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Music Theory through Musical Theatre
Music Theory through Musical Theatre PUTTING IT TOGETHER
John Franceschina
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1 Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries. Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 © Oxford University Press 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Franceschina, John Charles, 1947– Music theory through musical theatre : putting it together / John Franceschina. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978–0–19–999954–5 (hardcover : alk. paper)—ISBN 978–0–19–999955–2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Musical theater—Instruction and study. 2. Music theory. I. Title. MT956.F73 2015 782.1'11—dc23 2014044728
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
CONTENTS About the Companion Website • ix
Introduction • 1 For Teachers • 1 For Students • 6
PART ONE THE LEAD SHEET • 9 1 Basic Concepts for Reading, Writing, and Appreciating Music • 11 Pitch, Staff, Clef, and Ledger Lines • 12 Recognizing Pitches on the Piano Keyboard • 14 Accidentals: Sharps, Flats, and Naturals • 15 Double Sharps and Double Flats • 17 Notes and Rhythm • 17 Augmentation and Diminution • 19 Dots and Ties • 19 Rests • 20 Meter and Time Signature • 21 Simple Time Signatures • 22 Other Simple Time Signatures • 23 Compound Time Signatures • 25 Infrequently Used Time Signatures • 27 Tuplets • 28 Beaming • 29 Syncopation • 29 Musical Terms and Symbols • 35 Pickup Measures • 35 Repeat Signs • 36 Tempo Marks • 36 Articulations • 37 Dynamics • 37 Expression Marks • 37
2 Major and Minor Scales • 39 Major Scales • 39 Key Signatures • 40 Identifying Major Scales • 41 Sight-Singing • 43 Minor Scales • 46 Writing Minor Scales • 47 Identifying Minor Scales • 48 Names of Scale Degrees • 49 The Circle of Fifths • 50 The Harmonic Minor Scale • 51 The Melodic Minor Scale • 52 Singing Minor Scales • 53
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The Major-Minor Scale (Mode Mixture) • 54 Modal Shifts • 55 Performing Major and Minor Scales • 56
3 Modes and Other Scales • 62 Modes • 62 “Minor” Modes • 62 Writing and Singing the “Minor” Modes • 64 The Locrian Mode • 65 “Major” Modes • 66 Writing and Singing the “Major” Modes • 67 Other Scales: Pentatonic, Whole-Tone, and Chromatic • 71
4 Intervals • 75 Perfect Intervals • 75 Identifying the Qualitative Nature of Intervals • 78 Major Intervals • 79 Minor Intervals • 82 Diminished Intervals • 85 Augmented Intervals • 86 The Tritone • 87 Harmonic Intervals • 89 Inversions of Intervals • 90 Compound Intervals • 91 Consonance and Dissonance • 92 Review Quiz • 93 Unit Test 1 • 96
PART TWO THE ARRANGEMENT • 99 5 Triads, Seventh Chords, and Nonharmonic Tones • 101 Harmony with Chords • 102 Chord Tones • 104 Inversions of Chords • 105 Singing Chords • 110 Seventh Chords • 112 Seventh Chord Inversions • 115 Singing Seventh Chords • 115 Nonchord Tones • 121 Neighbor Tones • 121 Passing Tones • 122 Suspensions and Retardations • 123 The Appoggiatura • 124 Escape Tones • 125 The Anticipation • 126 Changing Tones • 127 Pedal Tones • 127 Free Tones • 129
6 Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords • 136 Numbering Chords in Major Scales with Roman Numerals • 136 Numbering Chords in Minor Scales with Roman Numerals • 136
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Numbering Diatonic Seventh Chords with Roman Numerals • 138 Diatonic Chord Accompaniments • 140 Alternating Bass • 142 Chord Functionality • 144 Harmonic Movement • 149 Sight-Reading and Transposition • 150 Major and Minor Sixth Chords • 152 Review Quiz • 156 Unit Test 2 • 161
7 Singing Counterpoint 1 • 165 Counterpoint and Polyphony • 166 Species Counterpoint • 166 First Species Counterpoint • 166 Dramatic Use of First Species Counterpoint • 168 Second Species Counterpoint • 174 Dramatic Use of Second Species Counterpoint • 176
8 Singing Counterpoint 2 • 187 Third Species Counterpoint • 187 Dramatic Use of Third Species Counterpoint • 190 Fourth Species Counterpoint • 195 Dramatic Use of Fourth Species Counterpoint • 197 Fifth Species Counterpoint • 199 Dramatic Use of Fifth Species Counterpoint • 203 Fugue • 208 Review Quiz • 214 Unit Test 3 • 224
9 Chromatically Altered Chords • 234 Secondary Dominants • 235 Secondary Functions of the Leading Tone Chord • 241 Common Tone Diminished Chords • 244 Passing Diminished Chords • 245 Neapolitan and Augmented Sixth Chords • 248 Mode Mixture • 252
10 Song Form and Cadences • 258 Periods, Phrases, and Cadences • 259 The Authentic Cadence • 260 The Half Cadence • 263 The Plagal Cadence • 265 The Deceptive Cadence • 267 “Backdoor” Cadences • 276
11 Modulation and Tonicization • 285 Modulation and Tonicization • 285 Direct Modulation • 286 Secondary Dominant Modulation • 287 Third Relation Modulation • 287 Pivot Tone (Common Tone) Modulation • 289 Common Chord Modulation • 291 Diminished Seventh Chord Modulation • 292
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Augmented Sixth Chord Modulation • 294 Tonicization • 300
12 Upper-Embellished Chords • 313 Ninth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Chords • 313 Dramatic Use of Upper-Embellished Chords • 316 “Sus” and “Add” Chords • 319 Dramatic Use of “Sus” and “Add” Chords • 319 Tone Groups • 325 Vertical (Harmonic) Tone Groups • 325 Horizontal (Melodic) Tone Groups • 327 Review Quiz • 344 Unit Test 4 • 351
PART THREE THE PERFORMANCE • 361 13 Analysis—George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers • 363 Music as Drama in Musical Theatre • 363 “Meadow Serenade” • 364 “Soon” • 368 “A Puzzlement” • 371
14 Analysis—Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim • 376 “What a Waste” • 377 “I Love My Wife” • 383 “Take Care of This House” • 386 “With So Little to Be Sure Of” • 391
15 Analysis—Andrew Lloyd Webber, William Finn, and Jason Robert Brown • 400 “The Beauty Underneath” • 400 “The Baseball Game” • 404 “It’s Hard to Speak My Heart” • 414
Acknowledgments • 419 Alphabetical List of Musical Theatre Examples • 425 Bibliography • 431 Index • 439
ABOUT THE COMPANION WEBSITE www.oup.com/us/musictheorythroughmusicaltheatre Username: Music1 Password: Book5983 Throughout the text of Music Theory through Musical Theatre, the reader will see the symbol, . This symbol refers to the password protected website created by Oxford University Press to provide audio examples that accompany the theory instruction and musical theatre illustrations in the book. Oxford Web Music allows readers to enjoy companion audio images at their computers, listening to their mp3 players, or with any other digital playback device. Readers are encouraged to consult this resource as a means of clarifying points of music theory, developing ear-training, and preparing for assignments. Simply enter username Music1 and password Book5983 and you will access the full experience of Music Theory through Musical Theatre: Putting It Together.
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Introduction
Bit by bit, Beat by beat, Part by part, Phrase by phrase, Chart by chart … —Stephen Sondheim, “Putting It Together” (Barbra Streisand version)
For Teachers When Stephen Sondheim wrote “Art isn’t easy” for the second act of Sunday in the Park with George, he may not have been pondering the curricula of musical theatre programs in colleges and universities throughout the United States, but the sentiment certainly applies. As the website of one popular program proudly announces: “Musical theater is one of the most exciting and demanding professions of the performing arts. As a musical theater performer, you must possess strong technical skills in acting, voice, music, and dance with the ability to integrate these skills with ease, honesty, expressiveness, and versatility” (http://vpa.syr.edu/drama/ undergraduate/musical-theater). In college programs, Broadway hopefuls are generally expected to excel in four years of dance, acting, and voice classes—all of which are designed to steer students toward becoming “triple threats” in professional performance. In addition, musical theatre requirements typically include a proficiency in piano performance, a variety of liberal arts courses, and, finally, the ever dreaded requirement that invariably involves ear-training and sight-singing: music theory. The study of Western music theory, a staple of music school education, quickly became the bête noire of musical theatre students who argued that analyzing Bach and Buxtehude and writing interminable figured-bass exercises had little to do with their performance work. Attempts to persuade them of the similarities between figured-bass and modern lead sheets, and between Bach’s harmonization and that of contemporary popular music—not to mention Bach’s influence on jazz, scatting, and rap music—typically went unheeded by musical theatre students who continued to feel disenfranchised by music theory syllabi. Even when sight-singing workbooks began to include popular material, rarely did that material represent musical theatre examples, and rarer still was the opportunity presented for students to analyze musical theatre literature in terms of music theory. Performance classes enabled students to deconstruct musical theatre songs from a dramatic and performative perspective, but few and far between were the discussions of how the musical structure of a song and the harmonic and rhythmic configurations of the accompaniment contributed to the dramatic entity of performance. Music and words are not simply dead things to be brought to life by performers. The value and liveliness of words is emphasized in acting and musical theatre performance classes, but,
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too often, in emphasizing the lyrics of a song, the music is disregarded, or treated merely as a subordinate or servant of the words without a life of its own. Students are told to “forget about the music” and to “speak the lyrics” without regard for how or why a particular musical phrase was written, and the result is often a confrontation between dramatic intent and musical necessity—a conflict that could easily have been avoided had the student and teacher explored the dramatic intent inherent in the actual composition of the song. There is little doubt that music theory is essential for musical theatre performers. Like dance classes that teach not only a mastery of certain steps but also a terminology and the ability to understand and quickly pick up choreography, music theory enables performers not only to master the language of music, its notation, vocabulary, and rules of harmony, but also to sight-read lead sheets and choral parts. Choreographers do not expect to have to teach their dancers how to dance; neither do musical directors expect to have to teach cast members how to read music or learn choral parts. Moreover, beyond the fundamental learning of the musical notes of a musical theatre role, music theory equips the performer to find the drama inherent in the musicality of the notes through an understanding of musical structure and shape. The theory of music’s inherent dramatic potential was developed in ancient Greece and rooted in the Pythagorean principle that because music was a system of sound and rhythm governed by the same mathematical laws that govern the whole of creation, it could actually affect what happens in the universe. In his Politics (1340 a14–b19), fourth-century philosopher Aristotle argued that music had an immediate effect on the behavior of human beings: In mere melodies there is an imitation of character, for the musical modes differ essentially from one another, and those who hear them are differently affected by each. Some of them make men sad and grave, … others enfeeble the mind … , others, again, produce a moderate and settled temper … ; the Phrygian inspires enthusiasm… . The same principles apply to rhythms: some have a character of rest, others of motion, and of these latter again, some have a more vulgar, others a nobler movement. Enough has been said to show that music has a power of forming the character, and should therefore be introduced into the education of the young. (Comotti 1991, 138) Even though twenty-first-century theorists may certainly dispute the power of music to affect a person’s moral character, there is no debate over music’s ability to convey mood or emotion, pace, or rhythm. Often the conveyance is through a learned response: for example, John Williams’s repeated two-note shark motif in Jaws immediately connects the listener to the film; and certain harmonic progressions and rhythms (I-vi-IV-V7 played in triplets) lead the ear back to the 1960s and the gaggle of Beach Blanket films. In many cases, however, the response appears to be innate, as Laurence O’Donnell suggests in his essay, “Music and the Brain”: An Australian physician and psychiatrist, Dr. John Diamond, found a direct link between muscle strength/weakness and music. He discovered that all of the muscles in the entire body go weak when subjected to the “stopped anapestic beat” of music from hard rock musicians, including Led Zeppelin, Alice Cooper, Queen, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, and The Band… . In addition to harmful, irregular beats in rock music, shrill frequencies prove to also be harmful to the body… . Dr. Earl W. Flosdorf and Dr. Leslie A. Chambers showed that proteins in a liquid medium were coagulated when subjected to piercing high-pitched sounds. Tests on the effects of music on living organisms besides humans have shown that special pieces of music (including The Blue Danube) aid hens in laying more eggs. Music can also help cows to yield more milk…. Rats were tested by psychologists to see how they would react to Bach’s music and rock music. The rats were placed into two different boxes. Rock music was played in one of the boxes while Bach’s music was played in the other box. The rats could choose to switch boxes through a tunnel that connected both boxes. Almost all of the rats chose to go into the box with the Bach music even after the type of music was switched from one box to the other. (www.cerebromente.org.br/n15/mente/musica.html)
Introduction
Although the necessity of a theoretical training in music is undisputed by students, the methods of such training continue to be a subject of unrest due to the lack of a curriculum entirely devoted to musical theatre literature. Even when musical theatre examples are employed in place of Mozart or Schubert, musical theatre students often find the study of Western music theory—particularly in a class filled with music majors—to be beyond their needs (and often beyond their learning curve). Because all of the other courses in their discipline appear to be geared specifically toward their professional goals, it is not unreasonable for musical theatre students to expect a music theory curriculum to serve their special needs—particularly given the cost of degree programs in the twenty-first century. Music Theory through Musical Theatre: Putting It Together addresses the fundamental concerns of musical theatre students by offering a new approach to music theory: a music theory by way of musical theatre. Not simply a traditional music theory text using musical theatre examples, this book tackles the theoretical foundations of musical theatre and musical theatre literature with an emphasis on what students will need to know in preparation for a professional career. There is a consensus among musical theatre educators that students must have an understanding of the language of music in order to appreciate and analyze the dramatic component that music contributes to an individual song or scene—an essential first step in performing musical theatre literature. Such an understanding invariably involves the ability to read and place notes and rests on the staff, understand rhythms and key signatures, and have a general awareness of the melodic shape of phrases and tonal relationships. In addition, an appreciation of the conventions of harmony is a necessary element in the analysis of the composer’s (and arranger’s) contribution to the musical theatre fabric—part of the essential understanding of how background accompaniment functions dramatically in performance. Citing Lawrence Thelan’s book of theatrical interviews, The Show Makers, John Bell and Steven R. Chicurel argue in their book, Music Theory for Musical Theatre, that sight-reading (what they call “the ability to read music”) is not a key requirement for music theatre professionals, given the fact that innumerable directors and stars (Jerome Robbins and Ethel Merman, come immediately to mind) could not read music (Bell and Chicurel 2008, xii). Trude Rittmann, dance arranger for dozens of Broadway musicals during the “Golden Age,” told me that her working with Jerome Robbins on The King and I was often an unpleasant experience. I asked her if he was a difficult man to work with. Trude replied that his personality wasn’t the issue. “The problem was that he couldn’t read music. He had to hear it over and over again to understand it and get it into his body. I told him that he could make life a lot easier for himself and everyone else if he took a music lesson or two.” Her story brings to mind director/choreographer Julian Mitchell who had an illustrious Broadway career in spite of the fact that he was legally deaf. Not only did he not read music, he did not even hear it. Instead, like Helen Keller, he placed his hand on top of the piano and “listened” to music by feeling the vibrations. Although the ability to sight-read with perfect pitch may not be a necessary skill, in this age of expertly trained professionals, it has been my experience working as a musical director in New York City and on national tours that when faced with two singers of equal vocal quality, the better reader will invariably get cast. Just as a choreographer will hire dancers who can pick up steps quickly, a musical director will hire performers who can read the notes right off the page. There simply isn’t the time to spend teaching notes. In fact, when faced with performers who cannot read their parts, most conductors tell them to pay coaches to teach them the material. Given the expense of hiring a coach in New York City, even a cursory knowledge of sight-reading would seem to be time well spent in preparation for a Broadway career. Music Theory through Musical Theater is divided into three sections. The first four units comprise The Lead Sheet, an introductory study of notes, rests, rhythm, time signatures, musical terms and symbols, scales, key signatures, modes, enharmonic notation, and intervals—all of the fundamental building blocks of a musical theatre lead sheet, the written melody not necessarily embellished by harmony or rhythmic figurations (see, for example, the rehearsal vocal books of musicals). Each unit supports the theoretical elements with two kinds of examples: printed segments of musical theatre songs illustrating particular points of musical theory, and textual citations suggesting other study material from musical theatre literature. The
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textual citations are designed to introduce students to more obscure musical works in the hope of expanding their knowledge of musical theatre literature. Students are encouraged to perform the point of theory in each example and to discover even more illustrations on their own. Each unit is also supported by written and oral exercises designed to help the student master reading, writing, and sight-singing music. In musical theatre performance, the melody of the lead sheet is invariably embellished with harmonic and rhythmic figurations that often include counter-melodies or motifs that add interest and contribute to the dramatic nature of the original tune. The next eight units analyze the embellishment of the musical theatre lead sheet and constitute the section entitled The Arrangement. In this segment, students will examine the harmonization of musical theatre literature, beginning with simple triads and moving on to compound ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords. Along the way, students will explore chordal inversion and a Roman numeral system of harmonic identification that will enable them to recognize and analyze more easily written harmonic structures and assist them when the inevitable need for transposition arises. In addition, students will discover the ubiquitous use of counterpoint in musical theatre literature, and through the exercises and examples of musical theatre songs, they will develop an understanding of contrapuntal patterns that will support them in choral ensemble singing, as well as in their analysis and performance of individual musical theatre works. As in the first section, musical theatre illustrations are presented in printed music and referenced in the text. Sight-singing and written exercises are also provided to track students’ progress. A series of Review Quizzes and Unit Tests—four in all—interrupt the text at various points throughout the book and provide students with the opportunity of reviewing material and putting their knowledge into practice. Each unit test has a written and an aural component, and students will be asked to analyze and sight-sing brief examples of musical theatre literature, with degrees of difficulty developing throughout the four tests. Once the lead sheet has been given an arrangement, the next step is The Performance, the third section of the book which is devoted entirely to analysis of representative musical theatre composers. Beginning early in the twentieth century with George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers, the list continues with Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, and ends with Andrew Lloyd Webber, William Finn, and Jason Robert Brown. Admittedly the list is not exhaustive and a great many important composers are omitted; but a studied analysis of selections from groundbreaking musicals as diverse as Strike Up the Band, The King and I, Wonderful Town, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Anyone Can Whistle, Love Never Dies, Falsettos, and Parade will provide students with the tools for analyzing other musical theatre works. In the preparation of this book, the author’s research and analysis have been guided by the work of Konstantin Stanislavski (An Actor Prepares, Building a Character, The Method of Physical Action), Scott McMillin (The Musical as Drama), Alec Wilder (American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900–1950), Lehman Engel (The American Musical Theatre: A Consideration, Words and Music), Joseph Swain (The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey), Geoffrey Block (Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber), Stephen Banfield (Sondheim’s Broadway Musicals), and Stephen Suskin (Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers). It is the author’s hope that instructors and students will find these sources useful tools as well. As preparation for performance, the musical-theatrical analysis sections of the book will take the following approach: 1. Examination of the dramatic context in which the musical event is placed; 2. Exploration of the harmonic and rhythmic contours of the musical event, and a determination of how those contours relate to the dramatic context; 3. Investigation into the structure and tonal shape of the sung melody, and their justification in terms of the dramatic situation; 4. Examination of the lyrics, and their interpretation in terms of the dramatic context;
Introduction
5. Analysis of how the musical event and lyrics work symbiotically: how an interpretation (or inflection) of the lyrics coincides with the melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic contours; 6. Determination of how the musical event assists in the interpretation and performance of the lyrics; how the lyrics assist in the vocal performance of the song. Although the analyses are rooted in a Stanislavski-based system of scene study, the focus of a music theory text, even one devoted to the study of musical theatre literature, must be on the music. Admittedly, this is an unusual approach since most musical theatre performance classes begin with the lyric and concentrate primarily on its function within the dramatic context. Cursory insights might materialize explaining how the sound of the music can assist in the performance of the lyric, but the center of attention is clearly on the words, reducing the music Cinderella-like to servant status. This method is problematic since the musical event is such a powerful force in communicating dramatic mood and energy that it must assume an equal place with the lyrics in any serious study of musical theatre literature. And since, typically in a musical scene, the first sound that is heard is that of music bridging spoken words into sung lyrics, it is important to investigate the sounds that set up the lyrics before studying the lyrics themselves since the musical event will provide insight to their interpretation. Musical theatre curricula vary in the number of semesters devoted to the study of music theory, and Music Theory through Musical Theatre is designed to meet the challenges of multi-semester course work by means of a carefully graded progression of topics ranging from the most rudimentary elements to complex musical theatre analysis. In a four-semester theory rotation, for example, the first semester might cover Units 1–4 in the book: subjects that include musical notation, rhythm, syncopation, scales, modes, intervals, and sight-singing. The second semester could be devoted to diatonic harmony, triads, seventh chords, nonchord tones, and the numbering of harmonic progressions, Units 5–6. The third semester may begin with a study of counterpoint (Units 7–8) and move on to chromatically altered chords (Unit 9), song form and cadences (Unit 10), and modulation and tonicization (Unit 11). The final semester would cover upper-embellished chords and tone groups (Unit 12) and devote most of the term to musical theatre analysis (Units 13–15). The ear-training and sight-singing components in Music Theory through Musical Theatre are designed to correlate with any ear-training requirements in the musical theatre curriculum and to assist students in thinking critically and analytically about the notes on a page and associating them with specific points of musical theory (not to mention helping them become better sight-readers and musically intelligent performers). Likewise, the exercises in the book that require the use of a keyboard are designed to interact with any keyboard classes required in the musical theatre curriculum. The cross-curricular aspect of Music Theory through Musical Theatre is an important vehicle through which students can better understand the intersection of the different musical elements that constitute a serious training in the musical theatre. Just as in actor training—where it is not enough to rattle off a speech; one must know what the words are doing—it is not enough to sight-sing pitches without understanding what the music means. In addition, the focus on performance and acting technique in Music Theory through Musical Theatre suggests the utility of the book in a musical theatre curriculum beyond its function as a theory textbook. It could easily serve as a reference book for undergraduate and graduate performance classes in which students are asked to integrate what they have learned in their acting, movement, sight-singing, and music theory classes into a finely honed analysis of musical theatre scenes and/or individual numbers. Moreover, the book may well serve as a reference work in a theatre history class because of its analyses of the changes in melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic musical styles in musical theatre literature over the past hundred years. Understanding how the sound has changed and developed from era to era is an integral part of the study of musical theatre history.
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Pembroke Davenport, one of Cole Porter’s highly regarded musical directors, once remarked that Broadway is all about talent and technique. Those with only a modicum of talent can often disguise their shortcomings through superior technique, while those with extraordinary talent often get away with having poor technique. Those who manage to get hired for show after show, he suggested, are those who possess both an exceptional talent and an outstanding technique. It comes as no surprise, then, that preparing for a career in musical theatre performance requires an adeptness in a variety of disciplines, not the least of which—though perhaps, for some, the most onerous—is Western music theory, the arithmetical language that governs the writing and reading of all musical theatre literature. Music theory always follows performance practice, and, like the other disciplines—singing, acting, dancing—which are all proactive studies in which learning is doing and progress is measured by performance, not only by written tests, Music Theory through Musical Theatre is music theory through the practice of musical theatre. Every point of pedagogy in the book is connected to the understanding and performance of musical theatre literature. Designed to provide the beginning student with the fundamental tools of music theory and diatonic harmony, the book also assists in the development of analytical skills, with which students can appreciate the structure of songs and musical theatre scores. In addition, the book is created to enable the intermediate or advanced student to proceed into the more complex areas of harmonic analysis, counterpoint, transposition, and sight-singing. Since musical theatre examples are spread throughout the book, it is important that all students begin with the basics, even those who have had a musical background. Just like seasoned dancers who might take an entry-level ballet class to exercise the fundamentals of dance, students familiar with the rudiments of music may find the first section of the book a refreshing review of traditional material cast in the context of musical theatre. The hundreds of musical theatre songs cited throughout the text are used as examples of specific points of music theory, and students of musical theatre performance will almost certainly be familiar with many, if not most, of them. Students are encouraged to investigate as many of these examples as are available to them both to reinforce the lesson in music theory and to increase their personal musical theatre repertoire. Printed samples of musical theatre songs are also included in the text as examples and exercises—activities to be completed by the student both on paper and in performance. Often students will be asked to sight-read their theory homework because sight-singing and ear-training are integral parts of Music Theory through Musical Theatre and intimately connected to every unit in this study. Why do musical theatre students need to bother about any of this? After all, the typical Broadway musical has a musical director, vocal arranger, dance arranger, rehearsal pianist, orchestrator, and a battery of copyists. With such a musical brain trust on hand, why shouldn’t performers expect to be taught what they need to know musically on the job, during rehearsals? The many performers who feel entitled to musical spoon feeding quickly find themselves at a disadvantage when faced with a musical director who begins chorus rehearsals with only an upbeat, expecting singers to read their individual parts, or a rehearsal pianist who only plays the accompaniment, never cheating the melody for the singer. In both cases, the musical director and rehearsal pianist have jobs to do and, according to the personality of the musician, that job may or may not involve feeding pitches to performers. More often than not, musical directors have remarked to me that music is a language not unlike the language in which the libretto of the musical is written. The director of the musical expects every performer to be familiar with the language of the written text; the same is true of the musical director. If there are unfamiliar words in the text, the director presumes that performers will research them; if there are difficult passages in the score, the musical director assumes that performers will work them out on their own or with their coaches. As a result, even the most basic sight-reading and piano skills are gold if they can save performers unnecessary coaching fees at today’s heavily inflated prices. Nearly forty years ago, a young singing-actress whom I had met on a national tour of Grease (the one that featured a youthful John Travolta as “Doody,” the nerdy sidekick, not “Danny
Introduction
Zuko,” the lead he played in the film) had been invited to the apartment of the composer of a new off-Broadway musical for which I had been hired as musical director. The actress had been one of the final callbacks for the single female role of the show, and the composer wanted to hear her sing his material. The three of us hovered around the composer’s piano chatting amicably until it was time for the proverbial “moment of truth.” Handing her the score to the show, the composer struck up an introductory chord and waited with heightened anticipation for his erstwhile leading lady to begin. Because the actress was cold-reading and sight-singing from the score which had just arrived from the copyists—sight-reading was not her strong suit—she performed the first number timidly, and with a few pitch problems. The second she was determined to “sell” so she sang it in full voice, though imperfectly in terms of rhythms and pitch. After she completed the third piece, her best performance overall, the composer took me aside and confided, “She doesn’t like my music. I don’t want her.” “What makes you think that she doesn’t like your music?” I inquired. I knew that the woman wanted the role, and I heard nothing to suggest a dislike of the material in her performance. “I know that she has a wonderful voice,” the composer replied. “A truly remarkable instrument. But she sings my songs so poorly—it’s as if she’s uninterested in singing them.” An admirer of the singer’s outstanding vocal abilities, I explained to the composer that what appeared to be lack of interest was simply hesitation—a lack of familiarity with the material; and I promised that, if he would allow us to return the next night, he would hear a world of improvement in her performance. The singer and I spent the next day rehearsing the songs and, that evening, when the composer heard her performance, he hired her on the spot, convinced that no one but she could be his leading lady. Fortuitously, the singer was given the opportunity to learn the material before the composer made his decision. Had there not been anyone present, however, who knew and admired the singer’s abilities, her first impression may well have been the lasting one, and she might never have received a second chance. This book is for musical theatre performers who never want a composer to think they don’t like his music.
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PART ONE
The Lead Sheet
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Basic Concepts for Reading, Writing, and Appreciating Music
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Example 1.1
The Lead Sheet
Example 1.1 (Continued)
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Anyone who has ever performed in a musical licensed by Tams Witmark, Music Theatre International (MTI), Samuel French, or Theatrical Rights Worldwide is familiar with the vocal book provided to the cast. The various songs of the show are depicted by an arrangement of musical tones ranging from high to low and/or having varying lengths, as in e xample 1.1 above from the 2007 musical Out of Line by Julio Agustin Matos Jr. and John Franceschina. Music is a temporal art, the performance (and perception) of which always occurs during a passage of time. As a result, the notation of musical tones must take into account two very important dimensions: the highness or lowness of a musical tone (represented on a vertical axis); and the order and duration of musical tones in time (represented by a horizontal axis). Note how the musical tones in example 1.1 are organized vertically, from high to low, and horizontally, from left to right. Such an arrangement gives the performer an immediate perception of how the musical tones of the song relate to one another. Note also that tones are grouped into measures (or bars) by vertical lines called bar lines: a single bar line defines a measure; a double bar line denotes the end of a musical section; a shaded double bar line (see the final measure of example 1.1 above) indicates the end of the piece.
Pitch, Staff, Clef, and Ledger Lines All musical tones have four characteristics: Pitch (the location of sound relative to “high” and “low”), Duration (how long a sound is held: the rhythm or time aspect of the sound), Intensity (the degree of loudness or softness), and Timbre (the characteristic quality of a tone when produced by a particular instrument or voice). To indicate pitch, musical tones are represented by oval-shaped symbols called notes which may be clear (𝅗) or blackened (𝅘) and often with vertical lines called stems attached ( •𝅗𝅥 ). Notes are located on a five-line staff (𝄚)governed by a clef (the French word for key) which provides a reference point for the tones on the staff. The most common clefs employed in musical theatre literature (and in Western music in general) are 𝄞 (called the treble or G clef because its shape originated as an ornate iteration of the letter “G,” marking the location of the G note on the second line of the staff counting from the bottom) and 𝄢 (the bass or F clef, identifying the location of the F note on the fourth line of the staff, again starting from the bottom). Infrequently, in the more sophisticated editions of musical theatre scores (such as the 2000 Boosey and Hawkes publication of West Side Story), a treble clef with an “8” below is used to denote the male (tenor) voice, indicating that the voice sounds eight tones (or an octave) lower than what is written. Musical tones, represented by notes on the staff have letter names that proceed alphabetically: A, B, C, D, E, F, and G; and, as suggested above, the position of letter names on the staff is
Basic Concepts
determined by the clef. When the treble clef (𝄞) is used, the staff lines are named E, G, B, D, F (Every Good Boy Does Fine) starting from the bottom; the spaces in between the lines spell F, A, C, E (again starting from the bottom). From the lead sheet (example 1.1) let us borrow the symbol of a blackened note with a stem (𝅘𝅥 ) to help us visualize the letter names on the staff. Note that the stems of the notes representing musical tones in e xamples 1.2—1.8 all change direction on the middle line of both the treble and bass staves. 13
Example 1.2 [Sound file 1.1]
When the bass clef (𝄢) is used, the staff lines are named G, B, D, F, A (Good Boys Don’t Fool Around) starting from the bottom; the spaces are A, C, E, G (All Cows Eat Grass), again from the bottom. Example 1.3 [Sound file 1.2]
Often the range of a musical composition requires the written notes to go beyond the scope of the five-line staff. For musical tones that lie over or under the staff, ledger lines (𝄖) are added to continue the staff in either direction. See e xamples 1.4 and 1.5 below showing ledger lines in both treble and bass clefs. Note how the note names continue alphabetically with the ledger lines. Example 1.4 [Sound file 1.3]
Example 1.5 [Sound file 1.4]
You will notice that the first ledger line under the treble staff and over the bass staff is the note C. This note is middle C, C4 on the piano keyboard (see example 1.9 below), and serves as a connective between the bass and treble staves to form a “Grand Staff” that invariably appears in sheet music as the piano accompaniment to musical theatre literature (example 1.6 below). Example 1.6 [Sound file 1.5]
The Lead Sheet
Exercise 1 Write the letter names under each of the following notes on the treble staff. Example 1.7
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Write the letter names under each of the following notes on the bass staff. Example 1.8
Recognizing Pitches on the Piano Keyboard Recognizing the written pitches on a piano keyboard is an important exercise for singers in training the ear to associate the notes on paper with actual sounds. The keyboard in example 1.9 below locates the eight keys on the piano that are called C. The keys on the piano keyboard follow the same pattern as the notes on the Grand Staff (example 1.6 above) and ascend alphabetically C, D, E, F, G, A, B until the next C is reached. The distance from one C to another above or below it is called an octave since the Cs are eight keys apart (counting the first and last keys of the series). Though an eighty-eight-key piano comprises the ranges of all the instruments in the orchestra, the octaves above and below middle C (or C3 to C6 on example 1.9) are the primary concern of musical theatre professionals.
Example 1.9
Basic Concepts
Exercise 2 Write the names of the white notes on the piano keyboard below (example 1.10), comprising all the notes between C3 and C6, the octaves surrounding middle C (C4). Example 1.10 15
Play the pitches on the piano, singing their letter names as you play. Let the men begin with the lower tones and add the women when the pitches are within range. The men may drop out when the tones become too high. Because the keys on the piano correlate with the notes on paper, which, in turn, symbolize the pitches of musical tones, the term note is commonly used to denote a key on the piano and the actual musical tone. During rehearsal it is not unusual to hear someone complain “That note is too high,” when, in fact, he or she means that the pitch of the musical tone is too high. Similarly, in auditions, it is common for singers to instruct the accompanist to play their starting note, when what they really want is for the pianist to depress the piano key that correlates with the written note that symbolizes the pitch of the musical tone that begins the song. Even though the common usage of the word “note” is understood by performers and conductors, it is important to understand the difference between it and the pitch of a musical tone or a key on the piano.
Accidentals: Sharps, Flats, and Naturals Another look at the lead sheet (example 1.1) at the beginning of this unit discloses that in musical theatre melodies, musical tones are often raised, lowered, and returned to their natural position by the use of accidentals (sharps, flats, and naturals). On a piano keyboard, the distance between a white note and its adjacent black note is measured as one half step. The distance between two adjacent white notes is one whole step, so long as there is a black note between them. Adjacent white notes with no black note in between (B to C, E to F) are measured at one half step, the same as the distance between white notes and their adjacent black notes. A sharp (♯) raises a note one half step: the equivalent of a white note to its upper adjacent black note, or a white note to its upper adjacent white note with no black note in between. See the illustration of sharps on a piano keyboard in example 1.11 below. Example 1.11
The opposite of a sharp, a flat (𝄬) lowers a note one half step, the equivalent of a white note to its lower adjacent black note, or a white note to its lower adjacent white note with no black
The Lead Sheet
note in between. See the illustration of flats on a piano keyboard in example 1.12. Note that the same notes on the keyboard may represent both sharps and flats: for example, the black note that is A𝄬 in example 1.12 is the same note as G♯ in example 1.11. When the same pitch is written in two different ways, it is called enharmonic. In e xamples 1.11 and 1.12 there are many illustrations of enharmonic writing. In addition to black notes that may be written as sharps or flats, white notes may also have sharped or flatted names. For example, B♯ is the same note as C; C𝄬 is the same note as B; E♯ is the same note as F; F𝄬 is the same note as E.
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Example 1.12
In the case of both sharps and flats, once a note has been altered it stays that way throughout a measure until the sharp or flat has been canceled by a natural sign (♮). When a natural sign cancels a sharp, it lowers the note one half step to its natural position; when it cancels a flat, it raises the note one half step to its natural position. There are hundreds of examples of accidentals in musical theatre songs—in fact, it is rare to find a musical theatre song written in the twentieth or twenty-first century that does not employ them. Staples of a musical theatre repertory such as “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” (The Sound of Music), “Something’s Coming” and “Maria” (West Side Story), “Just in Time” (Bells Are Ringing), “All I Need Now Is the Girl” (Gypsy), and “Dear Friend” (She Loves Me) all feature accidentals in prominent positions melodically. More recent shows, such as Hairspray, display accidentals as well in “Timeless to Me” and “Big, Blonde and Beautiful” to cite just two examples (see examples 1.38 and 1.39 later in this unit).
Exercise 3 In the space provided, using sharps or natural signs, raise all the written notes one half step. Play the completed exercise on a keyboard. Example 1.13
In the space provided, using flats or natural signs, lower all the written notes one half step. Play the completed exercise on a keyboard. Example 1.14
Basic Concepts
Double Sharps and Double Flats Occasionally there is a need to raise or lower a note by two half steps (one whole step). This is accomplished by the use of a double sharp (𝄪) or double flat (𝄫). With the exception of E–F and B–C (which have no black notes between them) sharps raise a white note to the next black note (the equivalent of one half step), and double sharps raise a white note to the next white note (one whole step away). Similarly, flats lower a white note to the adjacent black note below (one half step) and double flats lower a white note to the adjacent white note below (one whole step). When E or B are sharped, they move up one half step to the next white note; when they are double sharped, they move up another half step to the next black note. When F and C are flatted, they move down one half step to the next white note; when they are double flatted, they continue moving down one half step to the next black note. Although musical theatre songs rely primarily on sharps and flats, it is not uncommon to find double sharps and double flats in the literature. For example, Claude-Michel Schönberg employs sharps as well as double sharps in “The Last Night of the World,” from Miss Saigon, and Stephen Sondheim uses double flats in “Last Midnight” from Into the Woods (see examples 1.40 and 1.41 later in this unit).
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Exercise 4 Using sharps, naturals, and double sharps, raise the example below one half step on the staff provided. Example 1.15
Using flats, double flats, and naturals, lower the example below one half step on the staff provided. Example 1.16
Notes and Rhythm The discussion thus far has dealt with the various pitch values of a musical tone, providing contour and musical shape to a musical theatre song. To illustrate pitch we borrowed the symbol of a blackened note with a stem (♩) from the lead sheet that began this unit. A quick review of the lead sheet will illustrate that a melody is more than a group of pitches represented by the same musical symbol. You can see that a melody is comprised of an assortment of note symbols, each signifying a different duration requiring certain pitches to be held longer than others, not only for musical variety, but also for dramatic emphasis of the lyric. Notes not only represent musical pitches; they also represent the pitches in time. The duration of a musical tone is
The Lead Sheet
no less important than the pitch since it gives a rhythmical life to the song. Rhythm is the term given to the duration (or length in time) of musical tones and the movement of music in time. The durations of musical tones are written as notes organized in multiples of two. Each note group has a duration that is twice as long as the note group below it and half as long as the note group above it. The note groups that are universally employed in Western music and all musical theatre literature are these: • A whole note (𝅝) is an open note head; • A half note (𝅗𝅥) looks like a whole note with a stem; • A quarter note (♩) looks like a half note with the head of the note colored in (this was the note symbol most frequently used in the lead sheet at the beginning of this unit and the note symbol we borrowed for our exercises up to this point); • An eighth note (𝅘𝅥𝅮) looks like a quarter note with a flag; • A sixteenth note (𝅘𝅥𝅯) looks like an eighth note with two flags.
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Though relatively common in Western music, a thirty-second note with three flags, and a sixty-fourth note with four flags (see the bottom two rows of example 1.17), are only infrequently employed in musical theatre literature. The relative values of the above notes are easily perceivable in the following chart: Example 1.17
Three other kinds of notes are sometimes employed by the musical theatre composer: • The breve, or double whole note(𝅜), an archaic note valued as 2 whole notes, 4 half notes, or 8 quarter notes, and employed by Leonard Bernstein to create a medieval atmosphere in Candide’s meditation, “It Must Be So” (see e xample 1.26 later in this unit); • A grace note (𝆔), an ornamental note that slides into the note that follows it, often used by jazz singers and rock performers (see “Welcome to the Sixties” from Hairspray, example 1.42 later in this unit);
Basic Concepts
• And special note heads, in which the oval note head is replaced by an X or any other shape to indicate some percussion instrument or designate spoken patter in a song such as “All-American Prophet” from The Book of Mormon (see example 1.43 later in this unit).
Augmentation and Diminution Example 1.17 above displays the relative durations of note groups used in Western music. Moving upward from the lowest note group, the durations of notes become twice as long. Sixty-fourth notes become thirty-second notes, thirty-second notes become sixteenth notes, and so forth. This process of increasing durations is called augmentation and is a common dramatically effective musical device in the musical theatre. Mame’s reprise of “It’s Today” in Mame, for example, begins with note durations twice as long as the initial statement of the song and allows the performer the opportunity to change the mood or tone of the dramatic situation. Augmentation is also frequently used at the end of big production numbers where hats, canes, and kick-lines manipulate a standing ovation from the audience. Moving in the opposite direction in e xample 1.17 we find that the duration of the note groups becomes half as long. Whole notes become half notes, half notes become quarter notes, and so forth. This process of diminishing duration is called diminution and is also a device used in the musical theatre. In the same reprise of “It’s Today” referenced above, after sixteen measures of the rhythmically augmented melody, the pace of the song quickens and the notes become shorter until the melody has been diminished into its original duration, twice as fast as the beginning of the reprise. Augmentation and diminution used together in the reprise (and in musical numbers in general) create opportunities for changes of mood and dramatic action and build energy and excitement. Although augmentation and diminution typically function in multiples of two, note values may be increased or decreased in higher ratios (i.e., multiples of three or four).
Dots and Ties In the lead sheet (example 1.1) at the beginning of this unit) notes are joined by two different kinds of symbols that affect the duration of a tone. The first is a dot (.) that follows a note and augments the duration of that note by half of its original value. For example, a half note followed by a dot (𝅗𝅥𝅭) equals 𝅗𝅥 + 𝅘𝅥. A quarter note followed by a dot (𝅘𝅥𝅭) equals 𝅘𝅥 + 𝅘𝅥𝅮. An easy way to remember the value of dotted notes is the following formula: a dotted note equals the sum of three notes of immediately lesser value. • A dotted whole note equals three half notes: 𝅝𝅭 = 𝅗𝅥 + 𝅗𝅥 + 𝅗𝅥 • A dotted half note equals three quarter notes: 𝅗𝅥𝅭 = 𝅘𝅥 + 𝅘𝅥 + 𝅘𝅥 • A dotted quarter note equals three eighth notes: 𝅘𝅥𝅭 = 𝅘𝅥𝅮 + 𝅘𝅥𝅮 + 𝅘𝅥𝅮 • A dotted eighth note equals three sixteenth notes: 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅭 = 𝅘𝅥𝅯 + 𝅘𝅥𝅯 + 𝅘𝅥𝅯 • A dotted sixteenth note equals three thirty-second notes: 𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅭 = 𝅘𝅥𝅰 + 𝅘𝅥𝅰 + 𝅘𝅥𝅰 Sometimes a second dot is added to increase the duration of a note by half the value of the original dot. For example, a double-dotted half note (𝅗𝅥𝅭𝅭) would be equivalent to 𝅗𝅥 + ♩ + 𝅘𝅥𝅮. A double-dotted quarter note (𝅘𝅥𝅭𝅭) would equal 𝅘𝅥 + 𝅘𝅥𝅮 + 𝅘𝅥𝅯.
Exercise 5 In the space provided, write the equivalent note values of the following dotted notes.
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The Lead Sheet
Example 1.18
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The lead sheet at the beginning of this unit displays another simple way to add duration to a note: a tie, a curved line that connects two notes of the same pitch. See, for example, measures 9, 11, 17, 21, 23–24, 25, 26–28, 33–34, 36, 37–38 of e xample 1.1.
Rests The lead sheet also introduces another important group of symbols we find throughout musical theatre literature: rests, stopping places in the flow of the melody that often herald a change of thought or emotion, and give the performer the opportunity to breathe. As e xample 1.19 below illustrates, every note symbol has its equivalent rest. Example 1.19
Basic Concepts
Like notes, rests can be augmented by the use of dots; ties are never used to add time to a rest.
Meter and Time Signature Returning once again to the lead sheet that begins this unit you will notice two musical symbols that immediately follow the clef signs. The first is a flat on the B line that informs the performer that all the B notes in the song are flatted. This is called a key signature, a musical tool that will be addressed more fully in the next unit. After the key signature, a C with a line through it appears on the lead sheet to inform the performer of the number of beats (foot taps) in each measure, and which note determines the beat. This symbol is called a time signature and is the next subject of discussion. If you were to tap your foot when speaking a verse line from a Shakespearean play, for example, you will find five beats (underlined): “But soft! What light in yonder window breaks?” (Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene 2). This is because Shakespeare wrote in iambic pentameter—a meter of five beats. Other poets write in different meters. Joyce Kilmer, for example, created “Trees” in a four-beat line: “I think that I shall never see,” while William Butler Yeats produced “A Cradle Song” with two beats per line: “The angels are stooping.” Just as the lyrics to a song are organized according to a poetic meter and rhyme scheme, musical tones are governed by a meter that organizes the duration of notes and rests into measures (or bars) defined by vertical bar lines (the lead sheet at the beginning of this unit exemplifies this pattern). As we noted at the beginning of this unit, single bar lines are used to divide measures; double bar lines are used to separate sections of a musical composition; and a shaded double bar line indicates the end of the piece. The meter of a musical composition is identified by a time signature, in which two numbers appear, one above the other (like the numerator and denominator of a fraction, but without the division line). The top number identifies the number of beats in a measure, and the bottom number reveals what kind of note will define the beat. 𝄴, or common time, is the same as 4/4, in which the top number tells us that there are four beats to a measure, and the bottom number reveals that the quarter note gets the beat. 𝄴 and 𝄵, or cut time (two beats to the measure, the half note gets the beat), are traditionally the most frequently used time signatures in musical theatre literature. “You Have Cast Your Shadow on the Sea” from The Boys from Syracuse (example 1.20 below) is a fine example of a Richard Rodgers ballad in common time, and “There’s a Small Hotel” from On Your Toes (example 1.21 below) is a typical Rodgers rhythm ballad in cut time.
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Example 1.20 [Sound file 1.6]
In example 1.20, it is easy to feel four beats in every measure (one, two, three, four) with a primary accent on the first beat (or downbeat) of every bar, and a secondary accent on the
The Lead Sheet
third beat (the accented beats are considered strong beats, the unaccented beats are called weak beats). The unaccented beat before a downbeat is typically referred to as the upbeat. The lyrics correspond exactly to both the contour of the melody line and the implied accents of the time signature. Compare this, now, with “There’s a Small Hotel,” a tune that resembles a song in common time but that is counted, instead, in cut time (one, two) with the primary accent on the first beat, and a secondary accent on the second beat. Note that, because cut time has two beats to the measure and the half note receives the beat, it is often written as 2/2 in Western music, though musical theatre composers tend to prefer the familiar symbol 𝄵.
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Example 1.21 [Sound file 1.7]
It is easy to tap two beats to a measure with “There’s a Small Hotel” even though the distribution of quarter notes, half notes, and dotted-half notes in the opening melodic statement is not unlike that of “You Have Cast Your Shadow on the Sea.” Both melodies employ the same kinds of notes but the difference in meter leads the performer to interpret, or “feel” them differently. Also like “You Have Cast Your Shadow on the Sea,” the operative words in the lyrics of “There’s a Small Hotel” correspond to the song’s melodic contour as well as the metrical emphases of cut time.
