defying gravity (last q)

Question 1

Composer and piece

Answer 1

• Music Theatre inegreates dialogue acting and dance

- she sings about how she wants to defy the restrictions she has put on herself.

Question 2

Performing forces

Answer 2

• is a duet, with some spoken dialogue
• uses a large orchestra, woodwind, brass, string, harp, 3 keyboards.
• Percussion: tubular bells, timpani, drum kit
• Electric guitars use overdrive to modernise song

Question 3

Solo effects

Answer 3

• Brass section plays homophonic chordal music in a fanfare-like manner, e.g bar 20
• Strings use tremolo effect to add tension e.g bar 34
• closed hi-hat of the drum kit plays constant crotchet rhythms to add rhythmic momentum (bar 51)
• tubular bells give ethereal sonority

Question 4

Melody

Answer 4

• The text setting is syllabic throughout with rhythms moving in a speech-like manner.
• There is vocalisation at the end in bar 175 to the word ‘aah’.
• The melody starts in a conjunct/stepwise manner.
• Bars 6 and 7 show an ascending sequence.
• The verse and chorus combine conjunct and wide angular leaps in the melodic line.
• Leaps often feature a rising perfect fifth (e.g. bar 34). There are some exceptionally large
  leaps such as a compound perfect fourth (e.g. bars 39–40) and a compound perfect fifth
  (e.g. bars 140–141).

Question 5

Texture

Answer 5

• The opening shows a sparse texture with punctuating instrumental chord stabs (e.g. bar 1)
• with some monophonic unaccompanied bars (e.g. bar 3).
• In the verses there is a melody and accompaniment or melody-dominated homophony
  texture where the singer is accompanied by chords in the orchestra.
• There are homophonic chordal moments (e.g. bar 132).
• Ostinato accompaniment at bar 88 with repeated semiquavers.
• Elphaba and Glinda usually sing separately but sometimes sing together in unison (e.g. bar
  101) or in harmony such as thirds (e.g. bar 127).
• The ending is contrapuntal with three different musical ideas with different lyrics (e.g. bar
  168).
  Tonality
• In the opening the tonality is ambiguous with chromatic movement and unrelated chord
  progressions.
• It is in D major.
• At bar 20 it is in B major for two bars before arriving in F major at bar 22. At bar 32 it arrives
  in the tonic key of D major for the verse. It remains in D major until bar 88 when it moves to
• G major. In bar 103 it returns to D major. At bar 115 it returns to the chromatic melody of the
  opening. At bar 132 it returns to the tonic key of D major. For the final Maestoso section, bar
  168 it is in B minor until we finish on a chord of D major.

Question 6

Structure

Answer 6

distinct verse chorus form

- defined by tempo and contrasting moods

Question 7

Harmony

Answer 7

• Chords are in root position.
• Chord progressions are often unrelated and in the opening we can see shifts downwards in
  parallel semitones. For example, a D chord to a C♯ minor chord to a C major chord.
• There is some use of dissonance (e.g. bar 30).
• At the end there is a pedal at bar 168.

Question 8

Tempo, metre and rhythm (tempo bar changes)

Answer 8

Bar 1 Free tempo
Bar 20 Andante
Bar 49 Allegro
Bar 88 Moderato
Bar 103 Allegro
Bar 111 Andante
Bar 129 Allegro
Bar 162 Andante
Bar 168 Maestoso

Question 9

Tempo, metre and rhythm (tempo details)

Answer 9

• rallentandos used particularly at the end of sections to go from Allegro to
• Andante. Sometimes there are ralls followed by an “a tempo.”
• There is also a rall used at the
  end of the piece.
• The time signature changes from 3/2 triple time to 2/2 duple time in the opening section
  and remains there until bar 88 where it changes to 4/4 quadruple time.
• At bar 115 it returns to 2/2 duple time.

Question 10

Rhythm

Answer 10

• Syncopation is frequent throughout (e.g. bars 67–70).
• Dotted rhythms are used throughout. For example, in bar 82 on the word ‘gra-vi-ty’.
• Triplets are used. These are both quaver triplets (e.g. bar 96) and crotchet triplets (e.g. bar
  60).
• Rhythms are predominantly crotchet and quaver based, although there are some notes of
  longer duration particularly at the ends of phrases.
• Rests are often used to break up phrases.
• Each phrase starts with an off-beat entry after a crotchet rest (e.g. bar 15).
• Pause marks or fermatas are used to lengthen and give freedom to longer rhythms, for
  example at the end (e.g. bars 174 and 176).