Background Information
Created during the golden age of American animation, the series of comedy short films Looney Tunes was produced by Warner Bros between the years of 1930-1969. A series of years between 1928 and 1969, the golden age of animation was a time when sound cartoon was at its most popular. The low cost of producing sound cartoons (Chancellor, 2016) meant that it was easy for companies like Warner Bros. Entertainment and Walt Disney studios to roll out hundreds of short stories that were animated by hand. Part of the success of this golden age was the fact that companies used repeated characters that audiences grew very attached to – such as Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny.
People also grew attached to the music that accompanied these sound animations. Unique in the fact that even though the characters had little dialog, a lot of communication was also done through sound effects and in the backing music itself, using fluctuations and to add a dramatic flair to the character’s situation.
These traits of the soundtrack also made these cartoons very comedic in nature, and to this day they are associated with a light-hearted nature and is perceived as an amusing piece of media. The piece of Looney Tunes music that will be analysed today is Carl Stalling’s Opening Theme, which played at the beginning of every cartoon.
(Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies, 1943)
Arrangement
Section 1:
Section 2:
Meter: 4/4
Tempo: 145
written in: 1/4 notes
The piece begins with an entertaining introduction – a stringed instrument, such as a ukulele perhaps, plays a note that suddenly travels up in pitch until it is out of tune. This grabs the audience’s attention right away and sets the humorous atmosphere for the rest of the episode. The next phrase following just 2 or 3 beats later is the opening phrase, which features a strong horn line which belts out two half notes while a Xylophone roll plays in the background – this auxiliary percussion replaces the recognisable role of the drums that we would expect in modern day music, helping to keep the beat and ‘encouraging’ the music to move along. After just a few beats of this the phrase changes again and we are introduced with a simple piano progression in quarter notes. This also helps with ‘movement’ and sustaining the fast-paced feel of the track. With the entrance of the piano we also hear the horn section change, switching from their simple legato notes to quick staccatos that play ‘off-beat’, giving the effect of a call and response dialog between themselves and the piano. After this the horns drop out, and are instead replaced with a flute line, adding a whimsical and light-hearted-ness to contrast against the harsh and confronting brass section. The auxiliary percussion section is also replaced by a cowbell, adding to the contrasting and whimsical feeling. The horns make a speedy return however, with a section of twice repeated two eighth note phrases (a ta taa sound). The piece ends with an added bass instrument such as a trombone or French horn joining the the rest of the horns (most likely trumpets) to create a finish of a long held note before all instruments go up the scale to give the song an embellished finale.
Instruments
The instruments used in this piece is numerous, as a result it makes the music sound very ‘busy’ – this is not a hindrance however, as each instrumental element has been arranged so that they enter and exit the piece in a way that is harmonious and this results in there not being any moments where instruments seem to be ‘fighting’ to be heard within the mix. This is a production element that I value very much, and I hope can emulate it in what I create for the Carbarian game project.
The song sounds like it is arranged in a major key, given that sounds so ’happy’ and upbeat – perhaps it is written in C Major, as I can pick up no flats or sharps that would inhibit the emotions associated with a major scale.
The main instruments that are audible in piece, and their main purpose in the mix, are listed below;
Strong horn line – trumpets, trombone, French horn
· Are bright and perky
· Grabs audience’s attention
· Adds to the light-hearted-ness of the cartoon
· Play legato and held notes
· As well as staccato bursts
Auxiliary percussion – xylophone and cowbell
· There are no drums so these are the main forms of percussion
· Moves the beat and the song along
· Fast-paced
· simple
· ‘boppy’
· piano also follows the same role as the auxiliary percussion
Summary
What I have taken away from this track teardown is that music from this era and genre had a main focus of “exaggeration and simplification” (Goldmark, 2005). I hope that in my composition for the Carbarians I can create something that has simple notation but is loud and fun.
Works Cited
Chancellor, T. (2016, Aug 1). A Brief History On The Golden Age Of Animation. Retrieved March 27, 2018, from Odyssey: https://www.theodysseyonline.com/brief-history-on-the-golden-age-of-animation
Goldmark, D. (2005). Tunes for 'Toones: Music and The Hollywood Cartoon. California, United States: University of California.
Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies (Director). (1943). Wackiki Wabbit [Motion Picture].
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