Simple Time Signatures In common time and cut time, it is possible to subdivide the principal beats into two: Example 1.22
In common time, since the beat is given to quarter notes, the subdivision is counted in eighth notes; in cut time, since the beat is given to half notes, the subdivision is counted in quarter notes. In each case, the subdivision is given to the next lowest group of notes; so, if the beat were given to whole notes, the subdivision into two would go to half notes; if the beat were given to eighth notes, the subdivision would be in sixteenth notes, and so forth. When beats are subdivided, the antecedent or numerical part of the beat (1, 2, 3, etc.) is considered the strong part of the beat while the consequent or “and” part of the beat is considered the weak part of the beat. Time signatures in which the beat can be subdivided into 2 are called simple time signatures. Both common time and cut time are simple time signatures.
Basic Concepts
“Eager Beaver” from No Strings (example 1.23) and “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” from Annie (example 1.24) offer more recent examples of simple common time and cut time with the beat divisions marked. Example 1.23 [Sound file 1.8]
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Example 1.24 [Sound file 1.9]
In both examples, the beat is easy to tap and subdivide into binary units. Another simple meter that is popular in musical theatre literature is 2/4 (two beats to a measure, the quarter note receives one beat). With the primary accent on the first beat and a secondary accent on the second beat, this meter is especially suited for the creation of patriotic marches (“I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy” in Little Johnny Jones), polka-like rhythm production numbers (“If This Isn’t Love” in Finian’s Rainbow, “Once-A-Year Day” from The Pajama Game, “The Game” in Damn Yankees, and “Down On MacConnachy Square” in Brigadoon), and catalog songs (“The Love of My Life” in Brigadoon and “Ah, Paris!” from Follies). A more contemporary usage of the meter can be found in the score to Les Misérables in the militaristic patter, “Master of the House” (example 1.25). Note that when the beat is subdivided into four parts, the pattern is counted “one ee and a(uh), two ee and a.” Example 1.25 [Sound file 1.10]
Other Simple Time Signatures Although 4/4 (common time), 2/2 (cut time), and 2/4 may be the most frequently employed meters in musical theatre literature, many other simple duple (two-beat) and quadruple (four-beat) meters exist in Western music. In addition to 4/4, for example, 4/8 (four beats to the measure, the eighth note gets the beat), 4/16 (four beats to the measure, the sixteenth note gets the beat), and 4/2 (four beats to the measure, the half note gets the beat) are commonly used. “It Must Be So” (example 1.26 below) from Leonard Bernstein’s Candide makes use of 4/2 as well as an example of simple triple meter, 3/2, in which there are
The Lead Sheet
three beats per measure and the half note determines the beat. Note that in both meters, the half-note beat is subdivided by quarter notes, but unlike quadruple meter where there is a primary accent on beat one and a secondary accent on beat three, the accent in simple triple meter is on the first beat. Note also the presence of a breve, or double whole note, in measures 2–3 of the example.
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Example 1.26 [Sound file 1.11]
Although the 3/2 time signature is found infrequently in musical theatre songs, Bernstein makes ample use of it in “A Boy Like That” and throughout West Side Story. Stephen Sondheim also makes dramatic use of the meter in “Liaisons” (A Little Night Music). A more common simple triple meter in musical theatre literature is 3/4 (three beats to the measure, the quarter note gets the beat, and the accent falls on the first beat). Often considered waltz time, 3/4 is counted “1 and 2 and 3 and” with a stress on the downbeat and the quarter-note beat subdivided by eighth notes. The world of musical theatre is filled with famous waltzes: from George M. Cohan’s “Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway” (Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway) to Jerome Kern’s “You Are Love” (Show Boat); from Richard Rodgers’s, “Falling in Love with Love” (The Boys from Syracuse) to Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s “Til Tomorrow” (Fiorello!); from Charlie Smalls’s “Be a Lion” (The Wiz) to Stephen Sondheim’s “Last Midnight” (Into the Woods); from Larry Grossman’s “No More Mornings” (A Doll’s Life) to nearly the entire score of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. In a more contemporary musical setting, Benny Andersson, Tim Rice, and Björn Ulvaeus use the 3/4 meter to great effect throughout Chess, particularly in the dramatic ballad, “Where I Want to Be” (example 1.27). Example 1.27 [Sound file 1.12]
Often melodies in simple triple meter are written in 3/8 (three beats to the measure, the eighth note gets the beat), or 3/16 (three beats to the measure, the sixteenth note gets the beat) rather than 3/4 or 3/2 as above. Often 3/8 and 3/16 suggest a quicker tempo than 3/4 or 3/2 and instead of being counted in three (“one two three”), they are often counted in one (“one and a”), still with the accent on the downbeat. In the vocal score of West Side Story, composer Leonard Bernstein sets the tempo for “I Feel Pretty” at 𝅘𝅥𝅭 = 66+, indicating that the note establishing the beat of the piece is a dotted quarter rather than the eighth note (example 1.28 below). The number, incidentally, is a reference to the use of a metronome to indicate the exact tempo of a composition by clicking a specific number of beats per minute (see Tempo Marks later in this unit).
Basic Concepts
Compound Time Signatures When a song in 3/8 is counted “one two three,” it is considered simple triple meter because the top number gives the number of beats in the measure, and the bottom provides the kind of note that gets the beat. When a song in 3/8 is counted in one beat, however, the top number no longer suggests the number of beats in the measure. Instead, it informs the performer of the number of divisions of the beat within a measure, and the bottom number indicates what kind of note creates the division. In “I Feel Pretty” the time signature tells us that the beat is divided into three eighth notes; as a result the beat is a dotted quarter note since it can be subdivided into three eighth notes. When the beat can be subdivided into three equal parts rather than two, the beat will always be expressed as a dotted note and the meter will be compound rather than simple.
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Example 1.28 [Sound file 1.13]
Note that the vocal line of “I Feel Pretty” does not begin on the downbeat but on the “and” or weak part of the beat, creating a displacement of the traditional metrical accent. Such a temporary rhythmic displacement is called syncopation and is discussed more fully later in this unit. Dramatically the device is quite effective in portraying Maria’s breathless excitement at being in love. The principal compound meters employed by musical theatre composers are 6/8, 9/8, and 12/8 (see example 1.29 below). Leonard Bernstein employs 6/4 in “Lud’s Wedding” (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) and 9/4 in “My Love” (Candide) but uses of those compound meters are infrequent in musical theatre songs. Stephen Sondheim may have composed “Sorry, Grateful” (Company) in 6/4 but the beat is counted in six quarter notes (as a simple meter) rather than in two dotted half notes, each subdivided by three quarter notes. Remember, in compound meter, the beat is always a dotted note subdivided into three equal parts. Because of this three-part division of the beat, the top note of the time signature of a compound meter will always be divisible by three. The top line of the following example of compound meters displays the beat note while the bottom staff indicates the divisions of the beat. Example 1.29
Stephen Sondheim uses all of the above meters for dramatic effect in Into the Woods. Often associated with folk dances, 6/8 is the meter Bernstein used to begin the “Prologue” in West Side Story. It is the meter of a jig (“Go Home with Bonnie Jean” in Brigadoon), a tarantella (“Merano” in Chess), and a march (“Seventy-Six Trombones” in The Music Man). It is also the meter of a barcarolle, a boat song of Venetian gondoliers, composed with a monotonous accompaniment designed to suggest the undulation of the waves and the movement of the boat. Sondheim uses this barcarolle meter to explore the “Agony” experienced by Cinderella’s Prince and Rapunzel’s Prince (example 1.30). The softly undulating accompaniment and easily flowing melody provides an ironic background to the princes’ misfortunes. Note that the first three
The Lead Sheet
measures of the example below employ sixteenth notes creating the necessity of subdividing the beat into six, rather than the usual three, parts. In such cases, the count would follow the pattern: one-ee-and-ee-a(uh)-ee, two-ee-and-ee-a(uh)-ee, etc. Example 1.30 [Sound file 1.14]
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In musical theatre literature, 6/8 is often juxtaposed with 3/4 since both meters can be divided into six eighth notes. “America” (West Side Story) is possibly the most familiar example of the trade-off between “one-and-a, two-and-a” and “one-and, two-and, three-and,” but “A Secretary Is Not a Toy” (How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying) also explores the nuance created by exposing the same melodic line to those two different meters. The device is also dramatically effective in The Music Man where a melody in 3/4 is called, “Goodnight, My Someone” and the same tune in 6/8 is labeled “Seventy-Six Trombones.” Sondheim’s use of compound meters in Into the Woods continues with “On the Steps of the Palace” (example 1.31), in which Cinderella muses on the merits of her prince in 6/8, the same flowing meter as “Agony.” However, her contemplations begin in 9/8 to allow rests between the fragmented musical statements, giving her the opportunity of thought and realization to help her form the ideas she expresses. Note that the vocal line does not begin on the downbeat but on the “and” of the second beat, creating a syncopation that dramatically portrays Cinderella’s thought processes and spontaneous conclusions. Example 1.31 [Sound file 1.15]
Earlier in the musical, Little Red Ridinghood sings “Into the Woods” (example 1.32), a jaunty, folk-like, hopscotching tune in 12/8 designed to evoke a child’s nursery rhyme. Example 1.32 [Sound file 1.16]
It is easy to imagine a young Red Ridinghood skipping merrily through the forest to the meter of Sondheim’s musical setting. With a somewhat more aggressive bass and consecutive eighth notes pounding the harmony, 12/8 is also characteristic of 1960s rock and roll and appears with frequency in retrospective musicals, such as Hairspray (in the songs, “It Takes Two” and “I Know Where I’ve Been”) and Beehive (“Where the Boys Are,” “You Don’t Own Me,” and “Believe Me”).
Basic Concepts
Infrequently Used Time Signatures A variety of other time signatures appear infrequently in musical theatre songs. “Everything’s Alright” (Jesus Christ Superstar) is written in 5/4 (five beats to the measure, the quarter note gets the beat); “Pity the Child” (Chess) fluctuates between 4/4, 3/4, and 7/4 (seven beats to the measure, the quarter note gets the beat); “So Much to Do in New York” (Song and Dance) is written in 5/8 (like 5/4, there are five beats per measure, but in this case the eighth note gets the beat); and “The Mountain Duet” (Chess) depicts an awkward situation dramatically that rises and falls between 6/8, 2/4, 5/8, 3/4, 9/8, 7/4, 3/8, and 4/8.
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Exercise 6 Determine the time signature for each line of music, drawing bar lines after each completed measure (i.e., when the measure has enough beats in it). Once the time signature and bar lines have been determined, write the counts under each measure and clap the rhythms.
Example 1.33
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Tuplets The “one-and-a” beat of compound meters inspired composers to look for ways to integrate it into simple meters. The challenge they faced was obvious: simple meters divided beats into groups of two, not groups of three. To solve the problem, tuplets were invented to divide the beat into untraditional groupings. In 4/4 or common time, a tuplet called a triplet could allow three eighth notes to function in the place of two; and even three quarter notes grouped as a triplet could take the place of two quarter notes (see example 1.34 below, “The Telephone Hour” from Bye Bye Birdie). Note the syncopation in measures 1, 4–7 where the vocal line follows a rest on the downbeat, creating the musical illusion of a spontaneous conversation.
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Example 1.34 [Sound file 1.17]
Triplets are used effectively throughout musical theatre literature from traditional scores such as Oklahoma! (“Many a New Day”), The King and I (“Getting to Know You”), Great Day (“More Than You Know”) and Nick and Nora (“Is There Anything Better Than Dancing?”), to concept shows such as Cabaret (“Two Ladies”) and Into the Woods (“It Takes Two”), to pop-sounding musicals such as The Wiz (“If You Believe”) and Hairspray (“Good Morning Baltimore”). When counting eighth-note triplets that take the place of two eighth notes in simple meter such as 4/4, divide the beat into three (just as you would divide the beat in a compound meter) and count the triplets as “one-trip-let, two-trip-let, three-trip-let, four-trip-let.” When counting quarter-note triplets that take the place of two quarter notes, consider every 4/4 meter a 2/2 meter so that a half note (which equals two quarter notes) will get the beat. Divide the beat into three parts (just as you divided the beat for eighth-note triplets), then count “one-trip-let, two-trip-let.” Although the triplets in simple meters may sound like the subdivisions of the beat in compound meters, it is important to remember that the beat in simple meters is not a dotted note. Another successful merging of compound meter with simple meter occurs when the composer writes “swing it” above a melody written in simple meter. Instead of singing straight eighth notes (as in the first measure of e xample 1.35), the performer sings a quarter note and eighth note pattern (𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅮) as if the passage were written in compound meter (as in measure three of example 1.35).
Example 1.35 [Sound file 1.18]
Basic Concepts
Beaming You may have noticed throughout the book thus far that, in the examples, eighth notes and sixteenth notes are often joined together by a horizontal line. This line is called a beam and it is an important tool in grouping notes together so that the meter of a composition is clearly laid out. We have seen how different meters are subdivided and counted; how certain beats are given primary accents and others, secondary accents. It is the function of beaming to clarify the beats and accents of a given meter so that the rhythmic aspect of a piece of music is immediately clear to the performer. Example 1.36 below illustrates beaming in several different meters. The correct way of beaming to the right would make the meter immediately discernible to the performer; the incorrect way of beaming to the left would leave the performer metrically confused.
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Example 1.36
There are occasions, however, when the traditional accents are purposely obscured in order to emphasize weak beats or displace the downbeat of a meter. Such is the objective of syncopation, the next topic for discussion.
Syncopation We have encountered the term syncopation several times in this unit to demonstrate how meter works musically and dramatically in musical theatre songs. Syncopation, the
The Lead Sheet
displacement of natural accents in music, or, what many performers think of as singing “off the beat” is virtually ubiquitous in musical theatre literature. It occurs so frequently in every musical theatre student’s repertoire that it is often difficult for students to understand why a particular note, or group of notes, is a displacement of what is supposed to be a natural accent. As we have discussed earlier, the normal accents in common time occur on beat one and three, rendering them the strong beats in a measure. Similarly, we have found that every beat division has a strong and weak part, and that even weak beats (two and four) have strong and weak parts when divided. Syncopation occurs when there is a rhythmical stress or accent at a metrically weak place in the measure causing the rhythm temporarily to contradict the meter. There are four principal types of syncopation that can be found in musical theatre literature:
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• Anticipations (A): when a note begins on a weak beat (or weak part of a beat) and is tied to a strong beat (or part of a beat); • Weak-Beat Accents (WBA): when the accents in a measure fall on weak beats (two and four in common time) rather than one and three, or on weak parts of beats (the “and” part of beat division); • Missed Beat (MB): when a rest replaces one of the four beats in common time, the note following the rest is emphasized, even if it is on a weak beat or part of a beat; • Off-Beat (OB): similar to Weak-Beat Accents, when the long notes in a measure occur on weak parts of the beat rather than on the strong parts of the beat as expected (i.e., in common time, when 𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅮 is played instead of 𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅘𝅥, where the quarter notes fall on the strong part of every beat). Performers often refer to this type of syncopation as back phrasing. “When I Hear Music (I Dance)” from Out of Line exhibits a variety of syncopations in example 1.37 below. Example 1.37 [Sound file 1.19]
Basic Concepts
Notice how the melody begins on beat two, instead of the usually accented beat one, and how, in the first six bars, the first beat of the second measure of each phrase is anticipated by tied notes. When the first beat is finally attacked by a weak eighth note in measures 7–8, the melody immediately leaps away. It is only from measure 9 that the downbeat becomes strongly established, first with quarter notes, then a half note, and finally a whole note. The alternation of syncopation with natural accents is carried through the lyric as well, beginning with an exuberant freedom that is juxtaposed with the mother’s advice using longer notes and more traditional accents for emphasis. Syncopations continue, however, to remind the listener that the song is sung from the point of view of the child, not the parent.
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Exercise 7 Using the acronyms, A, WBA, MB, OB, identify the types of syncopation above the notes in the following musical theatre examples. • Example 1.38 is a fragment of “Timeless to Me” from Hairspray; • Example 1.39 is a sample of “Big, Blonde and Beautiful” also from Hairspray; • Example 1.40, “The Last Night of the World” is from Miss Saigon; • Example 1.41 is a portion of “Last Midnight” from Into the Woods; • Example 1.42 is another excerpt from Hairspray called “Welcome to the Sixties”; • Example 1.43, “All American Prophet” comes from The Book of Mormon. Note also how these examples demonstrate the use of accidentals, grace notes, and special note heads. Example 1.38 [Sound file 1.20]
Example 1.39 [Sound file 1.21]
Example 1.40 [Sound file 1.22]
Example 1.41 [Sound file 1.23]
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Example 1.42 [Sound file 1.24]
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Example 1.43 [Sound file 1.25]
Other musical theatre songs that make extensive use of syncopation and are useful for study are “Heat Wave” (As Thousands Cheer), “There’s No Business Like Show Business” (Annie Get Your Gun), “You’re Never Fully Dressed without a Smile” (Annie), “Do Me a Favor” (Carrie), “Black and Blue” and “The Joint Is Jumpin’ ” (both from Ain’t Misbehavin’),” “You and Me (But Mostly Me),” “Two by Two,” and “Hasa Diga” (all from The Book of Mormon), “Boom, Chica Boom” (Nick and Nora), “Call Me Savage” (Fade Out—Fade In), “My Daddy Always Taught Me to Share” (Grind), and “The Nicest Kids in Town” (Hairspray).
Exercise 8 Write in the counts underneath the notes for the following meters. Be careful to include the counts for all the divisions of beats where appropriate. Once you have determined the correct counts for each meter, clap the rhythm, then speak it using the counts you have written. At the discretion of your instructor, try playing the rhythms on the piano.
Example 1.44
Basic Concepts
Example 1.44 (Continued)
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Exercise 9 Let us return to the lead sheet that began this unit. Write the letter name below each of the notes in the lead sheet. You will recall that the B𝄬 after the clef sign is called a key signature indicating that all Bs in the piece are flatted, except where otherwise indicated. Above each note, state what kind of note (quarter, half, etc.) it is. Above each rest, identify its name. Circle every example of syncopation as it appears in the lead sheet, and identify it using the acronyms A, WBA, MB, and OB. Example 1.45 [Sound file 1.26]
Example 1.45 (Continued)
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Basic Concepts
Musical Terms and Symbols Example 1.46
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Pickup Measures Example 1.46 above is an excerpt from Harlequin’s comic suicide, “Alas, Am I Then Forsaken,” in the 2008 musical fantasy, Emperor of the Moon, adapted from a seventeenth-century play by Aphra Behn. Please note the presence of a key signature immediately following the clef and before the time signature indicating the meter, in this case, cut time—two beats to a measure, the half note gets the beat. Although the majority of measures in the selection adhere to the time signature, you will notice that the first and last measures are incomplete, having too few notes or rests to fill the measure. Partial measures that begin a song are called pickup measures. Pickup measures contain the note, or notes, that precede the first strong beat (or downbeat) of a piece of music. Typically, when a composition begins with a pickup measure, the last measure of the song omits the rhythmic value of the notes in the pickup measure so that, together, they form a complete measure (see the first and last measures of e xample 1.46). Note that when
The Lead Sheet
pickup measures are present, measure numbers begin with the first full measure of music, not with the pickup bar. In Western music, it is not unusual to find a composition, or, in the case of musical theatre, songs that begin with a pickup measure. “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” (Cabaret), “Johanna” (Sweeney Todd), “It Only Takes a Moment” (Hello, Dolly!) “All I Need Is the Girl” (Gypsy), “On the Street Where You Live” (My Fair Lady), and “Bring Him Home” (Les Misérables) are just a few examples of musical theatre numbers that begin with a pickup measure. 36
Repeat Signs Before we leave the last measure of “Alas, Am I Then Forsaken” please notice the indication “2” above the staff. Note also the indication “1” over the next-to-last measure that ends with a bar line that looks like a final double bar line with dots. This is a repeat sign that tells the performer to return to an earlier measure in the music and perform it again. A reverse double bar line with dots facing in the opposite direction (see example 1.46, measure 17) identifies the measure where the repeat begins. The number “1” over the next-to-final measure indicates the first ending of the piece before the repeat; the number “2” represents the second, or, in the case of “Alas, Am I Then Forsaken,” the final ending of the song. Other methods of indicating repeats use the abbreviations D.C., da capo (repeat from the beginning) and D.S., dal segno (repeat from the sign, where 𝄋 is the sign that indicates the beginning of the section to be repeated). After repeating the section, the performer may encounter the sign 𝄌. This means to skip to the end of the piece, which is often indicated by the Italian word coda. Often, instead of the sign 𝄌, the performer will encounter the word Fine (the end) somewhere in the body of the song. In such a case, at the end of the music, the performer will find the instructions D.C. al Fine (return to the beginning and repeat the music until the word Fine) or D.S. al Fine (return to the sign 𝄋 and repeat until the word Fine).
Tempo Marks Notice that example 1.46 above bears the tempo designation, “Andante” (a walking tempo, typically rendered as moderately slow), and a metronome designation of 80 half-note beats per minute (remember that cut time means two beats to a measure, the half note gets the beat). “M.M.” refers to Maelzel’s Metronome, in honor of Johann Maelzel (1772–1838) who promoted the use of a metronome to indicate the exact speed of a composition by clicking a specific number of beats per minute. Although some composers prefer to put tempo markings in English or simply use M(aelzel’s) M(etronome), traditionally, in musical theatre literature, tempo markings are written in Italian: • Largo—very slow, with great expression • Lento—slow • Adagio—slow, with easy movement • Andante—moderately slow, a walking tempo • Moderato—moderately, livelier than Andante • Allegretto—moderately fast, light • Allegro—quick, cheerful, and joyful • Vivace—very quick, lively • Presto—extremely fast • Ritardando—gradually slowing down • Rallentando—gradually slowing down • Accelerando—gradually speeding up
Basic Concepts
• Rubato—freely, with a flexible tempo • Caesura—an unmeasured stop in the music usually represented by a comma, or two diagonal lines (𝄓), colloquially called railroad tracks
Articulations In bar three of example 1.46 there is a phrasing mark called a slur to indicate that the notes beneath it are to be sung legato, in one breath, without any perceptible interruption. In addition to slurs, there are several other kinds of articulation marks that the composer uses to indicate to the singer how he wants his music performed: • Dots—staccato marks placed above or below notes to indicate that they are to be sung short; • Dashes—tenuto marks placed above or below notes to indicate that they are to be held for their full value; • Dots and dashes together—articulation marks that indicate that the notes are to be performed in a detached manner, sometimes written as detaché; • Accent—articulation mark (𝆓) placed above or below a note to indicate that it is to be sung with emphasis; • Fermata—articulation mark (𝄐) indicating that a note is to be held longer than its usual value; • 𝄶––notation mark indicating that music is to be performed one octave higher than written; • 𝄷–notation mark indicating that music is to be performed one octave lower than written; • 𝄸–notation mark indicating that music is to be performed two octaves higher than written; • 𝄹–notation mark indicating that music is to be performed two octaves lower than written.
Dynamics
At the beginning of the example there is the dynamic marking 𝆐𝆏 (mezzo piano), that indicates the degree of volume at which the song is to be performed. The following are the most commonly used dynamic markings in musical theatre literature: • Pianissimo (𝆏𝆏)—very soft • Piano (𝆏)—soft • Mezzo piano (𝆐𝆏)—moderately soft • Mezzo forte (𝆐𝆑)—moderately loud • Forte (𝆑)—loud • Fortissimo (𝆑𝆑)—very loud • Sforzando (𝆍𝆑𝆎)—performing a sudden loud accent on a single note • Forte-piano (𝆑𝆏)—loud followed by soft
Expression Marks In measures 14–16 of example 1.46, there is a crescendo marking telling the performer to increase the volume gradually until the new dynamic (𝆐𝆑)is reached. In measure 23 is a diminuendo (or decrescendo) marking telling the performer to decrease the volume gradually
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until the new dynamic (𝆐𝆏) is attained. Other expression marks used by theatre composers include these:
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• Dolce (sweetly, gently) • Agitato (nervously, agitated) • Con brio (with fire, passionately) • Cantabile (lyrically) • Espressivo (Expressively) • Legato (slurred, connected, not detached) • Leggiero (lightly) • Marcato (rhythmically, heavily accented) • Meno mosso (less motion, slower) • Più mosso (more motion, faster)
2
Major and Minor Scales 39
Example 2.1 [Sound file 2.1]
The ascending stepwise arrangement of seven different tones from middle C to the C above it at the end of Richard Rodgers’s “Where or When” in his 1937 musical Babes in Arms (example 2.1 above) draws our attention to the subject of major and minor scales. From medieval times, the seven named musical tones (i.e., A, B, C, D, E, F, G) have been arranged on the staff in ascending (or descending) stepwise order from a tonic tone, or key note (the note that identifies the starting and ending pitch). Called a scale, this organization of tones is governed by a specific arrangement of whole steps and half steps, and each tone is numbered according to its position on the scale (1, 2, 3, etc.). The numbered position of each tone on the scale is called its scale degree.
Major Scales Based on a pattern of whole steps and half steps producible on the white notes of the piano from C to the C above it, the major scale (example 2.2 below) continues to be the most important scale in Western music and the basis for the vast majority of musical theatre literature. Note that, in the major scale starting on C, half steps occur only between notes 3 and 4 and 7 and 8 (or 1 since the first and last pitch of a scale have the same letter name), the notes on the piano keyboard without black notes in between them. As illustrated in example 2.2 below, the pattern of whole steps and half steps in a major scale is two whole steps and a half step, three whole steps and a half step, or W–W–H–W–W–W–H.
Example 2.2 [Sound file 2.2]
Thousands of musical theatre songs have been composed using the major scale as the basis of melodic interest. As demonstrated in “Where or When” (example 2.1 above), Richard Rodgers was particularly fond of using scale passages melodically, a practice he continued in “Dancing on the Ceiling” (Ever Green), “My Romance” (Jumbo). “Spring Is Here” (I Married an Angel), “Have You Met Miss Jones?” (I’d Rather Be Right), “Glad to Be Unhappy” (On Your
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Toes), “Stepsisters’ Lament” (Cinderella), and “Younger Than Springtime” (South Pacific). Other composers who rely on the stepwise movement of the scale to create melodic interest include George M. Cohan, “Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway” (Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway); Fats Waller, “A Handful of Keys” (Ain’t Misbehavin’); DeSylva, Brown, and Henderson, “The Girl of the Pi Beta Phi” (Good News); Noel Gay, “The Sun Has Got His Hat On” (Me and My Girl); Frank Loesser, “Lovelier Than Ever” (Where’s Charley?); Albert Hague, “Young and Foolish” (Plain and Fancy); Jule Styne, “You’ll Never Get Away from Me” (Gypsy); Harvey Schmidt, “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” (The Fantasticks); and Andrew Lloyd Webber, “Seeing Is Believing” (Aspects of Love), to cite just a few examples. Irving Berlin’s “There’s No Business like Show Business” (Annie Get Your Gun) is, perhaps, the most familiar example of an ascending major scale melody (example 2.3).
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Example 2.3 [Sound file 2.3]
The melodic effectiveness of a descending major scale is demonstrated by Alan Menken’s “If I Can’t Love Her” (example 2.4 below) from Beauty and the Beast. Example 2.4 [Sound file 2.4]
A major scale can be created on any key note, using the system of whole and half steps based on the white-note major scale in C. However, building a major scale on any of the other white notes or black notes on the piano keyboard invariably involves the addition of sharps or flats (see example 2.5). Example 2.5 [Sound file 2.5]
Key Signatures Note how the third, sixth, and seventh notes of the A major scale need to be sharped or raised one half step to maintain the proper pattern of whole steps and half steps while the first, fourth,
Major and Minor Scales
and eighth notes of the B𝄬 major scale need to be flatted or lowered one half step. Conveniently, the accidentals are collected into a system of sharps or flats called a key signature and placed immediately after the clef sign at the beginning of a composition. Starting with C major, the key signature chart below (example 2.6) provides a pattern, first, for sharp keys, then for flat keys. Note that key signatures never mix sharps and flats and that the sharp keys are five ascending notes apart, C-G-D-A, etc., while the flat keys are five descending notes apart, C-F-B𝄬-E𝄬 etc. Example 2.6 41
Please note that B and C𝄬, F♯ and G𝄬, and C♯ and D𝄬 are enharmonically the same.
Identifying Major Scales It is important to memorize the key signatures above so you can immediately recognize them when you are studying a piece of music. A close examination of key signatures reveals patterns that assist in their identification: the names of the sharp keys can be determined by going one half step above the last sharp. If the last sharp is C♯, for example, the name of the scale is D. The flat keys can be determined by the name of the second-to-last flat in the series. If the flats appear as B𝄬, E𝄬, A𝄬, the key is E𝄬. The one exception is the key of F which has only one flat, B𝄬. Looking closely at the names of the sharps: F, C, G, D, A, E, B, we find that they are all five scale degrees apart and resemble the order of the scale names in example 2.6 above. Reading the sharps backward (or from right to left) we find the order of flats that governs the flat keys.
Exercise 1 In example 2.7 measures 1–9, write the major scales named over the staves without key signatures. For measures 10–18, write the appropriate major scales for the key signatures provided.
Example 2.7
Major and Minor Scales
Example 2.7 (Continued)
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Sight-Singing In the first act of The Sound of Music, Maria gathers together the Trapp children and teaches them to sing while explaining the syllables of traditional solfège (a method of sight-singing). The song that Maria uses, “Do-Re-Mi” another of Richard Rodgers’s hits that has become part of the musical culture of the twentieth century, is in itself a lesson in sight-reading, evoking the exercises common to well-regarded sight-singing textbooks. Let us review the solfège syllables for those who may have forgotten (or perhaps never learned) the song: Example 2.8
Slowly sing the scale above, starting on the key note C (middle C on the piano) using the solfège syllables. Then sing the scale, replacing the solfège syllables with the numbers located under the notes. Because the numbers represent the actual scale degrees of the individual pitches, some contemporary musical theorists prefer the use of numbers to the traditional solfège syllables. Repeat the process with scales beginning on C♯, D, E𝄬, E, and F. When the scale tones are comfortably familiar to the students, move on to the ear-training exercise below.
Exercise 2 Slowly sing the following note patterns using numbers or the solfège syllables written beneath the pitches. Focus more on the distance between musical tones than the rhythm of the notes. Once the exercise has been completed and students are familiar with the tonal relationships, repeat the exercise, paying closer attention to the written rhythms. After successfully completing the sight-singing exercise, at the discretion of your instructor, play the note patterns on the piano.
Example 2.9
Major and Minor Scales
Exercise 3 At the direction of your instructor, write the scale numbers or solfège syllables beneath the notes of the melodies in e xamples 2.10–2.12 below. Slowly clap the rhythms of the first melody then sing it by the numbers or solfège syllables. Repeat the process for the remaining melodies. At the discretion of your instructor, play the melodies below on the piano. Example 2.10 45
Example 2.11
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Example 2.12
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Minor Scales The second most frequently employed stepwise arrangement of tones in Western music is the minor scale, which appears in a basic pattern of whole steps and half steps (natural minor) and two variations (harmonic minor and melodic minor). Note the similarity between the C major and A minor scales in e xample 2.13 below. Both share the same whole-note-half-note structure between identical tones (half steps appear between B-C and E-F; distances between all other tones are whole steps), and neither scale uses sharps or flats. In fact, one could say that the A minor scale is a C major scale beginning and ending on the sixth degree. However, starting on the sixth degree of a major scale creates a considerable difference in the pattern of whole steps and half steps in a natural minor scale. As you can see in the example below, the natural minor pattern is whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step.
Major and Minor Scales
Example 2.13 [Sound file 2.6]
The same pattern holds true for minor scales in every key. The name given to major and minor scales that share a key signature is “relative”: C major is the relative major to A minor; A minor is the relative minor to C major. Note that the C major scale and the A minor scale make no alterations to their shared key signature. Because major and natural minor scales employ only the notes that are natural to their key signatures, they are called diatonic scales. Although employed with less frequency in musical theatre literature than the major scale, the natural minor is used by Richard Rodgers in “My Funny Valentine” (Babes in Arms), Larry Grossman in “Be Happy” (Minnie’s Boys), Jerry Bock in the chorus of “Sunrise, Sunset” (Fiddler on the Roof), to cite just a few examples. Gary William Friedman found the emotionally tender qualities of the natural minor useful in composing the score to The Me Nobody Knows, a revue based on the writings of underprivileged school children in New York City. Two numbers from the show especially exemplify the poignant, solemn, and melancholy aspects of the natural minor scale: “Light Sings” and “How I Feel” (example 2.14 below).
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Example 2.14 [Sound file 2.7]
Writing Minor Scales As in the major scales, building natural minor scales on any note other than A will require the addition of flats or sharps to maintain the proper whole-step-half-step pattern. For example, building a natural minor scale on C will require lowering the third, the sixth, and seventh degrees of the C major scale one half step in order to preserve the proper pattern of whole steps and half steps (see example 2.15 below). Example 2.15
You can see from the above example that three flats need to be added to C major to create C natural minor. A natural minor scale built on the same key note as a major scale is called “parallel” minor. When creating a natural minor scale from its parallel major, add three flats to the key signature of the parallel major. When dealing with sharp keys, the equivalent of adding three flats is the cancellation of three sharps starting from the
The Lead Sheet
last sharp (remember that sharps and flats cannot coexist in key signatures). For example, creating the parallel natural minor from E major requires the cancellation of three sharps, D♯, G♯, and C♯, leaving F♯ which is the key signature of E natural minor. When there are fewer than three sharps in a major key signature, cancel the number of sharps present then add a flat or flats to make up the equivalent of three cancelled sharps. For example, D major with two sharps would become D natural minor with one flat, B𝄬; G major with one sharp would become G natural minor with two flats, B𝄬 and E𝄬. Note that the addition of flats follows the arrangement of flats in e xample 2.16 below beginning with B𝄬. When creating a natural minor scale from a major scale with a flat key signature, simply add three flats to the key signature starting with the next flat in the order: to create E𝄬 minor from E𝄬 major, for example, to the key signature, B𝄬, E𝄬, A𝄬, add D𝄬, G𝄬, and C𝄬. Example 2.16 below gives the list of relative major/minor scales according to key signature. Note that major keys are expressed with an upper-case “M,” minor keys with the lower case “m.”
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Example 2.16
Please note that, like the major scales, the minor scales in sharp keys are five ascending notes apart, Am-Em-Bm-F♯m, etc., while the minor scales in flat keys are five descending notes apart, Am-Dm-Gm𝄬-Cm, etc.
Identifying Minor Scales For a simple way to determine a minor scale from a key signature with sharps, count down one whole step from the last sharp. If the last sharp is F♯, for example, the minor scale is E minor. Note that F♯ is the key signature of G major, the relative major of E minor. Determining a minor scale from a key signature with flats is based on the position of the last flat: if the last flat is on a line, go up to the line directly above it and that is the name of the minor scale. If the last flat is on a space, go to the space directly above it and that is the name of the minor scale. Remember that if the line or space above the last flat has been flatted, the name of the minor key is also flatted. For example, if the last flat is G𝄬 on a line, the line directly above it is B𝄬 so the minor key is B𝄬 minor. Note that G𝄬 is the last flat in the key of D𝄬 major, the relative major of B𝄬 minor.
Major and Minor Scales
Names of Scale Degrees In addition to its numerical placement in the scale, each degree of the major and minor scales has a name and a function that is described in example 2.17 below. The names and functions of scale degrees are highly important in the analysis and understanding of chord progressions, integral parts in the arrangement of the lead sheet in the second section of this book. Example 2.17 49
We have already discussed the tonic (1), or key note of a scale. The supertonic (2) is simply the tone over the tonic, the way to approach the key note from above. The mediant (𝄬3 in minor or 3 in major) is a tone that is three notes above the tonic (C-D-E), midway between the tonic and the dominant (5). The subdominant (4) is five scale tones below the octave tonic. The dominant (5) is five scale tones above the tonic. Note that the tonic is equidistant between the subdominant and the dominant. The submediant (𝄬6 in minor or 6 in major) is three scale tones below the octave tonic (1) and midway between the octave tonic and the subdominant. Note that the tonic is equidistant between the submediant and mediant. The subtonic (𝄬7 in minor) is a whole step below the tonic. Note that the tonic is equidistant between the subtonic and supertonic. The leading tone (7) is one half step away from the tonic and a tone that seeks resolution to the tonic.
Exercise 4 Write down the major scales that belong to the key signatures on the staves below. On the same staff, next to the major scales, write the relative natural minor scales. Write the names of the scale degrees below each major and minor scale. Example 2.18
The Lead Sheet
Example 2.18 (Continued)
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The Circle of Fifths We have seen that all major and minor key signatures are based on ascending and descending scale degrees five notes apart. If the pattern is taken far enough, it returns to the original key. If we begin with C, for example, and move upward five scale degrees at a time, the pattern would go something like this: C-G-D-A-E-B (C𝄬)-F♯(G𝄬)-C♯(D𝄬)-A𝄬-E𝄬-B𝄬-F-C, This phenomenon is called the circle of fifths with the sharp keys moving clockwise and the flat keys moving counter-clockwise. Note that the names of major keys are represented outside the circle while the names of their relative minor keys are inside the circle. Example 2.19
Major and Minor Scales
Often musical theatre composers choose not to pass through the entire circle of fifths to return to a starting tonality. Instead they employ a short cut, moving directly across the circle as in the progression: C–F–B𝄬–E𝄬–A–D–G–C. Even with the short cut, the pattern of falling fifths is maintained since A is five descending scale degrees away from E𝄬. In his 1962 musical No Strings, Richard Rodgers composed a number based on the circle of fifths called “Loads of Love.” Notice in example 2.20 how the bass line of the song proceeds in falling fifths to return to where it began. Notice, also, how the vocal melody on beat 3 of measures 1–3 replicates the fifth-driven bass line. Example 2.20 [Sound file 2.8]
Another important example of the circle of fifths in musical theatre literature is Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are” from Very Warm for May. The bass line for Kern’s melody begins on F and wanders through falling fifths—B𝄬–E𝄬–A𝄬–D𝄬–G–C—before repeating the series starting on C. These falling fifth patterns are called sequences and are typically used to express an idea that is developing and only comes to a conclusion at the end of the sequence. In performance it often reflects the mental process of finding the right word, gathering the courage to speak a thought, or admitting to an emotion. Musically, the circle of fifths employs both major and minor tonalities in a forward-moving process that can be extremely effective dramatically (see Harmonic Movement in Unit 6 and Secondary Dominants in Unit 9).
The Harmonic Minor Scale In Example 2.17 we noted the difference between the subtonic (the seventh scale degree in the natural minor scale) and the leading tone (the seventh scale degree of the major scale). Because the leading tone in a major scale is only one half step, the gravitational pull to the tonic note is quite strong. The resolution sounds and feels much more complete when 7–8 (1) is only a half step. As a result, composers of Western music interpolated the major scale leading tone into the natural minor scale and created what is called the harmonic minor scale (see example 2.21). Example 2.21 [Sound file 2.9]
Note that the only difference between the natural minor and harmonic minor is the raised seventh scale degree creating an exotic sounding distance of a whole step and a half between the sixth and seventh notes of the scale. Perhaps one of the most obvious uses of the harmonic minor in musical theatre literature was accomplished by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross in their 1954 hit, The Pajama Game, with the provocative and mysterious “Hernando’s Hideaway” (see example 2.22). Example 2.22 [Sound file 2.10]
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The Lead Sheet
The repeated half steps in the melody, the separation of the lyric by rests creating a kind of breathless staccato, and the exotic raised seventh instilled in the number a kind of enigmatic atmosphere that proved to be exceptionally dramatic and successful in performance.
The Melodic Minor Scale Because of the awkward interval between the sixth and seventh scale degrees, composers of Western music found the harmonic minor scale to be limiting melodically and urged the development of a melodic minor scale that raised both the sixth and seventh degrees of the natural minor scale and permitted an ascending stepwise melodic contour without the cumbersome leap of a step and a half. To preserve the characteristics of the minor scale and create a more successful descending pattern (remember that raising a tone typically signifies an ascending pattern), the melodic minor returned to the natural minor when descending. This resulted in a nine tone scale as shown in example 2.23.
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Example 2.23 [Sound file 2.11]
With the melodic minor, composers enjoyed the potential of using the natural sixth and seventh along with the raised notes in the same piece. Although the scale was designed to raise the sixth and seventh on the ascent and lower them to their natural minor positions going down, musical theatre composers often tend to use the notes interchangeably, regardless of direction. Cole Porter’s “Solomon” from Nymph Errant, for example, begins the melodic phrase with the raised sixth and seventh in D minor, ascending and descending, then leaps to the natural sixth before descending again (see example 2.24). Example 2.24 [Sound file 2.12]
Porter’s use of the melodic minor is intentionally exotic, a satirical approach to Eastern music befitting a song about King Solomon. Particularly interesting are measures two and three where the raised sixth is juxtaposed with the natural sixth, providing a bluesy nuance to the melodic phrase and a subtle comment on the lyric “contented lives.” Milton Schafer’s “It’s Your Fault” from the 1965 musical Drat! The Cat! employs E𝄬 melodic minor as the tonal center of an animated dispute, using both the natural and raised sixths and sevenths in parallel ascending phrases (see example 2.25). Example 2.25 [Sound file 2.13]
Major and Minor Scales
Singing Minor Scales Knowing how the various minor scales are constructed is important when it comes to analyzing songs and determining how the structure of the music works dramatically. Knowing how to sing the three kinds of minor scales when they occur in performance is equally important. There are two methods of sight-reading the natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales. Since every minor scale begins on the sixth degree of its relative major, one solfège method begins the minor scale with the sixth solfège syllable, La, so that, for the natural minor, one would sing:
La, Ti, Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La. 6, 7, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. For the harmonic minor, one would sing:
La, Ti, Do, Re, Mi, Fa, Si, La. 6, 7, 1, 2, 3, 4, ♯5, 6. For the melodic, one would sing:
La, Ti, Do, Re, Mi, Fi, Si, La, Sol, Fa, Mi, Re, Do, Ti, La. 6, 7, 1, 2, 3, ♯4, ♯5, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 7, 6. Another solfège method begins with Do and adjusts the syllables to coincide with the lowered pitches. The natural minor would use the pattern:
Do, Re, Me, Fa, Sol, Le, Te, Do. 1, 2, 𝄬3, 4, 5, 𝄬6, 𝄬7, 1. The harmonic minor would sing:
Do, Re, Me, Fa, Sol, Le, Ti, Do. 1, 2, 𝄬3, 4, 5, 𝄬6, 7, 1. The melodic minor would use the pattern:
Do, Re, Me, Fa, Sol, La, Ti, Do, Te, Le, Sol, Fa, Me, Re, Do. 1, 2, 𝄬3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1, 𝄬7, 𝄬6, 5, 4, 𝄬3, 2, 1. Note that solfège syllables become “i” (pronounced “ee”) when raised and “e” (pronounced “ay”) when lowered. A raised Do, for example becomes Di; a raised Fa becomes Fi; a lowered Sol becomes Se, etc. There are exceptions, however: Re becomes Ra when lowered; Mi becomes Ma when raised; and Ti becomes To when raised. Note that double sharps add an “s” to the sharp name: Di becomes Dis, Ri becomes Ris, etc. Double flats add an “f” to the flatted name: Me becomes Mef, Fe becomes Fef, etc., and Ra becomes Raf.
Exercise 4 Using A below middle C as a starting point, sing the natural minor scale using either of the two methods explained above. Once you have mastered the A natural minor, go up one half step and sing the natural minor scale in B𝄬. Continue this process until you have mastered the natural minor scales from A to G♯. Repeat this exercise for the harmonic and melodic minor scales.
Exercise 5 On the staves below, write the harmonic and melodic minor scales as indicated by the key signatures. At the discretion of the instructor, sing the scales and play them on the piano.
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The Lead Sheet
Example 2.26
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The Major-Minor Scale (Mode Mixture) As the variations within the minor system drew it closer and closer to the major scale (the use of a device called the Picardy third even allowed music in a minor key to end with a major third rather than the lowered third common to all three minor scales), a composite major-minor, ten-note scale was developed with flexible thirds, sixths, and sevenths that clearly identified the key note or tonic, but also permitted it to move easily between major and minor systems (see example 2.27). Example 2.27 [Sound file 2.14]
Because the composite major-minor scale is not a true scale (there can be no key signature for a scale that flats and naturals the same notes) many musical theorists prefer to call the easy flow between major and minor a mode mixture (mode is a synonym for scale and also refers to the mood of a composition or dramatic situation). In a mode mixture, composers writing in a major key might borrow tones from the parallel minor key; similarly, composers working in a minor key might borrow tones from the parallel major.
Major and Minor Scales
The 1956 musical staring Sammy Davis Jr., Mr. Wonderful, produced a major hit with “Too Close for Comfort,” a song by Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener, and George Weiss, that took advantage of the easy flow between major and minor scales (see e xample 2.28). Example 2.28 Sound file 2.15
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The A natural in bars 2 and 5, and B natural in measure 4 may be indicative of C melodic minor, especially with the B𝄬 in bars 5 and 6, but the use of an E natural in measure 1 and an E𝄬 in bars 3 and 4 demonstrates the presence of a mode mixture. By the end of the number, however, the melody falls into a pattern that grounds it securely in the key of C minor—the key governed by the key signature of the piece. Musical theatre composers like Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, and Kurt Weill who often employ the major-minor mode mixture to add color and melodic interest to their compositions typically decide on a major or minor conclusion to their songs based on the key signature.
Modal Shifts In musical theatre literature, the easy flow between major and minor is also present in songs that begin as minor but end as major, either in the relative major key, or in the parallel major, using the same key note as the minor. Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are” which was discussed above in relation to the circle of fifths is a fine example of a song beginning in minor and ending in its relative major. Richard Rodgers’s “The Sweetest Sounds” from No Strings and “My Funny Valentine” from Babes in Arms, Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies” interpolated into Rodgers and Hart’s 1926 musical, Betsy, and Cole Porter’s “From This Moment On” from Out of This World and “So in Love” from Kiss Me, Kate are others. In each case, the melody journeys from minor to major to minor, finally resolving in the relative major key. Such modal shifts create subtle variations of mood and emotion creating a dynamic thrust in the music. See example 2.29 below, a portion of “My Favorite Things” from The Sound of Music that is obviously in the key of E minor. Example 2.29 [Sound file 2.16]
In example 2.30 below, we find the ending of the chorus of “My Favorite Things” obviously in the key of G major, with lyrics that announce a positive conclusion, reflecting the characters’ change of mood after thinking about their favorite things. Example 2.30 [Sound file 2.17]
The Lead Sheet
Examples of movement from minor to parallel major include Cole Porter’s “I Love Paris” from Can-Can, Jerry Herman’s “La Cage aux Folles” from the musical of the same name, and Bock and Harnick’s “Far from the Home I Love” from Fiddler on the Roof. Porter sets the first section of “I Love Paris” (sixteen bars) in minor with a melody that is mirrored an octave higher in the parallel major in the second section (sixteen bars). The change from minor to major and the octave vocal leap is one of Porter’s favorite devices to create an effective outpouring of emotion. The Herman and Bock and Harnick examples are especially interesting since the journey from minor to parallel major resolves in minor. The progression from minor to major invariably produces a kind of emotional uplift, a promise of hope, of resolution; the return to minor adds poignancy and uncertainty even to positive lyrics. During Christmas time in New York City, for example, when various charities are competing for donations, someone at the Red Cross had the brilliant idea of delivering its television message while “Jingle Bells” in a minor key was playing in the background. The campaign immediately touched the heart of the city and the Red Cross had a banner year. Music has the monumental power to move people, especially when music itself moves from major to minor and vice versa, as Cole Porter noted in his “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” (The Seven Lively Arts). See example 2.31 below, “I Don Quixote,” from Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion’s Man of La Mancha, obviously in the key of D minor.
