# Star Wars: Is the Imperial March the actual in-universe anthem of the Empire? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488 "2019-02-13T19:05:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488/1 "2019-02-13T19:05:18Z")
I would have said no, but in the Movie “Solo”, he watches an Imperial recruitment commercial, and something that sounds not-quite-but-pretty-close to the Imperial March, is playing in the background. Of course, this assumes that brass and string orchestras exist in the Star Wars universe, which I don’t think is an unreasonable assumption. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488/2 "2019-02-13T23:37:08Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > I would have said no, but in the Movie “Solo”, he watches an Imperial recruitment commercial, and something that sounds not-quite-but-pretty-close to the Imperial March, is playing in the background. > > Of course, this assumes that brass and string orchestras exist in the Star Wars universe, which I don’t think is an unreasonable assumption. It might have been retconned in , i remember battlestar galactica they used the old intro as the anthem which i thought was cool. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2019, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488/3 "2019-02-13T23:56:19Z")
There are many in-joke references like that in _Solo_, some may say too many. They transposed the Imperial March to a major key so it didn’t sound menacing and evil, and instead encouraging and upbeat. My sound system isn’t good enough for me to hear it very well, though, so every time I’ve watched it goes right by me unnoticed. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488/4 "2019-02-14T00:15:08Z")
It was smart to change it to major key, because as it stands (minor) it really screams “WE ARE THE VILLAINS.” Not a good recruitment message at all. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488/5 "2019-02-14T01:16:49Z")
Darth Vader himself screams that, too, though. The opposite problem applies for the Old Republic theme. The music sounds wistful and nostalgic, which is perfect for how it’s used in the original trilogy. But then it got used all over the place in the prequels, when the Old Republic was just The Republic, and it was out of place. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488/6 "2019-02-14T01:27:29Z")
if i remeber in the tie fighter games they made the march sound more upbeat when you heard it ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488/7 "2019-02-14T01:41:00Z")
If you know a little music theory you will find this quite interesting: [Understanding The Imperial March](https://youtu.be/jA36-mQEYwk) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488/8 "2019-02-14T02:36:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Darth Vader himself screams that, too, though. I thought he screamed “Noooooooooooooo!” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488/9 "2019-02-14T05:38:34Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > if i remeber in the tie fighter games they made the march sound more upbeat when you heard it Every song sounds more upbeat when played through a MIDI synthesizer. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2019, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-wars-is-the-imperial-march-the-actual-in-universe-anthem-of-the-empire/829488/10 "2019-02-14T11:22:44Z")
\ It’s not diegetic! \