A Music-Theoretic Prediction

Theory, in general, is as useful in predicting the future as it is in explaining the past. For example, Stephen Hawking has theorized about an upcoming big crunch as well as about a previous big bang. Music theories and theorists predict too, but these predictions usually involve notes already composed in the past that then become someone else’s possible future. Music theorists are less known for predicting the details of the music that a composer has yet to create.

But I will do so, right now. There are two Hunger Games movies left: the last book, like the last book from the Harry Potter and Twilight series, is being divided into two movies. IMDb tells me that Mockingjay Part 1 is currently in post-production, Mockingjay Part 2 is due out next year, and James Newton Howard is continuing as the series composer. There are ample references to overthrowing in the last book. Mr. Howard is a sophisticated film composer. I predict that, in the underscore for at least one of these two final movies, he will use something like one of the sketches in last month’s post, and/or something like below, which is the ultimate and most compact tonal reversal. Notice that only with a second-beat melodic note exclusively on scale degree flat-6 can the melody stay the same and the chromatic-mediant relationship invert. (The smaller added staff plays the same melodic game that the music from last month played.)

I suppose there is an infinitesimal chance that, by publicly declaring my conjecture, this post affects the outcome, either by 1) providing an idea that did not already exist for Mr. Howard (or whomever this may concern), or 2) discouraging the use of an idea already existing (perish the thought of a composer, especially a film composer, adopting the ideas of another). If this is the case, I ask, purely in the name of science, that this influence be recognized. A note would suffice. (If the influence follows the first scenario, a film credit would also work: two t's in Scott, and no e in Murphy.) But I predict that my little experiment will safely proceed untainted in this way.

I optimistically lay 10:1 odds.