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Example 2.31 [Sound file 2.18]
The minor scale is clearly appropriate to the lyrics, “bleak and unbearable world,” but when the character, with supreme bravado, announces himself and his qualifications (“destroyer of evil”), the key briefly changes to the parallel major (see e xample 2.32) with the addition of B♮, F♯, and C♯, tones that suggest the key of D major rather than the D minor of the key signature. Example 2.32 [Sound file 2.19]
The key again changes to minor when he announces his intention “to conquer or die” and remains in minor even though Quixote promises to go onward to glory, implying, perhaps, a subtle insecurity or irresolution on his part. The change from major to minor suggests a dramatic difference between Quixote’s statement of identity and his avowal of purpose.
Performing Major and Minor Scales Performers typically determine the key note or tonic (do) of a piece from the key signature. We have seen, however, that a key signature provides us with two possibilities: a major key and a minor key. To determine whether the key signature is major or minor, look at the starting and ending notes of a song. If a key signature with one sharp begins and ends with G, the key is G major. If it begins and ends with E, the key is E minor. If the beginning and ending notes are different, typically the final note of the song will be the tonic of the key. When no key signature
Major and Minor Scales
is present, the key note can be determined by assembling the sharps or flats in a piece into a key signature and finding the final note of the song. If, for example, a song has F♯, C♯, and G♯ in its melody, and the final tone is A, then it is reasonable to assume that the key note is A, and that the song is in A major. If the piece has no sharps or flats and the final tone is A, then the key note is still A, but the key is A minor.
Exercise 6 Using either solfège syllables or numbers, practice singing the following major and minor scale patterns.
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Example 2.33
Example 2.34
Example 2.35
Major and Minor Scales
Example 2.35 (Continued)
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Exercise 7 Determine the key and write the appropriate solfège syllables or numbers beneath the following major and minor examples. Slowly sing the examples using the solfège syllables or numbers. At the discretion of the instructor, play the examples on the piano. Example 2.36 is an excerpt of “Rocking in the Old Canoe” from Dayton, Ohio, a revue based on the lyrics of Paul Lawrence Dunbar. Example 2.37 is a portion of “The Player Piano” from the 1977 musical, Louise, loosely based on the life of Edith Piaf; note the change of key signature midway through the song. Examples 2.38, “Alas, Am I Then Forsaken,” and 2.39, “A Curse upon That Faithless Maid,” are selections from the 2008 musical fantasy, Emperor of the Moon. Example 2.36
Example 2.36 (Continued)
Example 2.37
Example 2.38
Example 2.39
3
Modes and Other Scales
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Example 3.1 [Sound file 3.1]
Although musical theatre composers spend most of their efforts with scales known as major and minor, the popularity of local color, exoticism, and ethnicity in musicals has led composers and arrangers to explore different kinds of scales to express aurally the distinct environment and atmosphere of a musical play. Richard Rodgers, for example, begins The Sound of Music with nuns singing vespers to establish the religious atmosphere of the Roman Catholic convent setting of the play. Example 3.1 above is an excerpt from the plainchant (a rhythmically free, unaccompanied song) Rodgers composed using the Aeolian mode, a scale that appears identical to the natural minor scale.
Modes In the sixteenth century, a number of different scales were used in the religious services of the Roman Catholic Church. Called modes, these scales were all derived from the white notes of the piano keyboard, just like the major and minor scales we have seen in Unit 2. Although they are viewed as independent systems today, in the sixteenth century, major and minor scales were part of this system of modes named after scales developed by ancient Greek musical theorists. As you know from studying the piano keyboard, the white keys represent only seven different tones—C, D, E, F, G, A, B—and the church modes called authentic used each of these tones as a key note, creating seven different patterns of whole steps and half steps. Beginning with C and moving up the keyboard, the seven modes thus created are Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian. Three resemble minor scales, three resemble major scales, and one is unique.
“Minor” Modes Since we introduced this unit with the example from The Sound of Music, let us begin our discussion of modes with the “minor” modes—modes that resemble, and, in many ways, sound like the natural minor scale. Like the natural minor scale, the Aeolian mode (example 3.2 below) begins and ends on A creating the following pattern of whole steps (W) and half steps (H) that is exactly the same as the natural minor scale. Example 3.2 [Sound file 3.2]
The Aeolian mode (or natural minor scale) was characterized in the Middle Ages as sad, serious, and tearful, qualities that inclined composer Harvey Schmidt to employ the mode for
Modes and Other Scales
the dramatically effective “Orphan in the Storm” in his 1969 musical Celebration. In addition, the quality of the Aeolian mode was attractive to Stephen Sondheim when composing “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” set as a serious and plaintive Dies Irae–like hymn of the dead throughout his opera-musical Sweeney Todd (see example 3.3 below). Example 3.3 [Sound file 3.3]
Similar to the Aeolian mode is the Dorian mode, another minor-sounding scale, built, this time, on the key note D. The first five pitches of the Dorian mode have exactly the same whole-step-half-step structure as the Aeolian mode, but where the distance to the sixth pitch in the Aeolian mode is one half step, the distance between notes five (the dominant) and six (submediant) in the Dorian mode is one whole step (see example 3.4 below).
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Example 3.4 [Sound file 3.4]
Note that, because of the similarities between the Dorian mode and Aeolian (or natural minor) scale, the Dorian mode could be considered a natural minor scale with a raised (or sharped) sixth. Medieval theorists described the Dorian mode as serious, though happy, and capable of arresting one’s passions. A Zen-like focus was the suggested reaction of those performing as well as those listening to the mode, so it comes as no surprise that Stephen Schwartz used the mode for “O Bless the Lord, My Soul” in Godspell and Charlie Smalls, the composer of The Wiz, chose to create “Ease On Down the Road” with the Dorian mode (see e xample 3.5 below). Example 3.5 [Sound file 3.5]
According to Adam of Fulda (1445-1505), the Dorian mode was capable of arousing any feeling, a characteristic that inspired composer David Yazbek to overlay a funk rock accompaniment pattern with a Dorian melody in the first section of “Big Black Man” from The Full Monty (see example 3.6). Example 3.6 [Sound file 3.6]
Without the benefit of the funky accompaniment, the melody of “Big Black Man” is not all that dissimilar to the plainchant from The Sound of Music that opened this unit.
The Lead Sheet
Example 3.7 [Sound file 3.7]
Unlike the other minor modes, the Phrygian scale, based on the key note E, begins with a half step rather than a whole step (see example 3.7 above). Theorists in the Middle Ages called it mystical, intense, and wrathful, a dramatic departure from the tone set by the two previous modal scales. Example 3.8 [Sound file 3.8]
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A natural minor scale with a lowered (or flatted) second scale degree (the supertonic), the Phrygian mode appears in musical theatre literature to add what could be called an ethnic flavor to show music because of its historic association with European folk songs and non-Western melodies. More often than not, the identifiable half step between the first and second scale degrees of the Phrygian mode is simply added to a melody in another mode to add a certain exoticism. Excellent examples are the endings of “Far from the Home I Love” and the title song from Fiddler on the Roof (example 3.8 above). A similar usage of the Phrygian scale occurs in “Mean” and “Bajour,” two numbers from Walter Marks’s score for Bajour, a 1964 gypsy musical set in New York City, and featuring a youthful Chita Rivera. In that show, the Phrygian mode was used to affect the exotic sound of gypsy music and to differentiate it from the rest of the traditional “Broadway-sounding” score.
Writing and Singing the “Minor” Modes The Aeolian, Dorian, and Phrygian modes may be created on any given tone so long as the pattern of whole steps and half steps characteristic of each mode is maintained. To write the Aeolian, Dorian, and Phrygian modes using different key notes, first, write the natural minor scale governed by the key note, then add the specific characteristics of each mode: • For the Aeolian mode, nothing needs to be added since it is the natural minor scale; • For the Dorian mode, raise the sixth degree of the natural minor scale one half step; • For the Phrygian mode, lower the second degree of the natural minor scale one half step. To perform the minor modes, begin with the solfège pattern or numbers for the natural minor scale and adjust it according to the characteristics of each mode (see e xample 3.9 below). Example 3.9
Modes and Other Scales
Exercise 1 On the staves below, using the whole-step, half-step patterns associated with the Aeolian, Dorian, and Phrygian modes, write the scales specified from the given starting pitch. Identify the whole steps and half steps for each scale. When you have completed writing the scales, sing them using numbers or solfège syllables. At the discretion of the instructor, play the modes on the piano. Example 3.10
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The Locrian Mode Before we move on to the “major” variety of modes, let us stop to explore the Locrian mode, a scale that fits neither major nor minor categories. Like the Phrygian mode, the Locrian mode has only one half step between the first two notes of the scale but, unlike any of the minor modes, it has a half step between the fourth (subdominant) and fifth (dominant) scale degrees (see example 3.11 below).
The Lead Sheet
Example 3.11 [Sound file 3.9]
Because the distance between the fourth and fifth degrees of the Locrian scale is a half step, the distance between the key note (B) and the fifth of the scale (F) equals six half steps, a distance forbidden by the theorists of the Middle Ages who called it the “Devil’s Interval” (see discussion of the Tritone in Unit 4). As a result, the mode was rarely used in plainsong and is scarcely found today in musical theatre. Andrew Lloyd Webber, however, found the unusual and foreboding quality of the Locrian scale to be an appropriate fit for “The Beauty Underneath” in his 2010 sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies (example 3.12). 66
Example 3.12 [Sound file 3.10]
Although its practicality is usually dismissed, the Locrian mode has found a home with the proponents of free jazz improvisation and in progressive rock bands.
“Major” Modes We recognize the last four notes of the Locrian mode in the first four notes of the Lydian mode (see example 3.13), described by medieval theorists as happy, and one of three modes that resemble, and, in some ways, sound like the major scale. Example 3.13 [Sound file 3.11]
Like the Locrian mode, the Lydian scale has one half step between the subdominant and dominant; but because there are seven half steps between the tonic, or key note (F) and the dominant (C), theorists in the Middle Ages found the distance unobjectionable and encouraged the use of the mode. The Lydian mode sounds and looks like a major scale with a raised fourth scale degree and is quite popular with musical theatre composers. Leonard Bernstein based much of West Side Story on the tonal relationship between the first and fourth notes of the Lydian scale, particularly in songs, such as “Maria” and “Cool.” Harvey Schmidt used the first five notes of the mode in descending motion in “Sixty Million Years Ago” (Celebration); Kurt Weill employed the ascending Lydian scale in “Sing Me Not a Ballad” (Firebrand of Florence); Richard Rodgers employed the Lydian mode conspicuously in “Love Makes the World Go” (No Strings), “Something Wonderful” (The King and I), and “Climb Every Mountain” (The Sound of Music); and Jerry Bock found the happy mode ironically appropriate for “Dear Friend,” the sweet and longing ballad that ends the first act of She Loves Me (see example 3.14). Example 3.14 [Sound file 3.12]
Because of the proximity between the fourth and fifth scale degrees of the Lydian scale, there is a built-in tendency toward resolution to the dominant that is as strong as the
Modes and Other Scales
half-step resolution between the leading tone and the tonic. The tension-resolution potential of the mode makes it a very active musical tool in the dramatic development of a song and continues to be a favorite scale among jazz musicians as well as musical theatre composers. The Mixolydian mode, beginning on the key note G, sounds and looks like a major scale with the seventh scale degree lowered one half step (see example 3.15 below). Called youthful and angelic, by medieval theoreticians, with the ability of bonding sadness with pleasure, the Mixolydian mode is another popular mode among musical theatre composers. Example 3.15 [Sound file 3.13]
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George Gershwin and Harold Arlen were among musical theatre composers who explored the blues potential in the lowered seventh scale degree (the subtonic) of the Mixolydian mode. It is clearly discernible in Gershwin songs such as “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise” (George White’s Scandals of 1922), “Bess, You Is My Woman Now” (Porgy and Bess), and “Treat Me Rough” (Girl Crazy) as well as in Arlen’s “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead” (The Wizard of Oz), “That Old Black Magic” (Star Spangled Rhythm), “Evelina” (Bloomer Girl), and “I Never Has Seen Snow” (House of Flowers). In addition, Sherman Edwards used the Mixolydian scale poignantly in the folk-like “Momma, Look Sharp,” a ballad about the horrors of war in 1776; Richard Rodgers employed the mode in “The Man Who Has Everything” (No Strings); Frank Loesser selected the mode to depict crapshooters in “Luck Be a Lady” (Guys and Dolls); Alan Menken chose the Mixolydian scale for the stirring anthem, “Seize the Day” (Newsies); and in example 3.16, David Yazbek expressed the frustrations of the jobless with a rhythmically dynamic version of the mode in “Scrap” (The Full Monty). Example 3.16 [Sound file 3.14]
We recognize the first four notes of the Mixolydian scale in the last four notes of the Ionian mode beginning on the key note C. Called frolicsome and wanton in the Middle Ages, the Ionian mode is built on the same whole-step-half-step pattern as the natural major scale discussed in Unit 2 (see example 3.17 below). Example 3.17 [Sound file 3.15]
Writing and Singing the “Major” Modes The Ionian, Lydian, and Mixolydian modes may be created on any given note provided that the pattern of whole steps and half steps characteristic of each mode is maintained. To write the Ionian, Lydian, and Mixolydian modes using different key notes, first write the major scale governed by the key note, then add the specific characteristics of each mode: • For the Ionian mode, nothing needs to be added since it is the major scale; • For the Lydian mode, raise the fourth degree of the major scale one half step; • For the Mixolydian mode, lower the seventh degree of the major scale one half step. To perform the major modes, begin with the solfège pattern or numbers for the major scale and adjust it according to the characteristics of each mode (see e xample 3.18 below).
The Lead Sheet
Example 3.18
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Exercise 2 On the staves below, using the whole-step, half-step patterns associated with the Ionian, Lydian, and Mixolydian modes, write the modes specified from the given starting pitch. Identify the whole steps and half steps for each scale. When you have completed writing the modes, sing them using numbers or solfège syllables. At the discretion of the instructor, play the modes on the piano. Example 3.19
Modes and Other Scales
Example 3.19 (Continued)
Exercise 3 Identify the modes used in the following modal melodies. Under the notes of each melody, write the solfège pattern or numbers appropriate to your choice of mode. Sing the melodies using the solfège pattern or numbers. At the discretion of the instructor, play the modal melodies on the piano. Examples 3.20, “Will There Be Consolation?” and 3.21, “Off on a Quest,” come from the 1980 musical Gawain and the Green Knight, a medieval fable; e xamples 3.22, “Follow the Cross,” and 3.23, “How Can I Leave You?,” are derived from Let the Children Play, a 1975 musical about the thirteenth-century children’s crusade.
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Example 3.20
Example 3.21
Example 3.22
Example 3.23
Modes and Other Scales
Example 3.23 (Continued)
Other Scales: Pentatonic, Whole-Tone, and Chromatic
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Musical theatre composers follow the lead of theorists and composers of Western music in the use of other kinds of scales to vary and enrich the traditional major and minor modes. Musicals taking place in exotic Eastern locations, for example, often make use of the pentatonic, or five-tone scale, built around the black keys of the piano (see e xample 3.24). The pentatonic scale has no half steps, only whole steps and a leap of one and a half steps. Note how the pentatonic scale resembles the major scale when observing the solfège pattern and sight-singing numbers: 1-2-3-(omit the 4)-5-6. Example 3.24 [Sound file 3.16]
Although in Pacific Overtures, Stephen Sondheim creates a simple and soaring melody based on the pentatonic scale in “There Is No Other Way,” perhaps the most well-known example of the five-tone scale in musical theatre literature is “Miya Sama,” the entrance of the Mikado and Katisha in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Japanese operetta, The Mikado. Example 3.25 [Sound file 3.17]
Please note that in measures six and nine, Sullivan cheats slightly in his use of the pentatonic scale. He extends the five-tone scale to a sixth note, F, perhaps to emphasize to his audience that The Mikado is faux Japanese, especially when it attempts to portray Eastern traditions. Like the pentatonic scale, the whole-tone scale has no half steps between tones, but, as its name suggests, only whole steps between its six tones. Example 3.26 [Sound file 3.18]
There are only two possible whole-tone scales: the scale beginning on C (as above) and the other starting on D𝄬. If one begins on any other note, the result will have the same pitches as
The Lead Sheet
one of the prime whole-tone scales. For example, if the key note is E, the rest of the scale will have the same pitches as the scale with key note C. If the key note is F, the rest of the scale will have the same pitches as the scale with the keynote D𝄬. In Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing, there is a conspicuous example of an ascending whole-tone scale with the introduction of the nine Supreme Court judges, brought together for the president’s inaugural wedding day. Comically commenting on the equal standing of each of the judges, Gershwin composes the passage in whole tones (a unique sound in the score), rising up the scale as the numbers ascend (see example 3.27 below). Note that on the descending melody, instead of continuing the whole-tone scale with an A𝄬 (to match the ascending G♯ of the first measure) Gershwin chooses a half step, A♮, and resolves to G in what appears to be the first five scale degrees (descending) of a G minor scale. 72
Example 3.27 [Sound file 3.19]
As more composers of Western music began to explore the flexible relationship between major and minor systems (see The Major-Minor Scale in Unit 2), two more tones were added to the compound major-minor scale—a 𝄬2 borrowed from the Phrygian mode (providing a half-step resolution to the tonic), and a ♯4 borrowed from the Lydian mode (providing a half-step resolution to the dominant)—creating a twelve-tone chromatic scale which allowed the composer to take advantage of the twelve possible pitches in any octave on the piano keyboard (see example 3.28). Notice that the black keys on the piano are written in sharps for the ascending scale and in flats for the descending scale and that the use of sharps and flats enharmonically creates different solfège syllables and numbers. Example 3.28 [Sound file 3.20]
Cole Porter’s haunting ballad, “All through the Night” from Anything Goes makes highly effective use of the descending chromatic scale to evoke an exotic and romantic atmosphere (see example 3.29). Example 3.29 [Sound file 3.21]
Other dramatic and atmospheric uses of the chromatic scale appear in Richard Rodgers’s “Lover” (Love Me Tonight), “Nobody Told Me” (No Strings), and “Someone Like You” (Do I Hear a Waltz?), as well as John Kander’s “The Morphine Tango” (Kiss of the Spider Woman). Having the use of all possible tones within any given octave, composers could create musical theatre songs not only of great variety but also of great dramatic potential. Unrestricted to the seven notes of a scale, composers are able to set lyrics in ways that are surprising and even startling to the ear, providing an interpretation and significant dramatic nuance with the sound of the music.
Exercise 4 Identify which of the pentatonic, chromatic, or whole-tone scales was used to create each of the four melodies below. When you have made your selection, write solfège syllables or numbers beneath the notes of each melody and sing them. At the discretion of the instructor, play the melodies on the piano.
Modes and Other Scales
Example 3.30
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Exercise 5 Determine which of the following melodies are based on a pentatonic, chromatic, or whole-tone scale. Write solfège syllables or numbers below the notes of the melodies and sing them. After singing the examples, at the discretion of the instructor, play the melodies on the piano. Example 3.31, “One of These Springs,” is derived from the 1967 musical, The Day the Senate Fell in Love; example 3.32, “Happily Off to War,” comes from the 1969 rock musical, The Coldest War of All; and example 3.33, “Jolly Town Rake,” is an excerpt from Emperor of the Moon. Example 3.31
Example 3.31 (Continued)
Example 3.32
Example 3.33
4
Intervals
The distance between two notes (or tones) is called an interval. Like all of Western music, the melodies and harmonies of musical theatre songs are made up of a series of intervals, and it is necessary to be able to identify and sing them correctly when performing musical theatre literature. In addition, the size and occurrence of intervals in musical theatre songs serve musical and dramatic functions; the ability to identify the way intervals affect mood and propel a melodic line is a useful tool for performers in the interpretation of lyrics and the discovery of the dramatic action of a number. Intervals are both quantitative (a number measuring the distance between the notes, the size of the interval) and qualitative (a designation of “perfect,” “major,” “minor,” “diminished,” and “augmented”). To determine the quantitative name of an interval, simply count the letter names on the staff from the lower of the two notes in question to (and including) the higher. If the two notes were C and E, you would count C(1), D (2), E(3): the interval is 3 and called a third. If the notes were C and G, you would count C (1), D (2), E (3), F (4), G(5): the interval is 5 and called a fifth. Cardinal numbers are used in writing the size of an interval but ordinal numbers are used when speaking about them, except for 1 and 8, which have their own names: unison (or prime) and octave, respectively.
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Exercise 1 Provide the quantitative number for the intervals in the example below. Remember to always start counting from the lowest note. Example 4.1
After the numeric quantity of an interval is established, a quality must be assigned to each numeric value. It is not enough that we call an interval a third or fourth, we must determine what kind of a third or fourth it is. In the major scale, counting from the tonic or key note, all intervals are either perfect or major.
Perfect Intervals Because they were historically regarded by music theorists as the most consonant (i.e., most stable and pleasing to the ear), the prime (unison), fourth (4), fifth (5), and octave (8) are called perfect intervals. Example 4.2 below displays the perfect intervals in the C major scale along with solfège syllables and sight-singing numbers. At the discretion of the instructor, sing along with example 4.2.
The Lead Sheet
Example 4.2 [Sound file 4.1]
A repetition of pitches involving no half steps, the perfect prime interval (PP or P1), most commonly known for its ubiquitous use in Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “One-Note Samba,” has long been a staple of music theatre literature because of its consonant and emphatic reiteration of a single tone. Richard Rodgers, for example, uses the perfect prime effectively in “Eager Beaver” (No Strings), “Kansas City” (Oklahoma!) and “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” (Oklahoma!), in which the perfect prime evokes the clip-clop of the horse’s hooves as it draws the surrey along cobbled streets (example 4.3, below). 76
Example 4.3 [Sound file 4.2]
Harvey Schmidt begins “All the Dearly Beloved” the opening number of I Do! I Do! with a melody full of PPs that evokes the tone of a religious ceremony; Stephen Sondheim employs the interval to portray nervous energy in “Another Hundred People” (Company), and “Everybody Says Don’t” (Anyone Can Whistle). Many other musical theatre composers employ the interval to support or propel the dramatic event: • Michael Gore portrays the libidinous urges of adolescents with hammer-like perfect primes in “Don’t Waste the Moon” (Carrie); • Andrew Lippa uses the interval as emphatic recitation in “Pulled,” “When You’re an Addams,” “Morticia,” and “In the Arms” (The Addams Family); • Similarly, Elton John in “The Stars Look Down” (Billy Elliot: The Musical), Jonathan Larson in “Rent” (Rent), and Duncan Sheik in “Mama Who Bore Me” (Spring Awakening) use the interval to heighten the dramatic effect of the lyrics; • Stephen Schwartz also employs the perfect prime for dramatic emphasis in the section beginning, “One question haunts and hurts, too much,” in “No Good Deed” (Wicked); • Charles Strouse uses the PP for comic effect in “Ooh, Do You Love You” (It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman); • Similarly, Claude-Michel Schönberg employs the interval to create an ironically charming effect in “Master of the House” (Les Misérables); • Burton Lane explores the subtle hypnotic quality of the PP in “One More Walk around the Garden” (Carmelina); • Additionally, Bono and The Edge explore the edgy hypnotic aspect of the PP in “DIY World” and “Sinistereo” (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark); • Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone use the perfect prime to propel a revival-meeting atmosphere in “All-American Prophet” (The Book of Mormon); • Andrew Lloyd Webber manages to provide a sense of mystery and perpetual motion through the use of PPs in the “Swish and swirl” section of “Masquerade” (The Phantom of the Opera). Note that the examples cited here and throughout this unit are designed to exemplify a “conspicuous” use of the interval under discussion as an aid to ear-training and sight-singing, to help the student easily identify specific intervals in musical theatre literature and sing them
Intervals
proficiently. It is not suggested that only one kind of interval is used for an entire musical theatre composition or that no other interval is used without prominence or importance. Instructors might encourage students to explore as many of the cited illustrations as possible, given the availability of the printed music. The perfect fourth (P4, a distance of five half steps) is a popular interval in musical theatre literature because of its jovial, forward-moving nature, evocative of a hunting call. Known popularly in “The Mexican Hat Dance,” and “The Wedding March” from Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin, the P4 is used prominently by Richard Rodgers in the opening phrase of the chorus of “Oklahoma!” (Oklahoma!); Charles Strouse employs it at as the first two notes of the opening phrases of “You Can Be a New Yorker, Too” (Mayor: The Musical) and “Revenge” (It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman); and Cole Porter reiterates the interval familiarly at the beginning of “Another Op’nin’, Another Show” to add excitement to the opening scene of Kiss Me, Kate (example 4.4, below). Example 4.4 [Sound file 4.3]
Because of its ability to create excitement and propel a melody and its lyrics forward, the perfect fourth is an actively dramatic tool for musical theatre composers, and its occurrence is virtually ubiquitous in musical theatre literature. The composers who made use of the theatrical potential of the interval include • Stephen Sondheim, in “Comedy Tonight” (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum); • Jule Styne, in “Small World” (Gypsy), and again in “One Little Brick at a Time” (Look to the Lilies); • Leonard Bernstein, in “The Best of All Possible Worlds” (Candide); • Jerry Bock, in “Tradition” (Fiddler on the Roof); • John Kander, in “Wilkommen” (Cabaret); • Cy Coleman, in “The Colors of My Life” (Barnum); • Claude-Michel Schönberg, in “On My Own,” “Master of the House,” and “Who Am I?” (Les Misérables); • Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, in “Voulez-Vous” (Mamma Mia!); • Jerry Herman, in “Look What Happened to Mabel” (Mack and Mabel); • Jonathan Larson, in “Seasons of Love” (Rent); • Stephen Schwartz, in “What Is This Feeling?” (Wicked); • Alan Menken, in “Fathoms Below” and “She’s in Love” (The Little Mermaid); • Mel Brooks, in “The King of Broad,” “Betrayed,” and “Prisoners of Love” (The Producers); • Mitch Leigh, in “Girls Ahoy!” (Ain’t Broadway Grand); • Elmer Bernstein, in “It’s About Magic” (Merlin); • John Du Prez and Eric Idle, in “King Arthur,” “Brave Sir Robin,” and “What Happened to My Part?” from the score to Spamalot. The interval solidified in the popular ear by John Williams’ famous theme from Star Wars, the perfect fifth (P5, a distance of seven half steps) also has a prominent place in musical theatre writing as a consonant leap evocative of a fanfare. Returning to Oklahoma! we find the interval in the choruses of “I Cain’t Say No” and “People Will Say We’re in Love” (example 4.5).
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The Lead Sheet
Example 4.5 [Sound file 4.4]
In musical theatre literature, the perfect fifth has been conspicuously employed by composers writing in a variety of musical styles. The list includes • Stephen Schwartz, in “One Short Day” and “As Long as You’re Mine” (Wicked); • Jule Styne, in “There Comes a Time” (Look to the Lilies); • Richard Rodgers, in “My Favorite Things” (The Sound of Music); • Jonathan Larson, in “Without You” (Rent); • Duncan Sheik, in “My Junk” and “The Song of Purple Summer” (Spring Awakening); • Jeanine Tesori, in “Make a Move” (Shrek The Musical); • Bono and The Edge, in “Rise above 2” and “Turn Off the Dark” (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark); • Andrew Lloyd Webber, in “’Til I Hear You Sing” (Love Never Dies) and in “Angel of Music” (The Phantom of the Opera); • Stephen Sondheim, in “Chrysanthemum Tea” (Pacific Overtures).
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The perfect octave (P8, a distance of twelve half steps), popularized by the opening phrase of E. Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen’s “Over the Rainbow,” from The Wizard of Oz (example 4.6), has also found an actively dramatic function in contemporary musical theatre literature. Example 4.6 [Sound file 4.5]
A wide consonant leap, the octave produces the musical dramatic effect of reaching out with the comfort and stability of tonal familiarity: the musical extension is not into an unfamiliar tonality but to the higher equivalent of the note leapt away from. The composers who have explored the dramatic potential of the perfect octave include • Claude-Michel Schönberg, in “Bring Him Home” (Les Misérables); • Elton John, in “Deep into the Ground” (Billy Elliot: The Musical); • Elmer Bernstein, in “Put a Little Magic in Your Life” (Merlin); • Mel Brooks, in “Springtime for Hitler” (The Producers); • John Du Prez and Eric Idle, in “I’m All Alone” (Spamalot); • Andrew Lloyd Webber, in “Our Kind of Love” (A Beautiful Game), and in the subsequent iteration of the melody as “Love Never Dies” (Love Never Dies).
Identifying the Qualitative Nature of Intervals After the quantitative number of an interval has been established (i.e., counting up from the lower note) there are two methods of identifying the qualitative nature of intervals: • Count the number of half steps between the notes. Our discussion of each interval specifies the number of half steps specific to that interval. If, for example, the number of the interval is 4 and you count five half steps, then the interval is a P4. If you count fewer or more half steps between the notes, the interval is still a fourth but not perfect.
Intervals
• A second method is often preferred by many musical theorists. We said at the beginning of this unit that in a major scale, all the intervals counting from the tonic are either perfect or major. This method involves our always thinking of the lower note of an interval as the tonic of a major scale. If the upper note would naturally appear in the scale of which the lower note is the tonic, then the interval is either perfect or major. For example, if the lower note is F and the top note is B𝄬, we know immediately that the interval is a perfect fourth since the F scale has a B𝄬 as the fourth scale degree. Note, also, that the lower note may not be the tonic of the scale (or key) the song is written in; in which case you would need to imagine that the lower note is the tonic of a new scale. For example, if the song is written in the key of F but the interval is from C (lower note) to G, in identifying that interval we need to imagine that C is the tonic of a major scale and that the interval is a P5 since G occurs naturally in the C major scale. If the lower note happens to be a note for which there is no scale (for example, the interval A♯–E♯), determine what the interval would be without the sharps (A–E), then reinstate the sharps. A–E is a P5 since E is the natural fifth in the key of A major. Since both notes are sharped, the relationship between the notes remains the same and the answer is P5.
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Exercise 2 Using either method described above, identify the perfect intervals beneath the notes of the following musical example. Example 4.7
Once you have identified all the perfect intervals, slowly sing the example using solfège syllables or numbers. Afterward, at the instructor’s discretion, play the example on the piano.
Major Intervals In a major scale, counting from the tonic, all seconds, thirds, sixths, and sevenths are major (see example 4.8). At the discretion of the instructor, sing along with the example below.
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Example 4.8 [Sound file 4.6]
The major second (M2, a distance of two half steps, or one whole step) represents adjacent notes on a scale and is a common connective interval in musical theatre literature, featured prominently (in combination with perfect primes) by Richard Rodgers, in “It Might as Well Be Spring” (State Fair), example 4.9. Example 4.9 [Sound file 4.7]
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Many other significant musical theatre composers employ the M2 conspicuously in their work: • Jule Styne, in “People” (Funny Girl); • Mark Sandrich Jr., in “I Invented Myself” (Ben Franklin in Paris); • Charles Strouse, in “Everybody Wants to Do a Musical” (Nick and Nora); • Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, in “Pity the Child” (Chess) and “Mamma Mia!” (Mamma Mia!); • Jonathan Larson, in “One Song Glory” (Rent); • Michael Gore, in “Unsuspecting Hearts” (Carrie); • Stephen Schwartz, in “No One Mourns the Wicked” (Wicked); • Alan Menken, in “Her Voice,” and “Kiss the Girl” (The Little Mermaid); • Duncan Sheik, in “All That’s Known” (Spring Awakening); • Elton John, in “Solidarity” (Billy Elliot: The Musical); • Claude-Michel Schönberg, in “At the End of the Day” and “A Heart Full of Love” (Les Misérables); • Andrew Lloyd Webber, in “All I Ask of You” (The Phantom of the Opera); • Mel Brooks, in “That Face” (The Producers); • Jeanine Tesori, in “Story of My Life” (Shrek The Musical); • John Du Prez and Eric Idle, in “Run Away!” (Spamalot); • Bono and The Edge, in “Bouncing Off the Walls” (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark). The major third (M3, a distance of four half steps, or two whole steps) is an easy, consonant leap displayed effectively by Richard Rodgers, in “Do-Re-Mi” (The Sound of Music) in the phrase “deer, a female deer” (example 4.10). Example 4.10 [Sound file 4.8]
Musical theatre literature offers a great number of examples of the jovial, positive, and assuring character of the major third. Composers who have made much of the interval’s dramatic potential include • Cy Coleman, in “Come Follow the Band” and “The Colors of My Life” (Barnum); • Jonathan Larson, in “I’ll Cover You” (Rent);
Intervals
• John Kander, in “All That Jazz” (Chicago); • Harvey Schmidt, in “What Is a Woman?” (I Do! I Do!); • Richard Rodgers, in “If I Loved You” (Carousel); • Stephen Sondheim, in “There Won’t Be Trumpets” (Anyone Can Whistle); • Andrew Lloyd Webbers, in “Prima Donna” (The Phantom of the Opera). The major sixth (M6, a distance of nine half steps), commonly associated with the opening phrase of “My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean” or the old NBC call sign, is a large consonant leap that appears in the opening phrase of “Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera (example 4.11). Note how the intervals descend as the melody progresses, as if the singer is pulling the listener closer as the melody unfolds. Example 4.11 [Sound file 4.9]
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The interval of a major sixth is a musical leap sufficiently large and consonant to suggest a dramatic extension or grasping that is within the reach of the character. It can create dramatic tension and/or emphasis, assist in a change of focus, or express the range of a character’s objective. The musical theatre composers who have explored the many theatrical uses of the major sixth include • Charlie Smalls, in “If You Believe” (The Wiz); • Richard Rodgers, in “What’s the Use of Wond’rin’ ” (Carousel); • Stephen Sondheim, in “Everybody Says Don’t” (Anyone Can Whistle); • Jerry Herman, in “I’ll Be Here Tomorrow” (The Grand Tour); • Mel Brooks, in “Along Came Bialy” and “I Want to Be a Producer” (The Producers); • Claude-Michel Schönberg, in “A Little Fall of Rain” (Les Misérables); • Mark Sandrich Jr., in “You’re in Paris” and “When I Dance with the Person I Love” (Ben Franklin in Paris). The major seventh (M7, a distance of eleven half steps) is a large dissonant (unpleasant-sounding) leap that is useful in creating and communicating dramatic tension. Although musical theatre composers tend to use it sparingly, Stephen Sondheim employed the interval for great theatrical effect in “Anyone Can Whistle” (Anyone Can Whistle), and at the end of the melody line in “The Road You Didn’t Take” (Follies). Marvin Hamlisch used the interval satirically in the phrase, “I’ll apply the Sondheimlich maneuver” in “Paula (An Improvised Love Song)” in The Goodbye Girl and seriously to express the tension in the line “to feel the motion” in “Nothing” (A Chorus Line). Similarly, Duncan Sheik used the interval to add tension to “The Mirror-Blue Night” in Spring Awakening. Stephen Schwartz’s use of the M7 is especially effective dramatically at the beginning of “Gifts of Love” from The Baker’s Wife (example 4.12). Example 4.12 [Sound file 4.10]
Note the presence of two seventh intervals in example 4.12. The seventh in the first measure is an M7 while the seventh leap in measures 3–4 (with only 10 half steps) is called a minor seventh (m7), an interval discussed below. Listen to example 4.12 again and try to hear the difference
The Lead Sheet
between the M7 and m7. Note how the presence of two musical leaps of a seventh adds tension to the simple lyric.
Exercise 3 Following the instructions for the two methods of recognizing intervals, identify the M2s, M3s, M6s, and M7s beneath the notes in the following example. Remember, if you employ the major scale method, all the upper tones must fit naturally within the scale of the lower note to qualify as major intervals. If the lower note of an interval happens to be a tone for which there is no scale (for example, the interval A♯–B♯) cancel both sharps and analyze the interval as A–B. Since B is the second scale degree in the scale of A major, we know that A–B is an M2. Since both notes are sharped in the original interval, the relationship between the notes remains the same and the answer is M2.
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Example 4.13
Once you have identified all the major intervals, slowly sing the example using solfège syllables or numbers. Afterward, at the instructor’s discretion, play the example on the piano.
Minor Intervals All major intervals become minor when the distance between the two tones is shortened by one half step. Major intervals are indicated by “M,” minor intervals by the lower case “m.” At the discretion of the instructor, sing along with example 4.14 below. Example 4.14 [Sound file 4.11]
The minor second (m2, a distance of one half step) is a common interval in musical theatre songs because the half-step distance between tones provides a dramatically effective tension-resolution dynamic (evocative of the relationship between leading tone and tonic in the
Intervals
major scale) that can sound sinister, mysterious, or jovial. Popularized by John Williams as the shark’s theme in Jaws, the m2 is featured in Harold Arlen’s “Two Ladies in de Shade of de Banana Tree” from House of Flowers (example 4.15). Note how the inherent proximity of the tones creates a dynamic setting of the lyrics with tension and resolution in each repetition of the interval. Example 4.15 [Sound file 4.12]
Other musical theatre composers who have employed the m2 effectively include • Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, in “Hernando’s Hideaway” (The Pajama Game); • Andrew Lloyd Webber, in “Think of Me” (The Phantom of the Opera), “The Beauty Underneath,” and “Heaven by the Sea” (Love Never Dies); • Jule Styne, in “Just in Time” (Bells Are Ringing), and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” (Gypsy); • Harvey Schmidt, in “The Honeymoon Is Over” (I Do! I Do!); • Jonathan Larson, in “Rent” (Rent); • Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, in “Thank You for the Music,” and “Money, Money, Money” (Mamma Mia!); • Mel Brooks, in “’Til Him” (The Producers); • Bono and The Edge, in “Picture This” (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark); • John Du Prez and Eric Idle, in “The Song That Goes like This” (Spamalot).
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The minor third (m3, a distance of three half steps), popularized in the children’s ditty, “This Old Man” (“paddywack, give a dog a bone”), was the interval chosen by Vincent Youmans for “I Want to Be Happy” in No, No, Nanette. Jerry Herman used the m3 liberally throughout “Marianne” in The Grand Tour, as did Charles Strouse, in “You’ve Got Possibilities” (It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman), and John Kander chose to set the lyric, “Life is a cabaret, old chum,” with an m3 in Cabaret (example 4.16). Example 4.16 [Sound file 4.13]
The m3 is consonant though somewhat darker than an M3. Dramatically, the interval appears less resolved or final than its major counterpart and is often used to evoke tension, unfulfilled promise or desire, and/or feelings of longing. Other musical theatre composers have also explored the dramatic potential of the m3: • Jonathan Larson, in “Take Me or Leave Me” (Rent); • Duncan Sheik, in “The Bitch of Living” and “And Then There Were None” (Spring Awakening); • Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, in “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” (Mamma Mia!); • Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone, in “Hello!” (The Book of Mormon); • Harvey Schmidt, in “Nobody’s Perfect” (I Do! I Do!); • Bono and The Edge, in “No More” (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark). The minor sixth (m6, a distance of eight half steps) is a consonant leap used by Jerry Bock at the beginning of “Dear Friend” (She Loves Me), and by Stephen Sondheim as the first two notes of “Johanna” (Sweeney Todd), example 4.17. In both cases, the m6 is used to express an emotional reaching out, adding pathos to the dramatic event.
The Lead Sheet
Example 4.17 [Sound file 4.14]
In addition, Richard Rodgers used the m6 leap to add poignancy to the lighthearted mood in “Many a New Day” (Oklahoma!); Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus established the tone of pathos in “Where I Want to Be” (Chess) with an m6; and Charles Strouse used the interval to add irony to Nora’s proclamation of well-being in “Swell” (Nick and Nora). The minor seventh (m7, a distance of ten half steps) is a common “blues” interval in music, popular in musical theatre because it is always moving forward toward an anticipated resolution, typically a half step lower on the sixth degree of the scale. When the expected resolution fails to occur, the listener is left suspended in anticipation of further movement. As a result, with and without resolution, the interval is a source of dramatic tension and interest. Leonard Bernstein, for example, used an ascending m7 at the beginning of “Somewhere” in West Side Story (example 4.18) to portray the characters’ longing for a better existence. 84
Example 4.18 [Sound file 4.15]
Similarly, Andrew Lloyd Webber dramatically employed the ascending leap in “Look with Your Heart” in Love Never Dies. The emotional effectiveness of the descending m7 was explored by Richard Rodgers, who launched the chorus of “Something Wonderful” in The King and I with a falling m7 leap; Stephen Sondheim, who dramatically articulated the word “whistle” in “Anyone Can Whistle” with a falling m7; and Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, who introduced the chorus of “The Winner Takes It All” (Mamma Mia!) with the descending interval.
Exercise 4 Following the instructions for the two methods of recognizing intervals, identify each m2, m3, m6, and m7 beneath the notes in the following example. Remember that all minor intervals are major intervals lowered one half step. Example 4.19
Intervals
Once you have identified all the minor intervals, slowly sing the example using solfège syllables or numbers if necessary. Afterward, at the instructor’s discretion, play the example on the piano.
Diminished Intervals Unlike the major intervals that are called minor when lowered one half step, perfect intervals lowered one half step are called diminished (dim) (see e xample 4.20 below). Note the absence of a diminished prime in the example. Since the determination of an interval always begins with the lowest note, a prime cannot be less than itself. Hypothetically, a diminished prime would be C–C𝄬; but if our determination of the size and quality of an interval must always begin with the lower note, the interval in question is actually C𝄬–C, larger, not smaller, and therefore not dimished. At the instructor’s discretion, sing along with e xample 4.20. Example 4.20 [Sound file 4.16]
With the exception of the diminished fifth—a tritone comprised of six half steps that will be discussed below—the diminished perfect intervals are seldom used in musical theatre literature. However, there are a few examples. The lines, “Pris’ners of love, our turtle doves” in Mel Brooks’s “Prisoners of Love” (The Producers) provide an example of a diminished fourth (dim4, with four half steps). Similarly, the lines “lovers possessions” and “Back where I started” in Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus’s “Where I Want to Be” (Chess) are written as diminished fourths. Stephen Sondheim composed the phrase, “This is the land of opportunity” in “The Ballad of Guiteau” (Assassins) with a diminished fifth (dim5, with six half steps) on the underlined portion of the word, “opportunity”; and Stephen Schwartz made use of the dim5 on the lyrics, “Turn back” in “Turn Back, O Man” from Godspell (see augmented fourth below for more examples of the diminished fifth). In addition, Leonard Bernstein used a diminished octave (dim8, with eleven half steps) on the underlined portion of the lyrics, “Nothing you have ever seen” in “Pass the Football” from Wonderful Town. Minor intervals that are lowered one half step are called diminished (dim) as well. Diminished seconds have a distance of no half steps and thus sound like perfect primes; diminished thirds have a distance of two half steps and thus sound like major seconds; diminished sixths have seven half steps and thus sound like perfect fifths; diminished sevenths have nine half steps and thus sound like major sixths (see example 21 below). Remember, notes that sound the same but are written differently are called enharmonic. Solfège syllables and sight-singing numbers are provided for both the double-flatted notes and their enharmonic equivalents. At the discretion of the instructor, sing along with the example below. Example 4.21 [Sound file 4.17]
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The Lead Sheet
Because the double-flatted notes are equivalent to a lower scale degree (D double-flat is C, E double-flat is D, A double-flat is G, B double-flat is A), these diminished intervals are rarely used in theatrical music, except in passages with chromatic melodies where enharmonic spellings might be misleading.
Augmented Intervals When perfect and major intervals are raised one half step (one half-step), they are called augmented (aug). At the discretion of the instructor, sing along with e xample 4.22 below. Example 4.22 [Sound file 4.18]
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When singing augmented intervals, one finds that they sound exactly the same as many of the intervals we have already seen. For example, augmented prime (augP, a distance of one half step) sounds like a minor 2; an augmented second (aug2, a distance of three half steps) sounds like a minor third; an augmented fifth (aug5, a distance of 8 half steps) sounds like a minor sixth. The reason that these intervals sound alike is that they share the same number of half steps. Example 4.23 demonstrates the similarities between intervals. At the discretion of the instructor, sing along with the example below. Example 4.23 [Sound file 4.19]
Although intervals may have the same number of half steps and sound alike, remember that the written notes determine their numerical coefficient. Any note relating to itself, for example, even if sharped or flatted will be some kind of prime (or 1). It is important in ear-training
Intervals
to learn which intervals on paper sound the same to help in sight-singing musical theatre literature. Augmented intervals appear in musical theatre literature with varying degrees of frequency: the augmented seconds, augmented thirds, and augmented sevenths are hardly used at all while the augmented prime and augmented fourth have become popular musical-dramatic tools of the theatre composer. With its ascending chromatic motion propelling both melody and lyric forward, the augmented prime is conspicuously present in Jerry Bock’s “Gentleman Jimmy” (Fiorello!), Richard Rodgers’s “Sunday” (Flower Drum Song), Jule Styne’s “Sadie, Sadie” (Funny Girl), and Stephen Sondheim’s “Broadway Baby” and “Waiting for the Girls Upstairs” (Follies) to cite just a few examples.
The Tritone Also known as a diminished fifth or an augmented fourth, the tritone (TT, or “Devil’s Interval”), consisting of six half steps, is a very prominent enharmonic interval in musical theatre literature.. Music theorists in the Middle Ages considered the tritone the most dissonant of intervals since it was unstable and absolutely required resolution: the aug4 up to the fifth degree of the scale, the dim5 down to the fourth. Because it is an interval of tension demanding resolution, the tritone found ample usage in musical theatre literature, particularly throughout West Side Story, most conspicuously in “Cool,” and “Maria” where it is represented as an augmented fourth (example 4.24 below).
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Example 4.24 [Sound file 4.20]
Other theatre composers who took advantage of the tension/release potential of the tritone include • Jonathan Larson, in “Take Me or Leave Me” (Rent); • Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, in “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” (Mamma Mia!); • Marvin Hamlisch, in “What I Did for Love” (A Chorus Line); • Mitch Leigh, in “Girls Ahoy!” (Ain’t Broadway Grand); • Jerry Herman, in “La Cage Aux Folles” (La Cage Aux Folles); • Charles Strouse, in “Dancing with the Fools” (Rags); • Andrew Lloyd Webber, in the heated confrontational duet between Raoul and the Phantom, “Devil Take the Hindmost” (Love Never Dies).
