TROS 19: Orchestration Flavor Bible (Minutes 91-95 with Jeremy Sawruk)

In minutes 91-95 of The Rise of Skywalker, Luke stops Rey from throwing her lightsaber into the fire and raises his old X-wing from the water. Jeremy Sawruk returns to the show to discuss orchestration flavorings, the re-use of the iconic "Yoda and the Force" cue, and more!

Timestamps:

• 0:00 - Hello there!
• 3:09 - Poe's theme.
• 4:53 - March of the Resistance orchestration adding mystery.
• 8:54 - Intervals getting smaller (resignation) then bigger (energy).
• 13:41 - Luke catches the lightsaber and walks through fire.
• 19:01 - Classic mentor conversation.
• 23:52 - Lots of rubato. Force theme orchestrated in an atypical register.
• 24:52 - Jedi Steps Variant, lightsaber burrito.
• 28:30 - Harmonic resolution in Leia's theme.
• 33:29 - Troubled-sounding Main Theme.
• 39:04 - Rey, computer hacker.
• 41:48 - Same bit of score from "Yoda and the Force," but it's faster here than in ESB.
• 47:49 - Delightful, chromatically-dancing flutes.
• 51:04 - As a composer, what is in your personal toolbox of techniques/signature sounds?
• 53:22 - Orchestration is like cooking & seasoning.
• 57:42 - Analyzing the Friendship theme. Melody goes up while chord goes down.
• 1:04:55 - SWMM Questionnaire

Things to Check Out:

• The Flavor Bible (book): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4443485-the-flavor-bible
• ESB 15: Yoda and the Wolf (Minutes 71-75 with Fr. David and Trevor Mowry) - https://www.starwarsmusicminute.com/podcast/esb-15-yoda-and-the-wolf
• TROS 9: Symmetrical Design (Minutes 41-45 with Dominic Sewell) - https://www.starwarsmusicminute.com/podcast/tros-9-symmetrical-design
• Complete Catalogue of the Musical Themes of Star Wars (by Frank Lehman): https://franklehman.com/starwars/

Musical Themes:

• 49. Poe
• 47a. March of the Resistance (A Section)
• 45a. Rey A (Theme A-Phrase)
• 3. Force
• 112) Jedi Steps (Variant)
• 4. Leia
• 114) Luke Trains Leia
• 1a. Main Theme (A Section)
• 57. Friendship
• 12a. Yoda (A Section)

Where are we in the soundtrack?:

• OST 6. "Destiny of a Jedi"

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STAR WARS MUSIC MINUTE QUESTIONNAIRE:

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

• New answer: Brass. Adventure. Heroic.
• ESB answer: Space. Brass. Droids.
• Solo answer: Big octatonic brass
• ANH answer: Opera without words

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

• New answer: Getting into the technical details/weeds about instrumental/orchestration decisions.
• ESB answer: The creation of the sound effects/sound design. Can I recreate some of these sounds on my ARP 2600?
• Solo answer: The score for Obi-Wan Kenobi.
• ANH answer: Musical / orchestrational “filler” and sound effects/foley.

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

• New answer: Only Murders in the Building (series) by Siddhartha Khosla, Birdman composed by Antonio Sánchez
• ESB answer: The Matrix by Don Davis, Bob's Burgers (series) composed by Loren Bouchard
• Solo answer: Star Trek by Jerry Goldsmith, Wall-E by Thomas Newman
• ANH answer: North by Northwest by Bernard Herrmann, Loki by Natalie Holt, Catch Me If You Can by John Williams

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Guest: Jeremy Sawruk

• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jsawruk
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/composer314
• Substack: https://substack.com/@composer314

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