Animation Art From The “Firebird” Sequence From Disney’s FANTASIA 2000 (1999).

Animation art from the “Firebird” sequence from Disney’s FANTASIA 2000 (1999).

Music: Dark Side vs. Light Side/ Kylo Ren’s vs. Rey’s Themes

So I was going to try to break this up into some smaller chucks, but I really think it all works best together, so sorry this pretty long. This is pulled from a Wordpress post I made over a month ago.

1. Dark Side Motif Characteristics 2. Light Side Motif Characteristics 3. The Degradation of Kylo Ren’s Theme 4. The Characteristics of Rey’s Themes 5. The Characteristics of Kylo Ren’s Thematic Material 6. Comparing Rey and Kylo Ren’s Themes Together

1. Dark Side Motif Characteristics Common characteristics of motifs depicting the dark side of the force tend to have three key concepts in common.

1. No overall melodic direction 2. Ostinatos (The same material repeated over and over) 3. Fast triplet note patterns

Music: Dark Side Vs. Light Side/ Kylo Ren’s Vs. Rey’s Themes

^^The Imperial March- The Empire Strikes Back

^^Main Title and the Attack on the Jakku Village- The Force Awakens

^^Duel of the Fates- The Phantom Menace** **Specific even triplets are not found in the given motif of Duel of the Fates, but the fast 3-note descending pattern on beats 2 and 4 of each measure binds this theme together with the others presented.

These three concepts make for short, repeating motivic developments that, while consistent and unwavering in their pattern (yet often requiring the greatest technical facility of the instrumentalists performing the music), “Dark Side” motifs leave a lot to be desired. They cannot exist solely on their own, and won’t leave the listener feeling satisfied. Prolonged exposure to only these ostanati without the addition of a counter melody or the eventual transition to new musical material will often cause listeners to feel agitated and anxious.

This concept of strong, unwavering, yet unfulfilling motifs is a direct parallel to the influence of the Dark Side of the Force. Fast triplet patterns mirror the anger and hate driven actions of those under its power. The constant battering of notes coupled with a lack of direction shows how power without principle leaves those who wield it unfulfilled and still searching for purpose.

2. Light Side Motifs Light Side themes also tend to share their own similar musical traits.

1. Large leaps between notes 2. Full melodic phrases, often in binary form (2 complementary phrases) 3. Emphasis on duple and elongated triplet notes

^^Duel of the Fates- The Phantom Menace

^^The Hologram/Binary Sunset-Medley - A New Hope** **The provided link doesn’t reach the common final cadence notated above, but most instances of this theme in it’s entirety, do reach the final notated cadence**

The counter theme to the “Dark Side” motif in Duel of the Fates, while not having an extreme melodic range, and for the most part feeling slightly repetitive, employs more complex and stimulating musical ideas for the listener.

Large leaps between notes helps to emulate the “Light Side” focus on doing the best thing, even if it may be the harder path. The extended melodic range compared to the “Dark Side”, especially apparent in the “Force Theme” appearing in Binary Sunset, are melodies that carry strong emotion and significance throughout all of the films.

Full melodic phrases and subsequent binary form mimic the importance of the “journey” and gathering experience in life. Light Side themes often reach a cadence of uncertainty or non-finality in the middle, requiring a continued push to reach the end, which is often the most satisfactory part. Here we see clear visualization of the phrase “Do, or Do Not. There is no Try.” While the short punctuated Dark Side themes only require a small commitment, successful realization of Light Side themes require the effort for the long-haul. Dark Side themes tend to start and end in acceptable cadential places every few seconds, but this means there is no overall direction, just persistence. Light Side themes may feel unresolved if abandoned halfway through, but the reward at the end is well worth the risk of possible failure in the middle.

Light Side patterns do not tend to employ quick repetitive notes, especially fast triplet patterns, as is so common in Dark Side themes. Rather, notes are chosen more for their melodic importance rather than their rhythmic punctuation. This contrasts the motivations of both sides of the Force; anger and fear on the Dark Side, and reason and hope on the Light Side. Triplets may be used in Light Side themes, but they tend to span wide ranges and are elongated rather than fast, and often are fueled by powerful emotions, causing the notes to soar to the climax of the melodic phrase.

