Bernstein- Something's Coming Flashcards
There are four basic types of songs in musicals: duets, solo character songs, chorus numbers and action songs. Which of these is “Something’s Coming” from “West Side Story”?
A solo character song.
“West Side Story”, like many 50’s musicals, needs a big orchestra. What do the players need to be able to do?
Double up- play more than one instrument.
As well as the usual wind, brass and string sections, what does the orchestra for “West Side Story” include?
Saxophones, piano, electric guitar, mandolin and Celeste. It also uses a lot of percussion, including a police whistle, timpani and a glockenspiel.
In “West Side Story”, which part (SATB) is Tony?
Tenor
How does Bernstein reflect the background of the Puerto Rican gang in “West Side Story”?
He uses Latin American rhythms and instruments (like castanets, a güiro and maracas).
Give an example of a jazz element that Bernstein uses in “West Side Story”.
Blues notes and syncopation.
What is the basic plot behind “Something’s Coming”?
It’s a solo for Tony- he’s imagining a better future for himself, and sings it before he meets Maria. He’s excited about the future, which can be heard in his voice, and the lyrics talk about a ‘miracle’ coming. This could be meeting Maria. It’s dramatic irony, as meeting her leads to his death; “something’s coming” doesn’t necessarily mean “something good”.
“Something’s Coming” is written in 3/4, but sometimes feels as if it’s in 6/8. How is the effect achieved.
In the piano part, the left hand plays three crotchets while the right hand plays quavers as if it’s in 6/8. As the quavers have accents on the first and fourth quavers in the bar, it makes it feel like two dotted crotchet beats in a bar (rather than the three crotchets of 3/4)
In “Something’s Coming”, what are lots of the parts playing rhythmically?
Cross-rhythms.
Much of Tony’s part in “Something’s Coming” feels like it’s in 6/8. What is the effect of the accented offbeats other than making it sound in this time signature?
Like in “could be” and “who knows”, the accented offbeats give a sense of anticipation.
“Something’s Coming” is a fast song, marked ♩=176. What does this quick tempo reflect?
Tony’s excitement.
What at the start of “Something’s Coming” gives this part of the piece a breathless, agitated feeling, suggesting that he’s impatient to leave the gang behind?
Tony starts pianissimo, in a half-whispering style, with quaver rests between words.
What key is “Something’s Coming” in, and what does this hold connotations of?
It’s in D major. As major keys are often used to reflect happy emotions, this shows that (at this point) Tony is excited and looking forward to the future.
What are the three crotchets repeated in the bass parts and the accent quaver pattern in some other parts?
Ostinati; repeated patterns (ostinati is the plural of ostinato)
Bernstein uses tritoes in “West Side Story”. What is a tritone?
A tritone is an interval of two notes that are three tones apart (i.e. F to B). In Medieval music, they were known as the ‘diablos in musica’ (the ‘devil in music’). Composers were banned from using them in church music.
