E.T.: "Bike Chase” by John Williams(Score Reduction and Analysis) Howard Hanson "Symphony No. 2:" • Video A full score reduction of the bike chase scene from E.T. I own nothing. Enjoy!
That woodwinds and strings sound at the beginning is the best musical representation of bike pedaling I can imagine. How Williams was able to acknowledge elements of the film in the music and still make it an integral composition is amazing to me.
That beginning that you mentioned sound like it was taken directly from Howard Hanson's Symphony No 2. Almost ver batim, so I'm guessing that symphonic piece was a temporary track used by Spielberg and served as a guide as to what Spielberg wanted Williams to compose
Hats off to the LA studio musicians that performed this. The best of the best of the best, and it shows. Honestly the score and the playing to me overshadows the movie.
A fabulous example of the genius of the great John Williams. Everything is in there: superb pacing, energy, excitement, pathos and orchestral brilliance at its very best. Nice one!
I think that there is actually a LOT OF SCIENCE to the chord before bar 3/2 where flying theme arrives. I am almost sure that this chord with G in bass is actually G#11 it is the dominant chord found on the 4th mode of the "d melodic minor scale". This #11 is the "c sharp" that adds the tension to resolving the chord to "D" . BUT!!! because Johny Williams is a clever guy, he knows from his Jazz years, that he can add Flat 9th ( this "Gsharp is actually A flat, written harmonically correctly - i dont say Williams doesn´t write correctly - his art is actually far beyond the borders of my intelect, BUT due to rapid changes in tonality and the music is full of chromatics and modern harmonies, its more practical to write the music simply as it comes to mind ). This A flat ( or G sharp as you wish ) adds even more tension to the chord. Because there is also a lot of tension in the moment right before the bike with Eliot and E.T. leaves the ground full of the bad guys. If he would need even more tension, he may add also sharp 9th to a chord ( A sharp ) or he can continue to alter D tone to D sharp :D. Thanks John Williams
I've always held my ground John Williams' score to the original Star Wars film is his crowning achievement, his masterpiece, for my entire 43 years. But I'm not so sure anymore. This piece of the score to ET MAY be the greatest thing he's ever written and composed as well as one of the finest pieces of music in movie history. This is just an all out assault on the senses, an orgasm of sound. And that build up and climax as they come in for a landing on the bikes......it's so exciting and adrenaline filled that you feel like YOU'VE just been on the adventure too.....you have to take a breath and relax yourself after this incredible ride.......and then listen to it one more time just to hear this brilliance again
Andrew Rau "This piece of the score to ET MAY be the greatest thing he's ever written"... Mr Williams has acknowledged that this is his personal favorite of all his movie scores. I'm certainly not going to argue with him :-)
I find his earlier stuff to be his best work. I don’t think it is because his skill declined, but because to create a good film score you need a good film, and there just haven’t been many good films deserving of a heroic score like this in decades. Even the Star Ward franchise lost its muster and I think it’s the fault of the directors and the producers and not Williams. The newer stuff gets played but how many can off the top of their head hum a theme from any of the JJAbrams stuff? Even the Phamtom Menace had dual of the fates. Even the big franchises lately have the tired old stories that just fall flat and are unoriginal. Hollywood has just lost its way.
The opening in the winds, violins sounds ALOT like Howard Hanson's Symphony No 2. I remember noting the similarity when I heard Hanson's Symphony a few decades ago. Spielberg likely placed the opening of Hanson's 2nd movement, (Or was it the third movement), as a temporary track until Williams could write the score. The ending chord is absolutely gorgeous; warm and regal and for some reason extremely comforting. Obsessed with JTW ever since I sneaked into a theater at 13 to see this.
Still doesn't explain the "why". For example, at 3:00, why from D9 to Bb7. Or why at 3:06, from Bbmaj7 to Ab/C, versus the different progression in the forest bike scene. Those are the things I'm trying to learn from those videos, and there's never any answer.
What a fantastic breakdown. I was raised by the former president of the oldest music publishing company in the U.S. & an accomplished soprano opera singer. I was raised on classical/film/opera music, and this is one of the best breakdowns I have ever seen, and of one of the best chases John Williams ever wrote.
Does the composer write the music as if it were a piece of music without taking into account the sounds of the film and the actors, as I saw, and then when editing, the director lowers the volume of the music, or must the composer take into account the sounds of the film in the dynamics he writes?
The chord the bar before the 3/2 where the D major "flying" theme arrives is a standard 20th-century harmony: two perfect fourths separated by a half step. It can be derived from an octatonic scale. Bartok was fond of the sound..
Wow, the violins go really high here! Sixth upper ledger line, that's a D: wow! Is there any space left between the pinky and the bridge LOL! J.W. scores are usually very demanding regarding the players. Fast staccato figures in voices for the french horns are also quite demanding (his 1984 olympic fanfare as well - holy cow!). I wouldn't dare writing anything like this, besides from not having 10% of J.W.'s skills of course. Thanks for making these. It's humbling yet inspiring following the notation.
Thank you so much for your fantastic work of transcription, analysis and synchronisation which completely tributes to the work of these great composers. I also have a music channel of film score analysis, more oral, and not necessarely with the score (it is in french, on the other hand ^^), and this will help me a lot, considering how it could be difficult to find complete orchestral scores from living composers. Thank you a lot, and have a good continuation ! Adrien from SillaBO
