Elaine Snowden

U-Band Conductor

Unit Study:

Codebreaker by Robert Buckley

Unit 1: Composer

Bob (Robert) Buckley (b.1954-1956)

Bob (Robert) Buckley was born in Brighton, England and now spends most of his time in

Vancouver, Montreal, and Holland. At the age of nine, he took up the piano but preferred a

lighter instrument so instead began to play clarinet. Later on, he also took up the saxophone,

flute, guitar, and five-string banjo. He began composing almost immediately and was successful

enough that at fourteen he toured Europe with the Kitsilano Boys Band.

Buckley was first interested in jazz and the accompanied improvisations but was also

influenced by Stravinsky, Bartok, and Ravel . Interested in becoming an orchestral conductor, he

studied composition, conducting, and arranging at the University of Washington in Seattle. He

also studied electronic music at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Leaving

university, Buckley started working professionally and appeared weekly on the CBC television

series “Let’s Go” as keyboardist, saxophonist, and arranger.

The composer has worn many hats in his lifetime including: composer, arranger,

performer, producer, recording artist, and conductor. Buckley has also been involved in the pop

world having created several albums and hit songs with labels like CBS and A&M. He has

conducted and arranged for artists such as Michael Bublé, Bryan Adams, and Aerosmith.
Another part of his career has included working in film and television for Disney, ABC, FOX,

CBS, and others. The composer has also stepped foot in the live-stage world to compose music

for contemporary dance, musicals, and the Calgary Olympics in 1988. He has composed for the

Canadian Pavilion at the World Expo and for major symphony orchestras where his symphonic

wind band compositions are being performed worldwide. Currently, Buckley lives in Vancouver,

BC with his wife, Marlise McCormick and his concert music is published by Hal Leonard.

Unit 2: Composition

Codebreaker (2013)

Codebreaker is characterized by Robert Buckley as clandestine and cinematic. In his

program notes he says, “The pursuit is on! In the compelling style of classic spy music,

Codebreaker takes you on a clandestine mission in the [world] of intrigue and espionage. With a

cinematic approach, the music portrays a secret agent in a race against time to find the hidden

code and break in before enemy agents hatch their evil plan!”

Unit 3: Historical Perspective

From the 1930s to the end of WWII, British code-breaking developed from a small-scale

specialty into an industry that worked to decode thousands of messages. All in secret. Secret

listeners intercepted coded communication on every continent, listening in on enemy plans and

maneuvers. In addition to this, the efforts of code-breakers lead to the creation of the first

programmable proto-computers—a side-effect of their efforts to obtain a mechanized way of

decoding Nazi messages. So considering how far other technologies have advanced from that

time until today, its reasonable to believe that code-breaking has evolved further as well.
 As far as the genre of spy music goes, it has always followed in the footsteps of popular

spy movies. When thinking of spy music, listeners often tie to it the adjectives “sneaky” and

“suspenseful.” Yet the music is what it is today because of jazz influences, allusions to Calypso,

and surf music from the 60s. However, more recent Bond movies have gone for a more

orchestral and sweeping cinematic sound—which would explain Buckley’s interest in the genre.

Unit 4: Technical Considerations

Codebreaker requires standard instrumentation for a grade 2 piece with the exception of

the less-common Eb Alto Clarinet. There are only brief cues given for Tenor Sax and Baritone

Sax that are written in the Tuba and Baritone parts. And these rhythms are also shared with

Bassoon, and Alto and Bass Clarinet.

As far as range goes, Buckley tends to keep it pretty close together, not requiring a lot of

technical skill in that area. When there are jumps, they’re kept small with the exception of the Bb

Clarinet 1 in measure 2 to 3 when they must play from a D3 to an F4 and the oboe in measure 36

to 37 when they have to play from an Ab4 to and Ab5. Overall, the Bb Clarinet 1 has the most

technically difficult part considering the range and jumps within it. The only notes that some

brass instruments may struggle to reach is the Eb 3 in the Trombones in mm. 83, the D4 in the

Trumpet 1 in the last measure, and the C4 in the F Horn in the last measure.

The Percussion set up is not too difficult if set conveniently. It calls for Closed Hi-Hat,

Bass Drum, and Snare Drum in Percussion 1. Considering the overlap of Bass Drum with both of

those instruments, this part at the very least requires two people because one could play both the

Snare and Hi-Hat if needed as long as the two are close together. Percussion 2 includes

Suspended Cymbal and Bongos and also has overlap that would require two people. The Mallet
Percussion includes Bells and Xylophone. There is no overlap and fairly ample time to switch

between instruments. However, the parts are busy enough that two people could also play this

part. The Timpani part only calls for F1 and B2 and these should be on separate drums (32in and

29in respectively). Also be sure that the B is natural, even though the key signature calls for Bb.

