Musician Ian Gordon switches up a few keys on the Imperial March, and voila, a brand new, happy go lucky theme song is born for our favorite stormtroopers.
The Imperial March is one of the most iconic pieces of music on the planet, albeit second among Star Wars themes to the main title sequence. And yet somehow, no one has ever thought to play the chords in a major key. Well musician Ian Gordon did, and the result sounds straight out of a parade. Such a small change, and yet the theme sounds quite different from John William’s original score.
Who would have thought the theme song for a bunch of faceless, murdering, foot soldiers would sound like so much fun? Gordon also remixed the main theme, but this time in a minor key. This go round the main theme trades its grandiose nature for a bit more of a light-hearted feel, with just a twinge of sadness (at least to my ear, but then again I don’t know the difference between minor and major keys). Gordon had this to say about his remix:
"This one is a bit different. There’s a twist around the 3 minute mark as we jump back into the original key for a bit of redemption. Plus it really helps emphasize the difference between the sound of ‘minor’ and ‘major’."
h/t: Laughing Squid
Gordon performs under the name MutedVocal and has an entire album of reworked theme music available for download on Bandcamp. Of course, the Star Wars pieces are our favorites, but the themes from The Walking Dead and South Park aren’t too shabby either.
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From a non-musical mind, it’s pretty amazing what changing a couple of keys can do to change up some iconic pieces of music. What say you? Who did it better, John Williams or Ian Gordon? We know which way Darth Vader would vote.