Popular Post crumbs 14,271 Posted December 1, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted December 1, 2019 For anyone not aware, there was a lot of conjecture surrounding unused TFA music featured in one of the film's making-of documentaries. The music above is an example of such music, which several posters attributed as a possible Jedi Steps alternate. I decided to test how the music would play over that scene and where it might fit. This was the best result I could create but it's pure guesswork, so just use the video as a reference for the music itself. What's interesting for me (and someone with a stronger musical knowledge might be able to confirm my theory) is that the horns playing in counterpoint to the strings from 0:11-0:15 appear to be playing a fragment of the Jedi Steps theme! It actually sounds like a prototype of the theme before Williams refined the idea into the final film version. The use of mysterious strings at 0:03 are also carried across to the final version of the cue here: MaestroUE, SteveMc, Will and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaestroUE 29 Posted December 1, 2019 Share Posted December 1, 2019 It’s possible. Both cues are in the same key and use the same progression. Maybe in his mind, the horn part developed itself into the final version of Jedi steps while he was recording the cue, or maybe during an after-work shower 😀. JJ might also have asked him to add a more dramatic feeling during that scene, especially emphasizing the Skywalker root by using the same chord progression of the Imperial March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Falstaft 2,097 Posted December 1, 2019 Popular Post Share Posted December 1, 2019 I'm pretty convinced this is the case too. It's so strange to think something as now-iconic as Jedi Steps was a replacement for another cue, though it's not the first time this has happened (e.g. the original Binary Sunset). I also suspect that this unused material was used for inspiration (or temp-tracked) for some of Ahch-To music in The Last Jedi. Lots of similarities there as well. Wonder if some day we'll ever learn the definitive answer to these questions... Cerebral Cortex, crumbs, Will and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artguy360 1,838 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 I remember this speculation! I hope one day we get a complete release or at least and expanded release including alternates for TFA. crumbs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,271 Posted December 2, 2019 Author Share Posted December 2, 2019 4 minutes ago, artguy360 said: I remember this speculation! I hope one day we get a complete release or at least and expanded release including alternates for TFA. I actually doubted it was an alternate Jedi Steps until I spotted a fragment of the theme hidden in this version! It's gotta be a prototype that he reworked, presumably when JJ asked for something more mysterious and darker, rather than wistful and melancholic. Fascinating alternate attempt though, you really get a sense of JW's thought-process. Almost as fascinating as the Binary Sunset reworking. And to think we have an entirely new score to come with, in all likelihood, just as many alternate ideas. The ST is my dream Mike Matessino project now, because you could practically present two totally different versions of the same score in the one set. Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruesome Son of a Bitch 6,488 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 The final version has a lot more oomph. That could be underscoring any random occurrence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 11,956 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 23 minutes ago, artguy360 said: I remember this speculation! I hope one day we get a complete release or at least and expanded release including alternates for TFA. The question is whether our retirement homes will have CD players. Smeltington 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muad'Dib 1,800 Posted December 2, 2019 Share Posted December 2, 2019 The video is no more crumbs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,271 Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 Weird, I'll have to check why it was taken down. Could the music have been flagged/recognised in a database somewhere? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUlyssesian 2,467 Posted December 3, 2019 Share Posted December 3, 2019 Can't see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,271 Posted December 3, 2019 Author Share Posted December 3, 2019 Re-uploaded. Don't know if it'll last... Muad'Dib 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheUlyssesian 2,467 Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 I don't think this is an EARLY version of the Jedi Steps. It is ANOTHER version of the Jedi Steps that we love. So Jedi Steps famously play the its main theme 3 times. With 1st one being softer, 2nd being dramatic and 3rd being over-the-top super melodramatic. I think the first version of the cue as Williams wrote might have retained the 1st and 2nd runs of the theme and then the Vimeo versio for the 3rd time. I actually like this version too. It gives the scene a slighter softer feel. I think eventually JJ and KK came back and told him Luke's reveal should be SUPER ULTRA ALL CAPS DRAMATIC OMG JIZZ IN MY PANTS. So then Williams amped up the 3rd version and delivered the version we love today. Which you gotta admit - is kinda overdramatic for simply a man turning around. But hey, it works! In the vimeo version too you can almost hear it transition into a soft rendition of the force theme just like the film version. crumbs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,271 Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 Yeah I reckon if it kept going a few more seconds, we'd hear the Binary Sunset solo as it appears in the film. We know from TFA's lead French Horn player that the Binary Sunset solo used in the final film was carried over from the original recording, and didn't need to be re-recorded when Williams revised the rest of the cue. Will and crlbrg 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post crumbs 14,271 Posted December 4, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted December 4, 2019 After a suggestion from @BrotherSound, I tweaked the placement of the alternate version and think this fits substantially better! What does everyone think? Crossfaded into the film version to show how Williams might have intended this version of the cue to continue DarthDementous, crlbrg and Cerebral Cortex 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smeltington 1,420 Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 I do feel like the revised version does a better job of selling the scene. And you NEED music to sell this scene... how did they film this with a straight face?? Nice work crumbs, thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrotherSound 2,240 Posted December 5, 2019 Share Posted December 5, 2019 @crumbs Thanks for trying that! It seems to work fairly well. The film version of Jedi Steps is in the leaked score and dated 5/29/15, which would make it one of the earlier cues to be completed (the dates range from May through November) so I suspect if this was indeed intended for this scene, it was recorded as a possible insert later on. crumbs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,271 Posted December 5, 2019 Author Share Posted December 5, 2019 41 minutes ago, BrotherSound said: so I suspect if this was indeed intended for this scene, it was recorded as a possible insert later on. Yeah it's possible JJ just wanted to hear an alternative approach for Luke's reveal, but they ultimately settled on JW's original version. BrotherSound 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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