end of the main theme?

A

descending

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29
Q

which instruments play the melody of section B (11-20)

A

all strings except from double bass

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30
Q

over how many octaves is the contrasting melody doubled in section B?

A

3

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31
Q

what does the glockenspiel do in section B?

A

it picks out the important notes of the melody

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32
Q

describe the chords in section B

A

block chords

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33
Q

which instruments play the chords in section B? (3)

A
  • horns
  • piano (LH)
  • oboe
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34
Q

which instruments play the triplet figures in section B? (4)

and what is the purpose?

A
  • piano (RH)
  • flute
  • clarinet
  • harp

to reinforce the harmony

35
Q

is there a dominant or tonic pedal in bars 12-15 (section b)?

A

dominant pedal

36
Q

which instruments play the dominant pedal in section B? (give a general answer)

A

bass instruments

37
Q

dynamics in section B:

A

mf

38
Q

what is different in the melody in the repeated section a (21-29) than the first section a (4-11)? (2)

A
  • melody doubles across three octaves
  • melody played by violin, viola, cello, horn, trumpet
39
Q

what do the upper woodwinds do in the repeated section A?

A

rushing upwards scale-like passages

40
Q

what does the harp do in bar 29? (end of repeated section A)

what is the purpose of this?

A

a glissando

to make an effective link to the next section

41
Q

dynamics of second section A?

A

ff

42
Q

is the link section (30-32) like a fanfare?

A
  • yes

it is related to the introduction

43
Q

which instruments play rapid ascending sequential figures in the link section? (3)

A
  • strings
  • bassoons
  • flutes
44
Q

what is the harmony in the transition? (33-36)

A

strange and unstable (sustained by brass and woodwind)

45
Q

what do the strings do in the transition?

A

rapid arpeggio figures

46
Q

what happens to the dynamics in the transition?

A

there is a general diminuendo

47
Q

what is the texture of the ‘star-filled sky’ section? (36-38)

A

very sparse texture

48
Q

which instrument plays the melody in the star-filled sky section?

A

piccolo

  • plays an ethereal solo
49
Q

which instruments play the chords/arpeggios in the star-filled sky section? (5)

A
  • woodwind
  • vibraphone
  • harp
  • celeste
  • violin
50
Q

what are the dynamics of the star-filled sky section?

A

pp, but crescendos a tiny bit

51
Q

how is the tension increased in the appearance of planets section? (39-41) (3)

A
  • scurrying ascending sextuplets in strings
  • block chords build up
  • general crescendo

crescendo is very apparent in trombones and horns

52
Q

dynamics of when spaceship appears? (42-43)

A

ff

53
Q

which percussion instruments are used when the spaceship appears?

A
  • tam-tam (gong)
  • timpani
54
Q

which instruments play a low C pedal when the spaceship appears? (general answer)

A

bass instruments

55
Q

what does the timpani do when the spaceship appears?

A

it hammers out an ominous rhythm

56
Q

what do the brass play when the spaceship appears?

what do they represent?

A

two chordal figures

the imperial forces

57
Q

describe the chords when the larger spaceship fires at the first spaceship (44-50) (2)

one point for harmony, one point for rhythm/texture

A
  • dissonant/clashing
  • rhythmic unison
58
Q

dynamics of Larger spaceship in pursuit firing at the first:

A

ff

59
Q

what happens to the tempo during the section in which the Larger spaceship in pursuit firing at the first? (2)

A
  • ritardando (slows down)
  • fermata (a pause)
60
Q

what happens to the metre in the section where we see the Larger spaceship in pursuit firing at the first?

A

it changes to triple time

61
Q

what is the tempo in the last section (51-60)?

A

fast, 160bpm

62
Q

which instruments play an ostinato figure at the end? (general answer)

on which note?

A
  • low strings
  • low brass
  • low woodwind

on C (in two octaves)

63
Q

what rhythm do the upper brass and upper woodwind play at the very end?

what does this represent?

A
  • repeated march-like rhythm, using crotchets and quaver triplets

shots of imperial forces

64
Q

what are the dynamics at the end of the piece?

A
  • ff crescendos to pp in last 2 bars
65
Q

overall texture?

A

MDH

some moments of imitation + polyphony

66
Q

what is the tonality until bar 29 (until link section)

A

clearly Bb major

67
Q

what is the tonality after bar 29

A

not very clear, lots of unstable harmonies and progressions

68
Q

what is the key in bar 36?

A

C major

there is a sustained C maj chord

69
Q

which note is the music from bar 42 onwards based on?

A

C

70
Q

which passage is almost atonal and which passage is almost bitonal out of 41-50 and 51-60?

A

41-50 almost atonal
51-69 almost bitonal

71
Q

is the harmony mainly tonal or atonal?

A

tonal

72
Q

does this piece use conventional progressions? (e.g: cadences)

A

not really (some occasions)

73
Q

what is the harmony in the fanfare sections?

A

quartal harmony

74
Q

what is quartal harmony?

what does it evoke (when compared to regular triadic harmony)

A

when the notes in a chord are separated by fourths rather than thirds

a sense of space

75
Q

is there chromaticism?

A

yeah

76
Q

are there altered chords?

A

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
Q

is there heterophony?

A

no

78
Q

is there use of tritones?

A

yes, towards the end

79
Q

what is the interval of a tritone ?

A

augmented fourth/ diminished fifth

80
Q

compare the section A melody to the section B melody (9)

A
  • 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
Q

why is there a leap of a perfect 5th in the main theme?

A

it connotes ideas of heroism

82
Q

what are the heroic intervals? (2)

A
  • perfect 5th
  • perfect 4th
83
Q

is there use of sequence?

A

yes

84
Q

is there use of ornamentation?

A

no

MUSIC (8 decks)

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