I’m excited to announce that I will be giving a virtual guest talk on harmony in John Williams’ action music. The talk is with the Academy of Scoring Arts this Sunday, Sep. 10th, from 10am-12pm Pacific Time (they’re based in L.A.). I’ll be breaking down two cues from the original Star Wars trilogy: “Attacking a Star Destroyer” from The Empire Strikes Back, and “Den of the Rancor” from Return of the Jedi. The idea is to give a sense not only of the kinds of chords Williams often uses, but also how he tends to use them in an action scene.
You must be a member to attend, but you can sign up entirely for free on the Academy’s website. Here’s the link for the talk on the ASA’s site (includes a link to sign up with ASA):
Hope to see you there!
Oooh that’s fabulous Mark! Hope it goes well and will do my best to attend (although I think I’m teaching someone in Sydney, Aus Monday morning !)
Is there a recording of this talk available anywhere?
Yes! At scoringarts.com, the full recording of the talk is available to members, who pay an annual fee then gain access to all their recordings. And for free, they have a number of 2-3 minute highlights from the talk. Here’s the link to either option:
https://scoringarts.com/eventlibrary/the-harmonic-techniques-of-john-williamss-action-music/