45.

ET (1982): Flying theme

John Williams

Background information and Performance Circumstances

• John Williams (born 1932) is widely considered to be one of the most important
film composers of recent times.
• His scores have been nominated for many awards, and he has (so far) won no
fewer than five Academy Awards (Oscars) – his music for ET receiving one of
them.
• He has collaborated with some of the greatest directors (Spielberg, George Lucas)
on many celebrated films (Jaws, The Star Wars series, Indiana Jones series,
Schindler’s List, three Harry Potter films, Jurassic Park).
• Williams revitalised and re-popularised the use of grand late-Romantic scores in
movies from the 1970s onwards, when the whole genre was under threat from
contemporary and pop influenced styles. His musical technique lies in the tradition
of Korngold and Max Steiner, with a late nineteenth century approach to melody,
harmony and orchestration at the root of his musical style.
• NAM 45 ET: Flying Theme is taken from an orchestral suite based on music cues
from the film. It can therefore not be exactly matched with the pictures on the
screen, but much of the music can be heard as ET and Eliot flee from the
authorities, culminating in the famous moment where the bicycle leaves the
ground and flies under ET’s power.
• It is common for film composers to employ orchestrators and in this case Herbert
Spencer was responsible for the detailed scoring, under supervision from John
Williams.

Performing forces and their handling

• ET: Flying theme uses a full symphony orchestra,
o Double woodwind (but lacking any wider family members, e.g. Piccolo/Cor
Anglais/Bass Clarinet/Contrabassoon)
o 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones and Tuba –conventional sized
symphonic brass section
o Timpani, Bells, Suspended cymbals
o Piano
o Strings
• traditional symphonic/Romantic treatment of the orchestra with much doubling of
parts
• relatively few uses of solo timbres or lighter textures – mostly quite thickly
scored.

1-8 Introduction • Quaver ostinato pattern in Violins/Clarinets

/Flutes ( octave doubled)
• Regular quaver chords in
piano/horns/violas/cellos
• Periodic alternations of Tonic and dominant
in Timpani and basses
• 2/2 metre
9-16 Main theme (A) • Sweeping unison main theme, played
across 3 octaves by all woodwind
instruments and all strings except the

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 double basses.
• Horns/Piano continue the momentum of
the opening with repeated quaver chords,
supported by sonorous trombone chords
• Bass/Tuba play pedal/stepwise line which
anchors harmony
• Metre changes to 3/2
17-24 Main theme repeated. • Lighter but more varied texture:
(A) • pizzicato version of 9-16 bass line in
cello/basses/piano LH
• Legato mid-range quavers in Clarinets
• Quaver movement continues in piano RH
and tremolando Viola
• ‘chattering’ staccato figures played every
other bar by bells/Flutes, always beginning
on the second quaver.
• Sustained chords in Bassoons/Trombones
from 20
• Violins repeat main theme from 9-16
25-33 Contrasting section (B) • New two-bar idea played by Flute, then
with Bassoon/Cellos, then Horns/Trumpets
• Repeated Quaver chord figure returns in
Horns, doubled by Violins/Violas/Piano
• Sustained chords in
Bassoons/Trombones/Tuba/Cello /Basses
from 29
• Timpani/Suspended cymbal rolls aid move
into next section
• Unison(octave doubled) quaver figures
(cross rhythms) in
Flutes/Oboes/Clarinets/Horns/Trumpets
34-41 Main theme (A) in • Main theme played in octaves by
dominant key Flutes/Oboes/Clarinets/Trumpets/Bells/Viol
ins/ Violas
• Sustained chords in Bassoons/Trombones,
articulated by repeated quaver figures in
Horns/Pianos
• Tuba/Piano LH/Cello/pizz basses play
‘usual’ bass line for this theme
42-54 Contrasting (B)section • 42-45 – octave doubled Violins/Violas
extended develop first bar of B section in rising
sequence
• Brass/Bassoon chords/Cello/Bass pizzicato
as before
• 46-52 octave doubled Flute/Oboe/Clarinet
(joined by Horns/Trumpet at 50) play 2-
bar theme from B section
• Violins/Violas/Cellos mix upward pizzicato
figures with tremolando playing
• Staccato/pizz bass continues in
Basses/Tuba piano LH
• Brass instruments articulate the double
dotted rhythms in 47/49/51/52
• 53-54 Quaver cross-rhythm figures ( see
32-33) octave doubled in
Flute/Oboe/Clarinet/Trumpet/Violins/Violas

