Dragnet Fugue ("Fugue for Friday")

A fugue based on the Dragnet theme, accompanied by scrolling bar-graph and conventional scores.
FAQ

Q: Can I get the sheet music for this piece?
A: Yes, here are score and parts for string quartet ...
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/FugueForFridayOpenScore.pdf
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/FugueForFridayViolinI.pdf
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/FugueForFridayViolinII.pdf
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/FugueForFridayViola.pdf
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/FugueForFridayVioloncello.pdf
... here are parts for recorder quartet ...
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/FugueForFridaySopranoRecorder.pdf
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/FugueForFridayAltoRecorder.pdf
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/FugueForFridayTenorRecorder.pdf
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/FugueForFridayBassRecorder.pdf
... and here's a piano transcription ...
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/FugueForFridayKeyboard.pdf

Q: Didn't you already post this?
A: Yes, but YouTube did something and it broke the audio, so I decided it was time to remaster it in high-definition and add the conventional score.

Q: What does the title mean?
A: The theme of this fugue was first used by composer Miklós Rózsa in the soundtrack for the 1946 film The Killers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg9_zhDZGbA
It was later borrowed by Walter Schumann for use as the theme of the Dragnet radio (and, later, television) drama (which is where I first heard it):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragnet_(series)
Shortly after I wrote the fugue (in 1975), I sent a copy of the score to Peter Schickele (who I thought would be amused by it):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Schickele
and he suggested the name "Fugue for Friday" (as a reference to Dragnet's main character, Sergeant Joe Friday). But maybe I should have called it "Killer Fugue."

Q: It seems like the two scores don't match exactly; is that a mistake?
A: Kind of. I made the recording and the score at different times, and I made a few minor changes in between.

Q: Is there a way I could make bar-graph scores myself?
A: The Music Animation Machine MIDI file player will generate a display similar to this; you can read about how to do it here:
http://www.musanim.com/youtube/HowToMakeMamVideos.html

Category:

Music

Tags:

• malinowski
• fugue
• friday
• dragnet
• theme
• counterpoint
• funny
• dum-duh-dum-dum

[Han321654]

So, Steven, would you let me put this up on my Celebrating Bach website for original music inspired by or based on Bach's music? It could also go up on Fresh Age Music which is for simillar original classical, neo-baroque... etc. They both are still under some construction.

[smalin]

@Han321654 Sure, go ahead. You might want to check out the latest version (which has a real string quartet, in concert, as opposed to the synthesized brass of this version).

[Rozsaphile]

Two years have gone by, and has anybody bothered to credit the original source? The Dragnet radio and TV music was composed by Walter Schumann, but he derived the famous motif from Miklos Rozsa's 1946 film score for THE KILLERS. Both composers are deceased now, but I'm sure they would have enjoyed this development.

[smalin]

@Rozsaphile Thanks; I've added a reference and a link to the FAQ.

[davkilla101]

Very good job. One question though, is it possible to add trills and mordants into the music animation machine (I'm asking due to seeing the trill at measure 25 if i counted correctly)?

[smalin]

@davkilla101 The animation is generated from a MIDI file; if that file has trills in it, the animation will.

[moffbombadil]

Absolutely fantastic! This sounds like the theme song for a version of "Dragnet" set in Edwardian London, perhaps featuring one of Joe Friday's ancestors as a Chief Inspector in service of His Majesty.

[deadly990]

fantastic.

[davkilla101]

@smalin Ah ok, that's what i wanted to know, it's nice that the animation is able to do that.

[cultwho]

I wish there was an option for Youtube settings to be so that videos did not autoplay (where you have to click play after a page loads) I accidentally had two tabs running and it sounded cool at first (as if it were a spiritually moving song) but then I thought a heard god saying to me "Fugue!" and I was sad. Luckily I realized that one tab playing does not say Fugue to me, but multi tab players sometimes do

[Anathiron]

in the first bar there's a rest missing. there should be 3 quarter notes, but there are just 2 (sorry for the bad english, my "musical english" is very poor xD)