Close Encounters - "The Conversation" - Transcription

I created this score using Finale 2009. I made many judgement calls when choosing things like time signatures, but the instrumentation, pitches and articulations match the performance as best as I can hear. I invite comments, analyses and suggestions!

When things get really busy, a few notes may not be represented on the score. I tried really, REALLY hard to get everything that was audible, but the audio quality isn't perfect, considering that it was recorded in the 1970s, then digitized at 44.1 khz.

I transcribed this by ear, without a keyboard. I used Audacity to slow down the busiest sections of the music after the scientists begin to take over the conversation. In this section, I believe the recording engineer may have recorded some passages at half-speed, then subsequently remixed it at double speed. The parts aren't impossible, but they're improbably complex and very high throughout.

Also, partway through, the playback speed for the sound track is increased by a half-step to elicit the strangely subtle modulation. There are a few measures in this passage that were edited out of some cuts of the film, but which remain in others (and possibly on the soundtrack). I have not included them in the score, but some viewers might wonder where they went - I suggest you ask Mr. Spielberg.

The contabassoon part would normally be notated an octave higher, but considering its migration to the extreme high register (for a contra anyway), I left it in concert pitch. for this video.

This video is meant for educational purposes only. It is the belief of this author that the video qualifies as an analysis and commentary on the copyrighted material and therefore does not infringe on copyright. Besides, there are tons of direct rips of movie and TV footage on youtube that don't attempt to provide any added insight into the material they 'borrow.'