Tag: film

Pat Metheny | A Map of the World

Like much of his work, guitarist / composer Pat Metheny‘s 1999 soundtrack release for the film Map of the World features quickly shifting, sometimes nearly constant key-of-the-moment passages. The track features two main sections, each played twice. Section 1 (0:00 and 2:30) pivots between G major and E minor (among others), while section 2 (1:13 and 3:41) is loosely built around A major. At 5:12, there’s a brief return to section 1’s tonality for the outro.

Stefon Harris + Blackout | Until

A beautiful jazz waltz featuring the vibraphone of rising star Stefon Harris. This 2007 tune was originally written by Sting for the Kate & Leopold soundtrack. Modulation at 1:29.

Harris has said, according to All About Jazz: “For me, as an African-American, it’s part of the reason I get up. Jazz is not just fun for me. This is my cultural heritage. When I look at the great Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, as we go down the line, I feel a great deal of pressure, and honor, to be striving to be a part of this legacy.”

So Close (from “Enchanted”)

We close the week with Alan Menken’s “So Close” from the movie Enchanted (2007). I have always been fascinated by the chord progressions and overall form of this song, given that it doesn’t really adhere to the traditional verse/chorus format. There are actually three modulations in this song — the first at 1:54, the second in the instrumental interlude at 2:37 (up a minor third!), and then back down at 2:50 before the vocal returns.

If I Dare (from “Battle of the Sexes”) | Sara Bareilles

The theme song from Battle of the Sexes, the 2017 biopic of 1970s tennis phenom Billie Jean King. Performed by Sara Bareilles, its appearance during the film’s closing credits — after the emotional rollercoaster of the movie itself — is an overwhelming moment. Starting in C major, the chorus shifts to C minor (for the first time at 1:08), then back to C major. The bridge, starting at 2:15, brings a shift to a quieter texture, then a jump to F minor at 2:33 — leading up to a triumphant modulation to G major at 3:18.