A sonogram or spectrogram is a graph that plots the frequency distribution of an audio signal over time.

The graphs below show the distribution of frequencies within a selection of music cues from Star Wars and Return of the Jedi. These sonograms are contained within the Recording the Star Wars Saga document. They are presented here individually and at a higher screen resolution to enable more critical analysis.

It is important to note that these sonograms were generated by sourcing audio material directly from their original compact discs and adjusting for replay gain. No further adjustments have been made. The sonograms are scientific measurements and confirm why certain Star Wars saga music releases sound the way they do.

Happy listening!

Star Wars - original PolyGram 2CD release [157 KB]
Sonogram of the last half of "Ben's Death / TIE Fighter Attack" from the original PolyGram 2CD release.

Star Wars - 4CD Anthology box set release [190 KB]
Sonogram of the last half of "Ben's Death / TIE Fighter Attack" from the 4CD Anthology box set release.
Note high frequency extension well above 15 KHz and up to 20 KHz.

Star Wars - 2CD Special Edition release [178 KB]
Sonogram of the last half of "Ben's Death / TIE Fighter Attack" from the 2CD Special Edition release.
Note lack of high frequency extension above 15 KHz on left channel and smearing between 12 and 14 KHz.

Return of the Jedi - Into the Trap comparison [138 KB]
Sonogram for the right channel of Return of the Jedi's "Into the Trap" adjusted to replay gain.
Left image is sourced from the 4CD box set. Right image is sourced from the 2CD Special Edition issue.
Note the sparseness of upper frequencies above 10 KHz on the 2CD release.

Return of the Jedi - First Ewok Battle comparison [135 KB]
Sonogram for the left channel of Return of the Jedi's "First Ewok Battle" adjusted to replay gain.
Left image is sourced from the 4CD box set. Right image is sourced from the 2CD Special Edition issue.
Note the sparseness of upper frequencies above 10 KHz on the 2CD release.