The Oppenheimer Theme's WILDLY Confusing Timing

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[edkraken]

When I first heard it in the theatre I was blown away. It sounded so organic and so mechanical at the same time. Paired this film's visuals was just otherworldly and so beautiful. Best film I've seen this year and a lot was thanks to the score.

[fuzzydunlop]

Ludwig Goransson is really making a name for himself. Knocks it out of the park every time.

[AnymMusic]

I adore that Oppenheimer brass motif SO much. So much reverb, so much power, YES

[mgreene]

Composer: It's impossible to play this score from beginning to end with the correct tempo. 🧐
Orchestra: Hold my click track. 😎

[laurenstandifer]

as a violinist, when i heard this in the theater, i was blown away. it's so incredibly hard to play, yet such an incredibly beautiful piece of music

[SoulKing]

The build up to the bomb going off has got to be the most amazing build to a release that I’ve ever witnessed in my life. Such a fast paced moment but it feels so intense for whether or not the bomb will actually go off. The moment let me at the edge of my seat with my eyes glued to what could possibly happen next

[moritzrkm]

The score is in one word: perfect. It fits absolutely perfect for the movie and is absolutely mouth melting to listen to. I was already amazed by what Ludwig did for Tenet, his previous and also first work with Chris Nolan, but the score for Oppenheimer just proved once again that he is a musical genius.

[matttully]

For those who aren’t familiar with the movie or soundtrack, this technically isn’t called “Oppenheimer’s Theme” but rather “Can you Hear the Music”.

[somebodywithagun]

When tempo changes like this, as a drummer, knowing this is coming, you stop counting. Your body continues playing at the tempo, and you start listening to the new tempo. You don't start counting it, just listen. Then you switch. Very challenging. What can help for musicians who don't play with their mouth, is to talk while playing and keeping tempo. It can be very difficult to do unless you start talking at the tempo you are playing.

[Tariselan]

one of the most spectacular things in music is being able to portray stories and emotions without the context around it and I feel Oppenheimer’s soundtrack does this brilliantly

[viola_case]

I cannot wait to see orchestras across the country playing Oppenheimer live in concert

[awkwardsilence]

Oppenheimer is one of my most favorite recent films, its so complex and such an important story to tell, and beautifully executed. Cool to see that's reflected in the complexity of the score.

[dnbuhat]

When I first heard the piece, it reminded me of fusion/fission. We expand, then contract, and it gets more intense. The contrast between the ascending and descending patterns can also be compared to the black and white to colored scenes. Ludwig killed it with this piece. Insane work.

[brendanhorman]

@7:00 is quite possibly the most emotionally intense sequence of chord identifications I've ever experienced

[andromeday]

as a violist this is already incredibly hard to play at even slower speeds, it's absolutely amazing that the orchestra could play it at all those different tempos while staying so in sync. MAJOR props (no pun intended ahah)

[tgpsonic]

Oppenheimer was such a mindblowing and spine-tingling experience, the score was a big part of that for me and I'm glad you took some time to talk about it. Your content really is exciting each time, thank you and keep doing what your doing!

[beab]

I think it's actually a mixture of metric modulation and tempo changes.
From an ascending phrase to a descending phrase, the time in which 3 8th notes are played becomes the time in which 4 8th notes are played. So the tempo is multiplied by 3/4 to get the new tempo.
From a descending phrase back to an ascending phrase, the new tempo is not actually determined by the tempo of the previous descending phrase, but the tempo of the previous ascending phrase. The song starts at 150 bpm, and for each new ascending phrase the tempo increases by 30 bpm from the previous ascending phrase.
I'm not sure if I'm 100% accurate, but I overlayed a click track with these tempo changes on top of the original and it seems to be correct.

[unvergebeneid]

I didn't know the human brain was even capable of keeping track of two completely unrelated rhythms simultaneously. Crazy stuff!
Also crazy that it sounds so pleasant and doesn't throw the listener completely off!

[randomandoweeb]

This song has always made me think of a centrifuge spinning faster and faster until it shatters. Great video by the way! You always make music theory fun.

[manuelprata]

Listening to this theme in IMAX has completely blown my mind, one of the best cinematic experiences I’ve ever had