Any clue on analyzing this Williams passage?

Hi,

I'm going through a John Williams score doing an orchestration analysis and I came across a passage I just don't know how to interpret in normal music theory. :blush:

Here's a 4-staff reduction. Starting in mm 5 with the violins:

OK, it's clear musically that this is a delayed (suspense-building) resolution from the bass note G to C minor. But the string accidentals are all over the place, i.e. in one measure Eb and B natural, what's up with this?

Also, what's going on with the harmonies in the brass? The chord is G-C-D-F... that doesn't look like a conventional chord.

Over this G bass I'd expect something like a G dominant 7th chord but Williams is using a harmony I can't "grasp." Even though it sounds great.

Is it possible that he's doing something quasi-jazz? I don't have any jazz theory, only classical through twentieth century.

(By the way, points for recognizing the score. :thumbsup:)

The Bbs in one bar then B nats -- that's just something that arises through use of the various minor scales. Some work better in different positions.

The G C D F chord.......uh, that's one of Williams' typical 4-3 suspensions. Note that the C disappears, and a B appears in the bass.

GBDF *is* the dominant seventh you so wanted to hear.

I think it's like underwater Naboo music from Episode 1.

No wait - maybe it's the asteroid field bit.

no, from Hairy Potter.

and as Daniel says, be careful about over analysing decorative passing notes.

scraggy is it one of the quidditch ones?

That's what I get for ignoring the HP movies as much as possible.

I don't know WHICH passage it is, Daniel, it's just one of those transitional passages in the score, so it could be from any of the HP films he scored. Other than the bouncy theme in 8ths at the end there's nothing particularly marking in the rest of the passage.

I can be pretty bad at analyzing scores but this seems to me like he's just messing around with a Cm chord and jumping to G every once in a while. He seems to be in appoggiaturra heaven, at least in the beginning, and those brass harmonies look like a bunch of suspensions on C and G chords.

EDIT: About the jazz thing, I don't think so at all. Jazz theory isn't really worlds away from just regular theory. Basically you add the 7th to every chord, allow some upper extensions, and add some cadences that are only slightly different from what you might do otherwise.

Hey, thanks! :)

The harmony was what was bugging me most.

One of the nice things about the jazz theory book I'm reading at the moment is it has a neat table of acceptable scales to play over a chord (e.g. harmonic minor over V7 in this instance). I wish conventional theory texts would touch more on that.

Just to add, you could also view it as a iv -V7 - i with the c and g both serving as suspension and anticipation (as well motivic material) tones. The g anticipating the V7,and the c serves as a suspension resolving to b natural and anticipates the tonic (eg c to b natural to c, but as said in prior post, Williams puts this in the bass to make it less apparent). What is interesting is that he uses both natural (aeolian) and harmonic minor scales to get to the i. IN my opinion this helps prepare for the flat II and flat i chord that shows up toward the end of your example (that is if you take the flat ii in first inversion the D flat serves as appog tone to iv, and the c- b natural -c movement from the 4-3 susp ogf the V7 chord anticipates the i - flat i - i movement). It is a good example of voice leading supporting the harmonic movement.

I don't know WHICH passage it is, Daniel, it's just one of those transitional passages in the score, so it could be from any of the HP films he scored. Other than the bouncy theme in 8ths at the end there's nothing particularly marking in the rest of the passage.

hehe nice pun:)

You needn't worry about all those accidentals, he is imposing the c minor scale on top of a lengthy cadence, using G as a pedal, and adding the suspended chord in the brass. And the conflict of apparent musical function, regarding the B flats and B naturals, this is just another 20th century idea, since both function well as they are, so why not have both? This is a typical John Williams - giving you something plain (the suspension), but putting all these other notes on top, and of course the scalar flutes to bring us back to the trite over-used melody. ;) It's the Quidditch theme!