Why does some music sound so heroic?
Back in 1978 when I heard the opening credits music for the movie Superman, I was immediately struck by how grand and heroic the music sounded (especially beginning about 1:43 in the linked recording). The orchestration, of course, adds to the heroic feelings—there’s nothing like trumpets, horns, and trombones to say “hero!” However, I’ve also noticed that the use of perfect intervals, especially on the first and fifth notes of the scale (Do and Sol in a moveable Do system) really say, “This is important and heroic!” The main Superman theme, Sol-Do-Sol-Sol (at about 2:00), really drives it home. “We’re going to see a movie about a hero,” the music, written by John Williams (1832- ) says.
This is not a new use of those scale degrees to suggest heroism. In the opening 20 seconds of the Overture to The Flying Dutchman opera, Richard Wagner (1813-1883) repeatedly used the first and fifth scale degrees (Do and Sol) in the melody. What heroic, noble-sounding music!
Going back even further, composer and religious reformer Martin Luther (1483-1546) employed the two notes Sol and Do (Do-Do-Do-Sol) prominently at the beginning of his most famous hymn Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott (A Mighty Fortress Is Our God). The music communicates the noble, joyful, unchangeable nature of God.
Composer John Williams used these same intervals—Do and Sol—with great effect in some of most iconic film music ever written, including the score to Superman (above). The friendship theme in Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a five-note theme that ends with Do and Sol. The first communication between the humans and the aliens prominently includes the noble, heroic interval.
The heroic Indiana Jones theme in Raiders of the Lost Ark includes the oft-repeated motif Mi-Fa-Sol-Do. Sol up to Do is a perfect fourth, the same interval Martin Luther used 480 years earlier.
In the movie ET, the the Flight theme (at about 1:15) prominently uses the interval Do up to Sol to send the bicycles into the heavens.
The Main Theme from Star Wars begins with Sol-Sol-Sol-Do-Sol, a truly notable use of these heroic intervals.
The poignant theme from Schindler’s List begins with the notes Do and Sol, here played by the inimitable violinist Itzhak Perlman. Heroic, tragic, and noble, all at once.
Music can sound heroic because of the use of the Perfect Fourth (Sol up to Do) and Perfect Fifth (Do up to Sol). In the hands of a skilled composer and competent performers, these intervals compellingly spell heroism.