Exercise 5 Following the instructions for the two methods of recognizing intervals, write the names of each of the intervals in examples 4.25 and 4.26 beneath the notes. Remember, if the lower note of an interval happens to be a tone for which there is no scale (for example, the interval A♯–G), cancel the sharp and analyze the interval as A–G. Since G♯ is the seventh scale degree in the scale of A major, we know that A–G is an m7. Reinstating the A♯ reduces the interval by one half step, and minor intervals decreased by a half step are called diminished. The interval A♯–G is a dim7.
The Lead Sheet
Example 4.25
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Note the incomplete measure at the end of example 4.25. Remember that when songs begin with pickup notes, it is a common practice to leave out of the final measure the same number of beats that the pickup notes contained so that together they would total a complete measure (see Pickup Measures in Unit 1). Example 4.26
Intervals
Example 4.26 (Continued)
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Once you have identified all the intervals, slowly sing the example using solfège syllables or numbers. Afterward, at the instructor’s discretion, play the example on the piano.
Harmonic Intervals The intervals under discussion thus far have been in a horizontal position, that is, positioned one after the other on the staff. This kind of interval is called a melodic interval because it supplies the raw material for musical melodies. Intervals that are in a vertical position, that is, positioned one on top of the other on the staff, are called harmonic intervals because they provide the raw material for harmony. The rules that apply to melodic intervals regarding the naming of intervals also apply to harmonic intervals. A major third melodically, for example, is the same major third when written harmonically.
Exercise 6 On the lines provided, identify the harmonic intervals in the example below. Example 4.27
At the discretion of the instructor, play the exercise on the piano when you have completed the identification of the harmonic intervals.
Exercise 7 Write the names of the harmonic intervals below the notes in the following two examples. The first example, “Don’t Waste the Moon,” is derived from the 1988 version of Carrie, with music
The Lead Sheet
by Michael Gore and lyrics by Dean Pitchford. The second, “Gun Song,” is from the 1991 musical Assassins, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Example 4.28
Example 4.29
After you have labeled all of the intervals, slowly sing each example on “Ah.” Use solfège syllables or sight-singing numbers only if necessary. At the instructor’s discretion, play the examples on the piano.
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Inversions of Intervals Intervals can be inverted by placing the lower note an octave higher (or the higher note an octave lower). Thus, a second becomes a seventh, a third becomes a sixth, and so forth, according to the following formula: subtract the number of the interval from 9 and the result is the number of the inversion. Perfect intervals remain perfect, major intervals become minor, minor intervals become major, augmented intervals become diminished, and diminished intervals become augmented (see example 4.30 below). Example 4.30 [Sound file 4.21]
Exercise 8 The knowledge of intervallic inversions is important to the creation of vocal harmonization in musical theatre works. In example 4.31, name the written melodic intervals below the staff and supply the names and notes of their inversions. For example, if the original interval is a major third, C–E, write M3 under the notes on the staff; then write the inversion, E–C, in the space provided on the staff, and identify the interval as m6 below the notes. Sing each original interval as well as the inversion you provide. At the instructor’s discretion, play the exercise on the piano.
Intervals
Example 4.31
Compound Intervals
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The musical theatre examples explored thus far have employed intervals within the compass of an octave. These intervals are called simple intervals. Occasionally, the demands of musical theatre require the performance of intervals beyond an octave—typically for dramatic effect. Intervals that go beyond the scope of the octave are called compound intervals and follow the same rules as simple intervals. An M9 uses the same notes as an M2, for example, with an octave added between them. To determine the simple interval equivalent of a compound interval, subtract 7 from the number of the compound interval. Inversely, to determine the compound interval equivalent of a simple interval, add 7 to the number of the simple interval. Note that when a compound interval is inverted it returns to its simple interval equivalent (see example 4.32, below). Example 4.32 [Sound file 4.22]
Musical theatre composers have made effective use of compound intervals to express emotion or to emphasize an important lyric or dramatic moment: • Stephen Schwartz, in “No Good Deed,” “Defying Gravity,” (Wicked) and “Meadowlark” (The Baker’s Wife); • Mark Sandrich Jr., in “To Be Alone with You” and “Too Charming” (Ben Franklin in Paris); • Jerry Herman, in “Song on the Sand” (La Cage Aux Folles); • Frank Loesser, in “Never Will I Marry” (Greenwillow); • Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, in “Pity the Child” (Chess); • Charles Strouse, in “Children of the Wind” and “For My Mary” (Rags); • Andrew Lloyd Webber, in “All I Ask of You” (The Phantom of the Opera), “Love Never Dies” and “Beneath a Moonless Sky” (Love Never Dies); • Stephen Sondheim, in “Later” (A Little Night Music).
The Lead Sheet
Exercise 9 Circle the compound intervals in the following example and write their names below the notes. Example 4.33
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After you have located all of the compound intervals slowly sight-sing the example on “Ah.” Use solfège syllables or sight-singing numbers only if necessary. At the instructor’s discretion, play the examples on the piano.
Consonance and Dissonance Often in this unit the concepts of consonance and dissonance have appeared in relation to certain intervals and deserve some elaboration before we leave our melodic exploration of the “Lead Sheet” and move on to the study of harmony and the many other musical components of “The Arrangement.” Typically listeners view consonance and dissonance as sounds that are pleasing or displeasing, a highly subjective evaluation based on culture, time periods, education, and personal taste. That composers take into account their audience’s musical preferences is clear from the present state of theatre and film music. Sad scenes are generally scored poignantly (most often with the sound of an oboe prominently leading the orchestration); chase scenes are composed rhythmically with dissonances accompanying car crashes and/or explosions; adventure films tend to follow the “Indiana Jones” series in musical scoring—and all have the pervasive influence of modern techniques of amplification and sound design. Rare is the Broadway musical that is not amplified, synthesized, and influenced by the accepted conventions of pop music in one or more of its iterations—country, rock, gospel, hip-hop, rhythm and blues, etc., etc. This is, of course, nothing new. Music has always been influenced by taste and technology, and every generation seems to have an opinion about what is pleasing and displeasing to the ear. To understand fully the idea of consonance and dissonance, therefore, we must go beyond what is considered pleasing and displeasing and explore what the music (specifically the interval, the subject of this unit) does. Some intervals create the feeling of stability, steadiness, and permanence, while others produce a sense of instability, activity, movement, or tension. The stable intervals are consonant, the unstable intervals are dissonant. Example 4.34 below displays the generally accepted progression of intervals from the most consonant (stable) to the most dissonant (unstable). Example 4.34 [Sound file 4.23]
It comes as no surprise that the unison and octave are the most stable intervals on the chart since they represent the original tone in relation to itself. The perfect fifth might not be the most pleasant sound to contemporary ears, but it is exceptionally stable with no need to resolve to another tone (a reason perhaps for its use in heroic movie themes such as Star Wars).
Intervals
The perfect fourth is a special case. As the inversion of the P5, the P4 is generally regarded as a stable interval. However, musical theorists have argued that since there are many active examples of the perfect fourth moving to the perfect fifth or seeking resolution to the major third (i.e., C–F resolving to C–E), the interval should be considered unstable as well. As a result, usage determines the stability of the perfect fourth. Due, perhaps, to the dominance of the major scale over the minor scale, the major third is typically felt to be more stable than the minor third. The possibility of activity in both thirds and their inversions (major and minor sixths), however, is greater than that in the perfect intervals, and for that reason, the perfect intervals are called perfect consonances while thirds and sixths are called imperfect consonances. The consonances function dramatically to provide tonalities that engender security, confidence, calm, and rest. They assist in providing the resolution part of the tension-resolution dialectic of a dramatic event. The tension part is assisted in its creation by all seconds, sevenths, and the tritone, which are considered dissonant intervals because of their volatility: the need to move or resolve to another tone. The dissonance of these intervals is often more obvious harmonically than melodically because of the displeasing combinations of sounds they represent. The tones B–C, for example, sung together may sound more unpleasant than the tones sung individually, but in both cases the potential for activity within the m2 is present. It is the interplay between stable and unstable intervals that creates forward movement and interest in all of Western music, and especially in musical theatre literature, where the relationship between consonance and dissonance functions dramatically.
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Review Quiz Identify the time signatures from the note patterns on each line of example 4.35 below. Place your answer at the beginning of the first measure of each line, that is, where the time signature would normally be found on a piece of music. Example 4.35
The Lead Sheet
Circle the syncopations in example 4.36 and identify the kind of syncopation below the notes of the melody. Example 4.36
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In the space provided in example 4.37, write the scales indicated at the top of each staff. Write the accidentals on the notes of the scale. Do not use key signatures. Example 4.37
In the space provided in example 4.38, write the modes and special scales identified at the top of each staff. Use the note provided as the starting note of each mode and scale.
Intervals
Example 4.38
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Identify the melodic and harmonic intervals in each measure of example 4.39. Insert your answer under each staff. Use the short method for identifying intervals. For example, M2 = major 2, m3 = minor 3, P4 = perfect 4, aug5 = augmented 5, dim6 = diminished 6. Example 4.39
The Lead Sheet
Unit Test 1 • Above the melody line, name the major or minor scale represented by the key signatures of the following examples; • Circle any notes in each example that do not belong to the scale you have identified by the key signature; • Below the melody line, identify pickup measures if any, and name the intervals from one pitch to another in each example; • Clap the rhythms of the melody notes, and after you have completed the identifications, slowly sight-sing each example on “Ah.” Use solfège syllables or sight-singing numbers only if necessary. At the discretion of the instructor, play each melody on the piano. Note: how the performance part of this test is handled is at the discretion of the instructor. If enrollment makes it unfeasible to hear the students perform individually, the instructor might consider dividing the class into small groups. The first two examples by Karl Hoschna, “Cuddle Up a Little Closer” and “The Little Girl Up There,” are taken from Three Twins, a frivolous, mistaken-identity musical that happened to be the biggest hit of the 1908–1909 season. The third melody by Victor Herbert, “Kiss Me Again,” comes from Mlle. Modiste, a romantic operetta about a couturière, and the biggest hit of the 1905–1906 season.
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Example 4.40
Example 4.41
Example 4.42
PART TWO
The Arrangement
5
Triads, Seventh Chords, and Nonharmonic Tones
Example 5.1 [Sound file 5.1]
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Preparing a lead sheet for performance invariably involves the creation of an arrangement that may be as simple as the bass-and-chord piano accompaniment of Jerome Kern’s “The Lorelei” (Sally) in example 5.1 above, or as complex as a full orchestration for a large Broadway-size pit orchestra (see example 5.2, a page from the orchestration of “Tango Amoroso” from the musical version of Love’s Labors Lost). Unlike a lead sheet that displays a single-staff melody line, arrangements are typically multi-staff constructions in which each staff is identified as a system counting from the top down. Example 5.1 above contains three systems while example 5.2 below shows twenty. Note also that instruments of a similar type are bracketed: the two staves of the piano in example 5.1, the woodwind instruments (the top ten staves) and brass (the next four staves) of example 5.2 are bracketed, as well as the piano and plucked strings (guitar and guitar bass). Some musical theatre composers, such as Leonard Bernstein and Andrew Lloyd Webber prefer to write their own orchestrations (typically with help from others); some, like Stephen Sondheim, write intricate piano accompaniments that are completely fulfilled arrangements, even providing suggestions on how the song should be orchestrated. Jonathan Tunick, Sondheim’s perennial orchestrator once told me how delighted he was when he could actually add something to the composer’s accompaniments, so specific were Sondheim’s piano scores. The subject of the conversation was the exquisite ascending line in “Losing My Mind” (Follies) that Tunick inserted in the orchestration of the number. Other composers prefer to provide a skeletal piano score, sketching accompaniment patterns, providing bass lines and chord changes, without concerning themselves with the mood or musical texture of the piece. These are composers who write songs to fit the dramatic situation and let the arrangers and orchestrators provide mood, style, and/or ethnicity to the score. Finally, some composers simply provide a lead sheet with chord symbols, permitting the musical director and a variety of arrangers to complete the arrangement of the songs. In one experience, the composer of a new musical headed for Broadway handed me several pieces of paper: on one was a lyric sheet, on another a bass line, and on the third, a series of chord changes from which I was expected to create an arrangement for a melody that he had scrawled out for the singer (but neglected to provide me).
The Arrangement
In another, the composer arrived on the first day of rehearsal with nothing written down, expecting the cast to learn by rote the melodies he held firmly in his head. Example 5.2
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Harmony with Chords No matter how specific composers might be in their instructions, they always provide some kind of tonal or chordal basis for their melodies called harmony. This harmony is a dynamic vertical function that provides a context and accompaniment for the horizontal melody of a song. Like melody, harmony draws its tones from major or minor scales to produce chords,
Triads, Seventh Chords
vertical structures of three or more notes that are sounded together. Chords have two names: a letter name that identifies the root of the chord, and a quality name that specifies the kind of chord (like intervals, the possible qualities are major, minor, augmented, and diminished). The most basic chord structure is a triad, a three-note chord built in thirds, having a root, a third, and a fifth (so named for their intervallic relationship to the root of the triad). There are four basic triads: • Major triad, consisting of a major third on the bottom and a minor third on top: for example, C–E–G. From a dramatic perspective, major triads are positive and sturdy. They create musical declarative sentences; • Minor triad, consisting of a minor third on the bottom and a major third on top: for example, C–E𝄬–G. From a dramatic perspective, minor triads are often used to elicit and express emotions. Though they are not necessarily sad, there is a modal quality to a minor triad that can suggest a certain exoticism or dramatic tension; • Augmented triad, consisting of a major third on the bottom and a major third on top: for example, C–E–G♯. Dramatically, the augmented triad is a volatile chord seeking upward resolution, a kind of reaching out musically; • Diminished triad, consisting of a minor third on the bottom and a minor third on top; for example, C–E𝄬–G𝄬. Dramatically, the diminished triad is an unstable chord seeking resolution downward; it is the least sturdy and assured of the triads.
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The root gives the triad its name; the third indicates whether the triad is major or minor; the fifth, always a perfect fifth in major and minor triads, can be raised or lowered to create augmented or diminished triads. Note that the augmented triad is a major triad with an augmented fifth; the diminished triad is a minor triad with a diminished fifth (see e xample 5.3 below). Example 5.3 [Sound file 5.2]
The notes of a triad are always on adjacent lines or spaces. For example, if the root of the triad is on a line, like the C major triad in example 5.3, the third and the fifth are on the two adjacent lines above it. If the root is in a space, the third and fifth of the triad are in the two adjacent spaces above it.
Exercise 1 On the following staves, build the specified triad over the root notes provided. Once you have built all the triads, sing the notes of each triad: first, one note at a time, then all the notes together with the men singing the root, alto voices singing the third, and sopranos singing the fifth.
The Arrangement
Example 5.4
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On the following staves, build the specified triad below the notes provided. Sing the notes of the triad; first, one note at a time, then all the notes with the alto voices singing the root, the men singing the third, and sopranos singing the fifth. Example 5.5
Chord Tones The notes (tones) of major, minor, augmented, and diminished chords are used as both accompaniment and melody in Western music. The term chord tones refers to those notes in melodies or accompaniments that are present in the chordal harmony of the piece (see example 5.6 below).
Triads, Seventh Chords
Example 5.6
Note that the melody line and the chords in the accompaniment use only the notes in the chords specified above the staff. In musical theatre melodies, chord tones have often presented the three notes of a triad in root position, that is, with the tonic as the bottom note. For example, the first measure of “Maybe” (Annie) presents us with a melodic B𝄬 major triad in root position written as an arpeggio—the notes of a chord played horizontally (one at a time), rather than vertically (together). “The Sun Has Got His Hat On” (Me and My Girl) opens with another root position arpeggio that lays out a C major chord; “Johnny One-Note” (Babes in Arms) opens with an arpeggio of an F major triad beginning with the top note (fifth) and moving downward; and “You’re a Grand Old Flag” (George Washington Jr.) opens with a G major arpeggio, again starting on the fifth and falling down to the tonic G. In each case, the melody consists entirely of chord tones, notes that are contained within the harmony of the song.
Inversions of Chords Drawing our attention back to e xample 5.1, however, we find that in the accompaniment of the bottom system (remember, in multi-staff compositions, we call each staff line a system), each root position G major triad is preceded by a D major triad with F♯ (the third of the chord) on the bottom. When the bottom note of a triad is not its root (i.e., when the third or fifth is on the bottom), the triad is called an inversion. Inversions can be found in both the accompaniments and melodies of musical theatre works. Jerry Herman, for example, inverts a G major triad to begin the melody of “We Need a Little Christmas” (Mame); Frank Loesser opens “A Bushel and a Peck” (Guys and Dolls) in exactly the same way with a G major chord with the third on the bottom. Jerry Bock begins the verse of “Sunrise, Sunset” (Fiddler on the Roof) with an inverted G minor chord with the fifth on the bottom; and Noel Gay uses an inversion of an F major chord with the fifth (C) on the bottom in the melody of “Lambeth Walk” (Me and My Girl). It is important, therefore, to be able to recognize and perform triads in their various positions melodically and to recognize their harmonic functions in musical theatre accompaniment. Example 5.7 below shows the four basic triads in root position, first inversion, and second inversion in treble and bass clefs. In classical theory, the root position requires no numerical exponent (properly called figured bass) since it implies a triad built in thirds. First inversion is recognized by the number six since the distance between the lowest and highest notes is a sixth; the distance between the lowest and middle notes is not indicated because it is a third and thirds are implied; the second inversion is given the figured bass 6/4 since the distance between the lowest and highest notes is a sixth, and between the lowest and middle notes is a fourth. For our purposes it is sufficient to know that in root position, the bottom tone of the triad is the tonic; in first inversion, the bottom tone is the third; and, in second inversion, the bottom tone is the fifth. Note that on lead sheets and in vocal selections of musicals, inversions are typically indicated by the name of the chord, followed by a slash mark (/) and the note of the chord in the bass. For example, the first inversion of a G major chord would be written GM/B (or GMaj/B, or often simply G/B).
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The Arrangement
Example 5.7 [Sound file 5.3]
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When presented with an inversion of a triad in the accompaniment of a musical theatre work, simply reposition the tones of the inversion to create a triad in thirds (the root position): when the third is on the bottom (first inversion), drop the top note (the root) down an octave; when the fifth is on the bottom (second inversion), raise the bottom note an octave. In both cases, the change of octave will result in a triad built in thirds (the root position). The bottom note will provide the name of the triad and the structure of major and minor intervals will determine whether the triad is major, minor, augmented, or diminished. In e xample 5.8 below, the accompaniment for “Solidarity” from Billy Elliot: The Musical, we are presented with a series of inverted triads. Example 5.8 [Sound file 5.4]
Paying close attention to the five sharps in the key signature, if we flip the F♯ up the octave in measure one of the top system, we come up with the triad, B–D♯–F♯, or a B major triad. The triad is written in second inversion. The second measure first presents us with an F♯ major triad (F♯–A♯–C♯) in root position; since the second triad is in first, then second inversion, we need to drop the B down the octave to create another root position triad and find another B major
Triads, Seventh Chords
chord. We have already seen the B major triad in second inversion in measure one so it presents no difficulty in identification. Measure three displays another first inversion, easily managed by dropping the C♯ down the octave and creating the root position of a C♯ minor (C♯–E–G♯) triad. Measure four offers no problems since it presents two triads in root position: G♯ minor (G♯–B–D♯) and F♯ major as in measure two. Note how the bass notes in the bottom system simply double individual notes of the triads.
Exercise 2 Let us return to the lead-sheet melody that opened Unit 1. Write the names of all the triads in the accompaniment over the second system of the arrangement. Name the inversion of each triad between the second and third systems.
Example 5.9 [Sound file 5.5]
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Example 5.9 (Continued)
Example 5.9 (Continued)
The Arrangement
Singing Chords Although it is important to recognize and interpret triads in their various inversions on paper, it is also necessary for musical theatre professionals to be able to perform them since, as we indicated above, a great many musical theatre melodies draw their inspiration from simple triads. The performer’s ability to recognize and sing triads however they happen to be voiced is an excellent resource for sight-reading and ear-training, not to mention a fine-honed tool for musical and dramatic analysis.
Exercise 3 In example 5.10 below you will find arpeggios of major, minor, augmented, and diminished triads in all positions. Practice each line slowly, singing either the solfège syllables or numbers, and memorizing how the various tones of each triad feel in your voice. When you have learned one staff, proceed to the next. When you have memorized the second line, proceed to the third. Once you have completed the third line, sing all three lines in order, measures 1 through 12; then mix the lines up, singing measures 1, 5, 9, 2, 6, 10, etc. When you understand the sound, shape, and feeling of the major triads, move on to the minor patterns, studying them in the same way. When you have completed all the staves of the minor triads, review the major triads and sing them along with the minor triads going from measure 1 to measures 5, 9, 13, 17, and 21. When you have memorized the major and minor triads, move on to the augmented and diminished patterns, adding the major and minor as above on the first measure of each line. At the discretion of the instructor, play this exercise on the piano.
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Example 5.10
Triads, Seventh Chords
Example 5.10b (Continued)
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Exercise 4 When you feel comfortable with the triadic patterns above, analyze the triadic structures in example 5.11 below. Write down whether the triads in the melody are major, minor, augmented, or diminished, and indicate which voicing (i.e., inversion) of the chords is being used. Play the opening pitch on the piano and slowly sight-read only two or four measures at a time. When sight-reading, use solfège syllables, numbers, or “La,” as specified by your instructor.
Example 5.11
The Arrangement
Example 5.11 (Continued)
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Seventh Chords Although three-note chords established the foundation of Western harmony, composers quickly found that system to be inadequate and began adding thirds to the traditional major, minor, augmented, and diminished triads creating a colorful variety of seventh chords. Example 5.12 [Sound file 5.6]
As demonstrated in example 5.12, seventh chords are constructed in the following ways: • The major seventh (measure 1) has a major third added to a major triad; • The dominant seventh (measure 2) has a minor third added to a major triad; • The minor with a major seventh (measure 3) has a major third added to a minor triad; • The minor seventh (measure 4) has a minor third added to a minor triad; • The augmented major seventh (measure 5) has a minor third added to an augmented triad;
Triads, Seventh Chords
• The augmented dominant seventh (measure 6) has a diminished third added to the augmented triad; • The diminished with a major seventh (measure 7) has an augmented third over the diminished triad; • The half-diminished seventh (measure 8) has a major third over the diminished triad; • The diminished seventh (measure 9) has a minor third over the diminished triad. Note that because a diminished seventh chord is composed entirely of minor thirds, each note of the chord is equidistant from the preceding and following notes. As a result, any note of a diminished seventh chord can function as the root of the chord. For example, a B diminished seventh chord (B–D–F–A𝄬) may also be a D diminished seventh chord (D–F– A𝄬–C𝄬) where C𝄬 is the enharmonic equivalent of B. Example 5.13, Jerry Herman’s “I Don’t Want to Know” from Dear World offers a fine example of the use of seventh chords harmonically. Example 5.13 [Sound file 5.7]
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Note how the use of the seventh chords in measures 1–4 adds tension to the musical phrase particularly when the seventh tone is in the melody. The B𝄬minor with a major seventh in bar 4 is the most dissonant use of a seventh chord in the song and appropriately so since it informs the singer’s point of view regarding the lyric, “if love is dead.” The seventh chords in measures 5–8 proceed in a circle-of-fifths resolution to an FM7, itself a chord that begs resolution, informing the singer that the dramatic tension of the song is not entirely resolved at the conclusion. In the title song from Dear World, Jerry Herman effectively creates tension early on by means of a diminished triad embellished with a major seventh in the melody (see e xample 5.14 below).
The Arrangement
Example 5.14 [Sound file 5.8]
If there is any question that the world is ailing (given the lyrics of the first two measures), it is put to rest by the discomforting dissonance of the third measure’s C diminished triad with a major seventh that resolves, like a kind of whining sigh, in measure four, to a C diminished seventh chord. Setting the lyric, “Dear” at the most dissonant part of the musical phrase (both melodically and harmonically) invites an ironic interpretation of the word and introduces dramatic tension into the simple melody with a resolution to another, somewhat less dissonant, diminished chord. Because diminished chords are, by nature, designed to resolve, it is easy to see how tension can be created in a four-measure musical phrase when two of the four measures are diminished chords seeking resolution.
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Exercise 5 Write the names of the root-position seventh chords under the staves in e xample 5.15 below. At the discretion of the instructor, play the chords on the piano. Example 5.15
Triads, Seventh Chords
Seventh Chord Inversions Like the simple triads, seventh chords can be inverted (see example 5.16 below), and like the simple triads in Western music, each position of the chord is represented by a figured bass number. The root position is 7; the first inversion is 6-5, representing the distance between the lowest note and the two highest; the second inversion is 4-3, representing the distance between the lowest note and the middle two notes; and the third inversion is 2, representing the distance between the two lowest notes. For our purposes, it is important to know that in root position, the lowest tone is the tonic; in first inversion, the lowest tone is the third; in second inversion, the lowest tone is the fifth; and in third inversion, the lowest tone is the seventh. Example 5.16 [Sound file 5.9]
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Singing Seventh Chords Just as it is important to recognize and sing triads in their various inversions, it is also necessary for musical theatre professionals to be able to perform seventh chords in all four positions. The performer’s ability to recognize and sing seventh chords however they happen to be voiced is an excellent resource for sight-reading and ear-training, not to mention a fine-honed tool for musical and dramatic analysis.
Exercise 6 A variety of seventh chords are notated as arpeggios in example 5.17. Under the notes, write the appropriate solfège syllables or numbers, and above the staff write the intervals between each two adjacent notes (as demonstrated in measures 1–2). Slowly practice singing each two-bar
The Arrangement
exercise. You will recognize the unusual bar lines before and after each two-bar phrase as repeat signs, double bars with two dots instructing the performer to go back from the double bar with dots facing left to the repeat sign with dots facing right (see Musical Terms and Symbols in Unit 1). In the case of two-bar phrases, the repeat sign simply tells the performer to go back to the previous measure and perform the music again. Repeat each pattern as many times as necessary to sing the scales on pitch. Example 5.17
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Example 5.17 (Continued)
The Arrangement
Exercise 7 Example 5.18 below is a segment from “Love Letters” in the musical version of Love’s Labors Lost. Explore the melody and piano accompaniment: • Circle the melody notes that constitute the seventh of the chord in the piano harmonization; • Circle all the seventh chords on the treble staff of the piano accompaniment (the middle system); • Above the second system, identify all the circled seventh chords, that is, the tonic of the chord, the kind of seventh chord, and the voicing of the chord. For example, write FM7, root position, Gm7, first inversion, etc. After you have completed the identification of every seventh chord in the piece, • Circle all the melody notes that are part of the chordal accompaniment; • Write the solfège syllables or numbers for every melody note (remember to look at the key signature to determine where Do lies; • Practice singing the melody along with the piano accompaniment, paying close attention to which melody notes can be found in the chordal harmony. 118
Example 5.18 [Sound file 5.10]
Example 5.18 (Continued)
Example 5.18 (Continued)
Triads, Seventh Chords
Example 5.18 (Continued)
Nonchord Tones As you have perhaps noticed in the musical theatre examples in this unit, rarely is a melody comprised entirely of chord tones. In fact, the best melodies combine chord tones with nonchord tones (also known as nonharmonic tones—melody notes that do not fit the chord patterns) in order to provide musical and dramatic tension as well as variety to the piece. Musical theorists have grouped nonchord tones into categories relating to how the dissonant note (nonchord tone) fits spatially within the consonant chord tones. Dissonances that are approached and resolved by step are believed to create, for example, less dramatic or harmonic tension than dissonances approached or resolved by leap: the greater the leap, the greater the musical and dramatic effect.
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Neighbor Tones A neighbor tone is a nonharmonic tone occurring between repetitions of a chordal tone, approached by step, and resolved by step in the opposite direction. The resolution by step in the opposite direction guarantees that the dissonant note will always return to the original chord tone. There are two kinds of neighbor tones: an upper neighbor (U.N.) when the dissonant note is above the chord tone and a lower neighbor (L.N.) when the nonchord tone reaches below the consonant note (see example 5.19 below). Example 5.19 [Sound file 5.11]
Neighbor tones function throughout musical theatre literature, providing melodic movement that creates a progression of musical and dramatic tension-resolution. Effective use of neighbor tones can be found in the following musical theatre examples: • “Memory” (Cats) • “Tradition” (Fiddler on the Roof) • “Gigi” (Gigi)
The Arrangement
• “All I Need Is the Girl” (Gypsy) • “Everything’s Coming Up Roses (Gypsy) • “I’ll Never Be Lonely Again” (Pickwick) • “Once and For All” (Newsies The Musical) • “Pretty Music” (Parade) • “The Sweetest Sounds” (No Strings) • “You Don’t Tell Me” (No Strings) • “It’s Superman” (It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman) • “The Song That Goes Like This” (Spamalot) Among the most effective use of neighbor tones is “Side by Side by Side” (Company) in which the message of the song actually evokes the way the song was written (see example 5.20 below). What better way musically to establish the concept of “side by side” than with neighbor tones! Please note that the 1927 song, “Side by Side” by Gus Kahn and Harry M. Woods used the neighbor tone association as well. Example 5.20 [Sound file 5.12]
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Passing Tones A passing tone (P.T.) is a nonchord note occurring between two different chord tones, approached and resolved by step in the same direction (see example 5.21). In “Do-Re-Mi” (The Sound of Music), for example, the lyric, “Doe, a deer,” is a scale melody beginning and ending with chord tones (“Doe” and “deer). The “a” is a passing tone. Example 5.21 [Sound file 5.13]
Like neighbor tones, passing tones are frequently found in musical theatre songs, often in combination with neighbor tones and other nonchordal patterns. The following are a few fine examples: • “You Don’t Know This Man” (Parade) • “The Sound of Music” (The Sound of Music)
Triads, Seventh Chords
• “How Can Love Survive?” (The Sound of Music) • “You Don’t Tell Me” (No Strings) • “Kiss Her Now” (Dear World) • “Gigi” (Gigi) • “Once upon a Time” (All American) • “What I’ve Always Wanted” (It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman) • “Tomorrow” (Annie) • “The Song That Goes Like This” (Spamalot) Example 5.22, “Expressing Yourself” (Billy Elliot: The Musical), offers two illustrations of passing tones that draw attention to the vividly effeminate lyrics following a recitation-like melody of perfect primes. Example 5.22 [Sound file 5.14]
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Suspensions and Retardations Suspensions and retardations are chord tones that are held or repeated across a change of harmony that causes them to become nonchordal. A suspension (Sus.) is resolved by step to a lower tone that is part of the new chord; a retardation (Ret.) is resolved by step to an upper note that is part of the new chord. Example 5.23 [Sound file 5.15]
Suspensions and retardations are particularly useful in musical theatre literature because they hold back the musical resolution, creating anticipation and dramatic tension, the effect of which depends on how quickly the suspension or retardation is resolved. Suspensions of different lengths abound in musical theatre songs. Here are a few examples: • “Summer Nights” (Grease) • “Summertime Love” (Greenwillow) • “I Believe in You” (How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying)
The Arrangement
• “You Took Advantage of Me” (Present Arms) • “Side by Side by Side” (Company) • “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” (Gypsy) An example of a suspension in Russian Romantic music is a theme by Borodin that found its way into the musical Kismet as “Stranger in Paradise” (example 5.24). Note the passing tones (P.T.) and escape tone (E.T.), discussed below. Example 5.24 [Sound file 5.16]
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Although samples of retardations in musical theatre are fewer than those of suspensions, “Two Lost Souls” (Damn Yankees) and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” (Gypsy), example 5.25, provide fine examples of how the nonchordal tone functions. Example 5.25 [Sound file 5.17]
The Appoggiatura The Appoggiatura (App.) is a metrically strong nonchord tone approached by leap and resolved by step to a chord tone typically in the opposite direction of the leap. After an upward leap, for example, the resolution is usually a step down to the chord tone, but in musical theatre literature, there are many examples of appoggiaturas that resolve in the same direction of the leap. Example 5.26 [Sound file 5.18]
Triads, Seventh Chords
Because the appoggiatura is approached by skip, it has great potential to be emotional and dramatic, qualities that explain its frequent use in musical theatre literature: • “Kiss Her Now” (Dear World) • “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” (Finian’s Rainbow) • “If They Could See Me Now” (Sweet Charity) • “’Til Tomorrow” (Fiorello!) • “One More Kiss” (Follies) • “The Happy Time” (The Happy Time) • “Just Once in a Lifetime” (Stop the World–I Want to Get Off) • “Let Me Come In” (The Me Nobody Knows) • “Other Pleasures” (Aspects of Love) • “Think of Me” (The Phantom of the Opera) • “A New Life” (Jekyll & Hyde) • “Wilkommen” (Cabaret) • “You Took Advantage of Me” (Present Arms) • “No Way to Stop It” (The Sound of Music) • “An Ordinary Couple” (The Sound of Music) • “The Sweetest Sounds” (No Strings) • “People” (Funny Girl)
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Almost always the appoggiatura is employed along with other nonchordal devices to create a rich texture musically as well as important moments of tension–resolution dramatically. Example 5.27, “Someone Else’s Story” (Chess), demonstrates the integration of the appoggiatura with other nonharmonic tones to create a powerful dramatic effect. Example 5.27 [Sound file 5.19]
Escape Tones The escape tone (E.T.) seen in the above example is virtually the opposite of the appoggiatura: it is a nonharmonic tone that is approached by step and resolved by leap, typically, though not always, in the opposite direction (see example 5.28). Example 5.28 [Sound file 5.20]
The Arrangement
Note the two escape tones in measure 2 of “Someone Else’s Story” in e xample 5.27 above. The device is also prominently featured in “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” (Gypsy), “The Blue Room” (The Girl Friend), “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” (The Sound of Music), and “They Were You” (The Fantasticks), example 5.29. Example 5.29 [Sound file 5.21]
Note that the escape tone in the above example is resolved in the same direction as it is approached.
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The Anticipation The anticipation (Ant.) seen in example 5.27 is a nonharmonic tone that moves by step or leap to anticipate a chord tone before the harmony changes. If, for example, an F chord is followed by a B𝄬 chord, a B𝄬 tone struck on the last beat or half beat of the F harmony would anticipate the B𝄬 in the B𝄬 chord (see example 5.30). Example 5.30 [Sound file 5.22]
In addition to “Someone Else’s Story,” examples of anticipation may be found in “Anthem” (Chess), “Young and Foolish” (Plain and Fancy), and “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” (Finian’s Rainbow), as demonstrated in example 5.31 below. Example 5.31 [Sound file 5.23]
Triads, Seventh Chords
Changing Tones As we have seen, a single melody (and its accompaniment as well) may employ a variety of nonharmonic devices. In fact, often the escape tone and appoggiatura function together to create another nonchord pattern called changing tones (see measures 2 and 4 of example 5.30). This is a group of four notes—the first and fourth being the same chord tone. The second note is either an upper or lower escape tone, approached by step; the third is an appoggiatura, approached by skip and resolved by step. In practice, changing tones look a lot like upper and lower neighbor tones (see example 5.32). Example 5.32 [Sound file 5.24]
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Musical theatre examples of changing tones can be located in “You Have Cast Your Shadow on the Sea” (The Boys from Syracuse), “Do I Hear a Waltz?” (Do I Hear a Waltz?), “Wild and Reckless” (Drat! The Cat!), and “Soliloquy” (Carousel) in the “My Little Girl” segment (example 5.33). Example 5.33 [Sound file 5.25]
Note the change of chord in measure two that alters the changing tone pattern (F–E–G–F) in measure one from a nonharmonic construction to a tonal device. If the chord in the second measure is considered an A7, the first and fourth notes, usually the chordal tones in the group, are nonharmonic tones. The first is actually a suspension resolving to E (the fifth in an A7 chord) and the fourth note is a lower neighbor to the G (the seventh in the chord). If, however, the harmony of the second measure is viewed as an F augmented chord alternating with an A7, all the melody notes would be considered tonal. In neither situation would the melody notes be changing tones.
Pedal Tones A nonharmonic device that is used principally in the accompaniment of musical theatre songs, the pedal tone is a note that is held or repeated through a series of chords, belonging tonally to the first and last chord of the series. The pedal tone may or may not be dissonant
The Arrangement
or nonharmonic to all the chords in the series; it must, however, be chordal at the beginning and end of the series (see e xample 5.34). This nonchordal device easily adds dramatic tension to a song by working against the forward-moving harmonic progression and it is often used to hold back the emotional payoff of a number in order to create a greater dramatic effect when the emotion is finally released. Example 5.34 [Sound file 5.26]
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Note that on lead sheets and vocal selections of musicals, pedal tones are indicated above the music by the name of the chord followed by a slash mark and the bass note (pedal tone). The above example would be written as follows: C, F/C, E/C, Am/C, D/C, Fm/C, C. This procedure is used whenever the bass note is not naturally in the chord, and whenever the chord is inverted (see Inversions earlier in this unit). There are many examples of pedal tone usage in musical theatre songs: • “Someone Like You” (Jekyll & Hyde) • “When Will Someone Hear?” (Martin Guerre) • “On Broadway” (Smokey Joe’s Café) • “Seeing Is Believing” (Aspects of Love) • “You’re Nothing without Me” (City of Angels) • “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream” (The Book of Mormon) • “He’s a Ladies’ Man” (Good News) • “Come Up to My Office” (Parade) • “Look No Further” (No Strings) • “The Sound of Music” (The Sound of Music) Example 5.35, the anthem “Once We Were Kings” (Billy Elliot: The Musical), makes highly effective usage of the pedal tone throughout the song, allowing the spirited march to explode emotionally when the pedal tones are replaced by tones that drive, rather than hold back, the harmonic progressions. Example 5.35 [Sound file 5.27]
Triads, Seventh Chords
Occasionally the pedal tone device finds its way into the melody of musical theatre songs as a repeated note, beneath which there are changes of harmony—virtually the reverse of the accompaniment use of the pedal tone. This use of the pedal tone device is called an inverted pedal tone. Stephen Sondheim’s “The Boy From” (The Mad Show), Richard Rodgers’s “Johnny One-Note” (Babes in Arms), and Frank Loesser’s “I Believe in You” (How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying) are representative examples, although Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “One-Note Samba” is perhaps the definitive example of the melodic pedal tone.
Free Tones When a nonchordal tone follows none of the above categories, it is called a Free Tone (F.T.), generally defined as a nonharmonic note that is approached and resolved by leap (see example 5.36). Example 5.36 [Sound file 5.28]
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As might be expected there are a number of musical theatre examples of the free tone device: • “Man” (The Full Monty) • “It’s a Lovely Day Today” (Call Me Madam) • “Sorry–Grateful” (Company) • “Luck Be a Lady” (Guys and Dolls) • “I Like Him” (Drat! The Cat!) An easily discernible example of free tones can be found in It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman with “You’ve Got Possibilities” (example 5.37 below). Note that the free tones G and E in the fourth measure are not free tones in the first two measures because the E resolves by step to D; in the third measure, G and E are chordal, the seventh and fifth of an Am7 chord. Example 5.37 [Sound file 5.29]
The Arrangement
Exercise 8 Circle and identify the melodic nonchordal tones in example 5.38, “Who Loves You More,” from the 1977 musical My Love to Your Wife. Write the names of the nonchord tones above the melody where they occur. In addition, write the names of the chords in the accompaniment above the second system. When chords are repeated, you need only write the name of the chord once. Pay attention to the bass notes when identifying the song’s harmonic structure: often the bass will provide the root of the chord, though sometimes it signals an inversion (review the inversions of triads and seventh chords earlier in this unit). Occasionally the bass note may also be a nonchord tone. After you have completed the identifications, at the discretion of the instructor, slowly sight-sing the example with or without piano accompaniment.
Example 5.38 [Sound file 5.30]
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Example 5.38 (Continued)
Example 5.38 (Continued)
Example 5.38 (Continued)
Example 5.38 (Continued)
Example 5.38 (Continued)
6
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords From the examples and exercises in Unit 5 you may have noticed that chords are often repeated in songs and that their repetition forms a kind of pattern that is called a chord progression. The name is important since it suggests forward movement and musical development that mirror the dramatic progression of the lyrics. It is obviously counterproductive to begin a song with the same dramatic or emotional thrust one has at the end; acting teachers constantly emphasize the journey of a monologue or scene, and musical theatre coaches are always stressing the journey of the lyrics in order to create an Aristotelian sense of “beginning, middle, and end” of the piece. The constant movement of thought processes in acting technique—“The moment before,” “What do I want?” “What am I doing?” “What are my expectations?” “Changing tactics,” and so on—are reflected in the dual musical processes of melody and accompaniment: the melody through the interplay of harmonic and nonharmonic tones, and the accompaniment through the forward progression of chords.
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Numbering Chords in Major Scales with Roman Numerals Like melody notes, chord tones are the product of, and function within, major and minor scales. Music theorists number the chords in Roman numerals according to which degree of the scale forms their tonic note: obviously the “I” chord (or the tonic chord) falls on the key note of the scale. Example 6.1 displays the chords that are indigenous to a C major scale. Example 6.1 [Sound file 6.1]
In the key of C major, chords I (C), IV (F), and V (G) are major and thus numbered with upper-case Roman numerals; chords ii (D), iii (E), vi (A) are minor and thus represented by lower-case Roman numerals. The seventh chord (B) is diminished and displayed in the lower case with an added diminished sign (°).
Numbering Chords in Minor Scales with Roman Numerals Because there are three kinds of minor scales (natural, harmonic, and melodic), there are three different chord configurations (example 6.2).
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
Example 6.2 [Sound file 6.2]
In the minor system, the tonic chord will always be minor (i) but every other chord has two functions: • The “2” or supertonic chord can be diminished or minor; • The “3” or mediant chord can be major or augmented; • The “4” or subdominant chord can be minor or major; • The “5” or dominant chord can be minor or major; • The “6” or submediant chord can be major or diminished; • The “7” or subtonic (or leading tone) chord can be major or diminished.
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(The variation most often used is in bold.) The minor system presents the composer with a great variety of chord possibilities without having to alter any of the notes of the scale. Remember that chords that use only the notes of a scale are called diatonic chords (the examples above use only the notes of the C major and C minor scales). If the chords use notes that are not in the scale, they are called altered chords. If, for example, a D𝄬 or G𝄬 appeared in a C major or minor chord progression, the chord possessing those notes would be called altered.
Exercise 1 Write the diatonic chord progressions for the keys indicated on the staves below. Review key signatures to determine the appropriate key note (or tonic) for major and minor chord progressions. Label each chord as in the examples above: be sure to use upper- and lower-case Roman numerals where appropriate. At the discretion of the instructor, play the chords on the piano after you have completed the written assignment. Example 6.3
The Arrangement
Example 6.3 (Continued)
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Numbering Diatonic Seventh Chords with Roman Numerals Diatonic seventh chords follow the same pattern as triads in major and minor scales (see examples 6.4 and 6.5): • Major seventh chords are written in upper-case Roman numerals followed by an M7: for example, I M7; • Major-minor seventh chords (known as dominant seventh chords because they occur naturally on the fifth or dominant degree of the scale) are written in upper-case Roman numerals followed by 7: for example, V7; • The augmented-major seventh chord is written in upper-case Roman numerals as an augmented chord followed by a M7: for example, III+M7; • Minor-major seventh chords are written in lower-case Roman numerals followed by a M7; for example, i M7 • Minor seventh chords are written in lower-case Roman numerals followed by a 7: for example, vi7; • Half-diminished seventh chords are written in lower-case Roman numerals followed by ø7: for example, viiø7; • Diminished seventh chords are written in lower-case Roman numerals followed by °7: for example, vii°7. Example 6.4 below displays seventh chords in a C major scale. Example 6.4 [Sound file 6.3]
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
Example 6.5 presents the seventh chords in the C minor system. Example 6.5 [Sound file 6.4]
Exercise 2 Using examples 6.4 and 6.5 as models, identify the following diatonic chords (example 6.6) by Roman numerals in the space provided. Above each chord, indicate the major or minor key that governs the example. At the discretion of the instructor, play the chords on the piano after you have completed the identifications.
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Example 6.6
The Arrangement
Exercise 3 On the staves below (example 6.7), write the diatonic chords as instructed by the Roman numerals. Above each chord, identify the major or minor key that governs each example. After you have completed the written assignment, play the chords on the piano, at the discretion of the instructor. Example 6.7
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Diatonic Chord Accompaniments Once you are comfortable with identifying diatonic chords in major and minor keys, the next step is examining the accompaniment chords in musical theatre songs and identifying the progression of one chord to another. At this point, we are limiting our identification to songs with only diatonic chords. The songs may sound corny or primitive to ears used to hearing Bernstein and Sondheim (or even Andrew Lloyd Webber) and their like, but more complex musical theatre literature will be addressed in later units. Example 6.8 provides the ending of “He’s a Ladies’ Man” from DeSylva, Brown, and Henderson’s college musical, Good News. Please note the simple chord progression, IV–I–V7–I, with the emphasis on I. Example 6.8 [Sound file 6.5]
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
Example 6.8 (Continued)
Note the absence of nonchordal tones until the passing tone “A” in measure seven. The first six bars display an isorhythmic melody (notes written in exactly the same rhythm) outlining the harmony in thirds. Although the IV or subdominant chord is represented melodically by only the first and third notes of the chord, the melody notes over the I or tonic chord in measures 3–6, display the entire chord, and interestingly, contain a complete thought in the lyrics. The melody notes over the V7 or the dominant seventh chord contain a simple concluding statement, verifying what has been said previously and return us to the tonic note and chord. You will recall that in Unit 2 we saw that each degree of the scale had a particular name and function. Diatonic chords are built on scale degrees and thus share the names and functions of those tones. Also in Unit 2 we saw the circle of fifths and understand that keys a perfect fifth apart have a gravitational pull toward one another. In the case of the example above, F is a perfect fifth below C and a perfect fifth above B𝄬. A strong gravitational pull exists, as a result, between the subdominant, tonic, and dominant chords. If C is the dominant of F since it is the fifth note in the F scale, then F is also the dominant of B𝄬 since it is the fifth note in the B𝄬 scale; if B𝄬 is the subdominant to F (being the fourth degree of the F scale), then F is also the subdominant to C. Musical theorists have insisted for centuries that Western harmony is based on the interrelationship of these three chords: the tonic, dominant, and subdominant and “He’s a Ladies’ Man” is a simple, but clear, example of the three chords working together. Vincent Youmans’s “I Want to Be Happy” from No, No, Nanette offers another example of simple harmonic accompaniment with a few surprises (see example 6.9 below). The repetitive, entirely chordal melody clearly outlines the tonic, subdominant, and dominant harmony. What adds interest to this basic harmonic pattern is the presence of the vi7 or submediant chord on beat two of the first measure, and again on beat one of the second measure. The vi7 chord in C major contains the notes A–C–E–G, which includes all the notes of the tonic triad (C–E–G) and thus can be considered an embellishment or stand-in for the tonic chord. The presence of the Am7 in the first two measures provides a definite movement in the accompaniment (the G to A and back) and prepares the ear for the IV chord (F–A–C) that enters before the V7 chord (G–B–D–F) in measure three. The IV and V chords alternate in measures 3–6, during which a complete thought is expressed in the lyrics—“but I won’t be happy, till I make you happy too,” the final word of which resolves to the tonic. After the one-bar resolution, the V7 returns to lead us back to the second statement of the melody—exactly the same as what we saw in example 6.9, but with different lyrics.
