Musical Analysis #2 of The Top Gun Anthem
Today I will be doing a musical analysis of the Top Gun Anthem and if you have ever watched Top Gun or heard the song you probably know why. Before I give you an analysis of some of its elements, I want to provide a little bit of history on the song. The first thing I learned when I was doing research on the song is it wasn't originally composed for the movie Top Gun. The song was originally composed for the movie Fletch that was released in 1985. The story is that one day while Harold Faltermeyer and Steve Stevens were working on the song, Billy Idol heard the music and said that it should be used as the Anthem for Top Gun. The song was published in 1986 when Top Gun came out, composed by Harold Faltermeyer and Steve Stevens.
Here is a link to a recording of the song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xeQUxNf3G6k
Introduction/Accompaniment
The Anthem starts out with unique synth and bell sound that slowly prepares us for the electric guitar melody that comes in after. The synth and bell sound continues throughout the beginning of the song and accompanies the melody. About halfway through the song the accompaniment is drowned out by the other instruments.
Melody
The Anthem has an amazing melody played by an electric guitar. It repeats until about halfway through the song when it takes a drastic turn. The melody is changes tone almost every time it is played which I think makes it the most unique part of the song. I just think it's awesome and very well organized!
Timbre
As I alluded to above, the timbre of the song changes a lot. Every time the melody is played by the electric guitar the timbre is different. The melody changes between high notes and low notes on the guitar which really brings out a change in sound. There is also an addition of a different instrument, possibly a piano, which also provides an additional change in sound quality. I appreciate how the change in timbre builds up to the guitar solo towards the end.
Form
The overall form or organization of the song and the notes is perfect in my opinion! I really enjoy hearing the continued repeat of the melody throughout the song but I also enjoy the drastic change in repeat of the melody to something totally different about 2/3 through the song. Just over the halfway mark the composers decided to include a different guitar solo that I really didn't expect but the song does slowly build up to it as the melody is repeated in different timbres. The composers also decided to add little bell sections that also build up to the melody. After the different guitar solo the song goes back to repeating the melody like it did before.
Dynamics
In terms of dynamics for this song, it starts out really quiet and then gets louder. It goes from a quiet synth to the piano and the electric guitar which brings out a major change in the volume of the song. This is well suited to the way that the fighter jets are quiet and then get much louder as they get closer.
That is my analysis of five elements of the Top Gun Anthem. Thanks for reading!
Nagy, C. (2023) The top gun anthem edition, The Top Gun Anthem Edition - by Colin Nagy. Available at: https://whyisthisinteresting.substack.com/p/the-top-gun-anthem-edition (Accessed: 22 February 2026).
Rogerson, B. (2022) Harold Faltermeyer’s top gun anthem was originally intended for a Chevy Chase comedy, but then Billy Idol got involved, MusicRadar. Available at: https://www.musicradar.com/news/top-gun-anthem-harold-faltermeyer (Accessed: 22 February 2026).
Hello Benjamin, I really enjoyed your analysis of “Top Gun Anthem.” I agree that the electric guitar melody is the strongest part of the piece and your explanation of how it builds from the quiet synth into something more powerful was well described. I liked how you connected the dynamics to the fighter jets getting louder because that ties the music directly to the film. One thing you could add is a brief mention of harmony or tempo. The sustained synth chords underneath the melody help create that heroic and emotional feeling and the steady pacing adds to the anthem quality.
ReplyDeleteHuge Top Gun fan! I just enjoy jet fighters so much! The song I really like how you described the build from quiet synths and piano to the soaring guitar. It really mirrors the sensation of jets taking off and climbing into the sky. I just get goosebumps every time. I can also play this song on the electric guitar, but I have lots of difficulty with the sweeps in the guitar solo around the 2:50 mark. I enjoyed reading your analysis. Absolute cinema! "No, no, no, no. There's two "Os" in Goose, boys."
ReplyDeleteHello I really enjoyed your video on top gun. I have never seen the movie but I heard it was a great movie. The music was awesome. But I will look into seeing it. Everything is in detailed on the song.
ReplyDeleteHello Benjamin, I am a huge Top Gun fan, I think the movie is so great and I really enjoyed the sequel to it as well. I think its very cool that you wrote your blog on this song. Listening to it just now got me excited thinking about all the times I've watched the movies. I did not know the story about how it was originally composed for a different movie. I don't believe the movie would be the same if this was not the anthem. It encapsulates Top Gun so well. Whenever I hear the guitar solo I think it relates to the rockstar-like, cocky attitude of the Top Gun pilates. It is such an awesome song and movie.
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