Melodies and Motifs: John Williams Quiz

Answer: "Jaws" (1975)

This tune is just called the "Main Title." When trying to remember your note intervals, the opening bar is a great example of a minor second.

Answer: "Star Wars" (1977)

This song is also called "Main Title." There would be subtitles added to similar tracks for the later movies. This tune was supposed to be "Luke's Theme," but was adopted as a theme for the whole "Star Wars" series. The main theme was inspired by the main title of "Kings Row" from 1942 (starring a young Ronald Reagan).

Answer: "Schindler's List" (1993)

This song is just called "Theme from Schindler's List." The snippet used for this question is heard on a solo violin.

Answer: "Harry Potter and the Philospher's Stone" (2001)

This song is called "Hedwig's Theme," named after Harry Potter's pet owl. This is the only snippet in this quiz not in common time (4/4). Instead of four beats in a bar, there are only three (unless you're counting using "compound time," in which case there would be only one beat with three subdivisions).

Answer: "Raiders of the Lost Ark" (1981)

This song is called "The Raiders March." March is a type of music that's very important to American culture (see the works of John Philip Sousa), and shows up a lot in John Williams' music.

Answer: "Jurassic Park" (1993)

There are two main motifs in "Jurassic Park." The first is just called the "Theme from Jurassic Park." The second is named "Journey to the Island," which is more of a fanfare. The snippet used in this question is the trumpet solo from "Journey to the Island."

Answer: "Superman" (1978)

This song is called the "Theme from Superman." This snippet is the main melody, but the song starts with slow brass sounding similar to "Also Sprach Zarathustra," written by Richard Strauss in 1896, and later used as the theme for Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey."

Answer: "Home Alone" (1990)

This song is called "Somewhere in My Memory." This is the only song in this list to have lyrics, written by Leslie Bricusse.

Answer: "Lincoln" (2012)

This song is called "The People's House." The song opens with this snippet played on clarinet, with the rest of the orchestra silent. Other instruments pick up the melody later.

Answer: "Saving Private Ryan" (1998)

This tune is called "Hymn to the Fallen." Most of the song is slowly moving chords, but the music in this snippet is the trumpet solo. The music is similar to "Fanfare for the Common Man," by Aaron Copland.