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The Arrangement
Example 6.9 [Sound file 6.6]
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Although the melody is absolutely harmonic, tension is produced by the G pedal tone that begins in measure three. It first provides tension by the presence of the subdominant chord suspended over it, but as the subdominant and dominant harmonies exchange places over the G pedal, a kind of anticipation develops for a resolution to the tonic. The presence of the G pedal makes the song appear to be simpler than it is, a basic tonic–dominant harmonization, rather than the subtle arrangement of submediant and subdominant chords that add color and movement to the accompaniment as well as a forward thrust to the simple melody and lyrics.
Alternating Bass Note that in measures 1–2 and 7 of “I Want to Be Happy,” the bass notes alternate between tonic and dominant tones. This alternating bass pattern is a favorite device among musical theatre composers for creating variety and forward progression in the bass line of a song. The alternating bass is prominent in the following example from Harry Tierney’s Rio Rita, “Out on the Loose,” which employs a simple tonic–dominant accompaniment. Example 6.10 [Sound file 6.7]
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
Example 6.10 (Continued)
Note the absence of nonharmonic tones in both the melody and accompaniment and the symmetrical arrangement of tonic and dominant chords into two four-bar phrases, each representing a complete idea in the lyrics. The introduction of the viio chord in measure five is important since the notes of that chord (F♯–A–C) are three of the four notes of the dominant seventh chord in the key of G (D–F♯–A–C). In fact, the leading tone chord becomes a V7 chord by the simple addition of the dominant bass note, D (if the bass notes in measure 5 had been D–A, the chord would have been read as V7). As a result, both the vii (leading tone) and V7 (dominant seventh) chords are often used in a dominant function in Western music. Measures 5–8 provide examples of a common variation of the typical alternating bass pattern in which the dominant tone of the chord (in this case, A) precedes the tonic (D). As you will see in Jerome Kern’s “Wild Rose” from Sally (example 6.11), the inversion of root and fifth emphasizes the characteristics of tension-resolution and forward progression in the alternating bass and creates a smooth transition from one chord to the other in the bass line: E𝄬–B𝄬, F–B𝄬.
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Example 6.11 [Sound file 6.8]
The Arrangement
The simple tonic–dominant harmony accompanies a melody that outlines a C natural minor scale, rather than E𝄬 major. Although the accompaniment is firmly an E𝄬 tonic chord in the first two measures, the melody outlines a vi (C minor) chord that, as we have seen in “I Want to Be Happy,” can function as substitute for a tonic chord. The C reappears in the melody of “Wild Rose” as a nonchord tone—an appoggiatura—in measures three and seven resolving down to B𝄬 since the chords in those measures are easily read as B𝄬 dominant seventh. The C might also be considered part of a viiø7 (D–F–A𝄬–C) used in a dominant function and resolves clearly to the dominant in the melody. The fact that there are multiple harmonic interpretations of this piece coordinates with the lyrics telling us that the singer is wild and indefinable.
Chord Functionality We have already seen how a vi7 chord can function as a replacement for a tonic chord in “I Want to Be Happy,” and how a viiø7 can have a dominant function in “Wild Rose.” Example 6.12 “You Can’t Keep a Good Girl Down,” also from Sally, explores further substitutions for the dominant and subdominant functions.
Example 6.12 144
[Sound file 6.9]
Once again the tonic and submediant are used side by side, but this time the vi chord begins a sequence of falling fifth chords (vi–ii7–V7) that leads us directly back to the tonic harmonically and melodically (note the use of neighbor and passing tones in bars 1–2 of the melody leading the ear easily to the tonic in measure 3). Instead of going to the subdominant in measure five, Kern chooses the ii (supertonic) chord, which shares two notes with the
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
subdominant (A𝄬 and C) and is often used in place of the IV chord in a subdominant function. Also significant is the use of the iii (mediant) chord in measure six to prepare for the dominant seventh on the second beat. Like the ii chord and the subdominant, the iii chord shares two notes with the dominant (B𝄬 and D), but also shares two notes with the tonic (G and B𝄬). The iii chord is highly significant since it can suggest two functions in the piece: the tonic and the dominant. When it becomes a seventh chord (G–B𝄬–D–F) it more clearly leans toward the dominant since then it shares all three notes of the dominant triad. To summarize chord functionality: • The tonic function can be shared by I, vi (especially vi7), iii • The subdominant function can be shared by IV, ii (especially ii7), vi • The dominant function can be shared by V, vii°, iii (especially iii7) Example 6.13, Harry Tierney’s “The Talk of the Town” (Irene) makes ample use of the chord substitutions.
Example 6.13 [Sound file 6.10]
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Note how there are four basic harmonic changes (viiø7, I, vi, V7) in the first four measures, roughly mirroring the four distinct ideas expressed in the lyrics. The vi chord in measure two functions as a tonic (much in the same way as it does in example 6.9, “I Want to Be Happy”), and the viiø7 chords in measures one, three, and five continue to imply the dominant function established by the V7 chord in measure two (not unlike their function in “Wild Rose,” example 6.11, where the viiø7 chords anticipated the dominant seventh chord). Measures 6–8 display another circle of fifths sequence starting on the iii chord standing in for the tonic and moving to the vi chord, substituting for the tonic as well (note that the left hand looks like
The Arrangement
a simple tonic chord alternating-bass accompaniment). The vi chord moves to the ii and ii7 chords, which in turn resolve to the V7 chord, the dominant preparing for the repetition of the phrase.
Exercise 4 Although the examples used above to display chord progressions were derived from older musical theatre songs, similar chord functions can be found in many of the more popular-sounding musicals from the second half of the twentieth century and even into the twenty-first century. Writing upper- and lower-case Roman numerals beneath the third system (bass staff), identify the chord progressions in the following brief examples from Hair (“Frank Mills” and “Where Do I Go?”), The Wiz (“Mean Ole Lion” and “If You Believe”), and Hairspray (“Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now”). Make sure to include the bass notes in your analysis; they may provide tones missing from the chords in the treble staff. They may also function as nonchordal pedal tones, so do not assume that the bass note is always the root of the chord or even a note in the chord. Circle the nonchordal tones in both the melody and accompaniment and identify them as passing tones, neighbor tones, pedal tones, appoggiaturas, and so forth. Circle any measure in which the harmony is unclear or confusing.
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Example 6.14 [Sound file 6.11]
Example 6.15 [Sound file 6.12]
Example 6.16 [Sound file 6.13]
The Arrangement
Example 6.17 [Sound file 6.14]
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Note the pedal tone C that is held through measures 1–3 and 6–8 while chords change above it. To determine the root (and thus the Roman numeral) of the chord suspended over the pedal tone, build the chords in thirds on the upper staff of the accompaniment. Example 6.18 [Sound file 6.15]
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
Example 6.18 (Continued)
Harmonic Movement As you have noticed in your exercises, harmonic movement toward and away from the tonic is of primary interest in musical theatre songs. Movement from the tonic can be seamless or abrupt depending entirely on the chords used. The progression I–vi–IV–V7 in C major, for example, moves easily from a C chord (C–E–G) to an A minor chord (C–E–A) to an F major chord (C–F–A) to a G7 (D–F–G–B) because there is at least one common tone from one chord to another—and the common tone between the first three chords happens to be the root of the tonic chord, C. Seamless progressions such as these away from the tonic chord are very familiar to the ear, possibly because of overuse by pop groups in the 1950s and 1960s, and provide an easily accessible tonal canvas on which to draw lyrically virtually any story. Another seamless progression, a sequence of falling fifths is an especially elegant way of returning to the tonic at various points in a song. Beginning with the subdominant chord in any key, a falling fifth progression invariably involves common tones (see e xample 6.19 below).
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Example 6.19 [Sound file 6.16]
If you refer back to Unit 2, you will find a shortcut to the circle of fifths, in which any key may move across the circle to another key that is five scale degrees away. In chord progressions that are diatonic, using only tones found in the key, it is permissible in the key of C major to go from F down to B (rather than B𝄬) since B is five scale degrees lower than F and a tone in the tonic key (B𝄬 is not a tone in C major). In addition, the two common tones between IV and viiø7 allow for a seamless progression. Because seamless progressions are related to common tones between changing chords, it follows that abrupt departures from the tonic are the result of chord changes with no common tones, for example, the C major tonic (C–E–G) followed by vii° (B–D–F) or an altered chord with added sharps or flats not in the tonic key. Because it is difficult in a purely diatonic system for chords to proceed very far without discovering common tones, composers have found it useful to borrow notes from other scales to help disguise the simple clarity of the tonic–subdominant–dominant relationship and add more musical tension to the composition. Sometimes the notes borrowed are from the minor system of the parallel major scale. In Jerome Kern’s “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man” (Show Boat), for example, a song composed in E𝄬 major, Kern borrows the flatted third (G𝄬), flatted sixth (C𝄬), and flatted seventh (D𝄬) from E𝄬 natural minor to instill the number with a bluesy setting. Altered chords are discussed later in this text, beginning with Unit 9.
The Arrangement
Sight-Reading and Transposition
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The analysis of chord progressions in musical theatre songs is a kind of musical grammatical process not unlike the way a performer might study the construction of a lyric—determining why certain lyrical phrases are repeated and why words are in a particular order (particularly in patter shopping-list songs) and should not be inverted. With the grammar out of the way, the performer is free to unearth the dramatic structure of the music and lyrics, discovering how it builds dynamically and how the artist can perform credibly every night as if it were the first time. An added benefit to the musical analysis of chord progressions is the help with sight-reading that it provides. Almost always, melody notes are imbedded somewhere in the accompaniment harmony, and the greater awareness the performer has of the patterns of musical theatre accompaniment, the more confidence he or she will have in cold-reading the score. Even when the performer has only a single-note lead sheet to work from, the rehearsal pianist will be playing some kind of chordal accompaniment that will place the melody line in a tonal context, and, invariably, the performer will get the accompaniment down on tape in order to practice aligning the melody with the accompaniment at home. Today, certain musicals have rehearsal packages—CDs providing the full orchestration to give the performer the benefit of practicing the melodic line in the context of what he or she will actually hear in performance. Another benefit of studying chord progressions in musical theatre songs is in the area of transposition. Admittedly, today’s computer music writing programs have rendered the laborious and expensive process of hand-copied transposition a thing of the past, back in the musical Dark Ages of the twentieth century. Even so, rare is the situation when the performer has all of the show material in keys that fit the voice perfectly; or even rarer, when an audition or rehearsal pianist does not have to transpose sheet music on sight. Along with an ability to sight-read, being able to transpose at sight is still an important tool for the musical theatre professional, and while there are many methods of learning how to transpose, the Roman numeral method used consistently by professional studio musicians remains, arguably, the best. Simply put, the accompaniment is reduced to a relationship of numbered chords—a relationship that remains consistent no matter the key. So, if we begin in the key of C and the chords are I (C), ii (D minor), iii (E minor), ii, I, IV (F), V7 (G7), when we move to the key of F, the numbers of the chords will remain the same, though they will suddenly function in the new key. In the key of F, I is F major, ii is G minor, iii is A minor, IV is B𝄬 major, V7 is C7. The old key discloses which note of a chord is on the top (the root, third, fifth, or seventh) so, if C is on the top of a C major chord in the old key, F would be on the top of the F major chord in the new key. Rarely does the melody line get transposed for the piano accompanist who is used to reading transposed chord symbols scrawled on top of the original printed chord progressions, but when a transposed melody is required, a similar process is advised. In the original key, number each note of the melody or use solfège syllables for every note, then simply lay the numeric pattern on the new key. If, in the key of C, the melody is 1–3–5–6–1–2–3 (C–E–G–A–C–D–E), in F, using the same numbers, it will sound F–A–C–D–F–G–A.
Exercise 5 Example 6.20 below is an excerpt of “On a Day, Alack the Day!” from the musical version of Shakespeare’s Love’s Labors Lost. In the first several measures, the accompaniment harmony is analyzed. Complete the analysis of the harmony and identify the scale degrees of the melody above the written notes using numbers or solfège syllables, at the discretion of the instructor. After you have completed the harmonic and melodic analyses, in the space provided, transpose the excerpt to the key of A𝄬 major using the method described above.
Example 6.20
The Arrangement
Example 6.20 (Continued)
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Major and Minor Sixth Chords Before we leave the matter of diatonic chords and their functions, we should explore the creation of major and minor sixth chords, commonly used chords in musical theatre literature that are not built in the usual triadic fashion. Called an “added sixth chord” by Western music theorists in the eighteenth century, the sixth chord can be created by adding a major sixth above the root of a major or minor triad. In example 6.21, John Kander and Fred Ebb’s “Willkommen” from Cabaret, the composer displays a liberal use of sixth chords to create the jazzy and decadent atmosphere of the German music halls prior to the beginning of World War II.
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
Example 6.21 [Sound file 6.17]
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In the major and minor systems, major and minor sixth chords are closely related to minor seventh and half-diminished seventh chords. As example 6.22 indicates, major sixth chords look exactly like minor seventh chords in first inversion, and minor sixth chords resemble half-diminished seventh chords in first inversion. Note that major sixths are indicated simply by the number six after the name of the chord (i.e., F6); minor sixths, by the lower-case letter “m” followed by the number six (i.e., Fm6). When using Roman numerals, upper-case numerals represent major (i.e., IV6), lower-case numerals represent minor (i.e., ii6). Example 6.22
The Arrangement
This natural diatonic phenomenon is important because it correlates with the diatonic function of the I, IV, and V chords. As noted earlier in this unit, the ii and ii7 chords have a subdominant function, the iii and iii7 chords, a dominant substitution, and the vi, and particularly the vi7 chord, a tonic substitution. The viiø7, normally a dominant function, becomes a ii6 sharing three notes of the subdominant sixth chord (F, A, D) while still maintaining three tones of the dominant seventh chord (B, D, F). First inversions of the ii7, iii7, vi7, and viiø7 do not automatically become sixth chords but may function as inversions of their original diatonic function. When minor sevenths and their first-inversion sixth chords are used in the same musical theatre piece, the proper function of the chords is typically defined by the bass. For example, in “Willkommen,” we know the first chord of the accompaniment is B𝄬6 not Gm7 because the bass provides the root and fifth of a B𝄬 chord. It is possible to construct a major or minor sixth chord on any note of the scale. For a major sixth, simply take any major triad and add the sixth degree of the tonic scale. If the triad is D–F♯–A, for example, the tonic scale is D and the sixth degree of the scale is B. D major sixth is D–F♯–A–B. Another way of creating a major sixth chord is write a major triad, then add the scale tone one full step above the fifth of the chord. If the triad is E𝄬–G–B𝄬, the scale tone one full step above B𝄬 is C, so the sixth chord is E𝄬–G–B𝄬–C. You will notice that C is also the sixth degree of the E𝄬 scale. The same rules apply in creating a minor sixth chord: begin with a minor triad then add the sixth degree of the melodic minor. For example, to the triad, D–F–A, add the sixth note of the D melodic minor scale: B. A D minor sixth chord is D–F–A–B. Note that, because the sixth of a minor sixth chord needs to be one full step above the fifth (i.e., a major sixth from the root), only the melodic minor applies. Both the natural and harmonic minors have sixths that are only one half step above the fifth (a minor sixth from the root). As in the creation of a major sixth above, you may also use the second method and add a note that is one full step higher than the fifth of a minor triad. If the triad is F–A𝄬–C, add D to create an F minor sixth.
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Exercise 6 In the space provided, write the major and minor sixth chords as indicated in example 6.23 below. Example 6.23
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
In musical theatre literature, a liberal use of the sixth chord can be found in Jerry Herman’s “I Don’t Want to Know” (Dear World), Charles Strouse’s “You’ve Got Possibilities” (It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman), Jerome Moross’s “Lazy Afternoon” (The Golden Apple), John Kander’s “Without Me” (The Happy Time), Irving Berlin’s “The Hostess with the Mostes’ on the Ball” (Call Me Madam), and in many of Kurt Weill’s musical theatre compositions, including “Little Grey House” from Lost in the Stars, and the popular “Mack the Knife” from The Threepenny Opera (example 6.24 below). Example 6.24 [Sound file 6.18]
As can be discerned from examples 6.21 and 6.24, melodic sixths are edgy and unsettled—active tones seeking resolution to more stable intervals such as the perfect fifth or octave. Harmonically the major sixth chord invites a certain degree of tension because of the presence of the major second, an inherently dissonant interval; and the sixth chord’s similarity to the minor seventh chord often creates a tonal ambivalence in a composition. The minor sixth chord is also unstable because of the presence of the major second interval and because of its association with the half-diminished chord. Sixth chords, however, sound consonant when they are used as resolutions for major seventh chords, which, by comparison, create even more tension having the dissonant minor second interval between the seventh and root in their inversions (see example 6.21 above). Cole Porter was another musical theatre composer interested in the dynamic potential of sixth chords. In 1933, he employed a dark minor sixth harmony to underscore the title song of his titillating new musical about the sexual adventures of a group of English schoolgirls called Nymph Errant (example 6.25 below).
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Example 6.25 [Sound file 6.19]
The driving accompaniment continues throughout the song as the dark minor sixth chords give way to a wandering harmonic structure that mirrors the sexual odyssey of the dramatic action. Some thirty bars later, the song resolves to C6, the first time the tonic chord is heard, with a short coda utilizing an F6 fanfare that resolves again to C6.
The Arrangement
In addition to their edgy quality, sixth chords often suggest exotic locations or situations, having found their way into rumbas and a variety of Latin dance crazes, such as the popular mambo, “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White,” a number-one hit on the Billboard charts in 1955. Reflecting that hit song, David Yazbek set “Life with Harold” (The Full Monty) as a mambo, with a melody line that evoked “Cherry Pink” with sixth chords in the accompaniment (example 6.26, below). Example 6.26 [Sound file 6.20]
Note that the ii6 (Dm6) might be considered a viiø7 (Bø7) just as the ii7 (Dm7) in measure 4 could be viewed as a IV6 (F6) depending on the bass.
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Review Quiz Identify the triads, sixth, and seventh chords on the first two staves of example 6.27. Write your answers above each chord. On the last two staves, write the chords specified over each measure using the written note as the root of the chord or triad. Example 6.27
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
Each measure of example 6.28 displays a bass note followed by a chord or triad in root position or an inversion. Assuming that the bass note is the root of the chord that follows it, write the name of the chord above the staff and the name of the inversion below the staff. For example, if the bass note is F and the triad that follows is written A–C–F, the correct answer is F major (or FM) in first inversion. If the bass note is D and the chord that follows is D–F–A–C, the correct answer is Dm7 in root position. Example 6.28
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The simple melody in example 6.29 is filled with nonchord tones. Write the name of each nonchord tone above the melody where it occurs. In addition, write the name of each chord above the piano accompaniment.
Example 6.29
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
Example 6.29 (Continued)
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Using Roman numerals beneath the bottom system, identify the harmony of the accompaniment in example 6.30, an excerpt from “Motoring” (The Dollar Princess). If chords are repeated in a measure, you need not repeat the Roman numeral for each identical chord. Example 6.30
Example 6.30 (Continued)
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
Unit Test 2 Part 1 • Identify the chords in the piano accompaniment of “Who Took the Moon” from The Coldest War of All (example 6.31 below) by name and by Roman numerals. Write the name of the chord above the second system and the Roman numeral underneath the bass; • Identify nonchord tones above the melody line; • Draw lines from the melody notes of the example to where they are located in the accompaniment chords (sometime they will be in an octave lower or higher than the actual melody note); • At the discretion of the instructor, slowly sight-read the song with piano accompaniment, using solfège syllables, numbers, or “la,” listening closely to the harmony in order to locate the melodic pitches. • How the performance part of this test is handled is entirely at the discretion of the instructor. Students may be asked to sing individually or in small groups, depending on the size of the class. Example 6.31 [Sound file 6.21]
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Example 6.31 (Continued)
Chord Progressions and Sixth Chords
Example 6.31 (Continued)
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Unit Test 2 Part 2 Review examples 6.15 (“Where Do I Go”) and 6.18 (“Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now”). • Correct any errors in the harmonic analysis of the accompaniment; • Analyze the melodic line of each song by determining its position in the key, either by assigning each tone a number or a solfège syllable; • Using the space provided below, complete the transposition of the melody and accompaniment of each song to the new key assigned in example 6.32 (“Where Do I Go”) and example 6.33 (“Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now”). Example 6.32
Example 6.32 (Continued)
Example 6.33
7
Singing Counterpoint 1
Example 7.1 [Sound file 7.1]
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Rare is the music theatre performer who, at some point in his or her career, did not sing or dance in the chorus of a musical. Some view the experience as a means of obtaining a union card while others see it as the dues to be paid on the way to becoming a featured performer or star—after all, wasn’t Shirley MacLaine discovered in the chorus of Cole Porter’s Can-Can? Still others find long and successful careers in musical theatre choruses, though not necessarily happy ones, if musicals such as A Chorus Line and Out of Line can be considered typical. It has long been held in the Broadway mythos that, in many ways, chorus performers need to be better schooled than principal actors since the latter have the luxury of musical keys and dance steps adapted to fit their strengths while chorus members need to be able to sing and dance whatever the musical director or choreographer teaches them. In what now feels like the “long-ago” of the American musical theatre—that golden age of the 1940s and 1950s—many featured performers (as well as choreographers) could not read music and had to be drilled in their numbers by private coaches pounding notes at an hourly rate. The members of the ensemble, on the other hand, had the luxury, in those days of large-cast musicals, of being assigned to either a dancing or a singing chorus. The dancers did not need to be perfect singers and the singers did not need to be perfect dancers, so dance academies filled the dancing chorus, and music schools (and church choirs) supplied the singers. Nowadays, when the chorus member needs to sing, dance, and act (an innovation aesthetically sired by West Side Story and sustained by contemporary production costs), it is not enough to be qualified in only one area of expertise. Choreographers expect the chorus to be dancers capable of interpreting dance steps quickly; stage directors expect chorus members to be actors able to perform dialogue convincingly; and musical directors expect to be conducting singers trained in the art of part-singing.
The Arrangement
In the many years I spent as a rehearsal pianist, rarely did the musical director allow me to plunk out the pitches for a particular part in a chorus rehearsal. We would tackle a four-part chorus piece such as the “Morning Hymn” from The Sound of Music (example 7.1, above) with my playing a chord to provide a musical context for the singers’ pitches, and the performers would sing through the piece. We only stopped to review difficult passages, but in every case, I was relegated to playing the piano accompaniment, not to cheating parts. The logic of this method is obvious: the performer must get used to the sound of his pitch in context of the harmony presented by the accompaniment of the orchestra (see Unit 5 and Unit 6 above). For singers to hear and sing harmony parts as well as contrasting melodies in choral singing requires a basic understanding of counterpoint and polyphony—the subjects of units seven and eight of this text.
Counterpoint and Polyphony Counterpoint—“note against note”—is the name given to musical lines that sound together and are, therefore, interrelated harmonically but autonomous in shape or rhythm. The term, polyphony, is often exchanged with counterpoint since, by definition, it involves at least two different and independent musical lines that are performed together harmoniously. According to the Harvard Dictionary of Music, polyphony, having “the connotation of a broad stylistic and historical classification,” is the preferred term for music prior to the sixteenth century while counterpoint, connoting a “systematic study for the purpose of instruction” (Apel 1972, 208), is the preferred term for music after the sixteenth century.
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Species Counterpoint In the early eighteenth century, in a book entitled Gradus ad Parnassum, composer and theorist Johann Joseph Fux organized the study of counterpoint into five different species, moving from the least to the greatest intricacy: • A single note against a single note of the given melody or cantus firmus; • Two notes against a single note of the given melody; • Four notes against a single note of the given melody; • Notes that create suspensions with the given melody; • A combination of the previous four species, called florid counterpoint. Like rules of rhetoric and elocution for the actor and ballet positions and terminology for the dancer, counterpoint presents the musical performer with a series of rules designed to facilitate choral singing through a studied approach to voice leading. Voice leading is the name given to the principles governing the progression or movement of individual voices in contrapuntal music (i.e., counterpoint). There are three possible kinds of movement: • Oblique–when one voice stays on the same pitch while the other is in motion; • Parallel–when all voices move in the same direction; • Contrary–when voices move in opposite directions. Voice leading functions melodically (horizontally) and well as harmonically (vertically).
First Species Counterpoint The following are among the rules that govern the horizontal writing of melodies in first species counterpoint and function as the basic directives for all five species: • The final note must be approached by step; if the stepwise motion comes from below, the leading tone (the seventh scale tone) must be raised to create a half step to the final note (like the distance from B to C in a C major scale).
Singing Counterpoint 1
• The melodic intervals that may be used are m2, M2, m3, M3, P4, P5, m6, and P8. • Two skips in the same direction must be a rare occurrence; when it happens, the first skip must be greater than the second and not to a dissonant note. • Follow skips in one direction by motion to the opposite direction. • Leaps greater than a fifth, except for the minor sixth and perfect octave, should be discouraged; the m6 leap must always be followed by a resolution in the opposite direction; an octave leap should be preceded and resolved by notes within the octave. • Avoid creating the melodic interval of a tritone (F–B) even if there is a note between them (F–G–B). Likewise, avoid creating the interval of a seventh (C–B) even if there is a note between them (C–G–B). • A step is movement by half step or whole step; a skip is movement by a third or fourth; a leap is movement by a fifth or larger. Fundamental rules also apply to the vertical or harmonic relationship of the voices: • The piece must begin and end on a perfect consonance: P1, P5, or P8. In three or more parts, however, it is permissible to begin and end with full triads. • All the parts should move in contrary motion whenever possible. • The perfect consonances, P1, P4, P5, P8, must be approached by oblique or contrary motion. • The imperfect consonances, m3, M3, m6, M6, can be approached by any kind of motion: oblique, parallel, or contrary. • The distance between two adjacent voices should never exceed the interval of a tenth; no single part should exceed the interval of a tenth from its lowest to highest note. • Avoid parallel fifths and octaves throughout; avoid parallel fourths unless the fourths are present in the middle voice and the notes below them are at a distance of a third.
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Although such rules may appear overly restrictive in the twenty-first century, they were designed with the human voice in mind, to teach simple melodic progressions that could be sung together easily and in tune.
Exercise 1 The following examples are first species counterpoint derived from the first lesson of the second part of Gradus ad Parnassum. For each example, write the intervals from one melody note to the next on each line. Continue writing the intervals between the bass part and the line above it; then the intervals between the bass part and the top line. Circle any triads that might appear vertically. Once you have completed the analysis of the intervals and triads, sing each example with all three parts on “Ah.” Note that C.F. refers to the cantus firmus (the given melody) upon which the counterpoint is based.
Example 7.2
The Arrangement
Example 7.3
Example 7.4
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Example 7.5
Dramatic Use of First Species Counterpoint It has been the universal experience with students that first species counterpoint exercises are much easier to read and sing than to create from the proscriptive rules listed above. Yet those very rules are the reasons behind vocal writing that lies well in the voice and is quickly assimilated by the ear. A parallel might easily be drawn between the discipline of species counterpoint and that of ballet training, or working through acting exercises based on the Stanislavski system. All the choreographers I have accompanied have insisted on the importance of ballet as basic training for the disciplined dancer; stage directors, in turn, cite Stanislavski’s method of performing a role “as if it were the first time” as the basic groundwork of every actor’s craft. For musical theatre performers, that groundwork also must include an understanding of counterpoint. Admittedly, the study of first species counterpoint appears to have little to do with the American musical theatre. Rules about the use of particular intervals, parallelisms, and voice
Singing Counterpoint 1
ranges hardly seem to apply today when we have seen in Unit 4 that musical theatre composers have written leaps more extensive than a tenth in vocal parts and utilize harmonies that appear to disregard every rule disclosed above. Yet the spirit of first species counterpoint remains alive every time performers sing a production number that has been given a choral arrangement, or a duet, trio, or other kinds of ensembles in which each voice has an individual part to sing. Example 7.1, “Morning Hymn” from The Sound of Music, certainly reflects the concepts of first species counterpoint and not inappropriately since the piece is performed by nuns in a convent where the musical vocabulary adheres to traditions codified at the same time Fux and others were composing contrapuntal religious music. Example 7.6 below, “March of the Rangers,” from Rio Rita, is a production number for male chorus, entirely secular in its focus, but not unlike the “Morning Hymn” in its vocal counterpoint.
Example 7.6 [Sound file 7.2]
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The Arrangement
Because first species counterpoint is strictly note against note, the rhythmic patterns of both “Morning Hymn” and “March of the Rangers” are the same in each voice. This kind of polyphonic writing is called homorhythmic, in which the various parts performed together produce a succession of intervals or chords. “I Believe” from Spring Awakening (example 7.7, below) is another homorhythmic four-part ensemble, though, upon closer examination, it is obvious that there are only three distinct parts; the top and bottom voices sing the same melodic line, an octave apart. Example 7.7 [Sound file 7.3]
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In the Irving Berlin musical, Call Me Madam, there is a full-ensemble production number called “The Ocarina” (example 7.8, below) that reduces the four chorus parts to only two separate melodic lines: one for the sopranos and tenors, the other for the altos and basses. Although there appear to be four vocal parts, this example is, in reality, a homorhythmic duet mirrored by the male and female chorus an octave apart. Because of the extent of parallel motion throughout the individual voice parts of “The Ocarina” (thirds throughout), there is little sense of the independence of melodic lines that constitute polyphony. Arrangements such as this with several vocal parts moving in parallel motion, each dependent on the chordal harmonization of the melodic line, are called homophonic. Example 7.8 [Sound file 7.4]
Singing Counterpoint 1
Example 7.8 (Continued)
The interdependence of voice parts in “The Ocarina” is easy to see and to sing. Both vocal lines follow exactly the same shape, only a third apart. By comparison, the vocal parts in “Morning Hymn” (example 7.1), “March of the Rangers” (example 7.6), and “I Believe” (example 7.7) appear to be more independent of the shape of the melodic line.
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Exercise 2 Compare the vocal parts of example 7.9, “Big D” (The Most Happy Fella), example 7.10, “Perpetual Anticipation” (A Little Night Music), and example 7.11, “Standing on the Corner” (The Most Happy Fella). Write the melodic (horizontal) intervals for each of the vocal parts and the harmonic (vertical) intervals between vocal parts for each example. In the space provided, determine which example has the most independent vocal parts? Which example has the most interdependent vocal parts? Explain your choices. Example 7.9 [Sound file 7.5]
Example 7.9 (Continued)
Example 7.10 [Sound file 7.6]
Example 7.11 [Sound file 7.7]
Singing Counterpoint 1
Example 7.11 (Continued)
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The Arrangement
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Second Species Counterpoint Second species counterpoint involves the juxtaposition of two notes in the added vocal part against a single note of the cantus firmus (i.e., two half notes played against a whole note in common time. In triple meter, three notes may be played: for example, three quarter notes against a dotted half note or three eighth notes against a dotted quarter note). If there are three vocal parts, the third part functions as if in first species, providing note against note of the given melody. This rule will apply all the way through fifth species counterpoint. When
Singing Counterpoint 1
the two notes of the counterpoint are sung against the single note of the cantus firmus, the result produces a sense of strong and weak beats (the coincidence of the counterpoint sung at the same time as the given melody creates a strong beat; the second note of the counterpoint becomes the weak beat), and new rules had to be added to the second species: • Counterpoint may begin on the strong beat or weak beat following a rest. • Dissonant (nonchord) intervals are permitted on the weak beat if approached and left by step; passing tones and neighbor tones are therefore permitted. • Only one voice moves from a strong beat to a weak beat—the two-note counterpoint; from a weak beat to a strong beat, the two-note counterpoint moves according to first species rules. • The counterpoint in the penultimate measure may be a single whole note rather than two half notes (see example 7.15 below).
Exercise 3 The following examples of second species counterpoint are derived from the second lesson of the second part of Gradus ad Parnassum. As in exercise 1 above, write the intervals from one melody note to the next on each line. Continue writing the intervals between the bass part and the line above it; then the intervals between the bass part and the top line. Circle any triads that might appear vertically. Once you have completed the analysis of the intervals and triads, sing each example with all three parts on “Ah.” Example 7.12 175
Example 7.13
Example 7.14
The Arrangement
Example 7.15
Dramatic Use of Second Species Counterpoint Note the similarities to second species counterpoint in the vocal parts of “Our Customary Attitude” from John Philip Sousa’s 1897 comic opera The Bride-Elect (example 7.16 below). Example 7.16 [Sound file 7.8]
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Singing Counterpoint 1
Example 7.16 (Continued)
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In example 7.16, the pattern of two eighth notes against one quarter note is carried throughout the piece with the exception of measures 5, 16, and 17 where the counterpoint matches the quarter notes of the melody. Although the eighth note counterpoint in this example may look different from the counterpoint examples in Gradus ad Parnassum the process is exactly the same. Fux’s examples are based on whole note melodies, so to put two notes against a whole note, we need two half notes. Sousa’s melody is based in quarter notes, so to place two notes against a quarter note, we need two eighth notes. One thing is different, though. In measures 6–9 and 14–15, the counterpoint shifts from the top system to the two systems below. Although such a transfer of moving lines is impossible in species counterpoint, given the presence of an unmovable cantus firmus, it is not only possible but a frequent occurrence in musical theatre counterpoint.
The Arrangement
Note the flagrant violation of the rule forbidding dissonance on a strong beat (i.e., when the counterpoint meets the melody note). In measure 2, the interval of an m7 occurs on the strong part of the second beat; in measure 4, an M2 occurs on the strong part of the downbeat; in measure 6, there is another m7 on the second beat; and in measure 7, the counterpoint skips to a tritone on beat 2. Sousa, the composer of “The Stars and Stripes Forever” and countless famous marches, certainly knows better than to make such mistakes, so there must be a reason for his infractions. The answer is simple and holds true for all musical theatre composers: Sousa is composing dramatic music, not species counterpoint exercises. He borrows from species counterpoint those techniques that he finds useful in the dramatic situation. Often, it is most useful dramatically to violate the rules in order to create tension or emphasize an emotional or psychological event. In the example above, the obvious dissonances in the vocal parts reflect the clamor of the “clanking sword” and “men’s vociferation” that marks the dramatic event of the song: the arrival of King Papagallo to claim his bride elect. Example 7.17 below, “A Kiss for Cinderella,” an operetta-like production number from George and Ira Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing, the first musical to win the Pulitzer Prize, offers a somewhat more modern application of two-notes-to-one counterpoint.
Example 7.17 [Sound file 7.9]
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Singing Counterpoint 1
Unlike the counterpoint in the vocal line of “Our Customary Attitude,” in which the notes were mostly of equal value (i.e., eighth notes), the two-note counterpoint in measures 1 and 3 of “A Kiss for Cinderella” displays notes of unequal value (i.e., dotted eighth notes and sixteenth notes). This is a common device in musical theatre counterpoint, especially in compositions that aim to reproduce the syncopated “swung” characteristic of popular music. Note that Gershwin violates the rules of second species counterpoint in measure 2, not only because he abandons the two-notes-to-one concept, but also because he creates the interval of a tritone and even approaches it in parallel motion. The dissonant and unstable interval held for a slow one and a half beats in cut time, however, is quite effective in acting as a kind of musical cliffhanger, postponing resolution on one hand, while demanding it on the other. Note also that measure 4 provides another example of the moving line switching parts: the lower line contains a syncopated half note emphasizing the word “loves,” while the upper line moves. It seems clear that musical theatre composers are less concerned with observing rules than with creating theatrically effective songs, and, certainly, Gershwin’s syncopations are theatrically effective. Example 7.18, “When Anger Spreads Her Wing” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Princess Ida, demonstrates how the second species technique is reflected in an operetta chorus singing a patter song. Measures 1, 3, and 5 follow the rules of second species counterpoint: in this case, two sixteenth notes to each eighth note. Example 7.18 [Sound file 7.10]
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The Arrangement
Example 7.18 (Continued)
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Example 7.18 displays perhaps the greatest observance of the rules of counterpoint even though the evidence of the second species is often curtailed at the end of measures (i.e., measures 2, 6, 8). Steps and skips generally follow the rules of counterpoint except for measure 7 where there are three skips in the same direction, and dissonances throughout are properly prepared and always occur on the weak part of the beat. Even though the composition is in duple meter, measures 6 and 8 borrow from the triple meter rule with three sixteenth notes juxtaposed with a dotted eighth note. In strict species counterpoint such borrowing would not be permitted, but, as we have noted, musical theatre composers are more concerned with dramatic effect than the observance of rules. Measures 2 and 4 also contain dotted notes but, in second species counterpoint, the appropriate juxtaposition for a dotted quarter note would be three eighth notes, not six sixteenth notes. The latter belong to third species counterpoint which is the subject of the next unit.
Exercise 4 Example 7.19, “To and Fro” from Ivan Caryll’s 1904 hit, The Earl and the Girl, and example 7.20, “We’ve Swept the Halls” from Karl L. Hoschna’s Three Twins, the biggest hit of 1908, are musical theatre examples of the techniques of first and second species counterpoint. • For example 7.19, identify the melodic intervals above each of the vocal parts. If the vocal part is divided, write the intervals of the bottom part directly below those of the upper part;
Singing Counterpoint 1
• For example 7.20, identify the melodic intervals above the women’s vocal part and below the tenor and baritone parts. If the vocal part is divided, write the intervals of the bottom part directly below those of the upper part; • With a yellow marker, highlight the pitches in the vocal parts that are present in the accompaniment; also, highlight the notes in the accompaniment. Note that the pitches may be in a different octave in the accompaniment than in the vocal parts; • Divide the parts among the students in the class: separate the women’s part into soprano and mezzo-soprano voices; • Sight-read the vocal parts individually with accompaniment; that is, first, the women’s part alone, then the tenor, and finally, the bass; • Sing all the parts together.
Example 7.19 [Sound file 7.11]
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Example 7.19 (Continued)
Example 7.19 (Continued)
Example 7.20 [Sound file 7.12]
Example 7.20 (Continued)
Example 7.20 (Continued)
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Singing Counterpoint 2
Example 8.1 [Sound file 8.1]
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Third Species Counterpoint Example 8.1, a fragment of the finale from act two of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera, The Yeomen of the Guard, provides a musical theatre introduction to third species counterpoint, that is, four or more notes against a single tone of the fixed melody (typically four notes in duple time, six notes in triple meter). As in the second species, the counterpoint may begin on a strong beat or a weak beat (after a rest, in which case there will be one note less in the counterpoint as in the example above). The rules of the first and second species with regard to voice leading, consonance and dissonance, and melodic leaps and contour are maintained in the third species. However, because there are more notes in counterpoint with the fixed melody, certain new rules arise: • The first note in each group of four (in duple time) or six (in triple time) must be consonant; the remainder of the series may be dissonant. • Dissonances must be approached and resolved by step except for the nonharmonic figure called the Cambiata (see example 8.2), in which the dissonant tone is approached by step and left by a skip.
The Arrangement
• In three or more parts, the piece can begin and end with full triads, but the ending must be either a perfect consonance or a major triad. • The counterpoint finishes with a double whole note; the half measure before has four notes, the last of which will either be the leading tone (7) or the supertonic (2) of the scale (unless both of those notes are present in the other voices) (see e xample 8.4 below). Example 8.2 [Sound file 8.2]
Exercise 1 As in unit 7, the following examples of third species counterpoint are derived from the second part of Gradus ad Parnassum. For each example, write the intervals from one melody note to the next on each line. Continue writing the intervals between the bass part and the line above it; then the intervals between the bass part and the top line. Circle any triads that might appear vertically, and circle the cambiata whenever it appears. Once you have completed the analysis of the intervals and triads, sing each example with all three parts on “Ah.”
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Example 8.3
Example 8.4
Example 8.5
The Arrangement
Dramatic Use of Third Species Counterpoint A simple but effective parallel to third species counterpoint is found in example 8.6, a segment of “Poor, Poor Harry Horner,” the opening number of My Love to Your Wife. Note how the moving voice follows the four-notes-to-one pattern as in the examples above, except where there is a rest on the downbeat, in which case there are only three notes against one. Note also that the other voices are homorhythmic, all moving together in the same metric pattern, just like the examples above. Since the musical is set in the seventeenth century and the opening situation is a mock funeral for Harry Horner’s sex life, the music’s evocation of a church chorale in species counterpoint is dramatically effective. Example 8.6 [Sound file 8.3]
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Singing Counterpoint 2
A double chorus between twenty lovesick maidens (infatuated with a melancholy poet) and a squad of equally lovesick dragoons (infatuated with the maidens) offers another illustration of species counterpoint adapted to fit the dramatic situation. Example 8.7 below is a portion of “In a Doleful Train” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera Patience. Example 8.7 [Sound file 8.4]
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The Arrangement
Example 8.7 (Continued)
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Note how third species counterpoint is reflected in measures 1, 2, 5, and 6 of the example above, even though the rule that the first note of each group of four must be consonant has been ignored in the second half of each of those measures. Although against species rules, the strong beat dissonance does have significant dramatic value in adding emphasis to the lyrics “ridiculous” and “preposterous,” the point of view that the dragoons are attempting to convey to the lovesick maidens. In addition, the strong-beat dissonance between voices effectively portrays the disagreement between the men and women. Note also how the moving line with three skips in the same direction (measures 3, 7, and 10) creates three descending D major arpeggios to set the lyrics “melancholy” and “ridiculous.” The arpeggios may violate species guidelines, but they provide an effective setting of the lyrics as well as a subtle aural connection between the words “melancholy” and “ridiculous.” Given the accented dissonances on the words “ridiculous” and “preposterous” and the musical association between “melancholy” and “ridiculous,” the dragoons’ point of view is musically and dramatically clear. Harry Tierney’s 1919 mega-hit Irene is an American musical comedy that borrowed some of the techniques of third species counterpoint in “The Last Part of Every Party” (example 8.8), a contrapuntal chorus between gentleman dress designer Madame Lucy, his models, and their suitors. Note the use of notes of unequal value in the counterpoint against the half note melody (dotted eighth and sixteenth notes instead of straight eighth notes), the “swung” configuration we saw in “A Kiss for Cinderella” (example 7.17). Note also the use of second species counterpoint in measures 2, 4, and 6 where the melody is in quarter notes instead of half notes. In the musical scene Madame Lucy is instructing his models on proper etiquette during a fashion show. The models’ fascination with the romantic possibilities of their work is musically
Singing Counterpoint 2
defined by a hummable, Jerome Kern–like melody, filled with long notes and consonant intervals. Madame Lucy’s anxiety about the upcoming show and the education of his employees is effectively portrayed by a jumpy contrapuntal line that seeks to interrupt the lyrical tone of the models’ tune. Like the example from Patience above, the music of “The Last Part of Every Party” dramatically displays the characters’ different points of view. Example 8.8 [Sound file 8.5]
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The Arrangement
One of the musical theatre successes of 1925, Jerome Kern’s Sunny produced an effervescent score of hits that included “Who?”, “Sunny,” and the (by-now obligatory) musical theatre treatment of third species counterpoint, “Sunshine,” example 8.9 below. Example 8.9 [Sound file 8.6]
Note the use of notes of equal value in the examples of third species counterpoint in measures 1 and 3 above and also the dissonance (m7) on the first note of the series of four notes. Kern ignores the rule that the first note of the series must be consonant in order to use the same notes (D, C) for the words “sun is shining” and “silver lining.” The words “shining” and “lining” are given an added emphasis by their musical setting employing a dissonance on a strong beat. The dramatic potential of third species counterpoint (and variations thereof) in musical theatre songs is indisputable. Not only do the four notes against one produce a dynamic forward-moving effect, but the system of contrapuntal motion allows for a juxtaposition of ideas sung simultaneously in an emotionally heightened musical scene. Leonard Bernstein’s “A Boy like That,” for example, is dramatically effective when Anita sings the song as a solo warning to Maria late in the second act of West Side Story. However, the emotional impact of the number is intensified as Maria joins the singing in an attempt to change Anita’s point of view. The musical agon or struggle that follows is an impassioned conflict of ideas, effectively expressed by two distinct melodic contours (see e xample 8.10 below). Bernstein uses only a fragment of third species counterpoint in the example—the practice of beginning the counterpoint on the weak beat after a rest. But just that much of contrapuntal technique helps drive Anita’s agitated vocal line forward, rendering it conversational, passionate, and a dramatically eloquent counterpoint to Maria’s unyielding on-the-beat lyricism.
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Example 8.10 [Sound file 8.7]
Singing Counterpoint 2
Example 8.10 (Continued)
Fourth Species Counterpoint Fourth species counterpoint, the contrapuntal treatment of syncope or suspensions, is, likewise, an important dramatic and emotional device because of the musical tension and resolution that it presents. Although, in structure the fourth species returns to the two-against-one note system of the second species, the suspensions created by the counterpoint can be even more dynamically effective than the third species because of the relationship between dissonance and consonance, for which, as in every contrapuntal species, there are definite rules. • The counterpoint always begins after a rest to promote the independence of the parts. • The first note of a pair of notes tied from the end of one bar (the weak beat) to the beginning of the next (the strong beat) is always consonant. • If the tied note on the strong beat is consonant, it is called a consonant syncope. • If the tied note on the strong beat is dissonant, it is called a dissonant syncope and must be resolved by step in a downward direction. • When the counterpoint is above the fixed melody, 7–6 (an interval of a seventh resolving to an interval of a sixth), and 4–3 (an interval of a fourth resolving to an interval of a third) suspensions are encouraged; 9–8 and 2–1 suspensions should rarely be used. • When the counterpoint is below the fixed melody, 2–3 and 9–10 suspensions are encouraged, while 4–5 suspensions must be used rarely, and 7–8 suspensions are by and large avoided. See example 8.11 below. The first three measures present first species counterpoint as a model of vertical harmonization. Through the use of syncopation and tying notes from one measure to the next, the first species becomes fourth species with chains of suspensions in measures 4 through 6.
