Raiders of the Lost Ark: "Desert Chase” by John Williams (Score Reduction and Analysis) A full score reduction of the desert chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark. I own nothing. Enjoy!
Looking back on this comment, it's more likely that Williams thought of the scale as Db dorian b2 (G diminished lydian and Db dorian b2 are the same scale). The dorian b2 scale is, as I've learned since making this video, actually not uncommon in the world of film music. But yes, I still think G diminished lydian is disgusting. :)
@@DavidMcCaulley G,A,Bb,C#,D, E F# ... I've always called this 'double melodic minor' since both the upper tetrachord and the 4th of the pentachord are raised. Great work on these, as always, just giving you my take on this.
I always wondered why that second hit at 0:40 (when Beloq walks to his car) only appears in the film version. Never found it on any score, even if it was an extended version beyond belief. PS: Astonishing work by the way!
There was an extended cd score released in 1995. Some tracks were still missing, but it did include the full truck chase with Belloq walking to his car, and when Indy gets shot.
I used to play Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb a lot as a kid, and they had some similar fourths like in 2:47 on the action themes when you're dealing with the bad guys. Gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
Amazing work, David. This is truly everything I was looking for, as I'm actively trying to re-create the theme @ 5:11 in FL Studio and have been struggling, youre the first person I've able to find who has seperated the instruments and everything.
Purposedly or not, trumpets at 6:53 look like the first notes of Indy's A-Theme, and I love how the neverending ostinato transforms into Indy's B-Theme at 7:00, it's smooth and very satisfying ! Thanks for your work, David !
I'm not familiar with the Indiana Jones movies, but in hearing this I have to say this is one of my favorite John Williams cues ever. I felt so much tension, the back and forth of the battles, the inner workings of the characters, it's all here, written into the music clear as day.
You should at least give Raiders a try. I wish I could watch it again for the first time! One of my favorite John Williams scores. Also if you like Raiders, The Last Crusade is similar with great music also!
You are missing out, all three original Indiana Jones Movies has the best sound tracks, if you liked thus one, you guarantee will love all of them, like I said, only the three original ones, not the new ones
Absolutely stunning work! May I suggest some Aliens futile scape by James Horner and 2001 Space odyssey Jupiter Beyond the infinite Gyorgi Ligeti Requiem pls? Also, it will be a nice improvement indeed if you implement some type of scrolling bar or vertical line to highlight or keep it up with the sheet as the music plays. Thanks in advance, keep it up the good work!
BTW A version of the militaristic motif from Indy's Feats (starting 5:12) also runs under the Raiders' B theme at several points in this film and the rest, including the closing credits.
Spencer was 76 years old here. ET still a year away. He remained Williams’ go to orchestrator well into the 1980’s. He died aged 87 in 1992. I think Hook was the first film without any cue from him.
@@JohnProthero in this case just doing the final decision making of scoring. What Williams gives his orchestrator is a very detailed 8-10 stave sketch, with every note, rhythm and detail of dynamics, tessitura. Williams has used the same printed sketch page for 60 years. They have boxes above the stave for you in write the specific clock timing at the beginning of each bar. Spencer will see it all condensed in Williams quick handwriting, but it is detailed enough for Williams to actually conduct from. In a passage of say 4 bars of chords it may just say ww. Spencer will decide what woodwind and how best to voice those chords, possibly having a some instruments doubling the same pitches.
Now orchestrators working for less skilled composers in terms of notation may also have an actual notational job, or arranging job (as in putting music into a particular style which could include some composing themselves). But Williams does 80% of his won work, so you really have to turn those 8 staves into 40. His scores usually are thus stave 1 upper ww, 2 lower ww, 3 upper brass, 4 lower brass, 5 and 6 perc (possibly two more staves if 10 staves paper for keyboards harp, sometimes there is just a line for unlatched stave), 7 upper strings, 8 lower strings.
So Spencer deciphers that detailed sketch entirely in the composer’s own hand, and writes it out onto bigger scoring paper for the standard symphony orchestra.It is the orchestrator’s score from which parts are extracted by copyists for the players. Spencer said working Williams was very easy, half the work had already been done for him. He just had final decisions on voicing to make. Also ww is a loose term, he may choose to omit the oboes in a passage that is tender. The warmer blend of clarinets and flutes may require this. But the sketch did not say this (or does it?) If Williams had thought no oboes he may say in score, and if it is Spencer’s idea, he would probably get a pat on the pack, for making an excellent decision on the composer’s behalf. If they decided oboes should be back in, they may need to explain that to the,players during the recording session. Whatever Spencer does which is usually quick and first class, Williams will cast an eye over it to see if he agrees with his decisions.
@@nicolaskingman1068 Fascinating. I've been interested in Williams' scores for over 40 years, and met by chance someone who said their brother (this was over 40 years ago I was told this story) was the person who wrote out the orchestration for Williams, so it may have been Spencer's sibling. But it has been too long to remember the conversation exactly. I know several young composers who have to write out the full scores of their own works, but they're not scoring films, but writing for choral and orchestral groups, so the scoring demands might be less taxing. I enjoy reading scores and have Holst's "The Planets" currently out for study.
I always thought the split for 9m1B Indy's Feats was at 5:54, where the Nazi kicks Indy's arm. That bar on the DCC version of this track is 5/4 instead of 4/4, and I thought that was because they assembled the cues so that they don't overlap where they were originally meant to.
I imagine you bought the score off of John's website for this. Anybody know how much that would be. I've never done it for a complete score breakdown. This is AWESOME though. Still love this movie and music!
This is and always will be by far my most favorite John Williams composition. Thank you so much for spending the time to appreciate and break down the whole piece. Cheers to you and your future projects!
The inventiveness this track! That brutal motif at 0:15, that's not used anywhere else but just to the loading of the arc. The development of the German motif, the truck march, musical descriptive of the action without sounding cartoonist. I dismay just imagining the amount of work this took. There are more ideas dor themes and ostinatos here than in 2 hours of Marvel superhero movies. I bet one inspiration was again Holst Mars, more noticeable at 7:12.
@ 2:16 "while it could be distinguished as G diminished lydian, but that's disgusting" ... perhaps that's the reason the Nazi theme is in that particular atonal style?
When I was little, 1:50 was always one of my favorite moments in any Indiana Jones movie. Just the sound of Indiana Jones on his way to save the day. Still love it
Out of curiosity, is this music track directly from the film, or from the extended soundtrack overlayed on top of the film track? During the "Nazi march" after Indy gets shot, there's some hiccups compared to what I'm used to on the full version of this piece.
There are two versions released for the albums, one is a trimmed 7:33 that Williams "preferred", it's takes away a few bars here and there just for a more rhythmic listen. The extended album version runs 8:15.
