MUSIC OF THE WEEK: DARTH VADER’S HERO MARCH
by Hazed
What happens if you take Darth Vader’s Imperial March, which is dark and threatening, and change it to a major key? It becomes much jollier and heroic, that’s what.
The mood evoked by a piece of music can change drastically if you switch it from a major to a minor key, and vice versa. Major keys are positive – happy or triumphant – while minor keys are negative – sad or sinister.
Musician Ian Gordon took The Imperial March and rescored it into a major key, which turned it into a theme fit for one of the film’s heroes.
He then took the main Star Wars theme and turned it into a minor key, changing its exciting sound into something much more despondent.