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The Arrangement
Example 8.11
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Exercise 2 As above, the following examples of fourth species counterpoint are derived from the second part of Gradus ad Parnassum. For each example, write the intervals from one melody note to the next on each line. Continue writing the intervals between the bass part and the line above it; then the intervals between the bass part and the top line. Circle any triads that might appear vertically. Once you have completed the analysis of the intervals and triads, sing each example with all three parts on “Ah.” Example 8.12
Example 8.13
Singing Counterpoint 2
Example 8.14
Dramatic Use of Fourth Species Counterpoint A contemporary musical theatre example of consonant syncope is found in a recurring musical figure in “Hasa Diga Eebowai” (The Book of Mormon), in which the male Ugandans suspend F♯ over the women’s B to A♯ creating the effect of a 4–3 suspension. In this particular case, both the weak beat and strong beat of the syncope are consonant (see example 8.15, below). The consonant chorale effect of the suspension creates an ironic commentary on the Ugandans’ view of God and the Universe. Example 8.15 [Sound file 8.8]
A dramatic series of dissonant (2–3) syncopes occurs near the end (measures 6–7) of the musical scene, “Fugue for Fops,” in which a group of seventeenth-century cavaliers complain about their wives in My Love to Your Wife (example 8.16). The tension created by the suspensions reflects the characters’ feelings about their wives.
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Example 8.16 [Sound file 8.9]
Singing Counterpoint 2
Example 8.16 (Continued)
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Fifth Species Counterpoint A synthesis of the first four species of counterpoint, the fifth species (also known as florid counterpoint) offers composers the greatest freedom, allowing them to mix and match techniques developed through the first four species. Though the rules for the earlier species still apply, additional mandates are added to the fifth species either to modify previous rules or to address new issues created by the juxtaposition of species: • Take care to avoid outlining a tritone in the melody; a tritone (F–B) is outlined if the notes, F–G–A–B are followed by a change of direction. The series, F–G–A–B–C, is permitted; the series, F–G–A–B–A, on the other hand, outlines the tritone.
The Arrangement
• One voice of the counterpoint may use elements from species 1–4 and add eighth notes in pairs as well. Any additional accompaniment to the fixed melody must adhere to the rules of the first species. • Avoid using more than a pair of eighth notes in any measure; when they are used, they must appear only on weak parts of the beat (see example 8.17, measures 2 and 4, below). • When a note is tied over (as in the fourth species), make the second note half the value of the first, except at the end of the piece. • The resolution of a suspension may be delayed by one consonant note inserted between the suspended note and the resolution (see example 8.17, measure 5, below). Example 8.17 [Sound file 8.10]
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Note the combination of third and fourth species devices and the extended compass of the voice parts, as much as two octaves and a third between the bass and highest voice in measure three (though the first species rule for adjacent voices still applies). Also note that the second note of a tied pair is consistently half the value of the first note, and that all dissonant syncopes resolve normally except for the 9–8 (2–1) suspension in measure five that applies the new rule about delaying the resolution by a single consonant tone. Also note that only one staff is devoted to florid counterpoint. The other staves continue to observe the rules of first species counterpoint. The numbers between whole notes in the example display the vertical relationship between the bass line and the fixed melody above it; the numbers beneath the fifth species counterpoint indicate the intervallic distance from the bass line. The numbers between notes display the melodic intervals in each voice.
Singing Counterpoint 2
Exercise 3 As in the previous examples of species counterpoint, the following illustrations of florid counterpoint are derived from the second part of Gradus ad Parnassum. For each example, write the intervals from one melody note to the next on each line. Continue writing the intervals between the bass part and the line above it; then the intervals between the bass part and the top line, and make specific note of any suspensions. Once you have completed the analysis of the intervals and triads, sing each example with all three parts on “Ah.” Note that Fux appears to violate his own rule in example 8.20 with two pairs of eighth notes in measure 2. Some editions of Gradus ad Parnassum present the musical examples in 2/2 (cut time) instead of 4/2. In cut time, a bar line would appear after every whole note; in which case, measure 2 of example 8.20 would be divided into two measures and Fux’s rule would not be violated. Example 8.18
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Example 8.19
The Arrangement
Example 8.20
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In fifth species counterpoint the various techniques of the first four species are joined together in a single voice. However, at the end of his discussion of species counterpoint in Gradus ad Parnassum, Fux encourages his students to open up the fifth species to include all the voices except for the cantus firmus: As we have now completed the five species singly, I want to urge you to write them in combination. Keeping the same cantus firmus you may combine, for example, half notes, quarters, and [suspensions]. Thus each part will have its own characteristic motion, and the whole composition will possess a wonderful variety. (Mann 1971, 136–137) As you see in e xample 8.21 below, opening up the fifth species to all the vocal parts (except for the cantus firmus) permits a great individuation of voices. No longer is a single voice functioning as counterpoint to other voices that move homorhythmically with the cantus firmus. Now all voices are in counterpoint. Example 8.21
Singing Counterpoint 2
Example 8.21 (Continued)
At the discretion of the instructor, divide the class into the voice types called for in e xample 8.21 and sight-read the example.
Dramatic Use of Fifth Species Counterpoint The techniques developed through the five species of counterpoint have had a significant impact on musical theatre literature even though, with the exception of ecclesiastical music found in shows such as The Sound of Music, the musical theatre version of counterpoint rarely sounds like anything in the various exercises above. Even though the counterpoint in musical theatre numbers is seldom only in one part, we do find examples of it in songs such as “Sunshine,” and “The Last Part of Every Party,” and two famous Irving Berlin songs, “You’re Just in Love” (Call Me Madam) and “Old Fashioned Wedding” from the 1966 revival of Annie Get Your Gun. The more complex contrapuntal devices inspired by species counterpoint give rise to effective round-like numbers such as “Fugue for Tinhorns” (Guys and Dolls) in which two or more parts sing the same melody with each part beginning at a different time and functioning as counterpoint to one another (i.e., “Row, Row, Row Your Boat”); or the madrigal-like “The Seed of God” from Villa-Lobos’s 1948 opera-musical Magdalena. Gilbert and Sullivan, of course, made effective dramatic use of the madrigal in many of their comic operas, for example, “Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day” from The Mikado (example 8.22 below). Note how the madrigal resembles blended species counterpoint, borrowing from second species in the pickup measure, first species in measure 1, third species beginning with measure 2, and fourth species also starting with measure 2.
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Example 8.22 [Sound file 8.11]
Singing Counterpoint 2
Cy Coleman created one of the more famous musical theatre madrigal-like production numbers in his 1966 Sweet Charity with “The Rhythm of Life” (see e xample 8.23 below). In this example there are clear imitations of devices found in second and third species counterpoint and motifs that are repeated in a sequence in the free imitation contrapuntal style of the madrigal. Situated within a hip, free-spirited religious service at the Rhythm of Life church, the number acts as Daddy Brubeck’s sermon that, through hip jazz scatting, excites both the devotees on stage and the audience in the theatre into an explosion of belief.
Example 8.23 [Sound file 8.12]
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The Arrangement
Note how the bass part in the above example resembles the fixed melody in the species counterpoint examples and how the other parts vary between second and third species. Note also that the two middle parts are both isorhythmic and homorhythmic and function as first species, though the continuous parallel movement of the voices suggests an interdependency between them causing them to function as a single contrapuntal line. “The Rhythm of Life” manages to have a dramatic effect through the musical device of contrapuntal scatting that grows in intensity and complexity. The dramatic effect created in example 8.24 below, “Those You’ve Known” from Spring Awakening, is produced through the creation of a contrapuntal musical scene set in a cemetery where Melchior encounters the graves of Moritz, his best friend who committed suicide, and Wendla, his pregnant lover who died during a botched abortion. The number between Melchior and the spirits of Moritz and Wendla effectively uses counterpoint to support Melchior in his decision to continue living in the knowledge that his friends will always be part of him. The dramatic union of the three voices—each with its own musical phrase and lyrics—presents a musical representation of Melchior’s realization and emotionally heightens the dramatic moment that ends the play.
Example 8.24 [Sound file 8.13]
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Singing Counterpoint 2
Where Spring Awakening employs counterpoint to express a union of spirits with individual voices and words, Stephen Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle uses it to dramatize madness. Inmates of a local asylum have intermingled with the inhabitants of a “not too distant town” and it appears to be impossible to tell them apart. At the end of the first act, a doctor by the name of Hapgood claims to be able to separate the crazies from the townspeople in “Simple,” an extensive musical interrogation, during which he divides people into groups without indicating which specific group is sane. Hapgood pays special attention to the trite aphorisms (which he calls “watchcries”) spoken by the people he interrogates and, as the process continues, these watchcries become a cacophony of virtually unintelligible phrases making more noise than sense, and driving the doctor to declare “You are all mad!” Example 8.25 presents the watchcries of Group A, written to be sung simultaneously in a counterpoint that is certainly an effective dramatic display of insanity.
Example 8.25 [Sound file 8.14]
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The Arrangement
Fugue In the third book of Gradus ad Parnassum, Fux explains the most complex iteration of counterpoint, the fugue, a musical composition having a subject or theme that is stated by a single voice then imitated in various keys by other voices. The statements of the theme are separated by episodes, the music of which is usually based on the principal motif or counterpoint derived from the first imitation of the subject. If it all sounds a bit confusing, it is, since it is governed by as many rules as species counterpoint. But, in practice, a fugue has this basic structure: • Exposition: the statement or imitation of the principal theme. The various expositions are interrupted by • Episodes: counterpoint based on material used in the exposition, but not the principal theme; • Coda: an ending, usually brief, following the final exposition of the principal theme. Because of its complexity, a fugue rarely finds a place in musical theatre. It sounds like an artificial musical construction unless it is employed in a dramatic situation that is as complex as the fugue. Leonard Bernstein’s fugue in the dance music during “Cool” in West Side Story is an example of the situation matching the musical construction. The Jets are riled up about an upcoming rumble, and Riff needs to cool them down to keep them from expending all their energy before the rumble actually begins. The long notes of the fugue theme are musical representations of virtual energy that mirror the pent-up emotions of the various Jets. As the fugue theme develops, the virtual energy becomes impossible to contain and the music explodes into a brassy statement of Riff’s song that gradually evaporates into a quiet and controlled reprise. In the case of Bernstein’s fugue, the music is not simply an accompaniment to the dramatic moment, it embodies the action and fuels it. The complex construct of the fugue is a perfect fit to such a complex dramatic event. In Out of Line, a fugue called the “Understudy Chorale” begins the second act. On this occasion the lyrics are taken from the Actors Equity understudy contract and it is the complexity of that document that evokes the experience of a fugue (see e xample 8.26 below).
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Example 8.26 [Sound file 8.15]
Example 8.26 (Continued)
Example 8.26 (Continued)
Example 8.26 (Continued)
Example 8.26 (Continued)
Example 8.26 (Continued)
The Arrangement
In the case of the understudy fugue, the dramatic event—the understanding of the complex and convoluted language of the Equity contract—is reflected in the fugal structure, which builds in a subtle and sinewy way to an agreement between the four vocal parts in measure 23 where all are finally singing the same lyrics together. The earlier confusion of lyrics (when every voice is performing different lyrics as well as different contrapuntal vocal lines) not only reinforces the perplexity of the dramatic event, but it also becomes the dramatic event and causes the audience to experience more fully the actors’ journey through the contract and their final victory of understanding. Try singing the piece and see if, by the end, you don’t feel a sense of accomplishment and a feeling of relief.
Review Quiz In the space provided, identify the influence of species counterpoint in the following musical theatre examples. If, for example, you find a homorhythmic chorus, in which the note values of all the chorus parts are the same, you will cite the influence of first species counterpoint. If you find a mixture of elements (i.e., fifth species counterpoint), identify the individual elements that are mixed. The first example (8.27) is a segment of the “Quartet Finale” from Leonard Bernstein’s operetta-musical Candide. Example 8.27 214
Singing Counterpoint 2
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The Arrangement
Example 8.28 is an excerpt of “Here She Comes, the Princess” from Leslie Stuart’s 1910 musical The Slim Princess. Example 8.28
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Singing Counterpoint 2
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The Arrangement
Example 8.29 is an excerpt of “Loudly Let the Trumpet Bray” from Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe. Example 8.29
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Singing Counterpoint 2
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The Arrangement
Example 8.30 is a segment of “I’ll Tell You What I’ll Do” from F. Osmond Carr’s 1893 hit musical Morocco Bound. Example 8.30
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Singing Counterpoint 2
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The Arrangement
Example 8.31 is derived from “Moonbeams,” sung in the first act finale of Victor Herbert’s The Red Mill by an unaccompanied male chorus. Example 8.31
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Singing Counterpoint 2
Example 8.32 is a brief portion of the duet “You’re Just in Love” from Irving Berlin’s hit musical Call Me Madam. Example 8.32
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The Arrangement
Unit Test 3 In My Love to Your Wife, one of the musical scenes involves a would-be “wit” by the name of Sparkish (baritone) who enjoys having his fiancée, Alithea (soprano), ogled by his friends. One of them, Harcourt (tenor), goes beyond ogling and shamelessly courts Alithea right in front of Sparkish, who takes his friend’s interest in her as a compliment to his good taste in women. Alithea’s disapproval of the situation gives rise to the trio, “Jealousy’s the Sign of Love” of which example 8.33 is an abridgment. • In the space provided, identify the influence of species counterpoint throughout the musical number; • Above each vocal line, write the melodic intervals for each vocal part. Use the short method for identifying intervals. For example, M2 = major 2, m3 = minor 3, P4 = perfect 4, aug5 = augmented 5, dim6 = diminished 6; • Circle any groups of notes that are repeated in each vocal part; • Identify any notes in the accompaniment that double the melody notes in the vocal part; • At the discretion of the instructor, sight-sing the number with the piano accompaniment. As in the previous unit tests, the execution of the oral portion of the examination is left entirely to the discretion of the instructor.
Example 8.33 [Sound file 8.16]
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Example 8.33 (Continued)
Example 8.33 (Continued)
Example 8.33 (Continued)
Example 8.33 (Continued)
Example 8.33 (Continued)
Example 8.33 (Continued)
Singing Counterpoint 2
Example 8.33 (Continued)
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The Arrangement
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Singing Counterpoint 2
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9
Chromatically Altered Chords
Example 9.1 [Sound file 9.1]
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Although in earlier discussions we may have encountered chromatically altered notes (notes unrelated to the key or scale we were using) in the identification of nonharmonic tones or the analysis of chord structures, up to this unit our focus has been on the melodic function of scale tones and diatonic harmony. From this point on, our focus will be more chromatic than diatonic as we investigate the ways altered scale tones and chords function within the diatonic system of musical theatre songs. Example 9.1 above, Cy Coleman’s “Hey, Look Me Over!” from the 1960 musical Wildcat, demonstrates how musical theatre may proceed beyond the diatonic boundaries of working within the limits of a specific key signature and the scale tones that accordingly make up the major and minor systems. Notice the altered chords in the accompaniment of measures 3–4 and 5–6 where G7 and C7, dominant seventh chords displaying B♮ and E♮, are both foreign to the key signature of E𝄬. As dominant seventh chords, G7 and C7 would logically resolve to a tonic chord, a perfect fifth below, and they do, but not to the tonic of the key the song is written in. In the circle of fifths progression, G7 aptly resolves to a C chord but not an ordinary C triad, an active C7 chord that resolves in turn to the Fm in measures 7–8. Once we are in F minor, the ii chord in the key of E𝄬, we return to the functionality of the written key signature. The two chromatically altered chords are called secondary chords, which are simply chords that function in a key or scale that is different from the written key signature or principal tonality of the piece. The most often employed secondary functions are secondary dominants (as in example 9.1. above) and secondary leading tone chords.
Chromatically Altered Chords
Secondary Dominants In any major or minor key, there is only one dominant chord (V) that resolves to the tonic, which is always either a major or minor chord. Secondary dominants make it possible for any major or minor chord other than the tonic of a key to have its own V or V7 chord by creating a major triad or dominant seventh chord a perfect fifth above it (see examples 9.2a and 9.2b, below). Example 9.2a
Note that only the ii chord through the vi chord are candidates for secondary dominants. The I chord already has a diatonic dominant, and the vii°chord (B diminished) is neither major nor minor and does not merit a dominant. If the vii chord were to be altered to a major or minor chord, then it could have a secondary dominant with a root on F♯, a perfect fifth above B. You will note that the V of IV appears to be the same chord as the tonic, with a different function. The distinction becomes more obvious when the dominant seventh, C7, is used. The secondary dominants precede their tonic chords and are voiced in first inversion to demonstrate the stepwise chromatic relationship between the altered chords and their diatonic resolutions. Notice that the top note (the root since it is in first inversion) of each secondary dominant is a perfect fifth away from the root of its resolution. Note also how the secondary dominants are identified: V/ii, V/iii, but read as “five of two” or “five of three.” In the natural minor mode (example 9.2b), the secondary dominants begin with the major III chord since the i chord already has a diatonic dominant, and the ii°chord (D diminished) is neither major nor minor. Were the C melodic minor used, with its natural A and B, then the ii chord would be a D minor as in the C major mode and it would be a candidate for a secondary dominant beginning on A. See Unit 6 for other variations in minor chords when using the melodic or harmonic minor scale. As in example 9.2a, the triads and seventh chords below are voiced in their first inversions to demonstrate the stepwise chromatic relationship between altered dominant chords and their diatonic resolutions.
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Example 9.2b
The Arrangement
You will notice that in the natural minor system, V/III, V7/III and V/VI are not altered chords but occur naturally in the C minor scale. Just like the tonic in a major key becoming the dominant of the subdominant, the unaltered chords in minor can be regarded as secondary dominants when their functions within the minor system change. Also like the tonic-dominant example in major, the distinction between functions of the III chord is clarified when V7/VI, which does involve a chromatic alteration (a D𝄬), is used in place of V/VI.
Exercise 1 Each line of e xercise 9.3 below specifies a tonic key. Below each measure is an indication of the secondary V or V7 chord called for in that key. Write the dominant chord as well as its resolution (the chord for which it is dominant). For example, in the key of C major, if the indication reads V7/iii, write the B7 chord followed by the E minor triad. Write both chords in root position. Pay attention to the upper and lower case Roman numerals since they will indicate whether the resolution is a major or minor chord. Example 9.3
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Musical theatre examples of secondary dominants can be found as early as 1866 when the infamous The Black Crook presented a number called “You Naughty, Naughty Men” that introduced a V7 of vi in its simple harmonization. A more contemporary example can be found in Stephen Schwartz’s 1971 musical Godspell, with “Turn Back, O Man,” e xample 9.4 below. Composed in G harmonic minor, the passage displays a simple example of a V7/V secondary function.
Chromatically Altered Chords
Example 9.4 [Sound file 9.2]
With “My Lovey Dovey Baby” (example 9.5 below), a period number from Alan Menken’s film Newsies, we find secondary dominants in falling fifths. This circle of fifths progression creates a domino effect in the harmony that drives the movement of the song to the tonic and emphasizes the final lyrics, “and coo-chie-coo with me.” Example 9.5 [Sound file 9.3]
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Sequencing secondary dominants in the circle of fifths was a popular device for Richard Rodgers who was well aware of the dramatic possibilities of secondary functions. In example 9.6 below, “You Took Advantage of Me” from Present Arms, Rodgers employs a sequence of secondary dominants dramatically to drive the lyrics “I’m so hot and bothered that I don’t know/My elbow from my ear.” The musical domino effect of dominant sevenths in the circle of fifths cleverly depicts the agitated distress of the character, head over heels in love.
The Arrangement
Example 9.6 [Sound file 9.4]
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Beginning with the D7 chord, the harmonic sequence descends by way of the circle of fifths to the tonic E𝄬, musically portraying the plight of the “hot-and-bothered” performer. Every chord except for the tonic and its relative minor (Cm) is a dominant seventh creating a domino effect as each chord falls upon the other to propel the sexually charged dramatic event. The effect is also effectively colored by the chromatically altered melody notes D𝄬 and C𝄬, which create appoggiaturas with strong downward gravitational pulls that emphasize the character’s emotional collapse in this section of the song.
Exercise 2 Identify the secondary dominants in the following examples. Write the names of the chords above the vocal line, and write the Roman numeral analysis below the bass line. After you have completed the analyses, at the discretion of the instructor, play the examples on the piano. Example 9.7 is an excerpt of Cole Porter’s “Something for the Boys” (Something for the Boys) in the key of C; example 9.8 is taken from “Beautiful, Beautiful World” (The Apple Tree), in the key of B𝄬; example 9.9, “I Won’t Send Roses” (Mack and Mabel), is in the key of C; and example 9.10, “Come Rain or Come Shine” (St. Louis Woman), is in the key of F.
Example 9.7
Example 9.8
Example 9.9
Example 9.10
Chromatically Altered Chords
Secondary Functions of the Leading Tone Chord Secondary dominants also include alterations of the leading tone (vii°) chord since, in a major key, the chord contains the third, fifth, and seventh notes of a V7 chord and can assume the function of a dominant. Like the process of assigning secondary dominant and dominant seventh chords in major keys, only major and minor chords (the ii chord through the vi chord) are candidates for secondary diminished and diminished seventh chords. A third kind of leading tone chord—the half-diminished seventh—may also be used with major chords, except for the V chord in the harmonic and melodic iterations of the minor scale. In that case, only the diminished seventh chord (the seventh degree of which preserves the minor third of the minor key) may be used. For example, the V chord in A harmonic minor is E; the vii°7 of E is D♯, F♯, A, C. C is the third scale degree of A harmonic minor. The secondary diminished chords below are built on the leading tone, one-half step lower than the tonic chords of which they function as dominant. In example 9.11a, they precede their tonic chords and are voiced in root position to demonstrate the stepwise chromatic relationship between the altered chords and their diatonic resolutions. Example 9.11a
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In the minor mode (example 9.11b), the secondary diminished chords begin with the major III chord since the i chord already has a diatonic diminished vii7 chord in the harmonic minor, and the ii°chord (D diminished) is neither major nor minor. Were the C melodic minor used, with its natural A and B, then the ii chord would be a D minor as in the C major mode and it would be a candidate for a secondary diminished chord beginning on C♯. As in example 9.11a, the triads and seventh chords below are voiced in their root positions to demonstrate the stepwise chromatic relationship between altered diminished chords and their diatonic resolutions.
The Arrangement
Example 9.11b
Exercise 3 Each line of e xercise 9.12, below, specifies a tonic key. Below each measure is an indication of the vii°or vii°7 chord called for in that key. Write the diminished chord as well as its resolution. For example, in the key of C major, if the indication reads vii°7/iii, write the D♯°7 chord followed by the E minor triad. Write both chords in root position. 242
Example 9.12
Chromatically Altered Chords
“Love, Look Away” from The Flower Drum Song (example 9.13 below) provides an effective example of an altered diminished seventh chord creating a leading tone relationship with A minor, the submediant in the tonic key of C. There is a smooth resolution between the diminished seventh chord and the A minor triad, made even more effective by the resolution of the submediant to the minor subdominant in which the A𝄬 (the enharmonic equivalent of G♯) provides an aural connection between the two measures. The lyric, “Leave me and set me,” is harmonized with the tension of a diminished-seventh chord and resolved, on the word “free,” to two minor chords, the second of which involves the altered subdominant. Given the musical setting of the lyrics, it would appear that the singer’s wish to be set free is not entirely a happy choice. Example 9.13 [Sound file 9.5]
A song about a man comparing the wonders of the world to the image of his beloved, Kurt Weill’s “It Never Was You” (Knickerbocker Holiday) offers an example of an altered diminished chord functioning as dominant in e xample 9.14 below. Here an F♯dim7 resolves to a G minor chord, the F♯ in the bass smoothly leading by half step to the root of G minor and the E𝄬 of the diminished chord resolving by half step to the fifth of the G minor chord. Weill might just as easily have used a D7 to approach G minor, but the ambiance of a major chord with an added minor seventh (the dominant seventh) does not have the instability of a diminished seventh chord, in which there are actually two tritones from F♯ to C and from A to E𝄬. The lyrics leading up to the diminished chord read, “I’ve found her in the star, in the call, in the blue!” but the diminished chord signals a tension, a change, and the lyrics continue, “But it never was you.” The only times diminished chords are used in the song are as the musical portrayal of that phrase.
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Example 9.14 [Sound file 9.6]
In example 9.15, “Wooden Wedding” (One Touch of Venus), a song about the joys of married life, Kurt Weill employs diminished seventh chords to help maintain a chromatic stepwise motion in the bass, much like the patterns established in e xamples 9.11a and 9.11b. Note the
The Arrangement
stepwise motion in the development of the melodic line: the musical idea first begins on A (measure 1), then on B𝄬 (measure 3), and finally on C (measure 5). Both melody and bass move the number in an upward direction creating the dramatic effect of an emotional ascent. Evidently the character finds enjoyment contemplating his future marriage. Example 9.15 [Sound file 9.7]
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Common Tone Diminished Chords The F♯°7 in measure two of e xample 9.15 appropriately resolves to a G minor, but the G♯°7 in measure four, which should resolve to an A minor, moves to a tonic F chord with A in the bass (i.e., first inversion). Instead of functioning as a secondary diminished seventh chord, the G♯°7 functions as a common tone diminished seventh chord (identified as ct°7), which means that one of the notes of the diminished seventh chord becomes the root of the next major or dominant seventh chord. In this case, the common tone was F. In e xample 9.16, “Dancing on the Ceiling” (Ever Green), there are two examples of the common tone diminished chord, both with C as the common tone. Example 9.16 [Sound file 9.8]
Chromatically Altered Chords
“The Simple Joys of Maidenhood” (Camelot) displays a single ct°7 chord to embellish a progression from tonic to tonic in measures 1–2 (see example 9.17 below). Note how the chord varies the second measure of tonic harmony and propels it (along with the lyric) to the dominant in the next measure. Example 9.17 [Sound file 9.9]
Passing Diminished Chords Another chromatic diminished seventh chord function—the passing diminished seventh (p°7)—approaches its resolution from a half step above the tonic, the flatted supertonic, just the opposite of the secondary vii° or vii°7 that approaches its resolution from the leading tone, a half step below the tonic of the chord. And like the common tone °7, the p°7 shares tones with the chord to which it resolves. Often the passing diminished seventh chord becomes a passing half-diminished chord when it resolves to a dominant seventh chord (see example 9.32 below). Example 9.18 below displays all three diminished functions for comparison in the key of C.
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Example 9.18 [Sound file 9.10]
The secondary diminished or diminished seventh chord, built one half step below the chord of resolution (or target chord), resolves to both major and minor tonalities. The common tone °7, built to include the tonic note of the target chord, resolves typically to major and seventh chords. The passing °7, built one half step above the target chord, resolves to major and minor seventh chords and typically contains one or more notes of the target chord. Unlike the common tone °7, however, the passing °7 does not contain the root of the chord to which it resolves. Note that when the p°7 resolves to a major chord, a half diminished chord is occasionally used, resulting in the designation pØ7.
The Arrangement
Example 9.19, “Ten Cents a Dance” from Simple Simon provides a clear example of the passing °7. Note the stepwise motion of the bass notes from F♯ (the root of the p°7 chord) to F♮ (the root of the target chord) and the notes in common between the two chords (E𝄬 and C). Example 9.19 [Sound file 9.11]
“Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody,” e xample 9.20 from Sinbad, displays the distinction between common tone and passing °7 chords. Note how the ct°7 and p°7 are enharmonically the same chord. The difference between them lies in the chords of resolution: the ct°7 contains the root of its target chord (C), but the p°7, built a half step above its chord of resolution, does not. Note also that the ct°7 resolves to the tonic chord in first inversion, creating a stepwise movement of the bass notes in the first two measures and an easy transition harmonically from one chord to the other. Example 9.20 246
[Sound file 9.12]
In example 9.21, “Why Did I Choose You?” from The Yearling the p°7 adds harmonic interest to the passage and smoothly prepares for the falling-fifth progression that follows. Dramatically, the use of the diminished seventh chord adds a note of tension that reflects the lyrical images of being caught in some kind of spell. Example 9.21 [Sound file 9.13]
Chromatically Altered Chords
Exercise 4 In the examples that follow, write the names of the chords above the melody and analyze them in Roman numerals below the bass. Pay particular attention to the diminished, diminished seventh, and/or half-diminished seventh chords in your identifications, labeling them according to function as in the examples above. After you have concluded your analysis, at the discretion of the instructor, play the examples on the piano. Example 9.22 is derived from “High Times, Hard Times” (Newsies); “This Joint Is Jumpin’ ” (example 9.23), and “A Handful of Keys” (example 9.24) both come from the Fats Waller revue Ain’t Misbehavin’. Example 9.22
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Example 9.23
The Arrangement
Example 9.24
Neapolitan and Augmented Sixth Chords 248
In addition to the secondary dominant and diminished functions discussed above, there are two significant and often employed chromatic functions created by an alteration of the diatonic system: the Neapolitan and augmented sixth, both of which have found an important place in musical theatre literature. The Neapolitan is a major chord built on the lowered second degree of the scale. Example 9.25A shows the construction of the Neapolitan in the key of C major. Example 9.25
The chord is called a Neapolitan sixth because it was developed by composers from Naples, Italy, and traditionally used in first inversion, in which there are six step degrees from the lowest to highest note (example 9.25A). Typically the Neapolitan (abbreviated as N.) was designed to resolve to the tonic either by way of the V7 chord (as demonstrated in example 9.25B) or directly (example 9.25C), either in its traditional first inversion, or in root position (see Unit 10 for backdoor progressions involving the flatted supertonic). Example 9.26 below, “Tradition” (Fiddler on the Roof), provides a clear illustration of the Neapolitan resolving directly to the tonic, while “Holmes and Watson” (example 9.27), from the mystery thriller musical, Drat! The Cat!, displays the resolution of the Neapolitan to the tonic by way of the dominant.
Chromatically Altered Chords
Example 9.26 [Sound file 9.14]
Example 9.27 [Sound file 9.15]
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The A𝄬7 in measure four of example 9.27 is actually the enharmonic spelling of an A𝄬 augmented sixth chord (A𝄬–C–E𝄬–F♯) designed to resolve to the dominant, as it does in measure five to a V7 chord in the key of C. The augmented sixth chord was created from the upper and lower leading tones to the dominant note (fifth) in the scale. In the key of C, for example, the dominant is G; the leading tones to the dominant are the 𝄬6 and ♯4 (see e xample 9.28A, below). To be able to resolve to a chord rather than a single note, the lower leading tone was raised an octave so that the distance between the two notes became a sharped (or augmented) sixth. To make the augmented sixth interval a triad, Italian composers added a third note, the tonic of the scale, creating a triad (example 9.28B) that resolved to the dominant. French composers added a note one full step above the third of the chord (the note added by the Italians) which created two tritones in the augmented sixth chord (example 9.28C). German composers added a note a perfect fifth away from the root of the augmented sixth chord creating a chord that sounded
The Arrangement
exactly like a dominant seventh chord. As example 9.28D demonstrates, the augmented sixth (F♯) is the enharmonic equivalent of the G𝄬 in a dominant seventh chord created on the same root note. Example 9.28E shows the augmented sixth, written enharmonically as a dominant seventh chord, resolving to the tonic before the dominant, another typical usage of the device. Example 9.28
Exercise 5 Write the Neapolitan and German augmented sixth chords as requested below. Make sure to determine the correct key from the key signatures provided, and remember that the augmented sixth chord is designed around the dominant of the selected key. Since the German augmented sixth chord sounds exactly the same as a dominant seventh chord and is often depicted as a dominant seventh in musical theatre literature, write the requested chord both ways: first as an augmented sixth chord and, beside it, its equivalent enharmonic dominant seventh. When you have completed the assignment, play the chords on the piano, at the discretion of the instructor. 250
Example 9.29
Chromatically Altered Chords
“High Times, Hard Times,” example 9.30 below from Newsies, demonstrates the traditional employment of the augmented sixth (written as a dominant seventh chord) resolving directly to the dominant. Note, in addition, how the move from the tonic to the flatted sixth chord reflects the sentiments of the lyric: “high times” represented by the G major chord, “hard times” by a flatted sixth, a sonority foreign to the key of G major. Example 9.30 [Sound file 9.16]
Example 9.31, “Impossible” from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s television musical Cinderella, illustrates the resolution from the augmented sixth chord (again written as a dominant seventh) to the tonic in second inversion. Example 9.31 [Sound file 9.17]
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“Embassy Lament,” example 9.32 from Chess, exhibits the progression of an augmented sixth chord to the dominant of a minor key, D minor. Note the stepwise movement in the bass leading to the dominant, and the use of the passing half diminished chord moving to the augmented sixth. Note also that in a minor key, the sixth scale degree is already one-half step away from the dominant so it need not be flatted. Example 9.32 [Sound file 9.18]
The Arrangement
Mode Mixture The chromatic devices outlined in this chapter have enabled composers to extend beyond the confines of the diatonic system in ways that added musical and dramatic interest as well as tonal color and variety to the traditional harmonic progressions of tonic–subdominant–dominant–tonic. As was previously noted in Unit 2, however, composers also borrowed scale tones from the parallel minor–𝄬3, 𝄬6, and 𝄬7–to expand the possibilities of the major system even further. Music theorists refer to such borrowings as a mode mixture in which the term mode denotes the major and minor systems. We have already seen in unit 2 that borrowing the third scale degree from the major system permitted the parallel minor system to end with a major chord (the device called the Picardy third). Borrowing the third, sixth, and seventh scale tones of the natural minor scale permitted the major system to explore a number of new harmonic structures, including even a minor tonic chord. Example 9.33 below in C major displays borrowed scale tones from C natural minor and the chords resulting from the borrowed tones. Example 9.33
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Note that the borrowed tones permit the I and IV chords to become dominant sevenths, and the I, IV, and V chords to become minor and minor sevenths. The 𝄬III, 𝄬VI, and 𝄬VII chords remain major and function as they would in the natural minor system. Example 9.34, “At the Ballet” from A Chorus Line, employs altered chords to maintain a melancholy atmosphere, even in a major key. Example 9.34 [Sound file 9.19]
Chromatically Altered Chords
The alterations of D major are obvious in every measure of example 9.34 beginning with the D minor seventh, which is borrowed from the D natural minor scale, followed by the G7, borrowed from D melodic minor, and the B𝄬M7, the submediant in D natural minor. The accompaniment in the first three measures not only includes altered scale tones but also nonchord notes that add tension and propel forward movement to the melody. Especially effective is the tension created by the F♯ on the third beat of the second measure where it clashes with both the G and F♮ of the vocal line. Following a circle-of-fifths short-cut, the B𝄬M7 leads to an EØ7, an unstable chord again borrowed from the parallel minor, underscoring the lyric “Hey!” as a kind of sigh, preparing for the melancholy resolution of the dramatic event. “Man” from The Full Monty (example 9.35 below) demonstrates the extent to which contemporary musical theatre makes use of borrowed chords and chromatic functions. Except for the flatted sixth chord in measure three, every chord in the excerpt is a dominant seventh chord, yet only the secondary dominant in measure three resolves to a chord a perfect fifth away. The IV7 and I7, created with borrowed tones from the parallel minor, do not resolve to chords a perfect fifth lower; instead, they form a pattern of rising fifths to the V7 chord that does not resolve to the tonic but rather to the flatted submediant (borrowed from the parallel minor) in a kind of variation on the secondary leading tone diminished function. A secondary dominant follows and resolves appropriately to a chord a perfect fifth lower—G7 (another borrowed chord and the subtonic in A)—which initiates a series of parallel dominant seventh leading tone progressions that return us to the tonality of the written key signature, A major, though again modified as a I7 chord. Influenced by jazz and rock music, seventh chords in the example below are used as colorations or embellishments in addition to their traditional dominant functions. Adding the flatted seventh to a triad creates a tritone between the third and seventh notes of the chord that makes it unstable musically and active dramatically. It is hardly surprising that when virtually every chord in a series is a dominant seventh, the forward motion of the progression is quite effective. Also due to the influence of popular music, the parallel construction of seventh chords ascending chromatically is an efficient and colorful variation of the traditional V7–I, secondary V7, and secondary leading tone vii°7 patterns. Propelled by a chain of dominant seventh chords in ascending half steps, the pattern provides motion and energy in the music and a strong forward thrust to the lyrics.
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Example 9.35 [Sound file 9.20]
The Arrangement
How does this discussion about altered chords affect a performance of the song? In today’s complex musical vocabulary it is important for the performer to understand how the sound of music manipulates aural perception. The old cliché that music appreciation is generational is not without merit: listeners tend to appreciate what is familiar to their ears. The musical vocabulary of the musical theatre during the so-called golden years of the 1940s through the 1960s is vastly different from that after the rock movement entered the theatre, bringing with it alterations in rhythm, harmonies, singing styles, amplification, and electronic instruments. Because the theatre relies a great deal on the interpretation and understanding of lyrics, it had to tame the often indecipherable performances of popular music creating a new style of theatre rock (sometimes referred to as “soft rock”) that maintained the energy and bite of the music without losing a single word of the lyrics. With a new style comes a new audience who might revere the older style of theatre music but who emotionally and viscerally respond to the new. This new audience hears the dominant sevenths in “Man” as part of a rock tradition and likely enjoys the fact that the chords do not resolve in a traditional manner. The dominant seventh chord is now an embellishment of a major triad, untaxed with the necessity of resolving to a chord a perfect fifth below. The melodic line floating above the chord progressions creates a sense of spontaneity, of ad libbing the lyrics like a rap performer, only with a greater sense of melodic shape. And when the lyrical line comes to a conclusion, the chords change more quickly as if to drive the images home. It is significant that in the original sheet music, four bars before example 9.35 begins, the chords change every two bars. When we begin the excerpt, the chords change every bar, then twice a bar as half notes, and twice a bar as quarter notes, as if the harmony and rhythm are gathering steam to propel the lyrics to their final conclusion, the word, “man.” Being aware of the dynamic of this structure is important preparation for the performance of the song.
Exercise 6
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Example 9.36 is an excerpt from “Dancing,” a musical scene in Emperor of the Moon. Paying particular attention to the chromatically altered chords in the accompaniment, write the names of all the chords (even the diatonic ones) above the melody line and analyze them with Roman numerals below the bottom staff. When you have completed your analysis, slowly sight-read the example; and, at the discretion of the instructor, play the accompaniment on the piano.
Example 9.36
Example 9.36 (Continued)
Example 9.36 (Continued)
Example 9.36 (Continued)
10
Song Form and Cadences
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Traditionally musical theatre songs were divided into two distinct parts: a sixteen-measure verse that functioned as an introduction to the main body of the song, often contextualizing it within the dramatic framework of the show; and the chorus, the main body of the song, typically a thirty-two bar composition with lyrics more universal than the verse. For much of the twentieth century the most popular structure for musical theatre songs (the structure applied specifically to the chorus, not to the verse) was AABA, in which two (typically) eight-measure A sections (the principal theme) are followed by an eight-measure B section (with different music), usually called the “bridge” or “release,” after which, there is a return (or recapitulation) of the original A. Similar to the philosopher Hegel’s dialectic, thesis–antithesis–synthesis, the AABA structure is inherently dramatic. It displays a conflict of musical ideas that is reflected, more often than not, in the lyrics and resolved in the return to the opening section (though often the return is colored by a different harmonization or even the suggestion of a motif from the B section). When coaching monologues, acting teachers always emphasize that the ending must be different from the beginning: the speaker must, somehow, find a new perspective, reach a new level of experience, solve a problem, or make a decision. The process of discovery that is inherent in every monologue is laid out in the AABA song structure. Note that sometimes the initial A section is not repeated and the structure is expressed simply as ABA, in which case each section may exceed the traditional eight measures. Representative examples of the AABA song structure include “If Ever I Would Leave You” (Camelot), “Cabaret” (Cabaret), “This Can’t Be Love” (The Boys from Syracuse), and “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” (Jesus Christ Superstar). Another popular song form is in two parts, AB (often repeated as ABAB), in which, instead of the initial musical theme (A), the contrasting music of the B section becomes the final statement of the song. Especially useful in musical theatre songs that progress from minor to major (for example, “I Love Paris” from Can-Can), the AB form is helpful in providing contrasting music for lyrics to demonstrate different emotional responses to a single stimulus, to explore different points of view in a single situation, or to proceed from the general to specific in the description or understanding of a situation. Representative examples of the AB form include “We Need a Little Christmas” (Mame), “Look to the Rainbow” (Finian’s Rainbow), “There’s No Business like Show Business” (Annie Get Your Gun), “Shall We Dance?” (The King and I), and “Why Can’t You Behave?” (Kiss Me, Kate.) The last song is an example of what theorists call a rounded AB structure in which a portion of the A section is repeated at the end of the B section. “Oh, Susanna” and “Pop, Goes the Weasel” are familiar examples of the rounded structure. Musical theatre literature is, of course, not limited to the standard AABA and AB structures. As composers explored new ways of telling a story musically, different song forms were borrowed from the vast tradition of Western music as well as new forms generated by the current rock idiom. Some were as simple as a repeated A section, others as complex as ABACADEAFEA (see Part Three of this text). Unconventional song structures have demonstrated the ability to sustain the dramatic event of a musical scene effectively and efficiently, but, whether due to tradition or popular taste, the more conventional song forms still maintain a prominent place in the musical theatre of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Song Form and Cadences
Periods, Phrases, and Cadences Whatever the song form, the standard thirty-two bars of a musical theatre song are typically divided into four eight-measure periods, or musical sentences, each comprising two four-measure phrases, a musical idea that is complete (unlike the motif that consists of only a few notes in a particular rhythmic pattern) and a musical construction that serves as the structural basis for all Western homophonic music (i.e., music with melody and accompaniment). The first phrase of a period is called the antecedent phrase and the second, the consequent phrase, creating a dramatic call-and-response dialogue in the inherent structure of a musical period. Representative examples of the antecedent-consequent phrase pattern can be found in “Once in a Blue Moon” (Little Mary Sunshine), “I Love You” (Mexican Hayride), and “Who Will Buy?” (Oliver). Typically, at the end of each musical phrase there appears some kind of cadence, a musical punctuation that typically reflects a resting place or transition in the lyrics or dramatic event and permits a momentary pause (like a comma, or semicolon in the text) or, at the end of the composition, draws the musical and dramatic event to a permanent Example 10.1 [Sound file 10.1]
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The Arrangement
Example 10.1 (Continued)
conclusion (like a period at the end of a sentence). Typically, a cadence permits a singer to breathe and to change ideas or tactics dramatically. Example 10.1 above displays the structure of phrases and cadences in Victor Herbert’s “If I Were Anybody Else but Me” from his popular 1910 operetta Naughty Marietta. Note how the phrases appear in four-measure increments and coincide with changes of thought in the lyrics. Note also how the cadences mark stopping points in the melody line where long-held notes and rests replace the previous melodic activity. At the discretion of the instructor, sight-sing the example with the piano accompaniment.
The Authentic Cadence Music theorists have identified four basic cadences that may occur within the body of a musical number (internal cadence) or at the conclusion of a song (final cadence). The authentic or full cadence (V or V7 to I or i) is the standard closing cadence of a composition, though it may often appear within the body of the composition as well. Considered by music theorists as a conclusive cadence, it is the cadence that most clearly identifies the diatonic key, establishing a tonal home base throughout the work. In contemporary musical theatre work with a more fluid tonal base, the authentic cadence is also useful in helping to establish new keys or tonalities and is important dramatically in creating places of rest, transition, and emphasis in a song. There are two kinds of authentic cadence:
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• Perfect authentic cadence (PAC), in which the V or V7 and I or i chords are in root position and the final melody note is the tonic pitch; • Imperfect authentic cadence (IAC), in which the final melody note is not the tonic pitch; or the V and I chords are not in root position; or, the V or V7 chord has been replaced by the vii° or vii° 7 chord (see example 10.2, below).
Example 10.2 [Sound file 10.2]
Song Form and Cadences
As the final cadence of a composition, the PAC is most often employed throughout musical theatre literature to bring a musical idea and dramatic event to a definite conclusion. Example 10.3, Marguerite Monnot’s “Our Language of Love” from the very popular musical Irma La Douce, displays a simple PAC (the result of a sequence of falling fifths) both as final and internal cadences. The seamless musical progression that leads to the tonic chord identifies and emphasizes the inevitable logic of the dramatic situation: Love can overcome all barriers. The certainty with which the characters express the dramatic event is reinforced by the repetitions of the authentic cadence throughout the number. Example 10.3 [Sound file 10.3]
In Rent, Jonathan Larson dramatically employs the PAC at the end of “Out Tonight,” e xample 10.4, to emphasize the singer’s decision to forget the day in a night of passion. Note the simple, though quite definite, IV–V–I progression that clearly identifies the tonic chord and punctuates the lyric “tonight.” As in the case of “Our Language of Love,” the use of the perfect authentic cadence at the close of “Out Tonight” reflects the decisiveness of the dramatic situation.
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Example 10.4 [Sound file 10.4]
Although the IAC is conclusive, it is a somewhat less decisive cadence musically and dramatically than the PAC if only because the melody does not end on the tonic note. This creates a suggestion of incompleteness, an implication that there is more to be said, or that the dramatic action is not yet complete. For this reason, the IAC is often used within the body of a composition, but only sparingly at the end. Example 10.5, “I Married an Angel” from Richard Rodgers’s 1938 hit I Married an Angel, provides an example of an IAC that concludes the first statement (or A section) of the melody.