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 • Cymbal/Timp crescendo rolls link into next
section
55-62 Main theme (A) back in • Theme doubled across 3 octaves again by
the tonic. Flutes/Oboes/Clarinets/Violins/Violas/cellos
• Orchestration very similar to 9-16

63-68 Main theme (A) slightly • Horns play slightly modified version of
shortened theme in imitation, one bar after other
instruments
• Music slows dramatically on last four
quavers of 68
• Crash cymbal at 63
69-87 Coda • 69-731 Rising brass/Piano quaver scales
(parallel triads) initially over
Timp/cello/bass dominant pedal
• 734-end Widely-spaced String/Brass
chords support varied versions of A theme
(first two bars) in octave doubled
Flutes/Oboes/Clarinets then diminuendo to
quieter version in Flute/trumpet
• Final arpeggio in bells over p sustained
chords in Flute/Brass/Strings
• Metre changes to 3/2 at 75, and back to
2/2 at 82

Texture
• This extract is dominated by various types of homophonic texture
o The opening is homorhythmic, with all instruments playing, or articulating
the continuous quaver movement across the orchestra
o From bar 9 onwards the texture is mostly melody-dominated homophony,
with the (often) octave doubled tune supported by block or articulated
chords
• There are some variations to this basic texture
o At the second statement of the main theme the second bar of each pair is
overlaid with a staccato downward figure in Flutes and Bells – this hardly
has enough shape to be considered a true countermelody, but it does
provide another point of interest while the main theme is being repeated.
o During the fifth repetition of the main theme the Horns imitate the theme,
one bar after the rest of the orchestra. The Horn material is altered,
particularly in its second phrase, to fit the harmony.
• For more details of the variety of orchestral textures used in this extract please
see Performing forces table (above)
• A variety of pedal textures is used in this extract
o Articulated internal tonic and dominant pedals in Cellos/Horn/Piano
throughout the first 8 bars
o Tonic bass pedal bars 9-11 and 13-14 (repeated on each occurrence of the
main theme)
o Pedals featuring octave leaps 17-24
o Sustained bass pedals 796-end
• Ostinato textures 1-8

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Structure
• The structure of this extract is completely dominated by the five repetitions of the
theme first heard in bars 9-16
• This theme is heard five times, with the third statement being in the dominant
key (G) and the last shortened by 2 bars
• Two contrasting sections separate some of the main theme sections
• The extract begins with an introduction and ends with a coda, itself based on the
first phrase of the main theme.

1-8 Introduction
9-16 Main theme (A)
17-24 Main theme repeated. (A)

25-33 Contrasting section (B)

34-41 Main theme (A)in dominant key
42-54 Contrasting (B)section extended
55-62 Main theme (A) back in the tonic.
63-68 Main theme (A) slightly
shortened
69-87 Coda

• The main theme appears only in the tonic key (C), or in the dominant (G).
• The contrasting sections visit more remote keys (see ‘Tonality) below.
• The structure of this piece is articulated and dominated by the main theme.

Tonality
• This extract is tonal, with a strong diatonic feel. However, its tonal plan is not entirely
conventional.

Bars Main Key(s)

1-8 C (major)
9-16 C
17-24 C

25-33 B –E flat
34-41 G

42-54 Hints at E flat

55-62 C
63-68 C
69-87 C (ambiguous major/minor
chord at first). Hints of
Lydian mode with F#.

Harmony
• The harmony is predominantly tonal and diatonic, but not always functional
• Major and minor chords, mostly in root position and first inversion, are used as
the basis for the harmonic style
• There are few conventional cadence points
• Modulations are not achieved in a conventional way, with the music often slipping
chromatically, or simply stepping into, the new key
• More complex chords and progressions are used, often in a non-functional way

