"One-off" melodies, tunes, and ditties

[mrbellamy 6,272]

I was about to post this in the "favorite short moments" thread but decided maybe it deserved a thread of its own. I feel like we have had one of these before, actually, but couldn't find anything recent and couldn't really narrow it down to a thread with the right search phrases...

 

Anyway, you all know what I'm talking about. Those addictive little bastards that come completely out of nowhere, steal the show for a fleeting moment, and then you never hear from them again. I was reminded of this recently as I was listening to the KOTCS sessions for the first time and that random 15-second Ruskie miniature came up in the first half of the Jungle Chase.

 

 

It's one of my favorite things about Williams and no other film composer does it with this kind of frequency and panache, really. It's such a great technique for energizing a section of a cue or giving a film moment a little identity of its own, and even in a way resets my attention span during listening. Especially when these show up in the middle of a frantic action cue or some atmospheric bit of underscore, I guess it's his way of re-establishing a more conventional tonal language to easily catch the ear without always having to fall back on a theme or motif. It's just this simple trick that never fails to grab me, make me smile, or tap along.

 

Hook's red carpet descent is another favorite that pops to mind.

 

 

I'm not necessarily talking about notable setpiece-specific themes like "The Barrel Chase," "The Basket Chase," or even the "Asteroid Field" fanfare, though I guess that's borderline. I'd argue even that feels a little bit more like a centerpiece than what I'm thinking of, same with a few others like "Jedi Steps". Rule of thumb might be the easier it is to give a name to, the less it qualifies!

 

But it's those blink-and-you-miss-it cameos, the minor minor leaguers, supporting the supporting players. Almost feels like it comes from the spirit of vaudeville or musical revues, at least with the blockbuster scores. They're like these rookie performers who come out in between the bigger acts, tell a quick joke, do a little tap dance or maybe a magic trick, and then they're whisked off stage. Love it!

 

Or on the opposite end of the spectrum, it can also be a completely isolated, non-thematic moment of melodic beauty. The opening flute solo for Rey's first close-up in "The Scavenger," for example, or this:

 

 

Any thoughts on this aspect of Williams's approach to scoring? What are your favorites? Does anybody else really compare to Williams as far as this goes? Examples from those folks are welcome too. Go!

[Will 2,215]

Yeah, there are so many of these. Unfortunately most of them stay just out of my mind's reach at the moment, so for now I'll just add this awesome one:

 

 

Maybe a little shorter than what you're thinking of, but still terrific. 

 

Oh, is this a theme? I'm not sure, but if not it's a marvelous one-off moment:

 

 

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

The brief horn figure at 0:20 of David and Martin, when David talks about the bird from his first memory.

 

The beginning of Wearing Perfume.

 

8:11 in Christmas Morning/The Mirror of Erised.

 

1:34 in The Keeper of the Grail.

 

The ghostly tune for the hatching of a baby raptor.

 

The similarly ghostly sections of Sean and Lara with the synth voices over classic Williams thick, jazzy, nostalgic harmonies.

 

The oft mentioned, unreleased, very fleeting "Sith chorale" for violas/cellos/synths during the Plagueis story.

 

"NEVER!"

 

----

 

Sorry for lack of links.

[Faleel 5,333]

Love that grail moment.

[Not Mr. Big 4,639]

4 minutes ago, TheGreyPilgrim said:

 

"NEVER!"

What's that from?

[Faleel 5,333]

Return of the Jedi, The Dark Side Beckons? 

[artguy360 1,843]

I've got one that I absolutely love though I'm not sure if it reoccurs elsewhere in the score or not. In the concert version of The Face of Pan, starting around 10 seconds in and lasting all of 8 or so seconds is a really soulful, warm, and simple string figure played underneath the harp. I love that bit of music. Its sublime. I listen to The Face of Pan just for that moment. Has anyone else obsessed over those 10 seconds of music? Is it actually a reoccurring idea in the score? I'm not well versed in the Hook score. 

 

 

[Gnome in Plaid 219]

A number of pieces throughout the SW films have some textural similarity to "It Can't Be," but I don't think the main motif is heard verbatim anywhere else.

And God damn is it magnificent.

[igger6 894]

The best example of this I can think of is non-Williams, actually.  At the climax of JNH's Atlantis, just when the plot is getting hopelessly weird, a lot of orchestral Sturm und Drang suddenly dissolves into a jaw-dropping melody for solo voice.  The first time I heard it, it was some of the most beautiful music I'd ever heard.  Give it about ten seconds for context to fully appreciate it.  The awesomeness begins at 1:50 or so:

 

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

1 hour ago, Gnome in Plaid said:

A number of pieces throughout the SW films have some textural similarity to "It Can't Be," but I don't think the main motif is heard verbatim anywhere else.

