starwars Flashcards
structure
- intro 1-3
- sec A - 4- 11
- sec B 12 - 20
- Sec A 21 -29
- link 30 - 32 & transition 33- 35
- piccolo stars bit 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
instrumentation
Main Title/Rebel Blockade Runner uses a full symphony orchestra, (an ensemble which
had developed during the nineteenth century and which, by the early twentieth century, often included upwards of sixty players across the four sections – Strings, Woodwind, Brass and percussion)
3 Flutes (3rd also playing Piccolo) 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets, Bass Clarinet,
2 Bassoons
4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones and Tuba
Timpani, Triangle, Snare Drum, Tam-Tam, Glockenspiel, Vibraphone and Cymbals
Piano/Celeste and Harp
Strings
Introduction
Dominated by Fanfare-like figures in the
brass. Rapid repeated notes develop quickly
into staccato triplet figures, with free imitation
between Trombones and Trumpets
Inverted tonic pedal played tremolando in
the Violins
Played ff
Main theme (A)
Heroic leitmotif/main theme, played by high
Trumpets
Punctuating syncopated (offbeat) chords in
Brass/lower strings/Bassoons with rhythm
emphasised by snare drum
Upper woodwind and violins play tremolando
chords and continue inverted tonic pedal from
Introduction
Played ff
Contrasting section (B)
Contrasting melody played by all strings apart
from Double basses
Important notes of the melody picked out in the
Glockenspiel
Accompanying block chords in Horns/Piano
(LH)/Oboe
Rhythm - intro 1-3:
imitation, overlapping, staccato triplets
Rhythm - sec A - 4- 11:
Trumpets - triplets
accompanied by syncopated block chords, mixing offbeat quaver and triplet quavers with frequent rests
Rhythm - sec B 12 – 20:
dotted, mostly quavers with some crotchets and semiquavers
Rhythm - Larger spaceship in pursuit firing at the first 44-50:
The homorhythmic (rhythmic unison) chords
mostlyquavers with some crochets quavers, triplets
The Tempo also slows down here, further increasing the effect of these chords. dotted crotchets, quavers, and semiquavers
Rhythm - Battle continues and action then switches to inside the rebel craft 51-60:
At 51 the music sets off furiously, at a very fast tempo, with a one bar C Ostinato figure driving the extract to its conclusion.
Tempo
The fast tempo chosen for the opening section of this extract matches the mood and genre of the film – this is mainly an exciting action movie, and the tempo reflects this
Bpm = 100 for bars 1- 46
Slows down in bars 47 – 50
Bpm = 160 for bars 51-60
Metre
The 4/4 metre and the March style also reflect the ‘military’ nature of the wars between the rebels and the Imperial forces
¾ in bars 44 onwards
Harmony
Major and minor chords, mostly in root position and first inversion
More complex chords and progressions are used
- Inverted tonic Bb pedal – bars 1 – 3
- Quartal harmony – bars 1-7
- The end of the first phrase in the A section (bar 7) features an Imperfect cadence.
- Bars 12-14 pedal note and extended chords
- The harmonies in bars 33, 34 and 35 mix elements of different chords simultaneously to produce strange, unstable effects. For example, bar 33 mixes elements from C major and Db major
- Bars 36-38 uses a inverted pedal
- Bars 39-41 the strings and brass are in different keys - dissonant
- At bar 44, the hammered unison chords are dissonant
- The chords played above the pulsating ostinato C (pedal) from bar 51 are again from a different key – firstly Db major and later Fb (E) major
Tonality:
- Bb major – bars 1-29
- Bb / Eb major – bars 30-32 -
- chromatic – bars 33-41
- C minor – bars 42-60
Texture:
This extract is dominated by various types of homophonic (tune and accompaniment) texture
From bar 4 onwards the texture is mostly melody-dominated homophony, with the (often) octave doubled tune supported by block or articulated chords
Ostinato 51-60.