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 o Use of major chords with added dissonant notes - the constant repetition
of the notes G, C and D in the opening section form alternately C2 or
G7sus4 chords
o Chords whose roots are a third apart are used in the contrasting B sections
– bar 25 B major chord /261 G major 262 B major
o Non-functional progressions, often using chromatic bass lines, are used to
link sections in different keys – bar29 E flat/G; 30 F# minor; 31 Dm/F; 32
B flat/D
o Diminished seventh chords are used, often as a substitute for chord V – the
statements of the main theme in G (bar 34) and the return to the tonic
(bar 55) are both preceded by diminished seventh chords
o 7th and major seventh chords are used freely, without preparation and
without resolution of the dissonant 7th – bars 16 and 34
o Tonally ambiguous chords are used, particularly at the end of the extract –
§ From 734 both major and minor thirds of the tonic chord are
sounded, with the flattened third (E flat) at the bottom of the
texture, and the major third two octaves or more above-a
simultaneous false relation
§ This instability is exaggerated by the prominent use of the note F#
in the melody that is played above these chords
§ The chord at 83 is an amalgamation of notes from the C major and
D major chords, with DF#A played over C and G
• Bars 9-16 illustrate further the complex nature of the harmonic features of the
extract
o Bar 9-10 Chord I in C ( with added 2nd and 4th) C bass pedal
o 11 V7d in G (secondary dominant chord) (C bass pedal) moving
to
o 12 Ib in G(with added major seventh)
o 13 II7d in C (C bass pedal)
o 14 C minor with a flattened sixth or A flat major 7th /C bass
(pedal)
o 15 Dominant minor 9th in G (nb enharmonic alternative in piano
part)
o 16 C major 7th chord

Melody
• The opening Flute/Clarinet/Violin 4-note ostinato figures consistently feature three
notes - G, B, C – with the other note of the figure changing to reflect changes in the
harmony. The expectant character of this idea is created partially by the quaver
rhythm, and partially by the effect of the semitone B-C idea, heard every other
crotchet beat

• The melodic features of this extract are inevitably dominated by the features of the
often repeated main theme (first heard in bars 9-16)
o An 8 bar melody (statements 1-4) built from periodic 2-bar phrases (see 9-16)
o The opening 2 bar phrase provides the rhythm and the general melodic shape
for the first 6 bars of the melody
o The rising fifth idea (common not only to other themes in ET, but also to other
famous themes by Williams – Stars Wars, for example) is inverted to a falling
fourth in bar 10, separated by a turn figure

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 o Both of these ideas are developed in free sequence in the four bars that follow,
where the rising fifth is expanded to an octave and then a seventh, while the
turn idea is firstly repeated up a tone (11), then reversed in rhythmic
diminution at the end of bar 14
o Bar 15 begins by repeating the first notes of bar 14, but ends with a dramatic
double-dotted figure, the rhythm of which is used later in the extract
o Motivic development like this is typical of 19th and early 20th century
procedures that so influenced Williams’ style
• The references to the main theme in the coda section give prominence to the note F#
( the raised or Lydian fourth), which some commentators have suggested remind the
listener of ET’s alien nature
• The melodic material of the two contrasting sections are constructed very differently
from the broad, heroic certainty of the main theme
o The intervals are much smaller – at its first appearance, at bar 25-26, the idea
uses smaller intervals (nothing larger than a fourth) and with a much more
unsettled tonal feel
o The unsettled , restless, quaver rhythm of the first bar can be traced to the
flute ‘countermelody’ in the previous section, while the second bar uses the
concluding rhythm of the main theme (153-16)
o The section is developed by repeating this two bar idea a diminished fourth
higher, and then by repeating the second bar alone, slightly varied.
o A new idea, in 32-33, uses semitone quavers to smooth the transition into the
next section
o On its return, at 42, ideas from this section are used differently at first
§ 42-45 The first bar (heard at 25) is developed alone, in a rising
sequence
§ 46-55 are a rescored and transposed repeat of 25-34

Rhythm and metre

• The essentially positive nature of this extract is supported by a straightforward
and accessible approach to rhythm, typical of many of Williams’ more well-known
melodies
• The music moves either in a 2/2 meter or in 3/2. In both cases the meter is made
obvious by strong downbeats and regular, periodic phrasing
• There is little syncopation, although the accented low E flats in the coda appear to
have been placed on a weak part of the beat to provide surprise or suspense
• The strong themes , often with regular, repeated quaver accompaniment, give a
sense of forward momentum
• The rhythmic figures in the two contrasting sections use more restless rhythms,
often with the use of a quaver rest, a tie, or a double –dotted crotchet-
semiquaver figure
• The ‘otherworldliness’ of ET is perhaps represented, in the Coda, by the triplet
quaver figures- the only ones in the extract