How Murray Gold Writes a Theme - Part 2: The Companions

0:00 so a few months ago I made a video analyzing some of M Gold's themes for the doctors and it did pretty well and a fair number of people asked for a followup so this time I'm taking a look at some of his companion themes if you've not seen the original doctor's video then you might want to give that a watch before this one as I'll be calling back to some of those pieces there's a link to it on your screen now but without further Ado let's get stuck in some M gold companion themes [Music] when we first meet Rose at the beginning of the series she is a young woman Treading Water she feels no sense of purpose or drive she's just going through the motions that is until the

0:47 day the doctor crashes into her life and it changes forever her theme begins very hesitantly almost growing in confidence and certainty in itself mirroring Rose's character Journey throughout the series it utilizes this strip back instrumentation mly consisting of piano on a bed of strings before those strings rise up and take Center Stage for that melancholic [Music] Melody there's a real sadness to the theme with those Stark piano chords but also a wistfulness as if Rose is yearning learning for something more something better which she finds with the

1:35 doctor it moves from 44 into a 34 Walts time a time signature and feel that gold uses for several of His companion themes it's a really emotional composition that is used for many of the character's most defining moments the closing moments of the end of the world the hologram scene in the part of the ways her last goodbye with the doctor in doomsday her reunion with him in the stolen Earth and for her appearance in the end of time interestingly this last one was originally meant to be scored by a repre of song for 10 that gold wrote but Judy Gardner insisted that roses theme was used instead it's even used for Mickey's departure in the age of Steel putting much of the focus of that exchange on

2:27 Rose in many ways Martha is a very different character to Rose in our introductions to them where rose has a job she doesn't care about Martha is a medical student on track to build a career for herself Rose's Family consists of just her and Mom Jackie whereas Martha has a big family full of siblings both parents and parents girlfriends something they both share though is the inability to resist that tantalizing opportunity to go off and see all of time and space Martha's theme shares a lot of similarities with the doctor forever beginning with a solo vocal line and strings then building to incorporate other instruments this time with electric piano also Incorporated

3:12 the two pieces are even in the same key and performed at a similar Tempo with very similar melody lines at points [Music] however Martha's theme is a lot more gentle and soothing and whilst it does have some nice heroic and dramatic flourishes it stays as a very smooth flowing peace throughout its length and adopts a more hopeful reflective tone and where the doctor forever moves back and forth between time signatures Mar stee stays in 34 for the duration

3:59 it feels very inquisitive and Soulful and we get these cheeky blues note run-ups before we rise up into this beautiful section with the vocal line underpinned by the strings and Brass which shares some melodic similarities with song for 10 [Music] unlike Rose's theme which was used relatively sparingly throughout her tenure Martha's theme is used in almost every story of Series 3 and for her return in the Saran tup PARTA and the doctor's

4:44 [Music] daughter from her first appearance in The Runaway Bride we are introduced to a very bold bushy at times gobby character in Catherine Tate's Donna despite being completely unafraid to speak her mind and often clashing with the doctor the two obviously adore one another and this cheeky at times Brazen attitude is particularly apparent in her main theme Donna's theme is a very fun bouncy piece of music accentuating that Larger than Life character it's very slapstick sounding fitting for the episode that it first appeared in the piece is driven by its plotting double Baseline with Jazzy flourishes from piano strings and brass and of course

5:32 that very overthe toop main Melody to give it a kind of rumber feel it features lots of accidentals which are flattened and sharpened notes to give it that funny comedic sound halfway through we get more of a poker feel with the incubated Accents in the Baseline and the Jazzy brass keys and woodwind lines this theme gets a revamped version of 4 Series 4 it's much the same theme but with more of a percussive element and a fuller Arrangement compared to the original we get a bit more of a boss and over feel with this version it's generally only used for Fern or comedic moments which some of suggested makes it weaker than the other character themes

6:18 as it's lacking in an emotional depth however the main light Motif is used in all three of the 60th specials featuring donor but in a much more subtle restrained manner showing how the character has matured and grown since her time with the [Music] [Applause] doctor after the final episodes of series 4 Donna gets a Duo of heartbreaking pieces that score her two equally heartbreaking Fates and turn left and Journey's End

