Modes in Star Wars themes

I analyse the use of modes and key changes in the music from Star Wars including The Force Theme, Yoda's Theme, Leia's Theme and Rey's Theme.

[DavidBennettPiano]

❗️UPDATE: I had to remove the last example from this video (Rey’s Theme) due to a copyright issue. Sorry about that! I thought I should let you know to avoid any confusion.

[MrMaxwell]

This is so deep. I never realized how much of a genius John Williams really is until I started to look at his themes

[JimmyChappie]

It’s amazing how articulately and clearly you can talk about music, whose intangible qualities are often difficult to describe in words. Nice job 👍🏼

[daviddieffenderfer]

This is incredible. I love this series-- so useful to see theory in practice.


Particularly cool to see how harmonic minor is used here, since I usually just think of it as a strange-sounding scale I can't use for anything.


Thanks!

[kilianwilhelm]

Thanks for the great presentation! I have two things to add:
-In Binary Sunset, the harmonic minor is introduced by D major (F sharp being the leitton). It briefly turns to some sort of regular minor with B flat major. The following E flat major can be used in both.
-There is a name for the scale used in Leia's theme: harmonic major (which is major with a flat 6, so that the iv is minor)

[spiffcorgi]

"The Force Theme", aka "the theme we'll shove down your throats in every trailer now to trigger that juicy, juicy nostalgia"

[sounddesignerinc.]

Nice music theory analysis, i opened up my theory book again, your channel inspires me!

[brianbergmusic]

I grew up being an admirer of John William's music. Thank you for shining more light on his work.

[kwixotic]

I would think that John Williams has so thoroughly internalized modal tonality that he consciously doesn't seek to impose the modal sounds but creates scores which just happen to incorporate modal tonalities along with such things as modal interchange.

[OliKember]

This was so fascinating! I could watch these all day.

[Murglie]

Ugh I love film score motif shit so much, and I love that you make videos like these. This level of in-depth niche analysis is exactly what YouTube needs more of haha

[midnightbrewers]

You've got to do lord of the rings next!!!

[Algorithm.]

HOWARD SHORE! Lord of the Rings composition analysis would be awesome!

[musicalmooku]

I'm a Star Wars nerd and a music theory nerd. Thank you for this David. I'm so engaged right now.

[oliverdiamond]

you should get the viewers to submit their compositions, and analyse them like this, it would be so cool!

[wntu]

People that can compose arrangements of this complexity are the Einsteins of music. Magical talent and skill.

[aladdintrips]

"Back down to Tatooine" Good one!👌

[nicksilva]

the force theme gives me goosebumps every single time i hear it

[captaindavecaptain]

Duel of Fates still takes my breath away.

[intervalkid]

The Cmaj and Dmaj chords in bar 4 could be considered from G melodic minor (G A Bb C D E F#). The C can be seen to come from that and then it goes to harmonic minor for the rest. It still alludes to Dorian in sound somewhat. The yoda theme after the temporary tonic of Bm and then the Am again then implies E harmonic minor again with B7 and the D maj but without the temporary tonic, this leaves the phrygian interpretation of the Bm to Am without grounds as the tonality though the third of Am being C does allude to phrygian somewhat (b9 of Bm). You could see the D to Gm (I-iv) as Mixolydian b6 or Harmonic major (Ionian b6) Eb and Dbm both are in Eb Phrygian dom especially since it goes to Ebm afterwards and then a Bbmaj which is it's V chord secondary implying a possible pivot which then pivots back to Bb as the I.