Alternate Leitmotifs (theme music) for the ponies
Here's a bit of a different thought experiment to help with your characterization and world-building: imagine alternate leitmotifs (musical themes) for various ponies and places in Equestria.
The example I am going to use is based off Stanley Kubrick and the soundtrack for 2001: A Space Odyssey. In that example, Kubrick liked the temp music better than the actual soundtrack that was commissioned, so he used the now-familiar classical pieces as the official soundtrack instead of Alex North's music. Without further introduction, my I present my classical music thematic replacements.
Mane 6
Rarity: Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, Section 2
This is one always-fresh piece of music for one stylish mare. If nothing else, it is excellent background music for her shops for her customers to project their thoughts onto the clothes they try on.
Pinkie Pie: "Many Pranks" from Richard Strauss' Till Eulenspeigel
Thanks to /u/_kwulhu_ for suggesting this to me in IRC. Start around 10½ minutes in for the best effect. My alternate pick was Joie du Sang des Étoiles from Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie.
Twilight Sparkle: Fuge #9 in E major from JS Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier
If you imagine this being played slightly slower than in the recording I linked and on a less bright piano, this would highlight Twilight's mind and methodical planning.
Rainbow Dash: Overture to The Magic Flute
Something fast and happy and its IRL counterpart involves giant birds.
Fluttershy: Overture from Gabriel Faure's "Masques et Bergamasques"
A nice and gentle intro for a quiet and gentle mare.
Applejack: "Hoedown" by Aaron Copland
Some picks are stereotypically obvious. You could probably also use other Copland works for other members of the Apple Family or their family theme song. It will be left as an exercise to the reader to decide how to match them up.
Villians & antagonists (both current and reformed)
Princess Luna & Nightmare Moon: Ernest Bloch's Concerto Grosso #1, first movement
This bold and overdramtic theme suits both halves of the night. Playing with instrumental balance and tempo can change the mood to fit Luna wherever she is in her story, but always retains its larger-than-life grandiosity that is integral to both Her Royal Highness Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon.
Discord: "Game of Pairs" from Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra
The unsteady nature of this movement from the Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra nicely encapsulates the chaotic and incessantly pun-filled mind of Discord. This jazz version would be a good option for any montages that feature him.
Tirek: Krzysztof Penderecki's Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima
Only charred remains are left in his path.
Queen Chrysalis: Piano Concerto #1 by Alberto Ginastera, 4th movement
The Great and Powerful Trixie: 1st movement from Witold Lutosławski's Concerto for Orchestra
The intro to Lutosławski's Concerto for Orchestra creates suspense for Trixie's stage show. The middle of the movement contains several moments that make for good villain music. There are also some more tender spots in the music to express Trixie's attempts at redemption and integration into normal pony society.
King Sombra: Allegretto from Palladio by Karl Jenkins
It's the best-known part of Diamond Music and, importantly, Sombra and Karl Jenkins both have reputations for being hugely overhyped.
Starlight Glimmer: "Lux Aeternia" by Clint Mansell
Better known as that Requiem for a Dream song, it's a fitting tribute to the struggles and largely self-inflicted villainy of Starlight.
Other Ponies
Princess Celestia: "Aquarium" from Carnival of the Animals
The smoothly-gliding tuplets flow like the serene and kindly countenance of Celestia's mane. Prior to the Nightmare Moon incident, this theme was used interchangeably for both princesses as well as for the pair of them due to their similarly-magical manes. After Celestia had been the sole ruler of Equestria and Nightmare Moon faded into an old mare's tale, this theme became primarily identified with Celestia.
Zecora: Turangalila 3 from the Turangalîla-Symphonie
Her music being so similar to the Everfree music is by design. Her sleepy time music is also from the same work.
Spike: The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas
His solo epiodes all end up about successful as Mickey was in Fantasia.
Cadence: Variation 18 on a Theme by Paganini
Sorry for choosing such an obvious selection.
Places, objects, intangible things
Everfree forest: Turangalila 2 from the Turangalîla-Symphonie
This is a nice invocation of a dark forest. Note that it's from the same work as Zecora's music. If it were a peaceful night, movement 6 would also work.
Friendship (main theme): César Franck's Symphony in D, 3rd movement
Whoever has ears ought to hear.
Cloudsdale: "The Grid" by Philip Glass
Another perpetually-mobile selection for a busy Pegasus city. In contrast to the urgency of the leitmotif for Manehattan, this one flows naturally to contrast the gridlock of Earth Ponies and Unicorns with the freedom of the Pegasus.
Manehattan: "Sabre Dance" by Aram Khachaturian
The relentless movement is singularly appropriate for a city that never sleeps and everypony always has someplace they should have been at five minutes ago.
Ponyville: "Concerning Hobbits" by Howard Shore
A pastoral and happy theme to a place that inexplicably attracts adventure.
Crystal Empire: Symphony 4 by P.I. Tchaikovsky
Since the Crystal Empire is a semi-autonomous subsidiary of Equestria, I decided to dedicate a whole symphony to it. The first movement would be the fanfare for the Crystal Castle, the slow movement as music for the Crystal ponies when without the power of the Crystal Heart, the 3rd movement would make good music for Flurry Heart, and the finale could be the Heart's theme.
Canterlot: Symphony 5 in C minor, 2nd movement by L.V. Beethoven
A very stately theme for a stately society.
Canterlot Castle: the finale from Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra
Music that signifies a journey coming to its exciting conclusion. A visit to Canterlot Castle is a dream for most ponies outside Canterlot itself, and the section starting around 2:55 in the video I linked is quite possibly the best way to describe the feeling of ponies visiting the Castle (imagine human fillies going to Disney Castle for an IRL analogue).
Appaloosa: Fanfare for the Common Man
Wide-open sound for this town on the open frontier of Equestrian society (and the Copland music accentuates that this is another stronghold of the Apple Family).
Here are some questions for you to think about, in case you don't already have something you want to say:
- What ponies and places did I neglect and what should be their theme? I know I neglected Gesualdo and Vivaldi on the composers side, if you want a hint on where to start.
- What would the results be if this process was done with a different genre of source music? Using only sections from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier? Having the mandatory inclusion of different pictures from that Exhibition?
- What is a better-fitting leitmotif for your favorite pony?
Next Week: thoughts on this depiction of the relative sizes of the Mane 6
P.S. Sorry that the last post was a month ago: looking up all these videos and ponymotes took far longer than expected, especially on severely underpowered hardware that likes to freeze from having too many tabs open.
Submitted August 03, 2017 at 05:28PM by PUBLIQclopAccountant
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