Rodgers Favourite Things Flashcards
(18 cards)
Context
Mother Abbess and protagonist Maria. Song from both’s childhoods- children’s song. Think about things that make you happy when you are sad.
General info: (phrase) structure, metre/tempo, instruments, key, common features.
-Modified strophic form structure
-3/4
-‘con moto’- upbeat
-strings, harp, woodwind accomp
-homophonic (accomp mainly chords)
-mostly syllabic
-Starts E minor, moves to major keys.
-E key- love
-Verses in binary form
Sections you are doing
Intro, V1, V3, Ch1, Key changes for Mother Abbess, duet
Intro
-4 bars
-piano (gentle children’s song)
-accomp tonic (E minor) stacc chord 1st beat of every other bar. Strings pizz. (w.p raindrops)
‘Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens’
-V1 first part of A section
-4-bar phrase
-accomp root position tonic Em chords (first beat of every other bar)- simple, sparse homophonic texture.
-Melody only 1, 2, 5 of scale (E, B, F#)- simple, children’s song.
-‘raindrops’ rising p5- cheery
-‘on roses’, ‘and whiskers’ 2 p4s- happy thoughts
-‘roses’, ‘Kittens’ F# appogg- expressive dissonance (emotions)
‘bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens’
-V1 other part of A section
-4 bar phrase
-Melody same
-C major 7 chords- happier as melody same but accomp moves to C major (happier, simpler key)- w.p.
-‘bright copper’ p5, w.p, bright
-‘copper’ now mj7 appogg
-‘copper kettles’ p4
-‘kettles’, ‘mittens’ F# appogg
-‘and warm woolen’ 2 p4s, happy
‘brown paper packages tied up with strings’
-V1 1st part of B section
-4 bar phrase
-Chordal accomp, dotted minim every bar now.
-G major but perf cad in C
-Flutes and clarinets join, doubling melody in octaves.
-Harmonic circle 5ths: Am79 to D79 to G9 to C (C mj perfect cad)
-‘brown paper’ p5, Am79 = expressive dissonance- happy mood (w.p)
-‘paper’ B 9th appogg w.p
-‘paper packages’ p4 leap
-‘packages’ E 9th appogg, D79, mj3rd leap (children’s song, w.p)
-‘tied up’ p5 leap = w.p
-‘up’ 9th appogg
-‘tied up with’ G9
-‘with strings’ p5
-‘strings’ dominant, dotted minim = w.p
‘these are a few of my favourite things’ 1
-V1 other part of B section
-4-bar phrase
-rising contour of the phrase helps ‘favourite things’ w.p (uplifting)
-‘these are a few of my favour-‘ G major phrygian scale
-Another harmonic circle of 5ths: G to C to F#1/2dim7 to B79 (G major key but imp cad in Em)
-‘favourite’ F#1/2 dim 7 = w.p, expressive dissonance = happiness.
-‘favourite’ B 11th UA note =w.p
-‘favourite things’ tritone leap = emphasis = w.p
-‘things’ 9-8 sus in accomp (strings, ww, harp) = above.
‘Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes’
-V3 first part of A section
-4 bar phrase
-Melody same as V1 but in Emj now- happier key, still love
-still marked p
-E and E9 chords -simple, ch song
-bassoon V (B) pedal.
-str, harp, ww oom pah pah waltz accomp.
