Three Marches for March

Three Marches for March

__________

This Christmas

(posted in conjunction with the 12th day of Christmas)

This Christmas

Composed by Donny Hathaway. Released 1970.

Wistful but catchy. Interesting harmonic possibilities.

Not many remakes, possibly because of fairly complex chord progressions
and wide vocal range required.

Wikipedia entry here.

Star Wars Theme

(in conjunction with the recent premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens)

Star Wars Theme

Iconic movie theme
of this epic movie series.
Composed by prolific film composer
John Williams for the first Star Wars movie in 1977.
A full symphonic work. Rich texture. Memorable melody lines.
Bold brassy fanfare with abundance of macho suspension chords and cascading fourths.
Interesting mystique-sounding chords and woodwind lines in second part.
Effective use of all sections of the orchestra.
More information in Wikipedia entry here.

Happy New Year!

A nice summation.

Happy New Year!

Sleigh Ride

Sleigh Ride

In the spirit of the Christmas season

 here's a post on this seasonal favourite.

Composed by Leroy Anderson in 1948.
Very catchy song. Nice obbligato lines.

Harmonic structure based on repeating cycle of fifths.
Allows many opportunities for reharmonisation. 
(transcription format below highlights the harmonic symmetry)

James Bond Theme

(featured in conjunction with the opening of Spectre this week)

James Bond 007 Theme
One of the most iconic movie themes ever.

Timeless and instantly recognizable.
Theme by Monty Norman, arranged by John Barry.
First released in the movie Dr No (1962).

Minor base harmony and creative use of M7 and m7 gives
 jazzy feel and evokes sense of mystery and excitement.

Surf rock style guitar bassline.

Theme from Super Mario Bros.

(posted after watching a video clip of an energetic performance of this by a friend on the piano)

Theme from Super Mario Bros.

From the video game by Nintendo.

First released 1985.

Composed by Koji Kondo.

(from Wikipedia)

Calypso rhythm. Lively and catchy.
Lots of syncopation.
Interesting changes in harmony.
Surprisingly popular with a huge international following.
 
Wiki link here.
Transcriptions by Philip Kim here.