Robert Buckley states in his program notes that if there aren’t enough percussionists to

cover all the parts, the Bongos and Timpani should be prioritized because they are prominently

featured. After them, the Xylophone. Last, the Percussion 1 part could be covered by a drum kit

depending on the percussion set-up. There is also an optional plunger part for the trumpets at

mm. 19-20, 43-44, 47-48, and 67-70.

The only time signature used is 4/4 time and the tempo is constantly a quarter note = 132

with no use of ritardandos or accelerandos.

Because there is a lot of chromatic movement, performers will need to be aware of many

accidentals throughout the piece that may not be typical of a Grade 2 composition.

Unit 5: Stylistic Considerations

Considering the suspenseful nature of typical spy music, it can be assumed that Buckley

included a lot of tension in his piece. The beginning (measures 1 to 13) is all legato and slurred,

keeping the piece smooth and slinky. As the tension begins to rise, the use of staccatos are used

quite heavily by a few instruments while the rest continue to follow slurs. Louder sections are

made more dramatic with the use of accents. And the variety of articulations provide great

contrast from the most extremely soft sections to the most abruptly loud sections. It seems that

the purpose of each articulation is to highlight its opposite in other parts of the composition.
 The dynamic ranges of this piece range from pianissimo to fortissimo. Though pianissimo

is not seen until the end, there are plenty of dramatic hairpin dynamics that grow from piano to

forte or mezzo-forte to fortissimo and back down again throughout the piece. Buckley also uses

forte-pianos and piano subidos for some added shock and abruptness. And just as one saw with

the articulations, the most extreme dynamics were meant to show greater contrast between

sections of the composition. Overall, Codebreaker begins quite softly and ends at fortissimo.

Unit 6: Musical Elements

Melody

The starting melody of Codebreaker is lyrical and uses minor seconds. Right from the

beginning these seconds provide tension. Then as the theme plays out, some accidental concert

Ebs, Abs, and Dbs are included because one of the defining features of the spy music genre is a

minor feeling. Though the piece seems to be written in F major, because of the written

accidentals, there are instances where it feels more like F minor.

Figure 1
Initial melody in the flute part at measure 13 to 16 with the previously-mentioned accidentals.
 Harmony

There is not a lot of just chordal movement in this piece so it seems that the harmony is

more of a countermelody. There is fairly constant movement from the tenor instruments like you

see in mm. 53 in the Tenor Saxophones:

Figure 2
Counter melody in Tenor Sax while Alto Sax plays main melody

This counter melody also works to highlight the minor third against the given key (Bb =

Ab in concert pitch).

Overall, the harmony of this piece works with minor seconds, and a minor mode to

achieve a sneaky feeling for Codebreaker.

Rhythm

The piece is written in 4/4 and for the most part it works just fine to feel the rhythms in

four. There are a few places such as mm. 33-34, and 75 to the end where it can be helpful to feel

the rhythms in 2 because the emphasis lies on beats 1 and 3 of the measures.
Figure 3
Melody in Flute emphasizes beat 1 and Trombone emphasizes beat 3.

Overall, the melodies are pretty straightforward. There are some ties that might be

confusing to come off of on the off-beat but for the wind players everything is on a beat or the

and of a beat. Percussion 2 is the only part with 16th notes. Everyone else has mostly quarter

notes and eighth notes with the occasional dotted-quarter note.

Timbre

Throughout the piece, instruments share lines and motifs with other sections. For

example, Flute and Oboe share lines and rhythms along with Bb Clarinet 1 sometimes. Bb

Clarinet 1 tends to be paired with Eb Alto Sax 1 and 2. When they are not together, Eb Alto Sax

shares parts with Trumpet 1 and 2. Bb Clarinets 2 and 3 tend to be grouped with Eb Alto Clarinet

and Bb Tenor Sax. F Horn seems to go back and forth between the Saxophones and the

Trombones. Baritone also goes back and forth between melodic lines and the low section who is

typically grouped together and includes Bassoon, Baritone Sax., Trombones, and Tuba. For

textural purposes there are places where instruments all play the same part, starting with 1 and

adding addition parts until all are playing the same rhythm, such as in measure 71-74. Another

aspect of spy music is an emphasis on bongo. This is most evident in the penultimate measure

when there is a bongo roll leading up to the last measure.

 Unit 7: Form and Structure

Overall, this composition has a main “A” theme that is developed and reintroduced at the

end of the piece. So, there is a hint of ABA form but rather than ending with the A theme,

Buckley re-references the B theme before closing the piece.