3. The Degradation of Kylo Ren’s Theme

(A) First Iteration- Main Title and the Attack on the Jakku Village (B) Second Iteration- Main Title and the Attack on the Jakku Village © Final Iteration- The Ways of the Force

The first time we hear Kylo Ren’s theme is in the first sequence of the film. When his ship is descending to the planet’s surface, the striking five-note theme cuts through the texture, the downward direction of the notes following the descending direction of the ship.

In the first iteration (A), all five notes are evenly spaced on the beats. This emulates the strict training Ren has gone through up until this moment. He is focused, in-line, and unwavering.

When Poe Dameron is grabbed by the Stormtroopers after his blaster shot is frozen in place, Kylo Ren lowers himself to Poe’s eye level, and the 2nd iteration (B) of his theme is heard. Once again, the downward movement in the notes mimics the downward movement Ren is making at the time. This iteration employs a different, more staggered rhythmic pattern, one that remains fairly consistent for much of the remaining film, slight differences usually only found in the duration of the 4th and 5th notes as the music transitions out of his theme. It can be speculated that Ren’s perfect and unwavering attention when he first exited the ship was disrupted when Lor San Tekka brought up the “truth that is his family” and forced upon Ren a stark reminder of his past, causing him to lash out in emotional pain and take Tekka’s life.

The next major changes to Kylo Ren’s theme that we see occur during the duel between him and Rey at the end of the film. Throughout the fight sequence, Kylo Ren’s five-note pattern begins to ignore the original rhythm completely, and by its final iteration of the film ©, the original steady pattern is all but lost, and new descending pitches have been added freely, with little regard to the key signature. This very final time his theme is heard precedes his offer to Rey to “show [her] the ways of the Force”, after which the Force theme prevails, Rey overcomes her attacker, and Kylo Ren is left defeated and scarred.

4. The Characteristics of Rey’s Themes

^^Rey’s Theme- The Force Awakens

At first glance, one of the most visually striking things about Rey’s theme is the repetition it employs. It is very difficult to place her theme specifically into “Light Side” or “Dark Side” based on the common characteristics. Her theme does tend to employ a lot of ostanati like Dark Side themes, but it also tends to cover a wider range of notes, as is common for Light Side themes.

The two sections of her presented theme have been separated here to better show each of their individual characteristics. Rey’s first heard theme, with repeating patterns and weak melodic direction is most applicable to her life on Jakku. She kept the same routine day in and day out and had no direction in her life other than simply “surviving” while waiting for her family to return.

The second excerpt of her theme is related to the new journey that is ahead of her once she leaves Jakku. Large wide leaps, common of Light Side themes, echo the difficult leaps she had to take to leave her home to help those around her. As her future journey is highly driven by the balance of the Force, this second theme serves well as a personal Force Theme for her.

5. The Characteristics of Kylo Ren’s Thematic Material

^^The Abduction- The Force Awakens

When Kylo Ren’s character is first introduced in the film, (Here’s the music again for Kylo Ren’s first entrance) his personal theme and the punctuated “Dark Side” triplet pattern are overlaid with one another, working together in perfect synchronicity. However, after this initial introduction, and subsequently his rhythm change after his encounter with Lor San Tekka, Kylo Ren’s theme and the beating “Dark Side” patterns are never heard together again for the rest of the film. This is the first indication of Ren’s struggle to align himself completely with the Dark Side of the Force.

When Kylo Ren first meets Rey in the forest, and is fighting off her attacks, a new elongated idea of the Dark Side repeating note themes is heard, listed above. The first measure has a hemiola feel to it, where it is not quite in a triplet feel anymore, but is not quite steady enough to feel in duple either. Here we see the triplet “Dark Side” motifs starting to melt down to rhythm patterns that more closely match “Light Side” motifs. The meter change in the 2nd measure further reflects Kylo Ren’s confusion and uncertainty at the change he is experiencing. It can be presumed that upon first meeting Rey, “the girl [he’s] heard so much about”, she is already beginning to influence his devotion to the Dark Side of the Force.

