Bayesian 1,359 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 My ear isn’t trained to pick up on this kind of thing, but I wonder... does JW like to write in specific keys for specific moods or settings? Like Beethoven and his “heroic” writing in C minor? (Or he who I shall not name who likes to drone on in D minor?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ludwig 1,120 Posted March 28, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted March 28, 2020 I would say that Williams tends not to associate certain keys with certain moods. The idea of composers using certain keys for certain moods derived from the days when the 12-note chromatic system was not equally tempered, meaning that the same interval wasn't always exactly the same size. So each key did sound different and many tended to have common associations among composers. When equal temperament became the norm in the 19th century, those associations became more of a relic from the past and weren't used nearly as often. Beethoven was kind of the last big exponent of the idea, and it's not surprising that he spanned the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. Anyway, with Williams, I don't see really strong connections between key and mood, but there are a couple of exceptions. Sometimes in his classic scores, it seems that he uses C major when there is a kind of purity in the character the theme represents in the theme's most prominent statement (main title / end credits): Superman fanfare and march (pure good), E.T. and Elliott (childhood innocence), Yoda (pure wisdom). This association of C major with purity is very traditional and mostly comes from C major having no sharps or flats in its key signature, so looks "pure" on the page. Other times, though, it just seems like C major is a convenient key to write in for Williams, like with the Raiders March. Williams also sometimes follows the 19th-century convention of using keys with lots of flats for slow, romantic pieces in major keys. This happens in Han Solo and the Princess, and Luke and Leia, both of which are in D-flat major, which has a whopping 5 flats in its key signature. The many flats are supposed to represent a very relaxed state in a musical way (whereas lots of sharps in a key signature are often associated with lots of energy). These are pretty much exceptions, though. Personally, I feel that Williams' choice of key for a theme probably depends on how he's going to orchestrate it. The use of B-flat major for the Star Wars main title not only allows the connection to the Fox fanfare that preceded it in the same key, but also the high B-flat in the trumpet, which is right near the very top of the instrument's range, as the theme's highest note. Or why the Jaws ostinato is on E - that's generally the lowest note in the double bass, so will be the darkest string colour he can achieve. The more I study Williams' writing, the more I find that his ideas seem very tied to orchestration, so that's why I'd lean more towards "not really" in answering your question despite the exceptions above. KK, SteveMc, oierem and 8 others 8 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joni Wiljami 1,206 Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Not everything in D-major but he loves it. Can't blame him, wonderful, fress key. And he loves Haydn. Joseph wrote his horn concertos in D-major and they are lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datameister 2,037 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Not that I've noticed, though it'd be interesting to crunch the numbers. I suppose his marches and fanfares do tend toward C, Bb, Eb, F, or G, but those tendencies certainly aren't unique to JW. Fabulin and Bayesian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Porkins 53 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Not sure but you just reminded me of this video I watched a few days ago. Bayesian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bayesian 1,359 Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 Thanks, @Ludwig! That was really informative and interesting! I’d heard of equal temperament, but never realized that was one of its implications. Or that JW would write for the instrument’s range rather than some specific key to get the sound he wanted. The more I learn about music history/theory, the more fascinating I find it. I admire you and the others here who study music seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 I suppose he likes those old school skeleton keys and those nice brass-coloured Lockwood sets. He might not be much for new biometric key technology though. Gruesome Son of a Bitch and Jurassic Shark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurassic Shark 12,033 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 From years of studying John Williams, I'd say he favors the following keys, in no specific order: - the key to his house. - the key to his basement, where he keeps John Williams the guitarist. - the key to his car. - the key to the cupboard where he keeps his ASM cookies. - the key to Daisy's heart. Unlucky Bastard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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