TROS 16: World Class Whisperer (with Steve Danielson)

Oct 21

In minutes 76-80 of The Rise of Skywalker, Rey meets Dark Rey and duels Kylo Ren on the Death Star wreckage. Composer and choral conductor Steve Danielson joins me today to talk about Williams-y action scoring, tritone stability, shame spirals, and more!

Timestamps:

0:00 - Hello there!
8:58 - Stress underscore.
11:49 - What is the movie trying to say with Dark Rey?
17:50 - The stability of tritones in harmony vs. melody.
21:04 - Kylo trying to drag Rey down into his shame spiral.
26:31 - Psalm of the Sith/Rey's theme fakeout.
28:37 - A very John Williams-y action moment.
31:07 - Downward minor brass arpeggio emphasizing 6th scale degree.
37:21 - Shift to mournful music and Leia's theme.
46:27 - Maz love.
50:50 - The absence of music.
52:11 - Rey acting on impulse vs. considering her actions.
1:06:32 - Final thoughts on these minutes and the movie.
1:12:05 - SWMM Questionnaire

Things to Check Out:

The Great Kamino Kaper (AOTC live staged reading): https://kaminokaper.com
Vocal Spectrum - Cruella De Vil - https://youtu.be/YU9rUXf11zQ?si=FPCVcC8GkfXmFXWv
Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (by Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/

Musical Themes:

10a. Imperial March (Theme)
59a. Psalm of the Sith (A Section)
100) Resignation (I think)
4. Leia

Where are we in the soundtrack?:

nowhere...

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

1. In exactly 3 words, what does Star Wars sound like?

Epicness. Imagination. Thoroughness.

2. What's something related to Star Wars music or sound that you want to learn more about?

I'd love to sit down with John Williams and talk about how he comes up with his themes. What sort of connections are you trying to make to previous themes? What characterization of this particular character are you looking to represent?

3. What's a score or soundtrack you're fond of besides anything Star Wars?