Bernstein: Something’s Coming
Lesson 3
Starter Activity
Learning Objectives: Today I will:
Identify the musical features of Something’s
Coming by exploring the:
• Structure
• Instrumentation and dynamics
• Melody
• Harmony and Tonality
• Rhythm and Metre
• Texture
Structure of ‘Something’s Coming’
• The song does not follow a conventional verse-chorus
structure, but has several musical ideas and sections that
recur. In broad terms, the structure is shown in the table
below:
Part of song
Length
Introduction
Bars 1-3 (bar 3 is repeated ad
lib)
Section A
Bars 4-39
Section B
Bars 40-105
Section B1
Bars 106-140 (shortened
version of B)
Section A1
Bars 141-157 (shortened
version of A)
Outro
Bar 158 is a slow fade out
The Music of West Side Story
The music of WSS was cutting edge when
compared to musical theatre pieces up to this time.
The new elements in this work were:
– The dark theme rooted in violence and tragedy
– The use of long, extended dance scenes to
convey the drama.
– The sophisticated synthesis of jazz and
classical musical idioms.
– The focus on social problems and tensions of
contemporary America.
Instrumentation and Dynamics
• 'Something's Coming' is a song for solo tenor
accompanied by a band made up of woodwind, brass,
percussion and strings.
• To make sure the band doesn't overpower the solo
singer, the accompaniment uses:
-Quiet dynamics
-Soft timbres, such as muted trumpets and pizzicato
strings
-A homophonic texture.
• Listen out for the two techniques used in the
accompaniment to illustrate the words 'The air is
humming': the strings use harmonics (very high notes)
and play tremolo (very quick notes).
Melody
• Melody almost entirely syllabic
• Based on the alternation of 3 main themes
1. The quiet, syncopated opening theme
2. The loud, strident theme in 2/4, first heard at bar 21
3. 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 such things as the words or metre.
Rhythm and Metre
• 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 offbeat chords.
• At the start of the piece, these two parts create
cross rhythms.
Harmony and Tonality
• 'Something's Coming' is in D major.
• There are two contrasting sections in C major.
• There is frequent use of the sharpened fourth and
flattened seventh in both keys (G# and C natural in the D
major sections, and F# and Bb in the C major sections).
• The 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 (C natural
against D major harmonies).
• This is unusual as the note is unresolved and the music
just fades out beneath it. 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.
Texture and Accompaniment
• The texture of the song is homophonic.
There are three main ideas in the
accompaniment:
1. The repeated riff that opens the song
2. The short, mainly syncopated chords
heard in bars 21-26
3. A fast, um-cha accompaniment first
heard at bar 32 for the long note on 'me'.
Close analysis of ‘Something’s
Coming’: Introduction
Bar
numbers
Analysis
1-3
-Breathy and excited mood in the repeated figure
(riff) of the accompaniment. This riff pervades the
song and the melody is used by the singer (Tony).
-D major.
-One in a bar tempo (176 crotchets per minute)
Features of the riff
Tritone
Used in the first
chord.
Syncopation
A ‘push’ on the
third beat of the
bar.
Jazz-inspired
harmony
(augmented 4ths,
added 11th etc.)
Three-note
ostinato bass.
Close analysis of ‘Something’s Coming’: Section A
Bar
numbers
Analysis
4-12
-Piano section
-‘Could be’ + ‘Who knows’ = statements of tonic to dominant
13-20
- Tony sings a melody closely based on the opening riff =
short two-bar phrases (one bar answered by the next)
- ‘Soon as it’ triplet outlines the tritone (G# to D)
-Long crescendo ‘blue’ note (flattened 7th in D major)
21-39
- Fast, loud, recitative like phrase.
-Bar 21- G major 7th chord.
- Word painting- ‘It may come cannon balling down through
the sky....’
- Accents on the weak part of the beat
- Riff in accompaniment (bars 27-30)
- Sustained E on ‘me’ (bar 31) highest note on the piece.
-Accompaniment style changes to oom-pah- straight on
beat rhythms (to contrast with the opening riff)
-Four note minim riff is heard in the middle part (NEW!!)
Close analysis of ‘Something’s Coming’: Section B
Bar numbers
Analysis
40-51
-Based around C major rather than D major and in 2/4 time.
-Tritone is used harmonically from the bass note to the melody
note.
-One-beat accompaniment.
52-72
- Repeated one tone higher at bars 63-73.
- On-beat crotchets add to the strength and conviction that
something is going to happen at the dance that evening.
-Chords used are diatonic to C major but with added notes
from jazz inspired harmony (bars 52-58).
72-105
- Expansive and lyrical section.
-The whole section comprises four long eight-bar phrases.
-Higher melody range.
-Use of triplets- fluid movement.
-Bass plays on-beat quavers.
-Chromatic harmony.
-Full of suspense and mystery.
Close analysis of ‘Something’s
Coming’: Section B1
Bar
numbers
Analysis
106-140
-Music that repeats that start of the lyrical section.
Close analysis of ‘Something’s Coming’:
Section A1
Bar
numbers
Analysis
141-157
-Bernstein changes back to ¾ at bar 141.
-The orchestra plays the one-bar riff.
-The hopeful question of ‘maybe tonight’ at bar 153
sounds the tritone for the last time G# to D as the
long held final voal ‘blue’ not of C natural (flattened
7th) ends the piece in the air, suspended and
unresolved just like Tony’s future.
Close analysis of ‘Something’s
Coming’: Outro
Bar
numbers
Analysis
158
-This is a simple ‘ad lib fade’ bar taking us into the
music for a change of scene (instrumental).
Test your knowledge
1. On which Shakespeare play is West Side Story based?
2. In which year was West Side Story first performed?
a) 1935 (b) 1946 (c) 1957 (d) 1968
3. Name the two different metres used in this song.
4. What unusual interval recurs throughout this song and the rest of West Side
Story?
5. Is the melody largely melismatic or syllabic?
6. What musical term best describes the repeated accompaniment pattern that
opens the song?
7. What two instrumental techniques does Bernstein use to illustrate the words
'The air is humming'?
8. How is the second theme (first heard at bar 21) different to the opening vocal
melody?
9. What musical term is used to describe two conflicting rhythms heard at the same
time?
10. West Side Story was originally written to be performed without amplifying the
voices. In 'Something's Coming', how does Bernstein ensure the instruments
do not drown out the voice?
11. What is the texture of this song?
(a) homophonic (b) monophonic (c) polyphonic
12. How does Bernstein create a sense of expectation at the end of the song?
Homework:
Listen to Something’s Coming by
Bernstein and think about the following
aspects:
Instrumentation/timbre, harmony,
rhythm, texture, structure, melody
You will answer a listening question
and an essay question on this set
work in the next lesson.
Be wise, be prepared!!
PLENARY – SELF ASSESSMENT
KEY WORDS – Melody, Rhythm, Metre, Harmony,
Tonality, Instrumentation, Structure
I can identify tritones, cross rhythms and push
rhythms
I can explain a blues scale and know how
“blue” notes are used in Something’s Coming
I can describe other musical features such as
dynamics, articulation, melody and harmony in
Something’s Coming
I can talk about Bernstein and musicals
intelligently