-clarinets G# and B pedal (in 3rds)= drone = folk like = happy = w.p
-‘girls in’ rises p5 = w.p
-‘white dresses’ p4
-‘dresses’ F# 9th appogg = emphasis
-‘blue satin’ p4 = w.p
-‘sashes’ F# 9th appogg
‘snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes’
-V3 second part of A section
-4 bar phrase
-same melody as first part, but we are now in A major (love, V of E mj)
-Amj9 (e.g ‘snowflakes that’) and Amj13 (e.g ‘stay on my’) instead of Cmj7 chords as in V1- love (for ‘snowflakes’)
-bassoon V pedal, E now- plays D# acciaccatura (folk-like light, ch song)
-cls A (tonic) and C# pedal
-still oom pah pah accomp
-‘snowflakes’ rise p5 = w.p
-‘flakes’ 9th (B) w.p
-‘that stay’ = w.p
-‘stay’ 13th appogg
-‘on my’ monotone = w.p ‘stay’
-‘nose’ 9th
-‘nose and’ p4
-‘lashes’ 13th appogg F#
‘silver white winters that melt into springs’
-V3 first part of B section
-4-bar phrase
-same melody as V1
-Gmj
-Harm o 5ths = Am79 D79 G13 C
-flt and tmpt double melody in octaves
-‘silver white’ Am79 = w.p
-‘silver p5’ = w.p
-‘white’ root of chord (Am7) = w.p
-‘winters that’ D79 = w.p
-‘winters’ E 9th appogg
-‘melt into’ Bm = w.p ‘melt’
-‘melt into’ rise p5 = w.p ‘into’
-‘into’ A 7th appogg = w.p
-‘into springs’ fall p5 helps w.p
-‘to’ G13 ‘springs’ C perf cad in Cmj = w.p
‘these are a few of my favourite things’ 2
-V3 second part of B section
-4 bar phrase
-melody still doubled by flts and trmps
-phrase has rising contour = w.p (‘favourite things’)
-harm o 5ths = G to Cmj7 to F#1/2dim7 11 to B7 9 13 = imp cad Em
-‘favourite things’ rises chromatically - w.p (happy)
-‘favourite things’ cresc into chorus = happy
-‘things’ C = highest note yet = w.p, happy
-‘things’ 13th (G) appogg in accomp (B7 9 13 chord)
‘When the dog bites’
-Chorus binary form, start of A
-2 bar phrase
-poco marcato
-cls and strs double melody in thirds
-A section of chorus in Em (minor = w.p)
-stacc crotchets in accomp
-Em chords = w.p
-mf
-homophonic/homorhythm/chordal with accomp
-‘dog bites’ falling 5th = w.p
-‘bites’ accent
‘when the bee stings’
-chorus middle of A
-2 bar phrase
-same down sequence but:
-‘bee stings’ F#1/2dim7 to B79 w.p, imp cad
-‘bee stings’ falling tritone = w.p
-accent ‘stings’
‘When I’m feeling sad’
-chorus end of A
-4 bar phrase
-same, down seq
-Em chord again
-stacc chords
-‘feeling’ falling minor 6th = ‘sad’
-‘feeling sad’ p4 = hope
-‘sad’ oom pah pah ostinato starts again
-‘sad’ Cmj chord and modulation- cheering up with happy thoughts
-‘sad’ flts and cls antiphonal desc Cmj arp
‘I simply remember my favourite things’
-chorus start of B
-4 bar phrase
-‘simply remember my’ cmj chord with repeated #11 accented UAs (F#s)
-‘favourite’ 7th appoggs = w.p (expressive diss)
-‘favourite things’ A7 13 chords = love = w.p
-‘things’= root = important/grounded
‘and then I don’t feel so bad’
-chorus end of B
-‘then I don’t feel’ fast harm rhythm = excitement, imp cad in Gmj
-‘feel’ brass stacc chromatic rise scale f cresc lands on accent chord - cheer up, key now G mj
-‘so’ 13th D 7 13 chord (B)
-‘so bad’ falls 3rd, ch song, w.p
-‘bad’ 13 beats tonic of key (Gmj)
-‘so bad’ G mj perf cad then accomp plays a plagal one as well - cheered up now.
Extra bits
-Mother Abbess then sings same but starts in Fmn.
-afterwards Maria and MA sing chorus again as a coda, this time in Gmn, a tone up from when MA sung it (in Fmn) = tension.
-antiphony:
-‘when the dog bites’ Maria
-‘when the bee stings’ MA
-then unison