The Arrangement
Example 10.5 [Sound file 10.5]
Ascending to the third at the end of the phrase suggests that the speaker has more to say about the effect of marriage on his life. The fact that a lyric beginning, “I’m sure” does not end melodically on the tonic note even raises questions about the speaker’s certainty. In any event, the IAC does provide a musical conclusion that permits the speaker a place of rest and change of thought, but without the kind of finality inherent in the PAC. Example 10.6 [Sound file 10.6]
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In “Buenos Aires” (Evita), example 10.6 above, Andrew Lloyd Webber chose to use incomplete authentic cadences internally as well as at the end of the number to mark Eva’s arrival into Buenos Aires. The IACs dramatically create a definite stop (with an exclamation mark in the lyrics), but they produce a fractional ending as well, with a sense of incompletion or of unfinished business. Note how the accompaniment in example 10.6 merely suggests the IV and V chords as it doubles the melodic line. A rare use of the IAC at the end of a song is found in “There’s a Small Hotel,” example 10.7 below, from another of Richard Rodgers’s hits, On Your Toes. In this case, the melodic leap to the
Song Form and Cadences
fifth rather than the tonic note in the final cadence reflects the future tense of the lyric: “And we will thank the small hotel together.” The dramatic event of the song is obviously not complete at the end of the singing but continues in the hopes and dreams of the characters. Example 10.7 [Sound file 10.7]
The Half Cadence Virtually opposite to the authentic or full cadence is the half cadence, which is a cadence structure ending on the V or V7 chord. The V can be approached by virtually any chord though typically it is preceded by ii7, IV, I, or its dominant (V of V). Because the cadence ends on the V chord, it is obviously not a full stop in the music and needs continuance or resolution (see example 10.8, below). For this reason, music theorists often refer to the half cadence as a progressive cadence. Although used liberally within the body of a musical number, half cadences are rarely used as final cadences. Example 10.8 [Sound file 10.8]
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The Arrangement
Like the authentic cadence, the half cadence is an effective musical and dramatic device in musical theatre literature. In “Someday I’m Gonna Fly” from the 1965 musical The Yearling, composer Michael Leonard builds to an internal half cadence in dramatic fashion with an ascending stepwise chromatic melody and harmony based on the circle of fifths. The heightened preparation for the actual half cadence musically elevates the importance of the purposefully simple lyrics (see example 10.9 below). Example 10.9 [Sound file 10.9]
In more recent musical theatre literature, composer Elton John makes an elegant and dramatic usage of the half cadence in “Shine” (Billy Elliot: The Musical), example 10.10. Note how the dramatic focus of the lyrics—the word, “shine,”—is emphasized by the half cadence. Example 10.10 [Sound file 10.10]
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A rare use of the half cadence at the end of a musical number occurs in Leonard Bernstein’s “A Quiet Girl” (example 10.11) from Wonderful Town, in which the speaker expresses his search for the perfect woman, a “quiet girl.” Since the search is incomplete at the ending of the musical number, Bernstein marks the conclusion inconclusively with a half cadence. Example 10.11 [Sound file 10.11]
Song Form and Cadences
The Plagal Cadence Another kind of conclusive cadence is called a plagal cadence, which resolves to the tonic by way of the subdominant rather than the V chord. Because church hymns often employed IV–I progressions to accompany the word “Amen” at the end of hymn texts, the cadence is also known as the “Amen” cadence. Example 10.12 demonstrates plagal cadences approached by a variety of harmonies. Example 10.12 [Sound file 10.12]
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Note that, in measure six of e xample 10.12, the IV chord changes to minor before the resolution to the tonic. This is a common alteration of the plagal cadence and was frequently used at the end of introductory fanfares or overblown finales of musical theatre production numbers in the middle of the twentieth century. Although the device is viewed today as hackneyed, it continues to be used in musicals seeking to evoke the 1950s and 1960s. An early musical theatre example of the plagal cadence, used both internally and as the final cadence, comes from Richard Rodgers and his semi-factual Revolutionary War musical Dearest Enemy. The principal love song and hit tune of the show was “Here in My Arms” (example 10.13) with a simple plagal cadence in measure three. Example 10.13 [Sound file 10.13]
The Arrangement
Given the diatonic nature of the song, the shape of the melody in measures three and four allows for a limited number of harmonic choices in place of the subdominant: ii7 (G minor seventh), vi (D minor), or vi7 (D minor seventh). All three of these choices sound much more intrusive than the subdominant, however, particularly when setting a two-syllable word. Rodgers’s choice provides a smooth transition from tonic to tonic and supports the dramatic simplicity of the lyrics. Using an entirely different musical idiom, Bono and The Edge enlisted the plagal cadence for the end of “A Freak like Me Needs Company” from Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, example 10.14 below. The rising fifth progression, VII–IV–i, moves easily to the tonic without the help of the dominant, which is notably absent from the number in the minor mode. Evoking the use of the plagal cadence in religious music, its usage here invites feelings of mystery and the supernatural. Example 10.14 [Sound file 10.14]
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Example 10.15, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Once Upon Another Time” from Love Never Dies, the sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, presents a plagal cadence initiated by a ii7 rather than a IV chord. As we have seen in Unit 6, the supertonic chord can function as the subdominant and, in its first inversion, looks exactly like a subdominant sixth chord. Example 10.15 [Sound file 10.15]
Song Form and Cadences
The Deceptive Cadence The fourth principal cadence method is called the deceptive cadence, which is simply a progressive cadence initiated by a V or V7 chord that resolves to any tonality but the tonic. In older musical theatre songs, that tonality was typically the major or minor submediant (VI or vi) but nowadays the deceptive cadence may resolve to any major or minor chord whether or not it is part of the diatonic key. Example 10.16 demonstrates some possibilities of the deceptive cadence. Example 10.16 [Sound file 10.16]
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In a traditional vein, example 10.17, Jerry Herman’s “If He Walked into My Life” from the 1966 musical Mame, employs a deceptive cadence to attenuate the song, enabling the speaker, Mame, to add a final thought before completing the number. The reminiscence of the “boy with a bugle” functions as a dramatic inciting moment for the number, and the repetition of the memory at the song’s end re-emphasizes the effect the lad had on Mame’s life. Although the deceptive cadence formula tends to be viewed as over worn, especially in the Jerry Herman canon, its presence in the performance of a number is often highly forceful dramatically. Example 10.17 [Sound file 10.17]
The Arrangement
Billy Elliot’s explanation of what dancing means to him is the dramatic event of Elton John’s “Electricity” (example 10.18) where a deceptive cadence introduces a surprising change from the key of C to the key of A. Even though the alteration of tonality brings us to a key that is actually lower than the original (by a minor third) the abruptness of the tonal shift adds a heightened emotion to the dramatic conclusion of the number and promises an emotional response from the audience as well. Example 10.18 [Sound file 10.18]
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Another dramatically effective use of the deceptive cadence in Billy Elliot: The Musical occurs in a musical scene “He Could Be a Star” (example 10.19 below), in which Billy’s Dad Jackie and his brother Tony argue over sending him off to become a dancer. Jackie’s positive take on the issue (a stepwise melody in C minor) is about to come to an authentic cadence when Tony interrupts in the key of B, a dissonant half step away, completely changing the tone of the discussion.
Example 10.19 [Sound file 10.19]
Song Form and Cadences
Example 10.19 (Continued)
Composer Elton John approaches the cadence in “He Could Be a Star” slowly and methodically using vii°7, V, and V7 chords to establish a grounded resolution in C minor. The technique succeeds in making the deceptive resolution completely unexpected and dynamically effective dramatically. In the musical Rent, “Another Day” (example 10.20) is a musical scene in which Roger emphatically seeks to distance himself from Mimi’s advances. To emphasize the dramatic intensity of the lyrics “ain’t never ever gonna start,” Jonathan Larson employs a deceptive cadence, the effect of which is amplified because it also functions as a half-cadence resolving to a highly emotional chorus-like section in a new tonality. Here the deceptive cadence produces a musical distancing effect that mirrors the dramatic event of the number (see Unit 11 for a discussion of modulation and tonicization). Note how measures four and five function in two keys and the V chord in D becomes the subdominant in the Key of E, allowing for an easy progression to the V chord (B). The G chord (IV in D) is the III chord in E minor so the chordal pattern emphasized by the bass becomes a simple 3–4–5 scale walkup in preparation for the half cadence. In spite of the shifts in tonality designed to distance Roger from Mimi in the musical scene, the easy proximity of the tonalities in the number infer that the couple may well have a future as the dramatic event progresses.
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Example 10.20 [Sound file 10.20]
The Arrangement
Example 10.20 (Continued)
Exercise 1 Identify the internal and final cadences in musical theatre examples 10.21 and 10.22 below. The first excerpt is “We Always Work the Public” from Gustav Luders’s popular New York City satire The Burgomaster; the second is Leslie Stuart’s “The Shade of the Palm” from the international smash hit Florodora. Identify the song form of both examples in the space provided and, over the melodic line, draw phrase marks to identify the antecedent and consequent phrases. After all the identifications have been made, slowly sing the excerpts with piano accompaniment.
Example 10.21 [Sound file 10.21]
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Song Form and Cadences
Example 10.21 (Continued)
Song Form: _____________________________________________ Cadences: What Kind?
What Measures?
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Example 10.22 [Sound file 10.22]
Song Form and Cadences
Song Form: _____________________________________________ Cadences: What Kind? What Measures? ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 273
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Exercise 2 Examples 10.23 through 10.26 are cadences excerpted from Cy Coleman’s “You Can Always Count on Me” from City of Angels. Identify the type of cadence in each example and, in the space provided, offer a reason for your choice. Example 10.23 [Sound file 10.23]
The Arrangement
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Example 10.24 [Sound file 10.24]
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Song Form and Cadences
Example 10.25 [Sound file 10.25]
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Example 10.26 [Sound file 10.26]
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The Arrangement
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“Backdoor” Cadences The influence of jazz and popular music styles on musical theatre songs has introduced what are often called backdoor cadences to musical theatre literature permitting a number of untraditional resolutions to the tonic from altered chords. • Flatted supertonic cadence. Developed from the Neapolitan sixth and augmented sixth chords (see Unit 9) this cadence replaces the V or V7 with 𝄬II or 𝄬II7 and resolves to tonic (I). In the key of C, for example, the flatted supertonic is D𝄬 so the cadence would be D𝄬 to C. Andrew Lloyd Webber makes use of a flatted supertonic cadence (as well as a deceptive cadence) in “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You” (example 10.27 below) from Evita. Note that the V chord in E minor (measure 1) resolves to the VI chord rather than the tonic (measure 2); and that the 𝄬II (measure 3) resolves to the tonic with the Picardy third (measure 4). In each case there is a musical surprise that mirrors the unexpected dramatic event of the song: Eva’s convincing Peron that she is “surprisingly good” for him. Note the B𝄬 chord in measure 3 which functions as the enharmonic dominant of the leading tone (D♯) in the harmonic and melodic variants of E minor.
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Example 10.27 [Sound file 10.27]
Note that when the tonic is minor, a flatted supertonic diminished or diminished seventh chord is occasionally used instead of 𝄬II or 𝄬II7. • Flatted mediant cadence. Developed from the chromatic mediant relationships used by Western composers in the eighteenth century, this cadence replaces the dominant with a 𝄬III or 𝄬III7 that resolves to the
Song Form and Cadences
tonic. In the key of C, for example, the flatted mediant is E𝄬 and the cadence would resolve E𝄬 to C. The ending of “You and Me (But Mostly Me)” from The Book of Mormon (example 10.28 below) offers a clear example of a flatted mediant cadence using a 𝄬III7 chord in third inversion (i.e., with the 7th in the bass). Example 10.28 [Sound file 10.28]
• Flatted submediant cadence. A variant of the chromatic mediant relationship that led to the development of the flatted mediant cadence, 𝄬VI or 𝄬VI7 resolves to the tonic. In the key of C, A𝄬 would resolve to C. Jonathan Larson’s “I’ll Cover You” from Rent offers a conspicuous illustration of the cadence in example 10.29, below. Example 10.29 [Sound file 10.29]
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• Flatted leading-tone cadence. Borrowed from the parallel minor, the subtonic, 𝄬VII or 𝄬VII7, resolves to the tonic. In the key of C, for example, a B𝄬 or B𝄬7 chord would resolve to C. In contemporary musical theatre literature, this cadence is occasionally used as a half cadence in which the end of a musical phrase falls on the subtonic and the resolution to tonic begins the next phrase.
The Arrangement
Example 10.30 [Sound file 10.30]
“Left Behind” from Spring Awakening (example 10.30 above) offers a dramatically effective illustration of the flatted leading-tone cadence as a half cadence. Note the harmonic elaboration of the basic chord structures in the example that provides a constant reminder of the G major tonality of the composition. • Chromatic leading-tone cadence. Similar to the flatted leading-tone cadence, the chromatic leading-tone pattern is created by two or more similarly constructed chords that ascend to the tonic. We have already observed an example of this in Unit 9 with the final two measures of “Man” (The Full Monty) where G7 ascends to G♯7 and resolves to A7, the tonic chord. Example 10.31 below, “How Shall I Swear to Love” from Love’s Labors Lost, provides another example of the chromatic leading-tone cadence, which is used internally throughout the composition, as well as the final cadence of the number. Note that e xample 10.31 also exemplifies the use of the flatted supertonic cadence in measures six and seven. 278
Example 10.31 [Sound file 10.31]
Song Form and Cadences
Example 10.31 (Continued)
• Turnaround. The turnaround is a cadential construction that moves from a musical statement ending on the dominant to a repetition of the statement beginning on the tonic. Designed to create musical interest and forward motion dramatically, the turnaround may follow a variety of harmonic patterns though it invariably ends on a dominant harmony. Representative patterns include I–iii–IV–V7, I–ii7–V7, I–vi–ii–V7, and I–vii°7/ii–ii7–V7. In the 1960 musical Bye Bye Birdie, Charles Strouse provides a fine example of a turnaround in the shuffle-beat ballad “One Boy” (example 10.32). Note the simple harmonic pattern in the turnaround (measures 3–4) that provides forward motion without being far removed from the tonic. Note the variant possibilities of the turnaround chord pattern in measures 5–6 and 7–8. Example 10.32 [Sound file 10.32]
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The Arrangement
Example 10.32 (Continued)
Exercise 3 The identification and numbering of chords lend the student and professional a greater understanding of what is purely diatonic in the harmonic accompaniment of a song and what alterations the composer has made in the harmony to draw the listener’s attention to specific lyrics or phrases. Shifting tonal centers through the chromatic alteration of melody and harmony is an important device in heightening the emotional and dramatic urgency of a number, and an especially effective method for eliciting an emotional response from the audience. Example 10.33, a segment of “Men Come, Men Go” from The Coldest War of All, depicts the plight of warrior wives who take a vow of abstinence to starve their libidinous husbands into leaving the battlefield and calling a truce. The accompaniment of the number, a lilting jazz waltz, has been reduced to its harmonic structure for identification. • Write the name of each of the chords between the first and second systems. Often, but not always, the bass notes will suggest the root of the chord; when it does not, build the chord in thirds to determine the root; • Under the bass staff, identify the Roman numerals for every chord that is named. Pay close attention to secondary functions, that is, V7/V, vii°7/IV, etc.; • On the lines provided, identify the cadences in the number as authentic, plagal, deceptive, half, or backdoor, and explain your answers in the space provided at the end of example; • After you have completed the identification of chords and cadences, sight-sing the exercise with the piano accompaniment. At the discretion of the instructor, use solfège syllables, numbers, or “la.”
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Example 10.33 [Sound file 10.33]
Example 10.33 (Continued)
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Example 10.33 (Continued)
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11
Modulation and Tonicization
Example 11.1 [Sound file 11.1]
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In Unit 10 we saw how the deceptive cadence in “Another Day” from Rent functioned dramatically by musically depicting the conflict between Roger and Mimi. We are revisiting the example in this unit to explore the ease with which composers like Jonathan Larson manage to move from one tonal center to another in a single composition. In the example above, Larson moves from the key of D to the key of E by means of a pivot chord—A major—that functions diatonically in both tonalities: V in D and IV in E. Because the pivot chord has a natural function in both tonalities, the transition from the one key to the other is smooth and efficient: what sounds like a deceptive cadence in the original key becomes a IV–V cadence in the new key. There are, of course, many different ways to shift from one tonality to another in Western music, and in this unit we will explore the devices commonly used in musical theatre literature.
Modulation and Tonicization There are two kinds of movement between tonalities in a piece of music. One is called modulation, the other tonicization. Modulation is a passage from one tonality to another when the second tonality is relatively permanent, or at least comes to an authentic cadence (perfect or imperfect). Often modulation can be discerned by a change of accidentals to reflect a new key, but even with a new key signature, the time spent in the new tonality must be substantial, more than two
The Arrangement
or three measures. Richard Rodgers’s “Soliloquy” (Carousel) is an example of a musical theatre piece with several internal modulations. Tonicization is movement from one tonality to another without spending a significant amount of time in the new key. The ear may discern the presence of a new tonal center, but by the time the brain recognizes the new key, the music returns to the original tonality, or moves on to yet another tonal center. Jerome Kern’s “All the Things You Are” (Very Warm for May) is an example of continued tonicization within a song.
Direct Modulation The movement from one tonality to another is accomplished through several devices, the most abrupt and simplest of which is called direct modulation, in which a song changes key with virtually no preparation or the use of common chords or melody notes. The effect created is generally highly dramatic since it suggests a sudden emotional or tactical change in the action. “Gee, Officer Krupke,” the menacingly playful vaudeville routine in West Side Story (example 11.2), offers a series of direct modulations to introduce each of the Jets’ commentaries on authority figures and the American justice system. The surprise tonal shifts add a sense of spontaneity and baggy-pants comedy to the juvenile delinquent role-playing number. Example 11.2 [Sound file 11.2]
Like example 11.1, “Another Day,” “Carrying the Banner” from Newsies The Musical (example 11.3 below) modulates from the key of D to the key of E. Instead of using a common 286
Example 11.3 [Sound file 11.3]
Modulation and Tonicization
chord, however, composer Alan Menken opts for an abrupt shift of tonalities to portray the frenzied, hectic, and spontaneous atmosphere in which the newsboys function.
Secondary Dominant Modulation Slightly more prepared than the abrupt modulation is the secondary dominant modulation, in which the new key is introduced by a single, unanticipated secondary dominant chord. In example 11.4, “Turn It Off” from The Book of Mormon, Elder McKinley and the missionaries are struggling with sexual feelings that, as the title suggests, need to be turned off. The fragment below displays the final modulation of the piece, the climax of the missionaries’ struggle when they attempt to strengthen their resolve. There is no preparation for the modulation, simply a dominant chord in the new key accompanying the singer’s high cry of desperation. Example 11.4 [Sound file 11.4]
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Third Relation Modulation Another fairly direct method of modulation is called third relation involving a diatonic chord in the original key moving up or down by chromatic mediant to a diatonic chord in the new key. This kind of modulation is called third relation because the roots of the chords involved are a M3 or m3 apart: for example, C major to E major, or C major to E𝄬 major; C
The Arrangement
major to A major, or C major to A𝄬 major. Although a chromatic adjustment is always involved since the third-related chords contain notes that are not natural to the original key (i.e., E major, E𝄬 major, A major, and A𝄬 major contain notes that are not natural to the key of C major), there is a common tone in each of the third-related progressions. For example, from C major to E major, the common tone is E; from C major to E𝄬 major, the common tone is G; from C major to A major, the common tone is E; from C major to A𝄬 major, the common tone is C. Note that in every case, the third-relation modulation moves from major to major or minor to minor chords. The effect of the modulation may be somewhat abrupt but the ear easily accepts the change of tonality because of the common-tone relationship. Example 11.5, “Do Me a Favor” from Carrie, uses the third relation to emphasize the change of speaker and transpose the melody into a better range for a male singer. The emphasis on the note B in the G major chord of the first key (as well as in the second measure of the melody—right before the modulation) subtly prepares the ear for the B tonic note in the new key. Example 11.5 [Sound file 11.5]
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In “Build a Wall” from Shrek The Musical, Shrek sings about hardening his heart after an unsuccessful courtship and becoming the monster the world wants him to be. Example 11.6 presents the climactic modulation near the end of the number where Shrek firmly decides to separate himself from the rest of the world.
Modulation and Tonicization
Example 11.6 [Sound file 11.6]
In the Shrek example, the tonic chord (G–B–D) has a mediant relationship with the tonic chord in the new key (E–G♯–B) and, once again, the third of the first chord (B) prepares the ear for the fifth in the second chord.
Pivot Tone (Common Tone) Modulation Another simple modulation technique is called the pivot note, or common tone device in which a note in a chord in the original key is reiterated or held over as a note in a chord of the new key. This device is often used in conjunction with the mediant device as it was in the previous two examples. However, while a note was repeated in the chords of the previous examples, the focus was on the third relationship and not the repeated note. With the pivot note device, the focus is on the note that creates the conduit between the original tonality and the new key. Example 11.7, “All-American Prophet” from The Book of Mormon, displays an obvious pivot tone with the F of the D𝄬 tonic chord of the original key held over to become the fifth of the B𝄬 tonic chord in the new key. There is another mediant relationship between the tonic chords but the modulation is somehow smoother in effect because of the held-over pitch. Measures 1–2 quote the end of a short recitative (an unmetered section where the singer’s tempo is closer to speech than singing) by Joseph Smith before his death, and measures 3–4 serve to underscore
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The Arrangement
Elder Price’s spoken narrative of the founding of Salt Lake City. The entire piece is a homily by Elder Price designed to spread the word of God and Joseph Smith to the Ugandans. The smooth modulation from D𝄬 to B𝄬 functions dramatically as the conduit between a recitation section and an elevated underscore that leads to a heavenly chorus worthy of a Cecil B. DeMille religious epic.
Example 11.7 [Sound file 11.7]
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Example 11.8, “More to the Story” from Shrek The Musical, presents a common tone device in which a melody note is sustained through the modulation. In measure 2, the melody note E—the third of the original key (C major)—is held through measure 3 where it becomes the fifth of the IV chord (A major) as well as the root of the new key (E major). The lyrics, “we follow ev’ry rule” are emphasized dynamically by the change of tonality, especially because the word “rule” is sustained over the modulation, allowing it subtly to change color (i.e., from the third of the C major chord to the fifth of the A major chord) and intensify dramatically. As the chords progress from the tonic of the original key to the subdominant of the new key, a submediant relationship is exposed between C and A, a pattern similar to the third relations we have seen above in examples 11.6 and 11.7.
Modulation and Tonicization
Example 11.8 [Sound file 11.8]
Common Chord Modulation Expanding on the common tone device of tonal movement, the common chord method of modulation involves a pivot chord that functions diatonically in both keys. In “Another Day” (11.1 above), for example, A was a common chord in both D major and E major. In the key of D, A is the dominant; in E major, A is the subdominant. The chords function diatonically in both keys without alteration. In e xample 11.9, “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” from Les Misérables, the E major chord in measure 3 serves as the dominant in the original key of A minor and the mediant in the new key of C♯ minor. What appears to be a deceptive cadence in measure 4 is actually the statement of a new tonality that signals an increase of emotional intensity in the dramatic event. The common chord method may also involve chromatically altered chords that function chromatically in one key and diatonically in another as in example 11.10, “Losing My Mind” (Follies), where a chromatically altered iiØ7 chord in the key of A𝄬 (F𝄬 is not natural to the key of A𝄬; the chord is borrowed from A𝄬 natural minor) functions as an enharmonic viiØ7in the new key of B and varies only a single note (A𝄬 changes to G𝄬) to become the enharmonic dominant of the new key. As in previous examples, the modulation heightens emotion and dynamically propels the dramatic event of the number to its climax.
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Example 11.9 [Sound file 11.9]
Example 11.10 [Sound file 11.10]
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Diminished Seventh Chord Modulation Another enharmonic modulation device involves the diminished seventh chord, which, as you may remember, can use any of its four notes as a root. A chord spelled C–E𝄬–G𝄬–B𝄫 (or, in common usage spelled C–E𝄬–F♯–A) could resolve as the leading tone to D𝄬. However, if the same chord is spelled D♯–F♯–A–C, it would resolve as a leading tone to E. In example 11.11, “I Love to Cry at Weddings” from Sweet Charity, a C°7 chord considered as an A °7 (A–C–E𝄬–G𝄬) functions as the vii°7 of B𝄬7, the dominant of the new key, and inverted with the G𝄬 in the lowest voice, directly leads to the bass pattern.
Modulation and Tonicization
Example 11.11 [Sound file 11.11]
If any note of a diminished seventh chord is lowered one half-step, the diminished chord immediately becomes an enharmonic dominant seventh chord with the lowered note as its root. For example, if the C in C°7 is lowered to B spelling a chord, B–E𝄬(D♯)–G𝄬(F♯)–B𝄫(A), the chord becomes B7. If the E𝄬 of a C°7 is lowered to D, the chord would become D7 (D–F♯–A–C). This alteration of the diminished seventh chord is another method of moving from one key to another. Example 11.12, “Veronique” from On the Twentieth Century, employs an E°7 to modulate from the key of A to the key of B. After several measures of playfully alternating between E major (V) and common tone E diminished (ct°) and E diminished seventh (ct°7), the G of the diminished seventh chord is lowered one half-step to F♯, and the E°7 becomes an F♯7, the dominant in the key of B. Example 11.12 [Sound file 11.12]
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Augmented Sixth Chord Modulation Another method of modulation involving dominant sevenths returns us to the augmented sixth chords from Unit 9. In an augmented sixth chord modulation, the chords that function as dominant sevenths in one key can act as augmented sixths in another by simply respelling the flatted seventh note as a raised sixth. In this way, a C7 (V7) chord can resolve to its tonic (F) or as a C+6 chord can resolve to E with B in the bass (an E 6/4 chord) or B. From Kingfish!, a 1985 musical about southern politician Huey Long, the AAB constructed ballad “Living a Lie” (example 11.14) completes its A sections with a V7 of IV chord that is treated as an augmented sixth chord built on the flatted supertonic of B. Instead of resolving directly to a B chord, however, the augmented sixth follows the pattern of example 9.28E in Unit 9, in which the chord moves to the tonic before resolving to the dominant. But the key signature in measure 5 indicates that B is the tonic of the new key, so why is the augmented sixth chord moving to the subdominant of B as if it were the tonic? We know from the original chord structure that the chord leading to the B section of the song is a V7 of IV chord, suggesting quite legitimately that the B section begins with subdominant harmony. As a result, even though B is actually the tonic of the new key, it functions as the dominant of the subdominant (E) and the augmented sixth, in turn, treats the subdominant as the tonic. This usage of the augmented sixth chord formula is applicable to all secondary dominants and their resolutions, when the starting chord of the section in the new key is not the actual tonic. Example 11.13 [Sound file 11.13]
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To review the variety of methods of modulation: • Direct modulation occurs when a song changes key without any preparation or the use of common chords or melody notes; • Secondary dominant modulation occurs when a single, unanticipated V or V7 in the new key initiates the new tonality;
Modulation and Tonicization
• Third relation involves a diatonic chord in the original key moving by chromatic mediant (up or down a major or minor third) to a diatonic chord in the new key; • Pivot note, or common tone device, requires a note in a chord in the original key to be reiterated or held over as a note in a chord of the new key; • Common chord method of tonal movement involves a pivot chord that functions diatonically in both keys. The common chord method may also involve chromatically altered chords that function chromatically in one key and diatonically in another; • Diminished seventh modulation requires respelling the chord enharmonically so that it has an appropriate diatonic or chromatic function in both the original and new tonality. If any note of a diminished-seventh chord is lowered one half-step, the diminished chord immediately becomes an enharmonic dominant seventh chord with the lowered note as its root; • Augmented sixth modulation has a chord that functions as a dominant seventh in one key acting as an augmented sixth in another by a respelling of the flatted seventh note as a raised sixth.
Exercise 1 In the space provided after each example, identify the modulation method in each of the following segments of musical theatre songs. Example 11.14 is an excerpt from “Once a Year Day” (The Pajama Game); example 11.15 is derived from “Freak Flag” (Shrek The Musical); example 11.16 is a section from “Unsuspecting Hearts” (Carrie); example 11.17 comes from “Too Many Mornings” (Follies); and example 11.18 is a brief sample of “Not a Day Goes By” (Merrily We Roll Along). Example 11.14 [Sound file 11.14]
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Modulation and Tonicization
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Example 11.16 [Sound file 11.16]
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Modulation and Tonicization
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Tonicization Any of the methods used for modulation may be employed with tonicization to create movement to and from the new temporary tonal center. In example 11.19, the B section (or release) of “I’m Glad to See You Got What You Want” from Celebration, the tonic E𝄬 first moves to the subdominant before wandering through the circle of fifths to reach the tonality of C𝄬. To go back to the original key, C𝄬7 becomes a C𝄬+6 resolving to B𝄬, the dominant of E𝄬 and, as quickly as the tonic was abandoned, it returns. The tonicization serves a dramatic as well as a musical function accompanying a change of point of view in the lyrics from the here-and-now to memories of the past. With every memory comes a tonal change, adding to the sense of spontaneity of the dramatic moment and drawing the substance of memory farther away from
Modulation and Tonicization
the tonality of the present relationship. The new totalities are not established for long—the memories of the characters are impossible to relive—and the tonicization ends with a lyrical return to the present as the augmented sixth chord begins the transition to the original key when the lyrics of the present relationship continue. Example 11.19 [Sound file 11.19]
In “Everybody Says Don’t” from Anyone Can Whistle, Stephen Sondheim chose to employ a series of parallel-constructed third relations (mediants) in the interlude between choruses to accompany a change of focus of the lyric from third and first person to direct address. Without preparation, the tonality of C major becomes E major, the mediant in the key of C; four measures later we find ourselves in A𝄬, the enharmonic chromatic mediant of E and flatted submediant in C, arriving there through chords creating an enharmonic whole-tone scale: E–F♯ (G𝄬)–A𝄬. After four measures in A𝄬, Sondheim returns us to C, through the presence of a conspicuous chordal B𝄬 that reflects the previous whole-tone pattern: A𝄬–B𝄬–C. As in the example above, the tonicization accompanies a dramatic focus change in the lyrics as well as providing each new idea with a subtly ascending tonality (see e xample 11.20 below). Note how the chord structures in the key of E have the same chromatic functions in the key of A𝄬 as the chord structures in A𝄬 have in the key of C. In example 11.21, “Somebody, Somewhere” (The Most Happy Fella), Frank Loesser uses secondary dominants to move from the tonic (G) to D, the dominant of G, and next to E, the chromatic submediant of the original key. A descending bass pattern, which propels the dramatic statement of the lyrics, moves in whole steps and half-steps throughout the tonicization and finally rests on a consonant measure of E major where the lyrics complete a thought before returning to the original key. Note that the descending bass line comes to a pause in measure 4 where a whole note C (creating the third inversion of a D7 chord), prepares for the resolution to B, the dominant of the new tonality. Just as the tonicization to D four measures earlier began with a secondary dominant, so does the tonicization to E. Note also the effective resolution of a French augmented sixth chord in measures 2–3 and the sonorous third relation between D7 and B in measures 4–5. The tightly organized movement between tonalities helps to connect the changes of thought in the lyrics while allowing them to be individualized and colored by different harmonies.
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Example 11.20 [Sound file 11.20]
Example 11.21 [Sound file 11.21]
Modulation and Tonicization
Exercise 2 Analyze the changes of tonal centers in example 11.22, “I Want to Go to Town” from My Love to Your Wife. • Identify the harmony throughout the composition by Roman numerals; • Identify the relationship between any modulations and/or tonicizations and the original key of the song: for example, if a passage appears to have altered the tonal center from the key provided by the key signature, indicate the new tonality by “In” with the name of the major or minor key, followed by a colon; • Determine the devices used to move from the tonic to the new key or keys, and discuss how the tonicized measures affect (or do not affect) the interpretation of the lyrics in the space provided at the end of the example; • Identify the form of the song and mark the antecedent and consequent phrases over the melody line; • With a yellow marker, highlight the melody notes that are found in the accompaniment; • Sight-read the number with piano accompaniment. Example 11.22 [Sound file 11.22]
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Example 11.22 (Continued)
Example 11.22 (Continued)
The Arrangement
Example 11.22 (Continued)
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Modulation and Tonicization
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Exercise 3 Example 11.23 below is a segment of a soliloquy, “I See the Trick” from Love’s Labors Lost. Examine the chord structure of the accompaniment: • Circle all seventh chords (major, minor, dominant), diminished chords, and diminished seventh chords; • Write the names of all the chords you have circled and indicate whether the chord is an altered chord or a diatonic chord; • Circle all the chords that are resolutions of the chords above;
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• Name all of the resolved chords and indicate whether the resolution is the result of a secondary dominant function or a diatonic function (for example, if the resolution is the result of a diatonic V or V7 chord); • In the space provided at the end of the example, identify any modulations or tonicizations in it and indicate what kind of musical device was used to initiate the shift of tonality; • Identify the form of the song and mark the antecedent and consequent phrases over the melody line; • With a yellow marker, highlight the melody notes that are found in the accompaniment; • Sight-read the song with the piano accompaniment. Example 11.23 [Sound file 11.23]
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Example 11.23 (Continued)
Example 11.23 (Continued)
Modulation and Tonicization
Example 11.23 (Continued)
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12
Upper-Embellished Chords
Example 12.1 [Sound file 12.1]
Up to this point, we have been exploring the functions of diatonic and chromatic harmony up to, and including, the seventh scale degree. As the example above, “Big Spender” from Sweet Charity, suggests, this unit will investigate upper-embellished chords that go well beyond the seventh, and tone groups written as chords, arpeggios, and other kinds of horizontal figures that function harmonically in musical theatre literature.
Ninth, Eleventh, and Thirteenth Chords When the brassy, big-band sound found its way into musical theatre orchestration, it introduced a variety of new harmonizations utilizing upper-embellished chords that bore the designation, “9,” “11,” and “13,” as well as unusual terminology such as, “sus,” “sus4,” and “add2.” Often referred to as “jazz chords,” five-and-six-note chords that go beyond the seventh in coloration had become the rule in musical theatre compositions that sought to depict a metropolitan, hip, and steamy atmosphere. Audiences would welcome the sound in shows such as Gypsy, West Side Story, Golden Boy, or Golden Rainbow but might find the chords misplaced in musicals such as My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, or She Loves Me. The reason for this is obvious in the dissonance that these so-called jazz chords create in root position: • The ninth clashes with the tonic by an octave and a whole step, and the third by a minor seventh. Because there are no half-step clashes (at least when the ninth is added to a major chord), the ninth is the least dissonant of the group; • The eleventh clashes with the third by an octave and a half step when natural and clashes with the fifth by a major seventh when raised (an augmented 11th); • The thirteenth clashes with the dominant seventh (minor 7th) by a major seventh and clashes with the major seventh by a minor seventh (see e xample 12.2 below). When these chords are inverted the clashes are accentuated and as a result, when the eleventh is used, the third is often omitted; when an augmented eleventh is present, the fifth is often
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omitted. The thirteenth will often omit the fifth as well but will rarely omit the seventh even when a half-step dissonance is present. When the designation “9,” “11,” or “13” is given, the dominant seventh is always assumed in the chord; when the designation, “Maj9 (or M9)” is given, a major seventh is assumed; similarly, a “min9 (m9)” assumes a minor seventh in the chord. The same applies to the eleventh and thirteenth. When the seventh is not to be included within the chord, the designation is typically Cm(add9) or C6 add9—the name of the chord wanted and the word “add” (with or without parenthesis) identifying whatever scale degree is required. Sometimes the word “add” is omitted and the added scale degree is simply put in parenthesis after the chord name: Cm(9) or C6(9). Example 12.2 that follows displays sevenths, ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths in the key of C major. I have maintained root position so that the triadic structure of each chord would be obvious and included all the possible notes in ninth, eleventh, and thirteenth chords. Note that in major chords, composers typically employ an augmented eleventh to avoid the dissonant clash with the major third. Example 12.2 [Sound file 12.2]
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Measures 21–32 display chords that are a tritone apart and enharmonically equivalent. Both the C and F♯ chords in measures 21–22 can, therefore, resolve to F and B, another tritone relationship. Note that the first chord in each series is lacking the fifth of the chord, and in the second of the series the fifth is diminished.
Upper-Embellished Chords
Exercise 1 In the measures provided, write the two chords that are resolved by the pairs of chords at the beginning of each system. Write your answers as major ninth chords. Example 12.3
Exercise 2 In the space provided, write in root position the full chords that are indicated. 315
Example 12.4
The Arrangement
Dramatic Use of Upper-Embellished Chords Cy Coleman’s film-noir musical City of Angels makes extensive use of jazz-influenced upper-embellished chords to define the atmosphere of 1940s Hollywood. The bluesy “Lost and Found” (example 12.5) effectively employs ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths as melody notes as well as accompaniment. Note that the Dm7 in measure two is the only chord that escapes the jazz coloration. The continued use of the upper colors (9, 11, 13) situates the number in a highly sensual and evocative mood, and the jazzy dissonance adds an edge to the overtly seductive dramatic event. Tension flows from one chord to the other subtly propelling the action of the scene, starting with the C6(9) chord in first inversion, a voicing of the chord that anticipates movement, which, in this case, is to the flatted submediant, an expressly bluesy choice. The move to the tritone chord in measure two adds another subtle dissonance to the number, while the harmony is locked into descending bass and chord patterns that are both grounding and mesmerizing. Note that in the designation of chords below, a minus sign (−) indicates a flatted scale degree, just as a plus sign (+) is used to represent a sharped note. Example 12.5 [Sound file 12.3]
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Note how certain pitches are omitted from the embellished chords: • The ninth is omitted from the A𝄬7(+11) in the first measure; • The fifth is omitted from the A13, A𝄬9(+11), and G13 chords in measure two; • The seventh is omitted from the G9(+5) in measure four; • The fifth is omitted from the A7(−9) in measure five. Omitting the fifth is common practice with upper-embellished chords, more so than the omission of the third since that scale degree determines the major/minor mode of the chord. Because a G9 would normally suggest the presence of the seventh, the
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composer might have written the chord more clearly as G(9,+5) or G+5(add 9). However, omitting the seventh in the G9(+5) is not unusual in this case since the F was struck at the beginning of the measure and the ear infers its presence in the G9 chord. Excluding the ninth from an eleventh or thirteenth chord is also not uncommon depending on the voicing. The “City of Angels’ Theme” (example 12.6) continues the use of embellished chords with a dynamic bass line that drives the pulse of the number. Note the plagal cadence created at measures 3–4 and the leading tone progression to Am9 created by the A𝄬 chord that constitutes the −5, −7, and −9 of the D7 chord. Note also the embellished F7 in measure 6 that functions as an enharmonic augmented sixth to the embellished E7 in measure 7, and the tension that is built up in the final two measures by the ascending scale tone melody and the upper-embellished chords seeking resolution. Example 12.6 [Sound file 12.4]
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Exercise 3 Example 12.7 is a segment of “What You Don’t Know about Women” also from City of Angels. Since there are no chord indications in the arrangement, it is the student’s responsibility to determine which chords are embellished and to write their names above the vocal line. Example 12.7 [Sound file 12.5]
The Arrangement
Example 12.7 (Continued)
In Kiss of the Spider Woman, John Kander dramatically employs ornamented chords in “Where You Are,” example 12.8. Examine the chords in the example, determine which of them are embellished, and write their names above the vocal line. Example 12.8 [Sound file 12.6]
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“Sus” and “Add” Chords Another common embellishment in musical theatre literature is the “sus” sign, which means a note not ordinarily part of a chord is suspended within the chord. The most common suspension indicated by “sus” is the fourth scale degree that would typically resolve to the third when the “sus4” actually resolves. Often, however, in more contemporary musical theatre songs, the suspended note is used as a coloration of the chord rather than a note designed to be resolved. So common is the suspended fourth in musical theatre literature that composers often use the word “sus” alone to indicate “sus 4.” Similar to the “sus” is the designation “add,” which, as we have discussed earlier in this unit, means that a specified degree of the scale is added to the chord. Example 12.9 demonstrates these terms in contrast to the upper embellished chords we have discussed earlier in this unit. Example 12.9
Note how the ninth in measure 1 is an octave higher than the second in measure 2, and the eleventh in measure 3 is an octave higher than the fourth in measure 4. The same holds true for measures 5 and 6. Measure 7 appears to be an A major triad atop a B triad (minus the third); and measure 8 is another example of enharmonic equivalency in which two different roots share the same notes in the chord and, therefore, can share resolutions.
Dramatic Use of “Sus” and “Add” Chords Example 12.10, “Pity the Child” from Chess, demonstrates a sus4 designation that resolves to the third of the chord. Note that in both the suspended chords and their resolutions, the fifths of the chords are omitted, drawing the ear directly to the suspended note and its resolution. This inner chordal movement acts as a dynamic force dramatically, driving each incisive melodic phrase to the inevitable climax of the song.
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Example 12.10 [Sound file 12.7]
Example 12.11, “Mountain Duet” (Chess), offers a combination of “add” and “sus” designations, though where a “sus2” might seem to be a more correct assignment, the composers choose to indicate “add9.” Note that the added ninths and sus4 tones are part of a repetitive ascending melodic motif that propels the lyrics and adds to the intensity of the dramatic event with its rolling pattern of tension and release. Example 12.11 [Sound file 12.8]
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In this example, the ninth appears to be added to the chord because of the melody line. It does not sustain through the chord when the melody note resolves up to the third of the scale. The same can be said of the “sus4” in measure 3 where the fourth moves with the melody line resolving up to the fifth rather than the expected 4–3 resolution of a suspension (see Unit 8). This example demonstrates a case where the chord designations are entirely dependent on the melody notes: to avoid making the accented notes nonchordal tones in measures 1, 2, 3, and 5, they are written into the chord name. The difference between this and the previous example is clear: here it is the shape of the melody that propels the lyrics and the dramatic event; in “Pity the Child,” the accompaniment effectively drove the dramatic melody to the climax. Both choices are appropriate for the dramatic situation: the section taken from the “Mountain Duet” is the beginning of the number, a moment that is considerably more introspective (like the “Twin Soliloquys” in South Pacific) than the excerpt taken from “Pity the Child” near the high point of the number. It makes great sense in “Mountain Duet” that the accompaniment begins sparsely and that the dramatic motion is established by lyrics and melodic contour rendered tonal by the chord assignments. Tonal does not imply total consonance, so the tension in the lyrics is reflected by the major seconds created by the melodic phrases against the repeated Cs and Es in the example. For the “Pity the Child” example, the music and lyrics are leading to a climactic event vocally and dramatically: the establishment of the dramatic situation and its musical reflection has already intensified to a point where the character needs to explode emotionally. In such a case, it is no surprise that the accompaniment is not subtle but driving, and that it accentuates a musical tension-resolution dynamic in anticipation of the intense musical and dramatic moment quickly approaching.
Exercise 4 Examine the harmonization of example 12.12, “Better Than” from Out of Line. • Write the names of all the chords above the vocal line; • In the space provided at the end of the example, comment on the mood created by the harmony and harmonic rhythm of the selection; • Comment on how the accompaniment reflects the lyrics of the selection; • Determine how the accompaniment works to drive the dramatic event of the song; • Identify the form of the song, and indicate antecedent and consequent phrases below the melodic line; • When identifications are complete, sight-sing the number with piano accompaniment. 321
Example 12.12 [Sound file 12.9]
Example 12.12 (Continued)
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Example 12.12 (Continued)
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Tone Groups Once composers took advantage of the upper embellishments of chords that started as simple triads, a new aesthetic of harmony emerged in musical theatre works in which the embellished tones were no longer considered the property of jazz alone but had a life of their own. This new aesthetic aided in the creation of tone groups—expressed vertically as nontriadic chords, and horizontally as melodic motifs—that would function as accompaniment to musical theatre songs. Tone groups are structures built on intervals other than the third—most typically the second since a chord built in fifths, for example, C–G, D–A, E–B, F–C would come together as C–D–E–F–G–A–B–C. With all the white notes on the piano in the chord, only the black notes can be considered nontonal. Tone groups often create problems with the traditional understanding of key tonality since, for example, with seven notes in a nontriadic chord, the ear may have difficulty determining a tonic note. In most musical theatre literature it is the bass note that grounds the tonal center; when no bass note is available, the rule is that the key note is the root of the best lowest interval. In the tonal group mentioned above, the root would obviously be C since the lowest best interval is the perfect octave C–C followed by the perfect fifth, C–G.
Vertical (Harmonic) Tone Groups Vertical tone groups are easier to understand when seen rather than described. Good examples can be found throughout Harvey Schmidt’s Lydian-influenced number “Sixty Million Years Ago” in the musical Celebration. In the segment below (example 12.13) the bass notes assist in
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our perception of key tonality. Note that in measures 1–2, there are no nonchord tones in the melody and, in measures 3–4, the only nonharmonic tone is the F, which, due to the insistent bass line and key signature, appears to be the key note of the song. Key signatures are the first place to look to determine a tonal center when you are faced with tone groups, but often, songs that wander through several keys without changing key signature (such as “Where Am I Going?” from Sweet Charity) do not rely on the key signature. When in doubt, follow the bass since it grounds the tonality. Example 12.13 [Sound file 12.10]
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In compositions such as “The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea” from Pacific Overtures (example 12.14), the bass is particularly helpful in grounding the tonality. The first tone group is a triadic F (omit 3) 9, 11, 13 that really sounds like an E𝄬 major seventh chord over a perfect fifth rooted on F. The second tone group is an F7 (𝄬9, 13) but really sounds like a D major triad with an added flatted ninth over the perfect fifth rooted on F. What is especially interesting is the alteration of the D𝄬 in the key signature to D in the first two measures since it draws the ear to a chromatic event that continues with a D𝄬 in measure 3, the enharmonic equivalent, C♯ in measure 4, and finally, C in measure 5 where the tonality of F seems, for the moment, secure. And as that chromatic event is leading to C, another starting on E𝄬 is slowly wending its way through the first three measures to an E♮ in measure 4, leading the ear to an absent F in the upper voices in measure 5 but resolving, as if in a deceptive cadence, to D. A closer examination of the tonal structures discloses yet another chromatic pattern: the G–B𝄬 of the first measure resolves to the F♯–A of the second measure, which returns to the G–B𝄬 construction in the third, only to become F♯–A♯ in the fourth measure, finally resolving F♯ to G and A♯ (enharmonic B𝄬) to A in the last measure of the example. A similar pattern (D𝄬–E𝄬 in measure 3 becomes C♯–E in measure 4) propels the lower notes of the series to resolve to C♮ and D♮ in measure 5.
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Example 12.14 [Sound file 12.11]
The subtle way Sondheim guides the singer through his tonal structures is quite effective just as the sound and organization of the accompaniment is highly effective in leading us forward to each new idea. Although measures 1–4 contain tonal structures that are triadic, those structures function like tone groups with leading tones drawing us eventually to the tone group of measure five, built of two perfect fifths, a major second apart, and suggesting the pentatonic scale, the system used in Japanese music. It is significant that the Western style of harmony with chords built in triads is employed when the lyrics discuss something “Out there” and the pentatonic scale returns for lyrics that represent “Here,” Japan, the setting of the musical. It is also dramatically significant that the Western style of music is slightly out of sync or foreign to our ears since that music would certainly appear foreign to the Reciter and Chorus in the context of the performance.
Horizontal (Melodic) Tone Groups Horizontal or melodic tone groups may be simple diatonic arpeggios that sketch a harmony or mirror the shape of the melodic line, or they may be more complex figures that seem to function independently of the melody and/or the harmony that the melody suggests. An example of the first type of horizontal group comes from Wicked in the form of “No Good Deed,” in which a kind of perpetual motion sixteenth-note figure outlines the melody and suggests a harmonic accompaniment (example 12.15 below). The chord symbols above the melody are an indication of the composer’s harmonic intentions, which are expressed in the grounding left-hand pattern in conjunction with the arpeggiated figure that creates both consonance and dissonance as it weaves within and without the diatonic harmony. An uneasy, anxious kind of tension is created that ultimately propels the character, Elphaba, to vow never to do a good deed again.
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Example 12.15 [Sound file 12.12]
Stephen Sondheim employs a similar perpetual motion technique to establish the nervous energy of a crowded metropolis in example 12.16, “Another Hundred People” (Company). Like the example from Wicked, “Another Hundred People” uses an arpeggiated motif to create a sense of harmony, though the accompaniment is substantially independent from the melodic line, which is mostly a single pitch hammering away against the constantly moving harmonies that surround it. Given the lyrics of the piece, this is a notable example of how sound and sense meld dramatically. The perpetual motion effect here is created by individual voices entering and exiting to suggest chord structures: C6, CM7, C+5(M7) or even an A𝄬° if you take into account the melodic phrase, all grounded by the pedal note C, which, along with its dominant G, locks the example into the tonality of some kind of C chord.
