Name That Tune, Williams Style

[Uni 306]

Think you know your JW pretty well? Here's the real test. Vulture.com has put up a John Williams quiz that challenges you to identify twelve of his scores . . . after hearing only three notes from each.

Sounds pretty easy, doesn't it? Think again. I was bursting with pride for getting ten out of twelve correct, but it took me quite a while (I refused to reveal the answers until I was sure I had it right).

Take your best shot at the link below. Try to be honest when you post your score here. . . .

Name That Tune - John Williams

- Uni

[Faleel 5,455]

I got almost everything. (I think some of these are a bit unfair.

[Uni 306]

Yeah, a couple will send you for a loop. #2 and #4 are nearly identical the first time you hear them.

- Uni

[alicebrallice 134]

that was fun!

I got 8/12... failed at #3 (was like ffffffff are you shitting me), #4, #10 and #11.

[Nemesis 250]

Hmm, doesn't work for me. The clips won't play...

[Jay 37,547]

Works fine for me.

I got 5-8 right away on the first play.

I had to replay 1-4 and 9-12 a bunch of times and then only got 3 and 12.

I don't see how anybody could guess 1-2, 4, 9-11. To those that did, I salute you!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

[Jay 37,547]

3 was easy once I played it again

9 I feel dumb for not getting right away

4 and 11 are the freaking impossible ones to guess from the sample they made

[alicebrallice 134]

Hmm, doesn't work for me. The clips won't play...

didn't work for me at first. try to refresh the page a couple of times, worked for me.

I don't see how anybody could guess 1-2, 4, 9-11. To those that did, I salute you!

that was like the easiest one of all!

[Jay 37,547]

I did realize I should have gotten 2 after i heard it. i think it was on the back of my mind when I was playing the sample but juuuust couldn't bring it to the front.

[Score 771]

I got 10 out of 12. I missed #3 and #11 (this, in particular, is REALLY unfair!). #3 is a perfect example of how harmony is fundamental in music...

[Uni 306]

3 and 9 were the ones that got me.

2 was one of the easy ones for me. Something about that "tickling" made it jump out.

I think I only got 4 because I'd just been listening to it this morning. The tune just kept right on going for me.

11 took the longest. It could've been the shortest . . . because I started the game by thinking about how the opening notes of his most popular scores would sound. I actually thought of those three notes in a row, but when I actually heard them, I couldn't make the connection. Crazy.

- Uni

[Once 605]

11/12, but I've never been a huge fan of number 9! I actually didn't find it hard at all.

[Datameister 2,097]

10 was the only one I missed outright - but I'm not familiar with that score. For 9, I didn't come up with the "right" answer...but I did think of a theme that uses the same three notes, albeit with a slightly different rhythm. I'll count it as 10.5/12.

[Uni 306]

You should edit that title out of your post, Once. Could be a spoiler for those who haven't played yet.

- Uni

[Score_Fan 36]

8/12

I didn't get 1,2, 10, nor 11.

[Jonesy 55]

I got 8/12, I couldn't identify 1, 3, 4 and 10.

[Jilal 569]

EDIT: nvm

[Score 771]

10 was the only one I missed outright - but I'm not familiar with that score. For 9, I didn't come up with the "right" answer...but I did think of a theme that uses the same three notes, albeit with a slightly different rhythm. I'll count it as 10.5/12.

Eheh, I think I know what you are speaking about...

[Uni 306]

Again--please don't include the titles of any of these pieces in your posts, folks (and if you could edit them out of previous posts, that'd be great). Some people may read this thread through before trying the game for themselves, to see where the challenges are. You could be ruining the experience for someone.

- Uni

[JoeinAR 1,949]

I'll have to try my hand at it this evening.

[Brónach 1,303]

8/10

[Nemesis 250]

Today it worked for me as well.

Got 9 out of 12.

I didn't got 3,4, and 9.

[indy4 155]

I missed # 10.

There were 2 others that I put the wrong ones for, but that's just because they were other themes that started with the same intervals in the same rhythm, so I don't count those.

[Marian Schedenig 8,261]

4 and 11 are the freaking impossible ones to guess from the sample they made

I got #4 right away, for some reason. #11 was really obvious to me. So obvious that I didn't trust it until I had verified that it's in the right key, too.

The rhythm is pretty hard to guess from just three notes. That doesn't leave much information in those clips that start with a fifth. I had two candidates for #1, until I came to #11.

I got all except #3 and #10.

I mistook #3 for

Amistad, and had no idea for #11. Which can be excused because I only have a CDR of JFK which I've hardly every played.

[Joni Wiljami 1,206]

.

[Hlao-roo 389]

11 out of 12. #4 was the one that tripped me up. Didn't expect them to go there with that one, but I guess they wanted to make sure it was melodically distinct enough from #9.

Seven of them seemed pretty obvious to me. #3, #4, #9, #10, and #11 were the samples I had to replay several times before guessing.

I made the same mistake with #3 than Marian.

Part of the quiz is thinking about what would make a twelve item list of Williams's "most famous scores." #10 was to me a surprising selection, and one reason I had to listen to #9 over and over -- even though the intervalic/rhythmic combination is (at least in retrospect) unmistakable -- was that I didn't think that that score would make the list, either.

[Cantus Venti 13]

9/12. Some of those were strange.