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But the drops in between lower the tension and create a more relaxed heroic sound than would a constant striving higher and higher, as in the Force Theme, for instance (see Part 1 of this series). Naturally, the rising contour gives us the feeling of aspiring to something better in the manner of a hero. But also notice that in between each of these high notes, there is a drop down to a lower note. Overall, the highest notes in these motives form a rising contour from C up to F.

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The first six motives we hear move completely in the upward direction (and even the seventh begins by rising), lending the theme and Indy a very positive feel (by contrast, recall from Part 3 of this series that the Imperial March was based largely on descending motives): Then there’s the melody’s shape as a whole. These syncopations add a buoyancy and lightness to the march, and signal some of Indy’s less serious, “fun” side. First, it is played by four trumpets in unison, and every one of its short motives starts with a militaristic dotted rhythm, both giving the sense that this is a hero’s theme (see the brackets below):īut also notice that in every other bar, there are syncopations (off-beat accents) after the first beat and just before the fourth beat of each bar (most clearly heard in the opening four bars before the melody comes in): The famous melody that begins the march already suggests much of Indy’s character. Below is an audio clip of the entire march. When he approached Steven Spielberg (director of Raiders of the Lost Ark) with the themes, asking which one he would prefer, Spielberg loved them so much that he said “well, can’t you use both?” And so Williams did, one in the A section, the other in the B section (or “bridge”). Williams had initially composed the melodies of both as possibilities for the opening of Indy’s theme. This first section itself breaks down into a three-part ABA form, the A and B sections using different but related melodic ideas.

Since we’re talking about Williams’ depiction of the Indy character here (and since the third part largely repeats the first), my film music analysis will focus mainly on the first part. The march is divided into a large three-part form, of which the first part is Indy’s theme, the second Marion’s theme, and the third an abbreviated return to Indy’s theme. In large part, this is because of Williams’ remarkable ability to coordinate many different parameters of the music with various facets of the thing it represents, in this case, Indy himself. And like other John Williams themes, it’s not just that the theme represents the character, but that it does so in such an appropriate way that it would be hard to imagine something different working this well.

Ever since its first appearance in Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Raiders March has been such a recognizable symbol of Indiana Jones that we associate it with the character as much as we do his trademark bullwhip and fedora.