Assassin's Creed: Revelations - Chase Music Analysis

I decided my next task in gaining a better understanding of the Assassin's Creed: Revelations soundtrack was to take a very in-depth look at some of the chase music. It's not terribly complicated, but I didn't let that stop me from doing something a little excessive; I mapped out an entire track in Excel. Insane? Probably.

Here's the track I used (which is fantastic):

And here's my map, so you can follow along:

Here's why I did this: Chase music is all about texture. At some point, it's dense (there's a lot going on), and suddenly it's all open (very few instruments playing). It never does the same thing for too long, even though there are some elements that are almost always present, and carry on throughout the near entirety of the track. So this Excel sheet maps out what instruments are playing, and when, so you can see how it works.

But it also illustrates the four major components of AC:R's chase music.
1. Percussion
Obviously, there's a lot of it, and it's varied in order to maintain interest. It's a mix of taiko/Godzilla drums, ethnic instruments, and electronic drum sounds. Look how much of it there is! But notice that only a small portion of it is playing for very long, besides the hi-hat and pulse elements (they're special). Sometimes the percussion is used melodically, but only in very limited ranges (like halfsteps). This track doesn't do this, but others do, and it's pretty cool.
2. Melodic Elements
These are actually very sparse. Any melodies are very slow, and very subtle. These are usually strings, maybe horns or ethnic instruments, and occasionally gregorian vocals (because, you know, Templars). You know what's nice about this map I made? You can actually see the counterpoint in the melody elements. Look how they trade off throughout the first half of the track!
3. Chordal Elements
I'm talking about the low strings, rhythmic strings, harps, guitars, and instruments that suggest chords. These are usually synched up with the percussion, and are pulsating/rhythmic rather than held out. But notice that there really isn't much of a chord progression, here. It's very static. That's important.
4. Weird Stuff
Nonsense singing, shouts, atmospheric effects, strange metal noises and whatnot. It adds a "what the hell was that?" factor. It's a hook to catch your interest and keep you in to the track, and add individuality.

So it's all laid out for you up above, but here's a few other things to take note of:

• These texture changes, where instruments drop out and new ones come in, they aren't gradual. They're very sudden, very punctuated. 
• To me, the most interesting part of this track is at 1:41. The composer's really trying to throw you off your timing, which is a really neat thing to do considering what the track is being used for. Go ahead, try to keep your timing through that part. It's actually pretty tough, but it keeps you interested, right?
• Also look at how measures are grouped. 3 measures, then 4, then 2, then 8, then 12.75, then 12 (4 + 8 or 8 +4?), then 8 (and the melody suggests subdivisions of 3 + 2 + 3 ). Basically, it's not 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 the whole time, like nearly all songs on the radio are.
• Did you notice the even larger groups? It seems like there's 4. Segment 1 (up to 1:00) is melodic, and building. Segment 2 (up to 2:16) is nearly all percussion. Segment 3 (up to 2:44) is more chordal. Segment 4 (to the end) is all weird junk. Hey, doesn't that sound familiar? Oh yeah, it's the same 4 components I outlined above! Neat how they each seem to get their own little segment in the track, huh?

I have one other little tip, but I'm not going to share it just yet. Mainly because I have to see if it actually works or not, so when you see some more Assassin's Creed style chase music from me, I'll let you know.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the read, and maybe even learned something. Stay tuned for some more new music this Friday from the Sagramore OST!