The first note of the SW movies...

I'm not sure if any of you have noticed this, but the first note of the Star Wars movies (the chord or whatever to start of the Star Wars Theme) is different in ANH than in all 3 other Star Wars movies.

Actually, it's cooler in ANH than TPM, TESB and ROTJ! What do I mean? Well, you're gonna have to get out all four CD1's.

The first note from TPM, TESB and ROTJ all use almost a single trumpet blast for the first note, while ANH uses (at least it sounds like) almost ALL the instruments in the orchestra! It's such a richer sound than in TPM, TESB and ROTJ.


Uh, does anyone know what the heck I'm talking about, or not?

 

Hm, interesting point Sithman. I just listened to all four themes right now and I have to say that ANH does sound different. I think it is because the cymbals in the ANH version seem just as loud as the trumpet, whereas they are somewhat softer in the other three (I can barely hear them in the TPM version). Perhaps this is what causes it to give off a more powerful sound.

 

I agree. 'A New Hope' has always been the best performance of the "Main Title"....

 

they are all the same chord, i dont have the score in front of me at the moment but i do beleive maybe the instrumentation might be different, or something... my sound card is being dumb so i cant use my comp for a cd player right now... this has me very interested now...

 

Its the same chord but maybe less instuments or more instruments play the chord. But it is the same chord.

 

remember the fact that anh was in 77... and all the other movies were a couple years after that... plus tpm was just a couple years ago! they arent going to sound exactly the same every time they play it.

 

i understand u. maybe because it's the first? but that would have to b TPM, hmmmmmmmm.........

 

If the orchestration is different, I'm sure it was a consious choice made by Williams, not that he forgot how it went. However, if it's an issue of performance, I'd expect that the sound engineers would pick up on it (if Williams and Lucas didn't) and would have corrected it.

 

Yay Gas, someone understands what I'm talking about!

So, is anyone (like me) preferential to the ANH style opening?

 

I think I hear what you're talking about - I'll have to listen again to be sure.

Part of it may be because of the different tries that JW made in the orchestration (bonus track on ANH CD1). The first takes had the whole orchestra (mainly strings) do this strange "lead-up" to the first chord - sounds pretty awful to me. In the later takes, they go straight from the chord, but with the whole orchestra - brass and strings - doing it.

In the later films, once JW and GL decided in ANH that they liked the "opening bang" of the chord, he might have stuck to a simpler brass declaration with some percussion ofr the "blast effect".

I'm not sure which I like better - ANH or ESB - as far as a specific preference towards one of the renditions.

 

Well you know, no band or orchestra plays a certain song the same every time. any musician knows this.

 

But TESB, ROTJ, and TPM *are* all the same.

 

OK, I just sat down and compared the 3 OT soundtrack openings, Special Edition CD versions (I don't own TPM yet ).

My results:
All 3 openings start with a clash of cymbals and tympani. However, the tympani is most prominent in the ROTJ opening.

The ANH opening stands out in that the opening chord is done mostly by strings, with only token support from the brass, as opposed to the other 2, where the brass carries the opening chord alone.

On the other hand, Sithman, there is a slight difference even between ESB and ROTJ (makes sense, since these are different recordings, with some different players in the LSO). In ESB, the chord seems to be a trumpet statement - giving you that "unsatisfied" feel that you complain about. In ROTJ, though, the opening chord sounds like the whole brass section together, and has a pretty good sound to it. There is also a slight delay between the opening tympani and the chord in ROTJ, which helps punctuate the chord and underline it. The quality of the recording also sounds better in ROTJ for some reason.

I do agree with you, that the ANH string opening sounds more impressive than the others, tho ROTJ comes close with the whole brass.

 

I too have noticed that ALL 4 openings seem to be bit different from each other.

I think it is for the better though. Its cool to have a variation with each one.

I hope that AOTC and Episode III each have unique styles as well in a very subtle way of course, like the others do.

 

like i said before. No band or orchestra can play the same song the exact same way. Believe me. Ive been in bands at school and im in my own band. when we play a song, we never play it the same way each time we play it. Ive even been in the recording studio a few times too and we record a song at least 2 or 3 times before we choose a final take. And even that one isnt perfect. Plus you have to remember that theres a couple of years in between each movieand even more time between ROTJ and TPM.

 

yeah, basically what i said a couple days ago... nobody listens to me of course!

 

Definitely warmer and fuller in ANH. More strings, less prominent brass. The actual mix has a lot to do with it, but I'm much more of a fan of William's earlier SW scores, as well as the films themselves.

 

See? Another person agrees with me.

 

dont you guys even read these posts? valens and i are both musicians... the first note is all the same! no two orchestras are the same, even if it is the london symphony orchestra, they can not play the exact thing the same every time they play it! especially when they are years apart...

 

"dont you guys even read these posts? valens and i are both musicians... the first note is all the same! no two orchestras are the same, even if it is the london symphony orchestra, they can not play the exact thing the same every time they play it! especially when they are years apart... "

Uh, actually, have you ever listened all the way through the last track on the ANH disc 1? They have about THE FIRST 5 recordings ever of the Star Wars theme. Each time is different. The first time has a sort of "lead up" drum note, and the next ones are all different. Obviously, all these changes were ON PURPOSE.

Oh, and BTW, I'm a musician too.

 

Uh, actually, have you ever listened all the way through the last track on the ANH disc 1? They have about THE FIRST 5 recordings ever of the Star Wars theme. Each time is different. The first time has a sort of "lead up" drum note, and the next ones are all different. Obviously, all these changes were ON PURPOSE.

Oh, and BTW, I'm a musician too.

Yes i have listened all the way through disc 1. And yes they are all different recordings like i said and you just said BUT, in your first post you said the chord was different. You made it sound like there's totally different notes.

and BTW, how long have you been a musician?

 

yeah sithman your like 15 years old... you coulnt have been a musician for long. i started in the 4th grade. also your never going to be a mod if you have something like that in your sig.

 

I am a music compostion major and I have listened to the beginning notes of the Star Wars theme MANY times (all but TPM). The chord is the same chord (B-Flat major) every time. What makes each one different is the slightly different orchestrations.

The original theme from ANH is orchestrated across the whole orchestra, and the brass are toned down a bit.

The ESB theme is still orchestrated across the whole group, but the brass (especially trumpet) are much more predominant.

The theme in ROTJ is somewhere in between (but still orchestrated for the entire orchestra), but closer to the ESB one with the brass more predominant. There is also a pickup (anacrusis) in the timpani.

As I don't personally own the soundtrack to TPM, I'm not sure the orchestration of that.

 

exactly! thats what i said. its just diferent instrumentation.