AOS 2: Musicals And Bernstein - Something's Coming

Question 0

Context of Something’s Coming

Answer 0

A musical is like a play where most of the words are sung rather than spoken.

Was composed in 1957

Based on Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet.

The song something’s coming is Tonys first solo and establishes his optimistic character.

Question 1

Instrumentation, timbre and ensemble of Something’s Coming

Answer 1

An orchestra - pit band ensemble

Soft timbres - 
  muted trumpet
  drums played by brushes 
  pizzicato on bass
  arco and tremolo on violins 

Instruments:
 Tenor male voice
 Clarinet
 Bass clarinet
 Flute
    Trumpet
 Trombone
 Horn
    Violins
 Violas 
 Double bass
 Cello 
    Snare drum / drum kit
 Guitars and pianos?

It’s a song for solo tenor, accompanied by a woodwind, brass, strings and percussion band. To make sure they don’t overpower the voice, the use quiet dynamics, soft timbres and a homophonic texture.

Question 2

Structure of Something’s Coming

Answer 2

Ternary

Intro, A, B, B1, A1, coda

Intro: clarinet riff, no vocals
A: vocals enter
B: om cha on bass
B1: om cha on bass shorter than B
A1: clarinet riff, muted trumpet
Coda: "maybe tonight"

Question 3

Melody of Something’s Coming

Answer 3

Sung by tenor - almost entirely syllabic

It accompanies the story

Melody is in 3 sections:

1) quiet, syncopated opening theme (bars 1-20)
2) loud, strident theme in 2/4 (first heard bar 21)
3) lyrical, slow-moving theme (first heard bar 73)

Word painting:
“Canon balling” (bars 21-22) - quick notes
“Wait” (bar 48) - long note
“The air is humming” - harmonics (high notes) and tremolo (quick notes)

Question 4

Texture of Something’s Coming

Answer 4

Homophonic (melody and accompaniment)

3 main accompaniment ideas:

• repeated riff opens the song
• short, syncopated chords
• fast um-cha accompaniment first heard at the long note on “me”

Question 5

Rhythm, tempo and metre of Something’s Coming

Answer 5

A:
3/4
Fast tempo
Swung rhythm
Syncopation (clarinet riff and vocals)

B:
2/4
Fast tempo
Syncopation
Cross rhythm (and at start of piece)

The changes in metre, fast tempo and frequent syncopation maintain a feeling of excitement and anticipation.

Question 6

Tonality and harmony of Something’s Coming

Answer 6

A: D major
B: C major

Frequent use of the sharpened forth and flattened seventh in both keys (G# and C in D sections and F# and Bb in the C section).

The sharpened forth sharpened forth creates the interval of a tritons with the key note, creating an unsettling feeling.

The harmony is tonal and jazz-influenced with frequent 7th chords and other added note chords.

The tenor’s last note is a flattened 7th which is unusual as the note is unresolved and the music fades out beneath it, showing Tonys expectation and a feeling of incompletion.

Question 7

Dynamics of Something’s Coming

Answer 7

Intro - piano

A - mezzo forte

‘Cannonball’ forte

Crescendos

Swell

Accented notes, quite punchy