And God damn is it magnificent.

 

Great one.

[publicist 4,643]

For Rose:

 

 

[KK 3,307]

2 hours ago, Gnome in Plaid said:

A number of pieces throughout the SW films have some textural similarity to "It Can't Be," but I don't think the main motif is heard verbatim anywhere else.

And God damn is it magnificent.

 

Good one. Tragedy, staged in a true dramatist's fashion.

 

Also, that fanfare at the end gets me every time.

[Cumulonimbus 22]

 

This melody in the clarinet, you never hear it again in the soundtrack, but it is so beautiful. Only a few notes before it transforms into one of the main themes.

[crumbs 14,300]

3 hours ago, Cumulonimbus said:

 

This melody in the clarinet, you never hear it again in the soundtrack, but it is so beautiful. Only a few notes before it transforms into one of the main themes.

 

That's a great example, it's one of my favourite isolated moments in the score. Always wished he expanded upon the idea.

 

Here's one from Star Wars, which is brimming with ideas. So far as I know, this particular musical idea never appears outside this scene, yet it's very memorable:

 

I have no idea what inspired him to write such a moment, but it's just brilliant.

[Loert 2,510]

 

5:16 - 5:22 

 

 

5:16 - 5:30

[Romão 2,274]

What a great thread, some terrific examples in here.

 

I would add these:

 

 

This melody right at the beginning:

 

 

 

This terrific dissonant fanfare:

 

 

This great little "march":

 

 

[artguy360 1,843]

17 hours ago, Cumulonimbus said:

 

This melody in the clarinet, you never hear it again in the soundtrack, but it is so beautiful. Only a few notes before it transforms into one of the main themes.

I wonder if that bit you highlighted is a previous version of the theme that follows. JW has said before that he will write many different permutations of a melody for a theme before finding the right one. This sounds very similar to the theme right after it, it could be one of those unused permutations.

[Cumulonimbus 22]

14 hours ago, LampPost said:

 

5:16 - 5:22 

 

Wow this one is great, could have been much longer for me. 

[Jay 37,283]

The best example of this is the music for the jeep ride to the Visitor's Center in Journey To The Island

[mrbellamy 6,272]

Good one.

 

On 2/15/2017 at 8:34 PM, TheGreyPilgrim said:

8:11 in Christmas Morning/The Mirror of Erised.

 

That this one?

 

 

That first score is such an embarrassment of riches in this category it's pretty unfair. The Banquet scene alone has like three or four. The 5/4 for "Ron's sacrifice" is a classic. Hell, if you discount the "Hedwig's Theme" concert arrangement and just go in-film only, you could even count this awesome shit:

 

 

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

Negative:

 

 

[mrbellamy 6,272]

Ooh yes. One of my favorites too. That string texture.

[Dixon Hill 4,232]

He does that sort of thing a lot -  it's one of my favorite Williams-isms. Possible musical inheritance from Mancini?

 

 

[Muad'Dib 1,800]

Sounds very A.I.-like.

[curlytoot 97]

On 2/15/2017 at 9:34 PM, TheGreyPilgrim said:

The oft mentioned, unreleased, very fleeting "Sith chorale" for violas/cellos/synths during the Plagueis story.

 

I don't know this one. Any idea where I could find it?

[crumbs 14,300]

There's no clean rip of that section, so far as I'm aware. Just a version laden with sound effects.

[mrbellamy 6,272]

1 hour ago, TheGreyPilgrim said:

He does that sort of thing a lot -  it's one of my favorite Williams-isms. Possible musical inheritance from Mancini?

 

 

 

Good call, actually, those tremolos do have a bit of 60s romance to them lol. Soft tension and expectation, though not suspenseful per se....hard to describe that feeling it creates but it is one of those inviting textures that evokes old-school movie magic, come to think of it. I guess no wonder it works so well underneath Dumbledore's musings.

[Manakin Skywalker 4,891]

On ‎2‎/‎16‎/‎2017 at 6:54 AM, crumbs said:

Here's one from Star Wars, which is brimming with ideas. So far as I know, this particular musical idea never appears outside this scene, yet it's very memorable:

 

I have no idea what inspired him to write such a moment, but it's just brilliant.

A longer version of it also appears in the album version of the ROTS end credits.