Section: Measure: Event and Scoring:

Introduction mm. 1-4 Soft, lyrical movement in Bb Clarinet 1 and 2, Alto
Clarinet, Tenor Sax., and Baritone which introduces the
minor third. Everyone plays, except Bb Clarinet 1, Alto
Sax, 1 and 2, Trumpets, and Trombone come in mm. 2,
and Flute, Oboe, and F Horn come in mm. 3. The tonal
center is F.
Opening Theme (A) mm. 5-12 Clarinet 1, Alto Saxes, and Trumpets introduce main
motif. Counter-line is found in Clarinets 2 and 3, Alto
Clarinet, Tenor Sax., and Baritone. Percussion is used to
emphasize the melodic rhythm. In mm. 8, Flute, Oboe,
and Bells add to the counter-line. Bassoon, Bass Clarinet,
and Tuba provide a bass line. The tonal center is F.
Development (AꞋ) mm. 13-20 The melodic line remains the same but the staccato
pattern (like previous moving quarter note line) is
introduced by the Alto Saxes and Trumpets in mm. 13-16
before returning to their previous rhythms. Additional
percussion is added for emphasis from Snare Drum,
Timpani, and Xylophone. The tonal center is F.
New Theme (B) mm. 21-32 A new idea is introduced. First, mm1-4 is a build-up
starting with Bassoon, Bass Clarinet, Bari Sax., and
Tuba. Mm. 22 adds Clarinets 2 and 3, Alto Clarinet, Alto
Saxes, Tenor Sax., F Horns, Trombones, and Baritones.
Mm. 23 adds Oboe, and Trumpets. Flutes are the last to
join. After this build-up, there is some syncopations off-
setting strong beats. The tonal center is F.
Cascading Motif mm. 33-40 The two-beat motif from the original theme is passed
from A down from Clarinet 1 to Clarinets 2 and 3, Alto Saxes,
and Trumpets to Bassoon, Alto Clarinet, Tenor Sax., and
Baritone. This motif lands on two eighth notes in the
Bass Clarinet, Bari Sax., and Tuba. Everyone else is
sustaining a concert F or Ab. The tonal center is F.
New Theme (C) mm. 41-52 This new section begins with some syncopation in the
Bassoon, Alto Clarinet, Tenor Sax, and Percussion 2.
Then the staccato pattern from AꞋ comes in before
returning to syncopation. Melodic line is in the Clarinets
the first time then the Flutes are added along with the
 Alto Saxes. In mm 43-44 and 47-48 Trumpets add the
“wah-wah” color. The tonal center is F.
Reiteration (A) mm. 53-60 Though Clarinet 1 does not begin with the melody like
they did previously, the instrumentation is the same at
the first A. The tonal center is F.
Development (AꞋ) mm. 61-70 Just like before, more instruments (Flute, Oboe, and
Clarinets 2 and 3) join the melodic line as the staccato
pattern is played by the alto saxes and the trumpets. This
time, however, the last two measures of the section lead
to the build in mm. 71-74. The tonal center is F.
Build mm. 71-74 The build is made up of the same quarter note movement
from the A section. It starts with Bassoon, Bass Clarinet,
Bari Sax., and Tuba. Then Clarinets 2 and 3, Alto
Clarinet, Alto Saxes, Tenor Sax., F Horn, Trombone, and
Baritone add on. The third group is made up of Oboe and
Trumpets. And the last to join are Flute and Clarinet 1.
The tonal center is F.
Reference to B mm. 75-81 The same rhythm from B that off-sets the beats occurs in
mm. 75-78 before another cascade in mm.79-80 like in
mm. 33-34. An emphasis on a two feel begins in mm. 81.
The tonal center is F.
Closing mm. 82-87 The final six measures begins on a Piano Subido and
everyone is playing. The drama is then built up with a
two measure crescendo to fortissimo and accented eighth
notes. Mm. 86 sort of has a finality to its beat one but the
roll in the bongos keeps the suspense until the real final
note from everyone. The tonal center is F.

Unit 8: Suggested Listening

Alan Silvestri:
Theme from “The Avengers”
Count Basie:
The James Bond Theme (in association with Ron McMaster)
Goldfinger
Kingston Calypso (in association with Ron McMaster)
Robert Buckley:
Cascadia Suite
December
 Front and Center
Let the Bells Ring!
LOL (Laugh Out Loud)
This is My Home
Windjammer
Cascadia Suite
Quincy Jones:
Pink Panther Theme

Unit 9: Additional Resources

Buckley, R. Bob Buckley Productions. Retrieved from: Bobbuckley.com

“The evolution of British code-breaking.” Historyextra. (19 June 2017). Retrieved from:

https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/the-evolution-of-british-code-

breaking/

“What is Spy Music?” Spy Music. Retrieved from: http://www.spy-music.com/what-is-spy-

music/

Written following the example of:

Wimmer, Alexander M. “An examination of contemporary works for wind band and chamber

ensemble: “Night dances for wind ensemble” by Bruce Yurko, “Simple gifts: four Shaker

songs” by Frank Ticheli, and “Octet in E-flat, Op. 103” by Ludwig van Beethoven.”

Open Access Theses and Dissertations. (2014) Retrieved from:

https://oatd.org/oatd/record?record=%22handle%5C%3A2097%2F17576%22&q=Wimm

er%2C%20Alexander%20Minh