Instruments ‘Something’s Coming’ is a song for the solo tenor accompanied by a band made up of woodwind, brass, percussion and strings.  Requires players to ‘double up’ (play more than one instrument, e.g. clarinet in one song and saxophone in the next, then switch again in other songs).  5 woodwind players, 2 horns, 3 trumpets, 2 trombones, 7 violins, 4 cellos, and 2 double basses. To make sure the band doesn’t overpower the solo singer, the accompaniment uses: Quiet dynamics Soft timbres (muted trumpets and pizzicato [plucked] strings) Homophonic Texture “Something’s Coming’ from West Side Story Bernstein Tonality and Harmony ‘Something’s Coming’ is in D Major. There are two contrasting sections in C Major. In D major – to reflect happy emotions, because at this point Tony is looking forward to the future. There is frequent use of the sharpened fourth and flattened seventh in both keys. Sharpened fourth creates the interval of a tritone with the key note, an interval that acts as a unifying feature throughout West Side Story. The tenor’s last note is a flattened seventh. This is unusual as the note is unresolved and the music just fades out beneath it – creates a feeling of incompletion and fits well with Tony’s sense of expectation. The harmony is tonal and jazz influenced, with frequent 7th chords and other added note chords. Three musical points about this piece that I like: Justify your points and use musical vocabulary. Instrumental Techniques Two techniques are used in the accompaniment to illustrate the words ‘The air is humming’ Strings use harmonics (very high notes) Strings play tremolo (very quick notes) Texture The texture of the song is Homophonic. There are three main ideas in the accompaniment: The repeated riff that opens the song The short, mainly syncopated chords heard in bars 21-26 The fast, um-cha accompaniment first heard at bar 32 for the long note on ‘me’. Structure & Melody The melody is almost entirely syllabic. It is based on the alternation of three main themes: 1. 2. 3. The quiet, syncopated opening theme. The loud, strident theme in 2/4, first heard in bar 21. The lyrical, slow moving theme, first heard at bar 73. These three ideas are alternated a number of times. The repetitions are not exact and Bernstein varies the themes by changing things as the words or metre. Context and Background of ‘Something’s Coming’ West Side Story was composed in 1957. The musical is based on Shakespeare’s famous play Romeo and Juliet. Set in New York, it features two rival teenage gangs, the Jets (American) and the Sharks (Puerto Rican). Tony, the male lead character (Jet) fails in love with Maria (Sharks) and as in the Shakespeare play, their love is doomed. The song ‘Something’s Coming’ is Tony’s first solo, and establishes his optimistic character Three musical points about this piece that I don’t like: Justify your points and use musical vocabulary. Tempo & Rhythm The metre changes between 3/4 and 2/4 These changes of metre, the fast tempo and the frequent syncopation help to maintain a feeling of excitement and anticipation. The accompaniment is largely made up of an on-beat bass part with off beat chords. At the start of the piece, these two parts create cross-rhythms