[Cerebral Cortex 3,357]

The brass from 0:09 to 0:19 in The Emperor Arrives. Thought it was going to be the hint of a new theme upon first listen, but it just shows up once and then we never hear it again. Serves as an excellent build towards the Imperial March reprisal, though. 
 

 

[Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488]

On 2/15/2017 at 10:04 PM, publicist said:

For Rose:

 

 

 

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh, happy day!

 

My favorite part, of course, is the horn solo in "Among the Clouds" and "Always: Theme" on The Spielberg/Williams Collaboration (the good one).

 

The first Harry Potter score is loaded with this sort of thing. I've been saying for years, there are countless passages from that one which could carry an entire score.

[Naïve Old Fart 9,494]

As far as I know, the first part of AN ARCHITECT'S DREAM is heard nowhere else in the film.

[artguy360 1,843]

I just want to say the premise of this thread is really good and I wish we were all still posting these one-off musical moments from JW.

[crumbs 14,300]

@artguy360, did you realise your post count is exactly double your liked posts count? What are the odds?

[Brundlefly 2,385]

Don't answer! Otherwise, there will be no proof of that any more!

[Loert 2,510]

 

9:57 - 10:05

[artguy360 1,843]

18 hours ago, crumbs said:

@artguy360, did you realise your post count is exactly double your liked posts count? What are the odds?

No I never noticed but how can I maintain this balance now?!

[crumbs 14,300]

1 hour ago, artguy360 said:

No I never noticed but how can I maintain this balance now?!

 

Simple! For every likeable comment you make, you need to make an unlikeable one.

[artguy360 1,843]

I think this little bird ditty JW wrote for HP3 is pretty fun one off. 

 

[nightscape94 965]

The first thing I thought of was that second half of "Anakin's Dark Deeds", one of my all-time favorite parts of the prequel scores, and even in Star Wars in generally, musically speaking.  Obviously I'm not alone in that.

[mstrox 6,643]

On ‎10‎/‎15‎/‎2017 at 6:48 PM, artguy360 said:

No I never noticed but how can I maintain this balance now?!

 

I don't know, but that's a pretty impressive ratio!

[mrbellamy 6,272]

One week later and it's still holding!

 

[artguy360 1,843]

4 hours ago, mrbellamy said:

One week later and it's still holding!

 

Aw but I just posted again  This is too much pressure to stay balanced. I feel like I'm on the Truman Show! Stop looking at me!!!

[crumbs 14,300]

This thread might need to be re-named the artguy360 Post Count to Liked Posts Ratio Thread.

 

[Disco Stu 15,495]

I could post this in the melody I can't get out of my head thread over in general discussion, but since it's Williams I'll post here.

 

It's not even really a melody, just a rhythmic motif really, but I cannot get the opening of "Anderton's Great Escape" out of my head.  It really fits my overcaffeinated mindstate at the moment.

 

 

[zoltan_902 141]

Two cues, and they both happen to be from the Indy movies.

First is the moment Indy is about to step on the camouflaged bridge; we hear a beautiful, ethereal choir, with a string melody on top. Two bars is all we ever hear of it, and I thought it desperately deserved further development.

 

 

Second is a cue from KOTCS; I was deeply disappointed with the film. It was silly and juvenile, and sadly JW's didn't do too much to save it. Of all fragments of the soundtrack that I did remember positively though, there was this (almost) bluesy theme from the woodwinds, that I wish could have been Mutt's main theme, rather than that grossly misinterpreted 'swashbuckler' nonsense we were given. Thankfully, Youtube has the track, as it isn't featured on the soundtrack album;

 

 

[artguy360 1,843]

@mrbellamy the jaunty little Russian military one-off you posted to start this thread is just too perfect. Every time I listen to it I love it but also wish JW had done more with it. It should have been the center piece of the entire action cue.

[Holko 9,499]

 

[artguy360 1,843]

I wonder what is was about the collaboration between Cuaron and JW that led to such amazing music. It sounds like JW was working in a truly inspired state. There were rumors(?)/stories of the sessions being very difficult and the producer on the film talked about Cuaron having the courage to challenge JW. JW himself has rarely ever talked about the score which is disappointing but Conrad Pope talks about the score being one of his favorites and the sessions being very exciting, a highlight of his time working with JW. I wish we had more music from POA and more from JW himself on the score. 

 

 

[mrbellamy 6,272]

A couple I love from POA:

 

 

 

And my new favorite jam:

 

 

[leeallen01 2,133]

2:24 - A painfully beautiful string moment