7:06 respectively the dazzling end uses an orchestral Rock instrumentation with a simple Baseline and these electric guitar chord stabs creating a descending lying cliche the guitar and bass double up to create this constant pulse along with the drum be then there are these gorgeous string lines [Music] we continue to build in Dynamics with more parts being added in growing even more Majestic until its conclusion both tragic and triumphant with gold wanting to convey both the salvation and sacrifice of Donna that unfolds in the

7:51 episode's conclusion I saw someone say that gold wanted this to sound like a muse song though I can't find a source for this du think that the band sound is definitely an influence and it works really well for the scene that it's depicting for Donna's actual goodbye we get another orchestral Rock instrumentation the first starts with these painful electric guitar chords and Eerie whistling reminiscent of Doomsday we get a percussion line kick in symbolic of the Fate that is marching towards donor in her final moments with the doctor melancholic strings rise up it's

8:36 sad but also triumphant as we see all of Don's greatest moments in one final Montage before everything drops out and we're left with a heartbeat before a piano and strings coder that seems to Echo the doctor's theme perhaps mirroring the doctor half of the do Donna leaving her along with all of her memories of [Music] him Series 5 is often described as the fairy tale season with the story of Amy and the doctor having several parallels to that of Peter Pan and Wendy and that tone is also reflected in Mor Gold's

9:22 Score first meeting her as a little girl the doctor becomes an integral part of Amy's life even in his absence and that imaginary friend and childlike sense of wonder lives on in Amy through to adulthood for Amy's theme we return to the vocal piano and string instrumentation of rose and Martha's themes it has a very sweet fairy tale quality perfect for the character of Amy the main section has this feel of a lullabi helped by that gorgeous vocal lead it intentionally shares stylistic similarities to Rose's theme as gold says in the liner notes for this season soundtrack album in the same way that in

10:09 2005 Rose's stee didn't evolve until she had traveled and Been Changed by the doctor so too am's music speaks about leaving home and experiencing the Wonders and magic of the universe with the doctor by her side around 2/3 of the way in we moved to a slightly darker section utilizing the piano Argos from the madman in a box but with some of the notes [Music] flattened I think what's Happening Here is a switch from F major to F minor but if that's not the case I'm sure that someone with much better music theory knowledge will be able to correct me in

10:54 the comments interestingly this piece wasn't used until the Beast below in the post tile scene of Amy floating in space and despite this being her main theme there is one that is more frequently used and more commonly associated with her first used as a theme for the child version of Amelia in the 11th Hour this theme would crop up a lot throughout her run on the show again gold doesn't hold back with the fairy tale Vibes glistening Chimes and lullab vocal Melodies over a soft bed of dreamlike strings read homing in on that childlike innocence the first section is again in three four time at a nice steady tempo it feels as though we're drifting swaying in the breeze whenever I hear

11:40 these first few seconds of the track I can basically hear that soft rattle of the windmill in younger media's [Music] Garden then after some ominous cords we get the repeated descending scales that begin to build getting higher in Pitch as with the madman in a box it uses these cascading piano Melodies that evoke that sense of falling down the rabbit hole or perhaps a little blue box falling down to earth something to note is that this Amy's theme the madman in the box and I Am the Doctor are all written in F major or D Minor so there's a lot of melodic and harmonic crossover between them all which I can imagine is

12:26 incredibly helpful when transitioning between light motif or composing full Suites for these [Music] episodes Clara especially in her introductory season is a bright and Shining breath of fresh air for both the doctor and the audience over her time on the series she evolved into a much more complex and nuanced character but at her core that sweet honest curiosity remained beginning with a repeated piano apio we get this very sweet woodwind and strings Melody dancing over the top it's very light and Breezy again we're in three four time and we've got a cute kind of

13:12 Waltz feel to the theme some redditors made the link between this theme and the bridge of the track Bell from Beauty and the Beast [Music] isn't this amazing similarly this little chromatic build when this section reminds me of Let's Go Fly a Kite and merry [Music] Poppins I think both are very fitting as this is a very story book Disney esque motif of course Clara's theme actually turns up as diagetic music Within the

