Orchestration and that special John Williams "sound"

[J_N 1]

So basically, no one can deny that John Williams' music has a very distinct "sound" to it--it's what makes it possible for you to hear his scores and know that it's him. I think a lot of that has to do with his orchestration, or choice of instrumentation. For example, he treats brass instruments (specifically the horn) in ways that other composers don't, often times by giving them, rather than strings, the most important part or melody. He likes to double certain instruments, especially in the woodwinds. For example, he'll often add flute to an important melody in horns or trumpet to give them a slightly different color. All of these details really contribute to the style and sound we have come to love and I'm wondering if anybody else has observations about his orchestration to share. What have you noticed, from studying his scores and/or listening to recordings, about the way he orchestrates and how this has made his music unique and distinct?

[Datameister 2,037]

Hmmm...well, I hear more melodic idiosyncrasies in his work than ones relating to orchestration. Yes, he certainly has tendencies in his orchestration methods, but they vary over time and vary between his different styles. Contrary to popular belief among casual listeners, he doesn't just have one style that's immediately recognizable. The scores to Memoirs of a Geisha and the original Star Wars are from two vastly different musical universes. Same goes for Schindler's List and Hook. The list goes on and on.

He does have certain tried-and-true methods, though. Some of these pertain to orchestration, and some don't. In action music, he likes to use fast-moving string lines with runs and punctuated hits in the upper woodwinds, while the brass and often strings carry melodic or motivic ideas. For themes, he loves to lead in with a pickup note on the fifth of the scale (Marion's Theme, Across the Stars, Princess Leia's Theme, the Force Theme, etc.). High, dissonant violin cluster chords are great for suspense; muted trombone and double bass add to the eerie factor. Ostinatos in the low brass and strings are always fun. Putting trumpets, horns, and trombones all on the melody in various octaves is one of his favorite ways of reinforcing a strong melody. Harp, timpani, and the famous "boom-tzzzz" are great ways of adding musical punch to transitions and so forth. Especially in scores in which no orchestrator is credited, Williams loves to do melodies in the strings with octave doublings. (See TPM for many examples of this.) If he's writing choir parts, he seems to love giving the basses the fifth of the chord. Lastly but certainly not leastly, EVERY score must have at least one short passage based on the notes V - IV# - VIb!

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

[J_N 1]

Thanks for the welcome. And I definitely agree with you that JW doesn't have just one style because like you said, I don't think there would've been any way to randomly guess upon listening that Memoirs of a Geisha, for example, was scored by him. I guess I was making a generalization, but, I think that for his music that has become best-known, such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, E.T., Jurassic Park, or Harry Potter, the orchestration is just as important as the theme itself, and there are similarities between each movie. All the things you brought up are great though--not just the orchestrational methods, but also compositional techniques in general. I'm always interested in the analysis of great music (which can be hard without a score when you think you know what you're hearing but can't be completely sure:/). Thanks again!

[pi 0]

it would take a book of 1000 pages to come anyway close to explaining it.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I've never heard this "boom-tzzz" thing. Which scores and track times can I find it?

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

The Land Race from Far and Away, at 2:14, and throughout most of the track.

[Melange 446]

Because I'm not schooled in musical theory, I just couldn't tell people what it is that makes me hear something and know it is Jerry Goldsmith or John Williams or whatever (what-ever,is an underated composer, let me tell you). Because I'm not even "consciously" aware of why I can pick it up. Our minds learn patterns of association that we're not always conscious of,I think.

[Red 75]

Some people claim that Williams over-uses brass, but that is not the case. He has a well know love affair with the flute.

[King Mark 3,625]

Many times i know he composed the music before I read his name on the credit.

for example the theme from Amazing Stories when I heard it on TV.And his name wasn't even on the credits so for a few years it bothered me.

I can also tell that he composed all of CoS even if it's not the official story.

[Damo 0]

Many times i know he composed the music before I read his name on the credit.

That is exactly what happened to me but slightly in an opposite way. Couple years ago I was watching the movie called Hook on TV directed by Steven Spielberg. At first I wasn't aware who did the music for that film. But throughout watching the movie and listening to the music at the same time, I started to recognised the style of the music and I realised something trigger my mind that I knew straight away that it was John Williams without knowing who did the music in the first place and before I check his name on the credits.

What made me think it was John Williams is that those 3 quaver triplets in Across of the Stars from ATOC in 4/4 was quite similar to the Hook theme in 6/8. I mean it has familar rhythmics notes even though they have different notes in two different time signatures. Even though triplets is played in three quaver notes in one crotchet beat. In 6/8 you have 6 quavers in one bar but I being specifically mean when he uses those 3 quavers in the hook theme in a 6/8 bar.

In other words a 3 quaver triplet in a simple time signature is simliar but not exactly equal to a 3 quavers notes in a compound time signature.

[JCM 1]

One thing I've definetly noticed in more of the bombastic, march-type tunes is he likes to keep a pedal point (usually an ostinato of some sort) in the bass, while moving parallel major triads around above it. Some good examples might be March of the Slave Children, some of Raiders March, parts of Yoda's Theme, etc.

Also, to add some dissonance to those major chords he'll often add the major seventh just below the triad. So a chord stacked from bottom up: "BCEG" Does that a TON in Raider's March and Superman.

Another one of my favorite orchestration things he does is his use of woodwind & harp flourishes. One example would be in Jurassic Park (Journey to the Island).

I was driving home from a rehearsal with a piccolo player friend of mine last night, and we were listening to some various Williams tracks, and he commented that "Williams writes the best piccolo parts."

-JCM

[Trumpeteer 302]

I've never heard this "boom-tzzz" thing. Which scores and track times can I find it?

In every freakin' action score he's written.

My favorites are in "The Quidditch Match" and "Anderton's Great Escape."

And it is true that it is hard to define JW's sound, but it is easily recognizable, even in two disparate scores. His layering is second to none.

And that's as far as I dare to go in using musical terms.

[Red 75]

There are some scores that you listen to and know that it is Williams, but others (like Schindler's List) are not like that.

I guess it is the same for most other composers.

[Jacck 23]

There are some scores that you listen to and know that it is Williams, but others (like Schindler's List) are not like that.

I guess it is the same for most other composers.

Schindler's List is riddled with Williams-esque qualities.

[futuremartymcfly 0]

The Land Race from Far and Away, at 2:14, and throughout most of the track.

Anyone know what insturments are used there? Sounds like a Timpani followed by Cymbal or Gong crash... but I'm not too good at detirmining the insturments playing.

[Jacck 23]

It's simply an orchestral bass drum followed by crash cymbals. You can tell it's not a timpani because a timpani is a pitched instrument, where as the "boom" clearly isn't pitched.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

His style has a very 50's 60's Roman film feel to it .

Honestly I don't see it as a very radically different flavor. It's the orchestration of the earlier Hollywood pictures with a modern style. What allows me to identify it is that modern flavor and the recording quality.