I continue to be impressed with the quality of music found in today's entertainment. I want to give so many examples to drive home the point that our TV shows, movies, and video games are full of great, classically based music; but I'll limit myself to one for right now. Today, I'm going to focus on the music written by Ludwig Göransson for the Mandalorian, in particular, his piece simply titled A Friend, which plays during the season two finale when Luke Skywalker shows up to rescue the good guys from the dark troopers.
Oh, uh, spoiler alert.
This piece of music is extremely well crafted to set the mood of the scene. You want tension to reflect the danger and uncertainty of the scene, but you also don't want dread. This is, after all, a good guy coming to the rescue, so you want the music to signify hope and security. So how does Göransson do this? The short answer is through a dark minor feeling, angular movement, and open melodic structure.
First, the simple observation that the piece is in a minor key, which is generally going to have a darker sound to it. There's a couple devices at work at the beginning to immediately set the mood. For one, there is a part played by the synthesizer that is set almost to the quality of a human voice. This part alternates between two notes, creating tension on the upper note and release on the lower note. This constant pulsing between tension and release gives the piece a dark sound, but since the release is so prominent, it also makes the piece feel like it will come to a restful resolution. The main part you hear at the beginning outlines a C sharp minor chord, but you actually don't hear a C sharp note at first, making the peace sound uneasy.
But the bread and butter of this piece is the melody, which sharply twists and turns, with sudden changes in direction. This type of melodic movement that changes suddenly in direction is often referred to as "angular." This angular movement builds tension. There's nothing smooth about this melody. It's not relaxing. The tension is pulpable.
But here's where the final feature comes in. The melody spands a very wide range, and it doesn't move in short melodic steps, but rather jumps and leaps in wide intervals. This "open" style of melody creates a feeling of space. The composer Aaron Copland is very famous for using open melodic patterns to represent space, splendor, and grandness. Consider his Fanfare for the Common Man. Here it is for your listening pleasure.
Copland's use of wide melodic range is a distinctive feature of the musical style he developed. This style became emblematic of the American frontier. This same technique is present in Göransson's music for the Mandalorian. The theme for the Mandalorian begins with these open leaping sounds, reminiscent of westerns. However, these techniques carry far beyond a western genre. A Friend is in no way reminiscent of a western, but it uses this same technique. But before we get to A Friend, here is the theme for the Mandalorian. Pay attention to the 2:15 mark. This sounds like it could have come directly out of Copland's music.
By using this open melodic style in a happier music setting, Göransson can create a sense of frontiersmanship and adventure. In contrast, by using this open feeling in the context of a dark piece of music like A Friend, the darkness of the music is given breathing room. It's not claustrophobic. It's as if there's all this room for potential, for resolution. Instead of descending into a dark place, it's more like being lifted up out of a dark place.
So let's listen to A Friend, which I have posted here. Pay attention to 1] the darkness of the minor key, 2] the sudden changes in direction in the melody (angular movement), and 3] the huge gaps or leaps the melody takes (space).
Now lets do a comparison from classical music, because A Friend immediately reminded me of a piece by J.S. Bach which I did an analysis on while studying for my B.A. in music.
The piece I am reminded of is the Agnus Dei from J.S. Bach's Mass in B minor. His Agnus Dei is full of similar angular movement and utilizes large gaps and leaps to create a sense of space. The melody spans a huge range, so that even though it has lots of tension, it offers a lot of breathing room.
Bach, like Göransson, had a particular emotion he wanted to convey. Bach wanted his church audience to experience the tension that exists in that moment when you ask for forgiveness. You feel both the weight of your wrongdoings (tension) but also the hope of being forgiven (openness). You feel this tension in the angularity of his piece, as well as in his use of diminished chords, which is off the charts. At the same time, the melody leaps up and down creating wide melodic space. Just for example, at the very end when Bach goes from the leading tone to the tonic, instead of going up a half step (the shortest possible interval) which would be expected, he drops the melody down a major seventh (the largest possible interval within an octave). These types of large leaps are buried throughout the piece.
Here is a great visualization of the Bach's Agnus Dei. Notice how much movement the violin part has, going up and down and utilizing all sorts of leaps creating space for breathing. Again, pay attention to 1] the darkness of the minor key, 2] the sudden changes in direction in the melody (angular movement), and 3] the huge gaps or leaps the melody takes (space).
You see, fundamentally, Bach and Göransson both want the same effect. Their music is weighty but also signifies a pathway forward to a happy resolution. They both use a minor key, angular movement, and open melodies, creating tension while also offering ample breathing room. Both of them execute this perfectly. So, when I say that A Friend is a great piece of music, I'm not just making this up. And gosh darn it, what else am I going to use my degree in music for if not to back up my musical opinions with facts and logic?
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