How To Train Your Dragon is an award-winning motion picture released in 2010. Amongst its award-winning soundtrack is Test Drive, a highly regarded composition by John Powell. Let's examine its various elements, exploring what it takes to create a song nominated for Film Music Composition of the Year.
BACKGROUND
John Powell is a widely renowned English composer, best known for his scores to motion pictures; including Antz, Chicken Run, Shrek, Happy Feet, and Ice Age, to name a few. Though perhaps his most acclaimed work was for his soundtrack to How to Train Your Dragon, earning him his first Academy Award nomination. The album received wide acclaim from professional music critics, as well as admiration from the general public.
TRACK ANALYSIS
Track: Test Drive
Artist: John Powell
Album: How to Train Your Dragon: Music from the Motion Picture
Label: Varèse Sarabande
Formats: CD | Vinyl | Digital
Release Date: 23 March, 2010
Written / Composed / Produced By: John Powell
Duration: 2:36
Tempo: 111 BPM
Key Signature: D Major
Time Signature: 4/4
Genre: Soundtrack / Score
Instrumentation:
Orchestra
Arrangement:
INTRO | The song opens with a very quick flitter of strings, quickly followed by the immediate crescendo of an entire orchestra leading up to the first technical beat of the bar. Most likely this orchestra was recorded with numerous microphones for each section, each panned to provide a wide stereo field. Standing out in this section in particular is a percussive rhythm, created using various African drums, Taiko, and Timpani, to provide a wonderfully driving feeling. The percussion is particularly heard in the far left and right of the stereo field, giving the audience the impression of being surrounded or perhaps 'consumed' by the audio. Sitting in a similar position is a lot of the instrumentation which contribute to the lower frequencies (most likely brass and woodwind instruments such as basoon, bass clarinet, tuba etc). Consequently, there is a lot of space in the centre for instrumentation which occupy higher frequencies to shine through; particularly strings (such as violins, violas, and cellos) and perhaps some woodwind (such as flutes or clarinets). Overall the space is used effectively to entice the listener 'towards the centre', providing a feeling of forward motion. Due to the orchestra's inclusion, the stereo field is extremely wide, and whether the reverb heard is natural, digital, or a combination is hard to tell; but Powell has certainly provided a very large space for the song to sit in.
SECTION A: PEACEFUL | The first section sees the inclusion of a penny whistle sitting in front of the orchestra, just to the left of centre, playing a calming melody for eight bars. It also features accented notes on brass instruments every fourth beat of a bar. These sit central in the mix and help to create excitement in the piece. All the while, strings are playing consecutive staccato notes to maintain tension.
SECTION B: UPLIFTING | Large brass instruments take over for the first four bars of the second section, sitting central in the mix, before 'handing over' to a complimentary four bars from the string section. The brass sit just to the left of centre, whilst the strings sit just to the right. There is an additional bar in this section, featuring a flutter of flutes leading in to the song's interlude.
INTERLUDE | This two bar-long section makes use of the strings playing just themselves, acting as a bridge of sorts, providing a break between sections. This juxtaposition of relative silence (particularly in the lower frequencies) re-entices the listener, maintaining attention, whilst setting up for the return to a slightly livelier version of Section A again.
SECTION A: OPTIMISTIC | This section of the song is quite similar to the first, though with more emphasis on the brass and woodwind in the middle; and with each instrument having more gusto. Similar to the first it is also eight bars in length, though the orchestra quickly reaches a crescendo for the last beat leading into the next section.
TENSION | For five bars rapid staccato notes are played on all of the strings, with a high degree of dissonance. The use of a fifth bar is quite fitting for this section, adding to the listener's discomfort, creating a great amount of tension in the song.
SECTION C: SINISTER | Following this tension is a sinister section of the song, though this time for ten bars. The section features the inclusion of what sounds like choir, sitting reasonably distant in the mix. Notes played are predominantly in the key of B minor (D major's relative key), creating an eerie feeling. These notes are also generally not played on the beat, but syncopated, further adding to the sinister emotion. The final two bars of this section (bar 51 and 52) feature heavy brass to build the song up to another crescendo; initially playing semi crotchets, then crotchets, and finally quavers.
SECTION D: RESOLVE | Finally, the piece comes to a resolve, utilising notes from the major key again, bringing with it a feeling of accomplishment. The percussive rhythm is reintroduced returning the listener to a state of emotion similar to the beginning of the song. This fourteen bar section also relies heavily on instruments occupying the higher frequency, removing that sense of 'darkness'. Very dramatic use of brass and woodwind is again used, in a manor that could by audibly synonymous with heroic.
OUTRO | The ending of the song is quite abrupt. The beginning of the outro at bar 67 drops all percussion and instruments occupying the lower frequency spectrum, leaving strings playing staccato for two bars. The final two bars brass come in to play quickly down the scale providing a sense of closure. The song ends on a small percussive crescendo, leaving on a percussive hit that is left with a large reverb tail of approximately 4 seconds.
IMPACT
This song specifically was nominated by the International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) for:
Film Music Compostion of the Year
IFMCA also awarded the entire soundtrack with the winning prize for:
Best Original Score for an Animated Feature
Film Score of the Year
The album earned Powell his first Academy Award nomination, as well as his third BAFTA nomination, and the soundtrack received wide acclaim from professional music critics.
Who knew how important film scores could be ;)
Stay Tuned
- TA
REFERENCES
Youtube. (2010). How to train your dragon Score: Test drive. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IBlQj2U5kU
Comments