The moments leading up to Kylo Ren’s decision to murder his father Han Solo present a vast number of thematic motifs, further outlining the chaotic and confusing emotional journey Ren is going through. The beginning of the conversation on the bridge is underscored with nothing but silence. No music plays during Ren’s bravado to his father about how “Ben” is gone, destroyed by Kylo Ren for being “weak and foolish, like his father.” Once Solo steps forward, and tells his son that he wants him to come home- that he misses him, only then does Ren begin to lower the bravado and speak openly. It could certainly be assumed that Kylo Ren’s intentions were deceptive all along, but it is this author’s opinion that the feelings shared of “being torn apart” came more from Ben Solo than they did from Kylo Ren.

The first musical notes of the encounter begin soft and low followings the words “torn apart”. The music runs almost non-stop from that moment on until the final climax of the film has been reached and Kylo Ren lies defeated at Rey’s feet. While Ben shares his fears with his father and expresses uncertainty and strong emotions of doubt, the music flows in and out of warm motives alluding to tracks such as Han and Leia, and Han Solo and the Princess. This musical interlude helps to bind the relationship between father and son, using motivic ideas based around the relationship between Ben’s parents.

However, as the last of the sun is drained to power the planet’s deadly weapon, and the light fades away from Ben’s face, so too does the hope of him returning home with his father. He realizes he has allowed himself to feel too much doubt about the power the Dark Side, and is desperately searching for a way to find his footing there again. It is then that he makes the decision to take his father’s life, sure that this act can do nothing but assure him of the strong and protective power of the Dark Side.

^^Torn Apart- The Force Awakens

The music that plays as he ends his father’s life is not repeated at any other time in the film, existing only at that exact moment. It should be mentioned that the music transcribed above is taken directly from the soundtrack, which uses a few more measures of the melodic material than the film does for timing purposes. Though the rhythm has been notated in a sextuplet form, the tempo is quite slow, and again, the pattern feels to be neither strictly in a duple or triple feel. This helps give us some insight on how Kylo Ren reacted internally to this major decision of his. Had his main theme returned, paired with the berating punctuated trumpet sound of the Dark Side triplets, we could assume as viewers that Ren felt once again as strongly connected with the Dark Side of the Force as he did prior to taking Lor San Tekka’s life at the beginning of the film. However, this uncertain rhythm pattern is slower, and played not short and punctuated in the high brass, but is warm and legato in the strings, even in the extreme registers.

The choice of notes is very chaotic, leaping back and forth inconsistently between the tonic and mediant (1st and 3rd scale degrees) of the key, without any specific pattern. This chaoticism echos the confusion and disarray Kylo Ren feels in his mind. The death of his father did not bring him strength in his power, but served only to further confuse his personal desires.

The minor 3rd interval is very common, appearing in the Imperial March and its quote at the beginning of the movie, but also makes a heavy appearance in Rey’s theme. When comparing Han Solo’s death music to both excerpts, it is apparent that the style shares much more in common with Rey’s theme than it does with the Dark Side themes. Kylo Ren is no longer fueled by hatred in the form of pounding trumpet notes, but is filled with despair and confusion, emulated in the pained string sounds.

From here to the end of the film, we watch Kylo Ren’s theme degrade more and more in the place of Rey’s Force music and the Binary Sunset Force music. Rather than his themes feeling “beat” or “destroyed”, instead they tend to meld into one another until little is distinguishable other than the individual pitches.

6. Comparing Rey and Kylo Ren’s Themes Together

The most apparent similarity that exists between Rey and Kylo Ren’s themes is in the treatment of notes on beat 3 of the first measure. After Ren’s theme has evolved the first time into the pattern it remains for most of the film, he and Rey have nearly identical rhythms between their notes.

It is also notable to recognize the opposite voice leading between Rey’s Force Theme, and Kylo Ren’s main theme. While Rey’s falters slightly, it is making a steady climb for the top. Ren’s theme on the other hand moves steadily downward, but after taking even a slight step up (a step that happens to be that same minor 3rd interval littering Rey’s first theme) the melody is smashed violently down to the bottom with the largest leap yet. There is no doubt in this author’s mind that the presence of Light Side and Dark Side motifs in both Rey and Kylo Ren’s themes foreshadows a significant interaction between them. Their themes compliment each other nearly perfectly, and the decomposition of Kylo Ren’s theme over the course of the film leaves a lot of room for future changes.

When the three different sections with the similar rhythms are placed on top of one another, all sounding in their original keys, which already compliment one another perfectly, the result is quite satisfying.