Music theorist Dr. Jenn Harding joins Xanthe for an analysis of minutes 16-20 of The Empire Strikes Back. We talk about textural shifts, snowspeeder sound design, macroharmony, musical structure, spectrograms, math, intonation, the Leia-Han-Luke love triangle (and what the music has to say about it), and more!
This episode is also on YouTube (with spectogram visuals): https://youtu.be/nnflnU9iecM
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Hello there!
- 04:15 - Interaction between music and sound design.
- 06:54 - How Ben Burtt crafted the snowspeeder and snow sounds.
- 14:07 - Mechanical-sounding perpetual motion with triumphant trumpet flourishes on top.
- 22:58 - Weird, angular oboe melody and a massive texture shift.
- 27:54 - No music during the impassionate kiss.
- 32:10 - Fuzzball, nerfherder.
- 35:10 - How Ben Burtt made the Imperial Probe Droid explosion sound.
- 37:38 - Using math to analyze harmony, intro to macroharmony.
- 45:16 - How would you define harmony? Harmony (abstract) and sonority
- 48:15 - Spectograms and discrete Fourier transform (DFT). (Visual demonstration of these Star Wars minutes viewed through the spectogram)
- 1:02:38 - Quick Tip: Orchestral listening challenge.
- 1:06:54 - Why does knowing the harmonic landscape of something matter?
- 1:12:45 - 12-tone scale, interval ratios, imperfect reality of intonation.
- 1:21:20 - Dialogue causing changes in the structure of the speeder music.
- 1:27:40 - Imperial March sounds steady but doesn't have the same motor. Accents. Why does the Imperial March sound almost... human?
- 1:45:59 - SWMM Questionnaire
Things Mentioned:
Check out Dominic Sewell's analysis of these cues!
Musical Themes:
- 16b. Dark Side (Ostinato)
- 24) Imperial March Vamp
- 10a. Imperial March (Theme)
Cues:
- Very end of 2M2 "Ben's Instructions"
- 2M3 "Luke's Rescue"
- 2M4 "The Probe Scanner"
Where are we in the soundtrack?:
- "The Wampa's Lair/Vision of Obi-Wan/Snowspeeders Take Flight"
- "Rescue from Cloud City/Hyperspace"
- "The Imperial Probe/Aboard the Executor"
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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:
1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?
- Adventure. Nostalgia. Romance.
2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?
- The sound design and its coordination with the score.
3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?
- Lord of the Rings (by Howard Shore)
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Guest: Dr. Jenn Harding
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