John Williams - ET: Flying Theme (1982)

- Legato melody

- Leaps:

• First a 5th
• Then an octave
• Then a 6th
• Then a 7th to the highest note of the phrase

- Strong use of tonic and dominant in melody

- Melody doubled in octaves - gives feeling of height

- Ascending sequence with crescendo bars 42-45

- Accented passing notes in sequence

• Sounds like spiralling higher (bar 32)

- Ascending harmonies in the B section (B-Eb-F#\: up in 3rds)

• Bars 28-30

- Regular quavers - creating feeling of cycling/pedaling

- Staccato quavers in the intro

- Regular phrasing&no changes in tempo (except ending) = continuous movmnt

- Sudden changes in dynamics brass bar 12

- Double dotted rhythm (double bar 30) = sound exciting

- Compression of Melody bar 32

- Use of suspended cymbal and timp rolls e.g. bars 32-33

•  often with crescendos to build excitement

- Tremolo strings bars 46 / 48 / 51-52



- Use of high tessitura - countermelody on flutes

                                        - bells bar 18 / 20 / 22 / 24 = stars

- Bells used at end bars 84-87

- Slash chord bar 82 (D/C)

• Suggests night time / magic - resolves to C

- Chromatic melody (B motif bar 25) - used in sequence bars 42-45

- Unrelated chords e.g. Eb-F#m-Dm-Bb (bars 29-31)

• "fluid tonality"

- Diminished chord bar 54

- 3 bar phrases e.g. bars 29-31

• interrupted 6 bar phrase bar 63-68
• 

- Whole tone accented quavers bar 68

- Dissonant Eb in C major triad bar 74 / 77

- Changing time signatures bar 69-end (less continuous movement)

- 2 beats of silence bar 73

- F# in melody bars 75-76 / 78-79 (part of Mixolydian on C)

- Some diatonic dissonances even in main theme sections

• e.g. bar 15 (D-Eb-F#-A-C)