How does this work? I asked o3 to evaluate the composition of Crockett's Theme (Miami Vice) and it gives me a super-technical analysis that I don't think exists on the web. Do you think it reads notes and correlates that with what texts say about them? But that doesn't account for all the electronic effects.
The piece sits principally in D-minor, yet it never locks into a conventional diatonic loop; Hammer slips in modal colour through Aeolian inflections and strategic use of the major IV chord, which momentarily lifts the mood before sliding back into brooding minor territory. Rhythmically the track moves at roughly 96 BPM, slow enough to suggest introspection but propelled by an understated LinnDrum pattern and syncopated hi-hat ticks that keep the pulse restless—a perfect analogue for Sonny Crockett’s poised but permanently on-edge persona. The melodic voice is a portamento-laden lead generated from a Moog‐derived patch that glides between notes rather than articulating them, an electronic approximation of fretless bass phrasing. Because Hammer doubles the lead at the octave with a brighter, nearly bell-like timbre, each note blooms with a halo of overtones; that shimmer is what lets a line with very few actual pitches carry so much emotional weight. Underneath, sustained JX-8P and Oberheim pad chords move in slow inversions, creating a vertical cushion that is harmonically stable yet sonically evolving thanks to subtle filter sweeps tied to velocity. The result is a continuum in which nothing is static: every held chord breathes, every repeat of the main phrase acquires a slightly altered envelope, conjuring an aural image of neon reflections rippling on water. What distinguishes the composition from countless other mid-eighties synth pieces is its mastery of restraint. Hammer never clutters the spectrum; each new layer—whether it is the delayed marimba motif in the bridge or the reversed cymbal swell that ushers in the final chorus—arrives only after the ear has fully digested the prior texture. Because the arrangement parcels new information at cinematic intervals, the track maintains narrative suspense in strictly musical terms, independent of the visuals it originally accompanied. Etc........