13:59 show in the episode how bent when the doctor plays it himself in the [Music] diner with this electric guitar version giving this song a really nice mellow folk feel like it's accompanying a story around a campfire which is essentially what Clara is to the doctor at this point a memory that has become a [Music] song when we meet Bill in series 10 she is instantly inde Dearing her character

14:46 is charming inquisitive and unapologetically human she forms an incredibly strong bond with the doctor and the care that she has for him and the rest of the universe always shines through Bill's theme unfortunately doesn't have an official version because there is still no official series 10 soundtrack almost 8 years on come on maray please please so for this analysis I'm primarily using the original version heard in her debut episode The Pilot the piece is written in a major and has this very bright happy optimistic sound to it we begin with a nice playful piano Melody with some accompanying percussion

15:33 [Music] before we move to a playful bass Groove that has a very distinct Latin feel to it which I think is due to a couple of things firstly the instrumentation of the guitar Basse piano and percussion secondly the accidentals played in parts of the [Music] melody giving it that cheeky quality that's so in line with Bill's character also reminiscent of Don stee parts and finally and I think most crucially is that treso Rhythm that the theme is pretty much all based [Music] around in the more strip back sections we can hear the inclusion of a female

16:19 choir also reminiscent of Mar's theme which I think shows the deeper soul of Bill's character that honest and thorough sense of care that she has for everyone one section I really enjoy is the possibly slightly cliche build with the strings in the base moving up the scale underneath that repeated broken [Music] cord it's a very simple addition but I just think it's really nicely done I also love the live version from the series 10 finale countdown Q&A which feels like a much more orchestral and cinematic arrangement of the theme with much more emphasis on the strings and

17:05 woodwind and it sounds very John Williams in Parts particularly this section here it's just a gorgeous piece of music like I said the series 10 soundtrack now please worry please [Music] please Ruby is a bright exuberant character that at times seems slightly wise Beyond her years having grown up with her mom fostering babies she has developed a maternal side at a very

17:51 young age when we and the doctor meet her she is at a time of questioning in search of the truth about her past and contemp lating some of the quite complex and difficult questions that that brings up when Ruby's theme was first unveiled at the 60th anniversary concert it was described as the gorgeous sounding W and it is certainly that another companion theme in three four time gold completely leans into the waltz field with his music for Ruby writing a very classical inspired piece to me it feels particularly inspired by chopan and some of his slower wal [Music]

18:41 is it's almost sad that the episode Rogue didn't have more of a focus on Ruby so that we could see this theme play a bit more of a substantial role in a story set in that Regency period where it feels like it really belongs it's interesting that for such a youthful bubbly character such as Ruby we get such a sober melancholic quite mature theme she could have had something more in the vein of claraa or Bill's themes but this piece is actually perfect for Ruby because it delves beneath the surface and finds what is underneath that vibrant optimistic exterior the theme is written in G minor and has a very somber tone there's a real poetic sadness to this music like a beautiful tragedy which is what I think

19:28 Russ was going for with Ruby's story in relation to her being a foundling and yearning for the truth about her birth mother it all centers around the piano as its main voice which is typical of classical Walters as we gracefully Glide up and down the scale supported by the strings brass and woodwind which all add a sense of the Serene to the music I really love those Tempo changes and chromatic runs up the keys gives the piece of real dramatic Grandeur and the whole thing flows really nicely of course this is another piece that makes it into the dieted music of the show this time played by Ruby [Music]

20:14 herself in Universe this is a song that she wrote for a friend going through a breakup and we get to see her play it in a lovely sequence from the devil's cord and there we go uh a little bit more M Gold music analysis for you thank you to everyone that uh requested this uh that watched the original video thank you to everyone that's watched this video if you would like to see another installment of this I'm toying with the idea of doing some analysis on some of Murray's villain themes potentially looking at some of Sega aka's music from the Chima but let me know if you would like to see any of that if you have enjoyed this please give it a like subscribe subscribe share it around and

20:59 all of that good stuff and I will hopefully see you again soon cheers bye