Crystal Music: Gem Musical Motifs
Each Gem in Steven Universe possesses a certain musical motif that plays during certain parts of the show. When Gems fuse, their musical motifs merge into a completely different genre of music. We’re going to look at each one in detail today. Since we’ve only seen detailed dances from the Crystal Gems, only there dance motifs will be looked at. When “Cry for Help” reveals Sardonyx in her entirety, I will update this post with her musical motif.
EDIT: Updated Lapis Lazuli’s motif to include her String themes!
EDIT2: Updated many character’s motifs, added pictures to all segments, added Greg, Sour Cream, Lion, Sadie, Ronaldo, Desert Glass, Dogcopter, Sardonyx, and Stevonnie.
NOTE: When selecting a track to listen to, please right-click and select “Open Link in New Tab” so you don’t lose your spot in the post!
Garnet’s Motif: Hip-Hop (Waka Waka) Bass
Garnet’s musical and dance themes are very much centered around hip-hop movement (specifically the Waka Waka style of dancing). Waka Waka is characterized by very thick and bouncy bass tones and robotic movement of the limbs with fluid motions in between dance poses.
Take a listen to some of Garnet’s tracks. Here’s “Future Vision” from the official Steven Universe OST. Note that very present bass and “funky flow” of the tracks.
Pearl’s Motif: Classical and Swing Piano
Although Pearl has been shown playing the violin, her main musical motif is a piano played both classically and in the swing style. Both styles are played at a slow tempo in the show (around 90 to 110 BPM, depending on the song), giving Pearl an elegant, classy musical feel. Her dance theme, fittingly enough, is classical ballet as evidenced by her propensity to strike graceful poses both during fusion dances and combat.
Give one of Pearl’s most important themes, “Pearl’s Room”, a listen. Take note of the transition from classic piano to swing piano at the 0:11 mark. During this scene, Pearl is performing swan-like ballet poses in the privacy of her room, matching the grace and form of the piano.
Amethyst’s Motif: On-The-Floor Drum Beats (On-Time and Off-Time)
Amethyst’s motif consists primarily of drum beats that can either follow a time signature or occur erratically and randomly depending on the song. Amethyst’s reckless party-girl attitude is reflected both in her energetic drum motif and her simplistic club-like dancing style. Amethyst’s musical motif also utilizes strike and sting samples erratically (think 90s era music or, more recently, Splatoon)
Here’s one of the more fun musical themes, “Gimme Gimme”, heard when Amethyst is chasing Steven down to eat his Together Breakfast. The use of loud drum beats and sting samples can clearly be heard as she tries to get her hands on those panned cakes.
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