TLJ 19: Trombone Stings

THE LAST JEDI

Jun 11

Beethoven once called the trombone the "voice of God," but how does this low brass instrument factor into the music of The Last Jedi? From stings to stabs, pads, and more, trombonist Adam Liebreich-Johnsen explains various trombone textures and talks about the role of low brass in Star Wars scores. This set of Last Jedi minutes happens to have one of his favorite low brass moments!

Discussion topics/Highlights:

The various trombone colors, textures and other brass textures used in the score: block chords, French horn stings, trumpet stings, etc
"sting" = an accented hit that's often an interjection between other musical phrases. This is a common way to refer to that in jazz and commercial circles.
"stab" = similar to a sting.
The infamous iron (a reference to fan film "Hardware Wars")
Sounds favs: blasters being cocked, the iron steaming, BB-8 imitating the melodic mouse droids
"through-composed" music = essentially (in terms of this discussion), music that's relatively continuous and non-repetitive.
NOTE: In this episode, Adam nails the definition of "through-composed" (music that doesn't repeat its sections or stanzas) while I'm a bit off (music that's more bespoke and fits more specifically to what's going on in the scene rather than relying on patterns and big main themes). Ultimately, our assessments of "through-composed" music actually line up, but in the episode, I'm admittedly describing more of an effect/my interpretation of how through-composed music affects scenes rather than the technical elements that define it. Just want to clear that up!
Bass (singing) sub-harmonics
parallel and planar motion, specifically the planar triads we hear in one part during these minutes
Real trombones vs. in sample libraries

Themes Referenced (in order of appearance):

Main Theme
Kylo Ren 2 (Hesitant)
Kylo Ren 1 (Aggressive) - hinted in oboe
Snoke's Theme
Rose's Theme
Resistance March
89. Subterfuge (incidental motif) throughout

References Mentioned:

"through-composed music" according to Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through-composed_music
If you're into music and math and want to understand set theory, here's a good lesson: https://youtu.be/49L3hOyOKCY
"Witches' Sabbath" from Symphonie Fantasique by Hector Berlioz (awesome trombone part with Dies Irae): https://youtu.be/Q9cAyvjL9Z8
Beethoven's 9th Symphony, 4th movement (trombones don't come in until the last movement to add more bombs): https://youtu.be/tZ9NRL5Hmbo
"Tuba mirum" from Mozart's Requiem (great trombone solo): https://youtu.be/wH71cC7Lb4s
"Kyrie" from Mozart's Requiem (trombone is part of the fugue at the beginning): https://youtu.be/8ybTabIfLgY
Geoff Castellucci singing bass sub-harmonics: https://youtu.be/fzlT80jQ3lo
Switched On Bach (Wendy Carlos): http://www.wendycarlos.com/+sob.html
sackbut: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sackbut