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Example 12.16 [Sound file 12.13]
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Example 12.16 (Continued)
One of the most beloved of musical theatre examples containing perpetual motion tone groups is “Meadowlark” from The Baker’s Wife (example 12.17), in which the accompaniment effectively soars above the melodic line, evoking the flight of a bird and Genevieve’s longed-for freedom to fly away into the arms of her lover, Dominique. Like the Sondheim example above, “Meadowlark” is grounded by a pedal tone while the rest of the accompaniment is free to abandon the traditional common time metrical structure with strong beats on 1 and 3. Note that the inner voices in the left hand appear on what would be considered weak beats, and the right-hand motif is grouped in threes, fighting against the feeling of a four-beat metrical structure. The tension created by rhythm in this piece is accentuated by the harmonic structure suggested by the accompaniment: B/E, G♯m/E, F♯m/E, A/E, all consonant diatonic chords in the key of E, creating a lush harmonic fabric with a subtle dissonance in consideration of the pedal note E. The accompaniment effectively evokes the complexity of Genevieve’s dramatic event: a grounding pedal tone at odds with metrical and harmonic motifs that seek to break traditional boundaries.
Example 12.17 [Sound file 12.14]
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Exercise 5 Explore the harmonic structure in the examples below. • Over the melody line, identify the chordal harmonies that are created by the melody in conjunction with the bass line and the tone groups of the moving line; • In the space provided, discuss the movement of consonance and dissonance in the tone groups; • Discuss the mood created by the accompaniment: does it evoke the lyrics in any way? • How does the accompaniment propel the dramatic event as expressed in the example? Example 12.18 is a fragment of “Nobody Told Me” from No Strings; example 12.19 is a portion of “Giants in the Sky” from Into the Woods. Example 12.18 [Sound file 12.15]
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Example 12.19 [Sound file 12.16]
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Example 12.20 [Sound file 12.17]
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Example 12.20 from Jason Robert Brown’s Parade, “This Is Not Over Yet,” is Leo Frank’s reaction to the discovery that the governor of Georgia has agreed to reopen his case (he had been convicted of murdering an employee). Not only is the accompaniment a nervously energetic figure that can accommodate a variety of tonalities, but it also expresses the state of mind of the character. Note also that the chord changes supplied by the composer are only harmonic suggestions and cannot replace the dynamic written figure. They do, however, make it somewhat easier to perceive that the composer, following the instruction of his title, “This Is Not Over Yet,” holds back a resolution to the tonic chord, providing the musical number with a propelling forward motion that promises hope for Leo and his wife, Lucille. Leonard Bernstein also employs a repetitive harmonic device in one of the opening numbers he composed for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, “Me” (example 12.21), in which the actor hired to perform the president explains to the audience his difficulties with the role. Like the Jason Robert Brown example, there is a driving energy to the Bernstein piece, with a great
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deal of tension built by delaying the harmonic resolution. The key is C, and Bernstein spends seven measures in Neapolitan D𝄬 tone groups that resolve to a dominant-seventh fragment, C𝄬(B)–F–G, that, assembled in measure 5 of the example, creates a French augmented sixth chord (spelled enharmonically) in D𝄬 ready to resolve to C. As can be noted in the lyrics of the example, the need for resolution is one of the themes of the actor’s lyrics and the music effectively expresses that need. The repeated figures in the accompaniment create anxiety and frustration and, certainly, the feeling that one is at a complete loss, unable to proceed. The figure ends in a stop the first three times it is heard, finally moving on to the French augmented sixth chord created by two tritones, the most unstable and tense of all intervals. Like Jason Robert Brown, Leonard Bernstein is informing us about the state of mind of the character through his accompaniment. Example 12.21 [Sound file 12.18]
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Exercise 6 As in exercise 5, explore the harmonic structure in the examples below. • Above the melody line, identify the chord structures that are created by the melody in conjunction with the bass line and the tone groups; • In the space provided after each selection, discuss the movement of consonance and dissonance in the tone groups; • Discuss the mood created by the accompaniment: does it evoke the lyrics in any way? • How does the accompaniment propel the dramatic event as expressed in the example? Example 12.22 is a selection from “The Old Red Hills of Home” (Parade), and example 12.23 is an excerpt from “When Does the Loving Start?” (My Love to Your Wife).
The Arrangement
Example 12.22 [Sound file 12.19]
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Example 12.23 [Sound file 12.20]
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Example 12.23 (Continued)
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Review Quiz Identify the chords in the following musical theatre selection “Somewhere There’s Always Someone” from Out of Line (example 12.24). • Write the names of the chords below the bass staff; • Circle all the chromatically altered chords and indicate beside their names whether they are secondary dominants, secondary leading-tone chords, Neapolitans, or augmented sixth chords; • Circle and, over the melody, identify by initials (i.e., P.T., U.N., L.N., etc.) any nonchord tones in the melodic line; • Identify any modulations or tonicizations in the piece above the second system; • Identify the song form in the space provided at the end of the example; • Above the melodic line, identify antecedent and consequent phrases as well as the kinds of cadences present in the piece; • In the space provided after the example, determine how the chord progressions reflect the tone or feeling of the lyrics; • Identify how the arrangement of the song propels the dramatic event as expressed in the lyrics.
Example 12.24 [Sound file 12.21]
Example 12.24 (Continued)
Example 12.24 (Continued)
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Example 12.24 (Continued)
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Unit Test 4 Analyze the chord structures, tonicizations, and/or modulations in example 12.25, “Tout au Tour” (“All in Turn”) from Emperor of the Moon. • Below the third system, identify the harmony throughout the composition by Roman numerals. This means that you will have to construct chords from the arpeggios that constitute much of the accompaniment. Consider the bass notes as roots of the chords except when a triad, using the notes of the arpeggio, cannot be constructed from the bass note; • Identify the relationship between any modulations and/or tonicizations and the original key of the song: that is, if a passage appears to have altered the tonal center from the key provided by the key signature, indicate the new tonality by “In” with the name of the major or minor key, followed by a colon;
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• In the space provided after the example, determine the devices used to move from the tonic to the new key or keys; • Above the first system, identify antecedent and consequent phrases, and name the kinds of cadences used; • In the space provided at the end of the number, determine the form of the song; • In the space provided after the example, discuss how the tonicized measures affect (or do not affect) the interpretation of the lyrics; • Discuss how the accompaniment of arpeggios and block chords propels the dramatic event of the song; • Using a yellow marker, highlight the melody notes that are doubled in the accompaniment; • At the discretion of the instructor, sight-read the musical number with piano accompaniment. Example 12.25 [Sound file 12.22]
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Example 12.25 (Continued)
Example 12.25 (Continued)
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Example 12.25 (Continued)
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PART THREE
The Performance
13
Analysis—George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers
Example 13.1
The introduction to “Meadow Serenade” (example 13.1) by George and Ira Gershwin jovially leads us into the first of three units devoted to extending the techniques of music theory into performance. Up to this point we have been examining musical theatre songs as examples of specific points of theory; along the way, their dramatic function has been identified but always within the limits of the focus of the particular unit. Now, instead of beginning with a point of theory, we begin with a musical theatre number and examine a variety of theoretical aspects to explore the inherently dramatic fabric of the music in preparation for performance.
Music as Drama in Musical Theatre Before diving headlong into a performance analysis of musical theatre songs, we should explore the dramatic functions of music in a musical theatre work beyond the obvious setting of lyrics, without which there would be no songs as such in musicals. Our interest here lies in the choices the composer makes in setting words (and creating accompaniments for songs and underscores for scenes) that enable music to function in ways that are symbiotic to the dramatic experience of musical theatre, not merely propelling action, but part of the action itself. In a musical, the functions of music include the following: • Creating a mood or tone: is the dramatic event serious or light, happy or sad, hopeful or pessimistic? The mood created by the “Prologue” in West Side Story, for example, is substantially different from that established for “Officer Krupke” in the same show. • Identifying character: in ways similar to creating mood, music can assist in identifying the serious or comic nature of musical theatre characters, as well as various characteristics such as ethnicity, age, and attendant feelings of happiness, anticipation, nervousness, exhaustion, and the like. “Ooh, My Feet,” for example, provides an immediately recognizable image of a waitress in The Most Happy Fella; “Tonight at Eight” expresses the energy of a man about to meet, for the first time, the woman with whom he had been corresponding in She Loves Me; and “America” defines the ethnic attitude of the Sharks’ women in West Side Story.
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The Performance
• Playing subtext: dramatic action employs a series of binaries, such as objective and obstacle, text and subtext. Music often expresses the inner emotions of a character or suggests the presence of obstacles when the character voices hope or feelings of happiness. The minor mode and tension-creating nonchord tones in “So in Love,” for example, assist the lyrics in depicting the pain and hurt that drives the primary love song in Kiss Me, Kate. • Establishing locale: the sound of music can and often does identify the setting (and time period) of a musical. “Wilkommen” locates us in the cabaret environment of post–World War I Berlin in Cabaret; “Another Hundred People” depicts the urban experience of New York City in Company; “Independence Day Hora” sets the action clearly in Israel in Milk and Honey. • Creating emphasis: music can highlight lyrics and/or dramatic events in ways that are virtually impossible in normal speech. Using a performer’s “money notes” to express an idea or emotion typically intensifies the concept or action within the context of the musical and in the mind of the listener. For example, Jennifer Holiday belting “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” at the end of the first act of Dreamgirls created an unforgettable moment in the theatre as well as a significant crisis point in the dramatic action of the play. • Establishing the rhythm of the show: the metrical structures, time signatures, tempos, and syncopations in music can assist in determining the pace of a musical theatre work as well as contribute to the functions detailed above. Sondheim’s choice of triple rhythms, for example, in A Little Night Music delineates a European world at the turn of the twentieth century when the waltz (and all of its sensual connotations) set the pace; “Runyonland” at the opening of Guys and Dolls established the urban rhythms for a musical taking place in Damon Runyon’s New York City.
“Meadow Serenade” “Meadow Serenade” is an early romantic number in Strike Up the Band, a 1927 satirical musical comedy by George S. Kaufman and the Gershwin brothers in which an American cheese tycoon, Horace J. Fletcher, agrees to finance a war between the United States and Switzerland over the price of cheese. His daughter, Joan, has been the victim of a local newspaperman, Jim Townsend, who referred to her as a “social snob” in a recent column. When the couple find themselves together in Fletcher’s offices, Jim shyly confesses to Joan that he has more than a passing interest in her and that his columns were designed to attract her attention, not offend her (a plot point anticipating a similar device in the 1943 film, Sweet Rosie O’Grady, between singer Madeleine Marlowe and Police Gazette journalist Sam McGee). Having admitted his intentions, Jim begins “Meadow Serenade” in an attempt to win Joan over with a lilting “back-in-the-day” folk-like ballad complete with throwback expressions, such as “Hey! Nonny, nonny” and images, for example, of clover, chirping crickets, wooing whippoorwills, and a chorus of cowbells.
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Example 13.2
Analysis—Gershwin and Rodgers
Example 13.2 (Continued)
The buoyant, chirping introduction to the number (example 13.1) that was written by Burton Lane (who also composed the music to the verse), anticipates a musical portraiture of the lyrics that is realized in the chorus (example 13.2 above) with the dotted notes and neighbor tone melody evoking the “rustle of the trees,” and the drooping minor third suggesting the oriole’s call. Note that even the pickup notes to the song evoke a pastoral atmosphere: the tonic G chord is not approached by its dominant, D, but rather from the subtonic, F, moving in parallel motion to G. Even though we have already heard a verse in the key of G, the fact that the pickup notes are accompanied by a C7 (IV7 in G and V7 of F) moving to F7 (𝄬VII7 in G and V7 of B𝄬, moving away from G in the circle of fifths) creates the anticipation of a move to B𝄬. The smooth and somewhat deceptive resolution to G hints at a playfulness in the number. The singer, Jim Townsend, appears to be testing Joan with images that obviously would not appeal to a social snob and, at the same time, implying to her that he realizes that she is not the prig he wrote about—if he is, indeed, trying to charm her, there is no point in using images he truly believes would not suit her. The second A of this AABA-structured song is somewhat surprising: it maintains the same rhythmic structure as the first A but varies and inverts the melodic line. Example 13.3 demonstrates how the original melody has been transposed and how descending phrases have been inverted as ascending lines. The variation of the melody is particularly effective dramatically: raising the pitch of the first phrase a perfect fifth adds intensity to the singer’s action, particularly because the transposition brings him to the highest notes of the song. Inverting the descending motifs also drives the number since the ascending lines lead the singer back to the highest note. Even though the lyrics continue to present rustic images in the second A (a sighing breeze, crickets, and a whippoorwill), they sound fresh because of the melodic variation that raises the stakes dramatically. 365
Example 13.3
The Performance
Example 13.3 (Continued)
The playful character of the number continues when Joan reprises the music of the verse using lyrics that refute the idyllic setting Jim sought to create. As she is the daughter of a businessman, it is appropriate that her vision is one of billboards and commodities, and she transforms Jim’s vision into one of practical reality. That she uses his music to do so is important since it first appears that she is making fun of his ideal. The rhythmic break in the third and eleventh measures of the verse set up punch lines for her while they simply completed a thought for Jim (see example 13.4 below). However, as the verse reaches completion, Joan is seduced by Jim’s ideal and joins him in the phrase “Give me back the meadow serenade!” It is also important to note that when the couple unites in a harmonized duet of the chorus, neither of them has the entire melodic line; rather, they share it, suggesting that they both believe in Jim’s ideal. When one person in a duet has the complete melody line and the other a harmony there is always the subtle suggestion of leader and follower. When the melody is shared by both there is a true sense of unity and, in the case of “Meadow Serenade,” Jim and Joan both buy into the idyllic ideal. Example 13.4
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Note that in the third measure of example 13.4, Burton Lane (the composer of the verse) is using a mediant progression that allows him to tonicize briefly in the key of E𝄬 before returning, via another mediant, to the home key of G. The brief expression of another key draws the ear’s attention and subtly emphasizes or heightens the effect of the lyrics. Beginning the tonicization with a
Analysis—Gershwin and Rodgers
rest draws even greater attention to the lyrics: sudden silences within a linear structure can be very dramatic, particularly when the downbeat of the measure is missing and the weak beat is emphasized (see Syncopation in Unit 1). It is also important to note the juxtaposition of the tonicization with the madrigal-like cadences, “Hey! Nonny, nonny—piminy miminy mo!” The return to the tonic creates greater importance for the nonsense lyrics that draw us back to the age of troubadours who serenaded their ladies, and to the satiric style of Gilbert and Sullivan whose comic-opera madrigals with their “Nonny, nonny” always served some formal purpose (typically relating to a nuptial). There is an ironic formality about the number. The genial introduction is followed by a thirty-two-bar verse (AABB) and a thirty-two-bar chorus (AABA). The pattern is repeated with the addition of an eight-bar coda, the last four measures of which are the same as the four introductory bars transposed up a perfect fourth to end on G instead of D. At the conclusion of the second B section of the chorus, Joan performs a soprano obbligato characteristic of operas and operettas reinforcing the main conceit of the number—returning to the pastoral ideal of long ago. According to Tommy Krasker who restored the 1990 performing edition of Strike Up the Band, critics in 1927 commented on Joan’s imitating birdcalls in a coloratura obbligato. What inspires Joan to suddenly chirp like an opera diva? The playfulness that is inherent in the number allows for a multitude of tactics, and certainly one of the singers at this point could jovially mimic the sound of birds addressed in the number, a common device in opera and operetta. Once again the stakes of the dramatic action are heightened as the musical device propels a further development of the couple’s relationship (see example 13.5). By the end of the number, individuals who began the scene as adversaries find themselves drawn to one another. Example 13.5
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The Performance
“Soon” In the “Finaletto” of act one of Strike Up the Band, Jim reveals that despite advertisements to the contrary, Fletcher has not been using the best ingredients in his cheeses. Everyone, of course, is shocked to hear that the cheese magnate is a fraud, especially Joan who sings a plaintive melody bemoaning what she feels is a betrayal on Jim’s part (example 13.6). Example 13.6
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In 1930, when Strike Up the Band finally opened in New York City, “Meadow Serenade” was no longer in the score. The libretto of the musical had been heavily revised by Morrie Ryskind, and Jim and Joan were no longer adversaries, but in love from the beginning of the show. They no longer needed a lilting charm song to break the ice; instead, the script required a sentimental ballad anticipating their getting married. Since Joan was already associated with a sentimental tune in the first act “Finaletto” (see example 13.6, above), the Gershwins transposed the first four bars of that common-time melody down a perfect fourth and transformed them into the first eight cut-time measures of a new number called “Soon” (see e xample 13.7 below). Since another of Jim and Joan’s second-act songs, “Hoping That Someday You’d Care,” was also eliminated during the pre-Broadway rewrites, the Gershwin brothers reharmonized and wrote new lyrics for the verse of that number to create a verse for “Soon.” Actually, the only original music George Gershwin supplied for the new song consisted of two eight-measure B sections with dramatic intervallic leaps that inspired more passion than the pathos of the original tune in its “Finaletto” setting.
Analysis—Gershwin and Rodgers
Example 13.7
Structurally, “Soon” is even simpler than “Meadow Serenade.” Instead of the jauntily syncopated birdcalls that introduced the earlier number, a legato two-bar phrase drawn from the first three notes of the verse rises and falls in pitch and dynamics as an introduction to “Soon” (example 13.8 below). The mood created is serious and lushly romantic; the playtime for Joan and Jim has already passed. Example 13.8
A sixteen-bar common-time verse follows, structured as two sets of antecedent–consequent (call and response) phrases: the first four-measure phrase descends, the second rises. Though the melody skips around a bit, a clear descending scale pattern is discernible around the leaps: B𝄬– A–G–F–E♮. The consequent phrase responds with another scale pattern leading to an E𝄬 before another antecedent phrase mirroring the first begins (see example 13.9). Note also that the ascending phrase often begins with a dissonant nonchordal tone that resolves. The shape of this melody is significant since it musically depicts the binary situation of the couple: a low created by Jim’s loneliness, waiting to find his soul mate, then having to wait to get married; a high created by the awareness that he has found his life partner and all obstacles to marriage will “soon” be dismissed. It is significant that both consequent phrases end in a stepwise ascent, pulling the couple out of gloom into hope; particularly effective is the final rising phrase when Joan sings “Life will be a dream song; / Love will be the theme song.” The formal wooing scene in “Meadow Serenade”— Jim sings a solo verse and chorus, and Joan replies with her own solo verse before the couple joins together in the chorus—is unnecessary here since Jim and Joan are already in love and can share in the sentiments of the verse. That it is Joan who first speaks the word “love” is also significant since earlier Jim sings, “My heart is through with shirking; / Thanks to you it’s working / Fast.” Since Jim’s emotional life is buoyed by Joan, her lyrics reinforce Jim’s belief in her. A thirty-two-bar cut-time binary chorus follows: the first A consists of two identically contoured melodic phrases, the second transposed a M2 from the first (see example 13.7, above). Throughout the A sections, the melody is propelled by a highly romantic counter-melody that ascends and descends, maintaining a tension against the positive lyrics. Are the singers afraid that what they desire will not come soon enough? Do they really believe in “soon good things will happen,” or are they seeking to talk themselves into the belief? The tension provided by the underscore infers a great many potential obstacles for Jim and Joan.
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The Performance
Like the A section, the B section consists of two identically contoured melodic phrases consisting of an ascending figure that dramatically leaps down a minor seventh (see e xample 13.10 below). In addition, to parallel the A section, the second phrase of B is transposed down a second. The positive ideas presented by the lyrics in the ascending B section are grounded by the reality of the lovers’ situation, expressed musically by a downward seventh leap. No matter how high their feelings ascend, the couple falls back to the necessity of having to wait to get married. Example 13.9
Example 13.10
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Although the second A is identical to the first, the second B, mirroring the contour of the earlier section, reaches to F on the top line of the staff, the highest note of the song (see e xample 13.11 below). Another scale pattern can be inferred by the B sections: the first ascends to D and E𝄬, the second to F—a pattern recalling the ascending motif of the verse (see e xample 13.9 measures 4–6).
Analysis—Gershwin and Rodgers
Example 13.11
Attaining higher notes in a melody, particular those prepared by scale tones, creates a dramatic effect for both the performer and audience. The fact that certain lyrics are set on “money notes”—tones that show off a singer’s abilities and create an emotional response in the audience—is not an accident. In the case of “Soon,” the high notes speak Jim’s core lyrics of the song: “[The day you’re] mine this world would be [in tune]”—Jim and Joan’s marriage suddenly has global significance. What more can the character say than that everything in life is affected by our love. In addition, the energy the performer requires to negotiate the high notes propels the dramatic and emotional energy that the character needs in the scene. Like “Meadow Serenade,” “Soon” has two choruses, the first sung by Jim, the second, by Joan who begins the melody while Jim is singing the final word of his chorus (both characters are singing the word “soon” so there is no confusion). Joan’s anticipating her entrance (by two measures) effectively demonstrates her eagerness to reinforce Jim’s hope for the future by singing, “Soon—my dear you’ll never be lonely; Soon—you’ll find I live for you only.” She continues, emphasizing archetypical images of home, being safe in a storm, their ship coming in, until Jim joins her for the high notes when they repeat his earlier lyrics, both finally committing together to the global intensity of their relationship. Gone are the coloratura passages playfully mimicking the sound of birds. Gone are the adversarial relationships and silly romantic games. “Soon” presents two adults in a relationship at their most vulnerable since they are so deeply in love.
“A Puzzlement” In Siamese music there are seven pitch levels of which the first, seventh, fourth, and third are most important. The first, starting on a G in Western music, and seventh, starting on F, are regarded as high pitch levels; whereas the fourth, beginning on C, and third, starting on B𝄬 are low pitch levels. The intervallic relationship between adjacent pitch levels is a major second, and between high and low pitch levels, the relationship is a perfect fifth (in terms of Western music theory). However, unlike the practice of Western music to accent the downbeat of every measure, Siamese music tends to emphasize the final note of a phrase—as if all previous notes lead up to the final one. When Richard Rodgers composed a soliloquy for the king of Siam in The King and I, he made ample use of major seconds and perfect fifths to suggests the tonality of Siamese music; as example 13.12 demonstrates in measures 1–2, he even managed to emphasize the final note of the accompaniment phrase by sustaining it longer than the pitches leading up to it.
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The Performance
Example 13.12
As the number proceeds, however, it seems clear that Rodgers was not concerned with the traditional structure of Siamese music but, rather, with creating the flavor of non-Western music within a Western musical structure. “A Puzzlement” arises from a discussion between the King of Siam and his son, Chulalongkorn, about the nature of belief and knowledge. Because his father is king, Chulalongkorn argues that he must know everything, but, in soliloquy, the king disputes that fact, arguing that he is not sure of anything, the sentiment that leads directly to the song. Unlike Rodgers’s well-known “Soliloquy” from Carousel, in which the various musical sections relate thematically to the dramatic action of the lyrics, “A Puzzlement” is organized into a relatively simple repetitive pattern in which different dramatic ideas are accompanied by the same music. Starting with a four-measure introduction employing music that accompanies the first sung section, the number is organized as follows:
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• A sixteen-measure introductory section (A) in the key of D and in 2/4 meter, in which the king notes how the world has changed since he was a boy; • A thirty-six-measure B section in the key of F (mediant to D, and the relative major of D minor) and 2/4, in which the king muses on his lack of certainty; • A fifteen-bar cut-time C section in D minor, in which the king considers what advice to give his son about women, before returning to thoughts about his lack of certitude; • A four-measure transition in 2/4; • Thirty-six-measure recapitulation of section B, in which the king discusses his father’s certainty and his own lack of it; • Another fifteen-measure C section, this time about foreign alliances and trust; • A four-measure transition in 2/4; • Thirty-two-measure recapitulation of B, in which the king voices the opinion that everyone is uncertain and seeks to prove that what he does not know is true; • Another four-bar transition that is an abrupt modulation to the key of G; • Thirty-two-measure variation of section B, in which the king admits that in spite of what he thinks, he must continue performing his duties every day, to his country, to his children, to his wives, “Etcetera, etcetera, and so forth”; • Twenty-five-measure coda, returning to the accompaniment and melodic patter of section A, in which the king confesses that even though he does his best to do his duties every day, life is still “a puzzlement.”
Analysis—Gershwin and Rodgers
Example 13.13
Example 13.13 displays the pickup and first two measures of the B section with an accompaniment pattern based on parallel perfect fifths a major second apart, characteristics of Siamese music that Rodgers sought to imitate in the king’s soliloquy. Note the recitative-like single-note melody that creates a major second dissonance on each strong beat, inferring a frustration or obstacle in spite of which the king is hammering out his ideas vocally. Note also that the B section is surprisingly diatonic with few actual chord progressions: I–V–I–V–I–V7 of IV–IV–iv7–I– ii–V–I. The only chromatic alterations occur in the V7 of IV chord (F7) and the iv7 (B𝄬m7). The highly certain diatonic structure could be seen as unusual since the lyrics are all about lack of certainty. However, if we explore the music less as a function of the lyric and more as a function of the role, we find that it makes great dramatic sense as a portrayal of what a king should be—clear, definite, with only subtle departures from the law. We learn from the lyrics that the king was raised to be such a king so the accompaniment presents us with an obstacle—a pattern that the king no longer entirely believes in, but that is part of his upbringing, his history. Example 13.14
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The Performance
Example 13.14, the opening of section C, presents a more Western style of accompaniment with bass notes on the strong beats and repeated D minor chords on the after-beats. A B7 arpeggio (a very Western pianistic device) tonicizes the section briefly in E minor prior to ending the phrase in a half cadence on A, the V of D minor. Because of the influence that Anna Leonowens—the Western schoolteacher brought to Siam to educate the court—has on the king’s wives, the Western style of music employed here may be indicative of the effect she has had on the king (i.e., he cannot mention the idea of women without immediately thinking of her). In any event, the second eight bars of section C (deceptively resolved to G minor from A major) reprises the major-second accompaniment pattern of section A in quarter notes, in a rhythmic structure that resembles the first measure of the accompaniment pattern to the “And I’m damned if he’ll marry his boss’s daughter” section of the “Soliloquy” in Carousel (see example 13.15 below). Note, however, that the “Siamese” presence of major seconds in the harmony continues in the treble staff of the accompaniment. Example 13.15
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The enlightened theory of human equality is accompanied by the harmonic motif originally designed to be the voice of Siam at the opening of the king’s soliloquy. The present syncopated version adds a Western touch to the Siamese major seconds, rendering the sound neither truly Eastern nor Western, an effective musical portrayal of the dramatic situation in which the king finds himself. Particularly interesting is the augmented sixth chord at the end of the section that leads first to C7, and then to F major, the relative major of D minor, and the tonic key of the B section to which the king is about to return. The two leading tones in the augmented sixth chord inverted can be respelled enharmonically to create a major second, an interval familiar to the king; however, the use of the augmented sixth chord as a voice-leading device would make little sense to him. The king’s lyrics—“And I nearly think I don’t believe it either!”—seem to be an appropriate response both to the aforementioned Enlightened philosophy and the Western harmony accompanying them. Sections B and C repeat with exactly the same accompaniments offering neither emphasis nor a change in tone to the dramatic event until the third recapitulation of the B section that abruptly modulates from the key of F up a major second to the key of G (a subtle use of the “Siamese” interval). After the modulation, Rodgers varies the melodic shape of the section, replacing the repeated-note patter with a melody based on repeated neighbor tones a major second apart. The energy created by the modulation and new melodic line is strengthened by a chromatic half cadence on E (the submediant in G) and a brief tonicization in E𝄬 (the flatted submediant in G), which, given the previous diatonic nature of the soliloquy, create the tonal illusion that the piece is getting out of control. Even when it returns to a pure G major chord, the harmony is underscored by the bass notes, G–F♮–E–E𝄬–D, leading away from G to some kind of C chord (the presence of both E♮ and E𝄬 in the descending bass line prepares for both C major and C minor). We finally land on a pure C major chord against which clamor the major seconds F♯–E, returning again to the accompaniment motif at the beginning of the song. In contrast to the accompaniment motif, the harmony follows the Western circle of fifths: C to F♯7 to B minor to E—the most dissonant of all, as example 13.16 demonstrates: a struck chord consisting of E–D–G–A–D against the major second motif, G♯–A♯ (outlining another enharmonic augmented sixth chord resolving to A, the V of D, the ending chord of the soliloquy).
Analysis—Gershwin and Rodgers
Example 13.16
Note how the melody notes in e xample 13.16 anticipate a cadence in the key of D and how the melody notes in conjunction with the major seconds in the accompaniment (spelled enharmonically) create an Italian augmented sixth chord: B𝄬–D–G♯. Even accompanied by a characteristic Siamese motif, the king’s melody notes tie him into a Western construction. The effect on him of Western ways of thinking has been profound and, even unconsciously, he begins to show their influence.
Exercise Create a musical-dramatic analysis of a pre-1950 song from your repertoire using the above three sample analyses as models. Identify how the music of the selection effectively serves any or all of the following functions: • Creating a mood or tone; • Identifying character; • Playing subtext; • Establishing locale; • Creating emphasis; • Establishing the dramatic rhythm of the musical.
Suggestions for Further Analysis Irving Berlin: “Supper Time” (As Thousands Cheer) Irving Berlin: “They Say It’s Wonderful” (Annie Get Your Gun) Irving Berlin: “I Love a Piano” (Stop! Look! Listen!) Richard Rodgers: “Soliloquy” (Carousel) Richard Rodgers: “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was” (Too Many Girls) Richard Rodgers: “Lonely Room” (Oklahoma!) Cole Porter: “Night and Day” (Gay Divorce) Cole Porter: “All Through the Night” (Anything Goes) Cole Porter: “I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple” (Kiss Me, Kate) Arthur Schwartz: “By Myself” (Between the Devil) Arthur Schwartz: “You and the Night and the Music” (Revenge with Music) Arthur Schwartz: “Dancing in the Dark” (The Band Wagon) Vincent Youmans: “Without a Song” (Great Day) Vincent Youmans: “Where Has My Hubby Gone Blues” (No, No, Nanette) Vincent Youmans: “Through the Years” (Through the Years)
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14
Analysis—Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim
The Golden Age of the American musical theatre (1940–1960) was marked by a spirit of innovation and experimentation. Influenced in no small part by the efforts of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, composers and librettists sought new and unique ways in which music, text, and dance would function dramatically to create an integrated musical play. Though certainly not the most commercially successful, two of the most artistically successful innovators of the period are Leonard Bernstein (On the Town, Peter Pan, Wonderful Town, Trouble in Tahiti, Candide, West Side Story, and in the 1970s, Mass, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and A Quiet Place) and Stephen Sondheim (Saturday Night, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, and in the 1970s and beyond, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, The Frogs, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, Passion, Bounce aka Road Show).
Example 14.1
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Analysis—Bernstein and Sondheim
“What a Waste” “Go home! Go west! Go back where you came from!” Leonard Bernstein and lyricists Betty Comden and Adolph Green put those words into the mouth of Robert Baker, a short-story magazine editor, in the 1953 musical Wonderful Town. The year is 1935 and two sisters, Ruth and Eileen, move from Columbus, Ohio, to New York City, hoping to find fame and fortune. When Ruth tries to persuade Baker to publish three stories she had written, he responds singing example 14.1, the opening phrase of “What a Waste,” the first three full measures of which function throughout the musical as a leitmotif constructed from two of the show’s more familiar musical numbers: “It’s Love” (measures 1–2) and “Ohio” (measure 3). While the words of Baker’s reply appear to be of the standard “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” variety, the choice of music is significant as it foreshadows the love story that develops between Ruth, who is forever associated with the plaintive “Ohio,” and Bob, whose climactic realization of his feelings propels the musical’s principal love song, “It’s Love.” The final measure of example 14.1 presents a rhythmic and harmonic figure that Bernstein will develop into the accompaniment of the first section of “Something’s Coming” in West Side Story (see example 14.2, below). The descending fourths and fifths in the bass line of “What a Waste,” A–E–A, become all descending fourths in “Something’s Coming,” D–A–E, and the rhythmic figure of the treble accompaniment is the same in both examples. Both also begin with an augmented fourth: in the West Side Story piece, the augmented fourth ascends in line with Tony’s hopeful attitude; in Wonderful Town, the figure descends and ends on the augmented fourth, reinforcing the persuasively negative slant to the lyrics. Example 14.2
Bernstein evidently appreciated the dramatic energy created by the syncopated figure since he will employ it again in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, this time in an inverted ascending-fifths common-time version. Creating an effective conflict between triple and duple meters, this iteration of the motif sustains the augmented fourth interval without resolution upward or downward; instead, the augmented fourth is joined by the perfect fifth throughout creating an obvious dissonance that dramatically evokes the state of mind of the performer who is unable to justify the role he happens to be playing. Example 14.3, “Me,” demonstrates how the measured melody of the individual who performs the role of the presidents in 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is in conflict with the highly syncopated accompaniment (see also “Me,” e xample 12.21 in Unit 12).
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Example 14.3
The Performance
In “What a Waste” the syncopated figure evokes the restless energy of New York City in much the same way as the ever-changing harmonic figure in the accompaniment to Sondheim’s “Another Hundred People” paints an aural portrait of the fast-paced urban environment. Reinforced by the use of triple rather than duple meter and the presence of an augmented fourth to add harmonic stress, Bernstein’s syncopated accompaniment phrase helps create the atmosphere in which Bob Baker works. In the verse of his song he speaks of many people coming to the city with stars in their eyes, expecting to find fame and fortune in their chosen careers. The continually driving accompaniment suggests his impatience and annoyance that yet another person is crowding the already overcrowded perpetual motion machine of the city, and a frustration that he, too, was one of these foolish people. Example 14.4
It is interesting to note in e xample 14.4 that the rhythm of Bernstein’s setting of the first few lyrics of “What a Waste” is quite similar to that of “Something’s Coming” even though the melodic line is completely different. The rising cadence of “Something’s Coming” is not only hopeful; it appears spontaneous especially when connected to the duple phrase that follows. These are ideas that seem fresh and immediate to Tony. Baker’s melody, on the other hand, has little spontaneity and, except for a single descending phrase on the lyrics, “With stars in their eyes,” is a rather stern exercise in neighbor tones. This is in no way a complaint against Bernstein’s composition since the harshness of the melodic pattern is precisely part of the dramatic event. It would be ridiculous to imagine that Baker had never before been in a similar situation when he had spoken these words. However, there is a dramatic growth in the melodic shape of the verse as it ascends stepwise in preparation for the chorus. The moving neighbor tone pattern displays a subtle but distinctive development; long notes present a clear pattern of ascent (Es and G♯s become held F♯s and A♯s); and finally there is rhythmic augmentation in the final eight measures where eighth-note patterns become quarter notes, creating a built-in rallentando as Baker approaches the chorus and admits that his own story is the same as Ruth’s (example 14.5, below).
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Example 14.5
Example 14.5 (Continued)
The Performance
Example 14.5 (Continued)
Because he likes Ruth (not romantically yet; that will come later), Baker has a greater reason to go on to the main body of the song in which he details instances, first of his own experience, then those of other talented people who have failed miserably in New York. He is determined to discourage her ambitions through example, courageously beginning with his own. The unaccompanied held note “mine” sets the word apart from the previous quarter-note patterns (“like his”) and adds both an emphasis and vulnerability to the admission. The orchestra suddenly stops playing and the singer finds himself out there on his own in a dramatic moment that obviously changes his attitude since the orchestra re-enters with entirely different music, a simpler duple time bass-chord, bass-chord accompaniment in D𝄬 (the logical resolution of the G♯7—enharmonically A𝄬7—in measure 20 of example 14.5). The music for the AB-structured main body of the song is less driving and dissonant than the verse and presents the performer with an obviously different tactic dramatically. If the opening music was designed to scare newcomers away, the new narrative section seems designed to appeal to the listener’s good sense. The neighbor tone motif of the introductory section carries over in the melodic line but its edginess is transformed into a catchy syncopated tune that reflects a directness and sincerity on the part of the character (example 14.6). Example 14.6
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Analysis—Bernstein and Sondheim
Example 14.6 (Continued)
Note the comfortable tonicization to the mediant key of F𝄬 in measures 4–7 of example 14.6. Bernstein introduces a G𝄬 major chord (IV in D𝄬) in measures 2–3 in preparation for the introduction of G𝄬 minor in measure 4. G𝄬 minor is still the iv chord in D𝄬, but it is also the ii chord in F𝄬; so, by way of an easy ii–V7 progression, the composer moves for three brief measures into the key of F𝄬, a tonicization that accompanies a change of thought in the lyrics, “Came to New York.” To prepare for the point that Baker seeks to make, “Well since then I haven’t written a word,” Bernstein returns us to the original key, D𝄬, by way of A𝄬, the mediant in F𝄬, and the V7 chord in D𝄬 (see the final measure of example 14.6 and example 14.7). Example 14.7
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The punch line of the song is followed by a very brief B section functioning as a kind of chorus as in an early American narrative folk ballad. The choice of musical form is hardly accidental since narrative folk ballads invariably conveyed some iconic behavioral message that was exemplified or illustrated by the narrative story.
The Performance
Evidently Baker’s tale has inspired other editors in the office to chime in with stories of their own. Although the dramatic event remains focused on Baker’s convincing Ruth to leave, it has opened up to include others who verify his point of view. The first editor to add a cautionary narrative describes a critically acclaimed artist who came to New York only to paint toothpaste ads on buses; a second tells of an actress praised by Stanislavski whose New York career consists of flipping flapjacks at a chain restaurant. Each additional story employs the same musical structure as the first, though as can be suggested by the last measure of example 14.7, each repetition is one half-step higher than the previous iteration. Each modulation (there are four of them in all) raises the stakes dramatically with the presentation of more and more evidence of Baker’s position. As the evidence accrues, so does the emotional connection of the speakers to the stories of failure and disappointment. What began as a tactic to convince Ruth to leave has blossomed into a kind of group therapy session in which the individual speakers spontaneously come to the awareness of the similarities in all of the stories, a fact that is emphasized musically by an exact repetition of rhythm, melody, and harmony; the only factor that individualizes each narrative is the key signature. Bob concludes the number with a story about a fisherman’s son with a marvelous baritone who came to New York with his sights set on singing at the Metropolitan Opera House. As expected, he falls short of his aims and his beautiful baritone can be heard daily hawking fish at the Fulton Market in the Bronx. At the end of the four-measure chorus, instead of modulating to yet another story, Baker remains in the key of E (the key at the beginning of the number) and reprises his original advice to Ruth, “Go home! Go west! Go back where you came from—Go home!” (example 14.8 below). Example 14.8
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Once again Baker uses, as the music for his advice, the phrase that will become his love song later in the musical. He had sought to pass on to Ruth the feelings of disillusionment and
Analysis—Bernstein and Sondheim
frustration that accompanied the cautionary tales and, in so doing, he found himself reliving those emotions. If the first time he spoke his words of advice was rote, the advice he gives every newcomer, the repetition of the words becomes a more personal attempt to save Ruth from the feelings he has just re-awakened in himself. Just as Bob understands how failure feels, however, he does appreciate Ruth’s hopeful outlook, and his final command, “Go home!” reads musically less like a rejection than a plea. Gone is the tritone dissonance in the playoff harmony; instead there is a neighbor tone construction comprised of the tonic triad (E) and a major mode subtonic chord (D) (see example 14.8, measure 4) that clouds the tonality briefly by the presence of the lowered seventh scale degree. This sense of tonal ambivalence might well evoke Baker’s own irresolution (conscious or otherwise) regarding Ruth’s going or staying, for, even when Bernstein appears to end on an affirming tonic triad, he repeats the dissonant triplet figure found in the first full measure of example 14.8 just before the final note of the number.
“I Love My Wife” The conclusion of the “Lud’s Wedding” sequence, “I Love My Wife,” in the Leonard Bernstein-Alan Jay Lerner musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (revised as a concert work, A White House Cantata, after Bernstein’s death), is another of Bernstein’s AB-structured numbers and a perpetual motion study of the dramatic potential of tonicization. In twenty-four measures, the number moves in and out of six tonalities creating a new tonal center at the rate of every four measures. The harmonic shifts accompany a nonstop vocal line that, in a stream-of-consciousness, often non-sequitur fashion, expresses the excitement of the newly married African American (Lud) who works at the White House. Alan Jay Lerner’s lyrics read:
I love my wife and I love her more Than the way I used to love her before She became my wife but today she is So don’t call me early ’cause I’ll be busy Beside her waitin’ for her to wake and Her eyes to open like dawn is breakin’ The whole world over for me today ’Cause I can’t believe that I heard her say She would honor, love and obey ’til death Do us—pardon me if I catch (my breath) When I knew my wife was the wife for me We went out and sat by the willow tree And I begged and pleaded (uh huh), Marry me, honey, and that is what she did. To help the singer propel the abrupt changes of thought every two lines in the lyrics, Bernstein set each couplet in a new tonality that was closely related to the previous key. In such a way, he managed to convey a sense of spontaneity in Lud’s performance as well as a subtle dramatic development in Lud’s excitement and passion as the perpetual motion melody weaves itself through five different tonal centers causing him to eventually run out of breath. Each tonicization is prepared by means of a subtle modulatory half cadence at the end of a four-measure phrase. The first of these in the second measure of e xample 14.9 prepares for a tonal change from G to its mediant B.
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The Performance
Example 14.9
In measure 2 of the example, note how the tonic functions as a Neapolitan chord leading to the dominant seventh (F♯7) of the new tonal center (B). The transition is smooth, made even smoother by the repetition of the dominant seventh chord in measures 3–4 of the example. The chord that was introduced as a modulation device takes on a principal harmonic function in the new key. Example 14.10
Example 14.10 demonstrates that to make a move from B to A, Bernstein first adopted the minor mode of B (the ii chord in A) and followed it with an E7 to create a simple ii–V7 cadence in A. Once again the transition chord (E7) is used prominently in the harmonization of the melody as it wanders to its next tonal center, C. Example 14.11 384
Like the move from B to A, the tonal movement from A to its mediant C requires the use of the minor mode in A, the vi chord in C followed by the V7 (G7), which continues to be a featured harmonization in the new key as example 14.11 above illustrates.
Analysis—Bernstein and Sondheim
Another shift from C to its submediant A𝄬 again involves the use of the minor mode to create a iii–V7 progression in the new key (example 14.12, measure 1). Unlike the harmonization of the previous four-measure phrases with its emphasis on I–V7, the A𝄬 tonicization is embellished with a I–ii-V7 progression (example 14.12, measures 2 and 4), a device that adds harmonic movement and drives the phrase to its Neapolitan cadence (example 14.12, measure 5), returning the tonal center back to G where it will remain for the rest of the number. Example 14.12
Composed in a narrative folk ballad structure like “What a Waste,” “I Love My Wife” also has a brief (four-measure) B section that functions as a summary chorus of the narrative (see example 14.13). Unlike the B section of “What a Waste,” which was sung only once in each iteration of the melody and hardly utilized as the ending of the number, the unabashedly calypso B section in “I Love My Wife” is repeated by the male chorus providing greater emphasis, substance, and finality to the section.
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Example 14.13
The Performance
Comparisons between “What a Waste” and “I Love My Wife” extend beyond their structure: • Both employ basic diatonic harmonies (I, IV, V) during important narratives where the dramatic action is imbedded in the communication of a story; • Both make use of tonicization as a device in which music can support, color, or emphasize changes in thought; • Both suggest local color to contextualize the musical-dramatic event: in one, the syncopated dissonance of tritones evoking New York City; in the other, the syncopated consonance of Afro-Caribbean music from Trinidad; • Both suggest the personalities of the characters singing through melodic shape, rhythm, and harmonization. Simply by listening to the two numbers side by side one can easily differentiate between the characters. The fact that there is virtually no dissonance in “I Love My Wife” places the singer in a very different place from the tonal environment of “What a Waste,” which trades on a bipolarity between consonance and dissonance; • Both employ motivic development and variation in their melodic lines: the stern and foreboding seconds that begin the dissonant verse of “What a Waste” are transformed into the jaunty tune that supports the stories; the excited leap-filled melody of “I Love My Wife” sustains the same rhythmic structure throughout the A section while the melodic contour changes shape as if the performer is inventing the melody spontaneously. The use of melodies borrowed from other parts of the score, as well as meter and mood changes in “What a Waste” and the cleverly subtle tonicizations in “I Love My Wife,” all of which contribute to the character study of two very different men, prepare us for the musical characterization of Abigail Adams in “Take Care of This House.”
“Take Care of This House” The number that most fully expressed the central dramatic action of Leonard Bernstein and Alan Jay Lerner’s 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, “Take Care of This House,” is sung by John Adams’s wife Abigail as she is about to assume residence in the newly constructed, though yet unfinished, edifice that would be known by future generations as the White House. The desolate area surrounding the building and the mawkishness of the new city of Washington create a less than positive impression on the first lady upon her arrival from Philadelphia, the previous residence of the first family, and she expresses her opinion quoting “On Ten Square Miles by the Potomac River,” the music Bernstein composed for the choice of Washington, DC, as the nation’s capital earlier in the show (example 14.14). Example 14.14 386
Analysis—Bernstein and Sondheim
Example 14.14 (Continued)
Note the ascending chromatic scale tones in the accompaniment lifting the musical phrase and advancing the dramatic energy. The original of the tune Abigail sings is in duple time so the meter change to 5/4 is significant: the ironic coupling of duple with triple meter seems a fitting accompaniment to Abigail’s sarcastic remarks. Each rest in the vocal line allows her to react internally to what she is experiencing, thus creating the illusion of spontaneity in her remarks. The house is drafty and unfinished, without even a staircase leading to the second floor. Abigail rings for a young African American servant named Lud (the same Lud who grows up to sing “I Love My Wife”) and confides in him (example 14.15). Example 14.15
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The Performance
Example 14.15 (Continued)
Accompanied by the atmospheric wind effect of perpetual-motion figures written in thirty-second notes, Abigail sings of hope with a melodic phrase that is repeated a perfect fourth lower for the lyrics, “first to come in.” This phrase in measures 4–5 of e xample 14.15 becomes the gestalt, or musical and dramatic core, of the through-composed number “Take Care of This House,” in which both the triplet figure and concept of hope have central functions (see example 14.16). The compact ABA song proper is composed as a variation on the first five notes of the melody, E–D–F–E–C, a motif that will find itself repeated, inverted, fragmented, extended, and reconfigured throughout the melody line and accompaniment. That the repetitions never appear monotonous is due in part to the ingenuity of the variations as well as Bernstein’s use of tonicization devices throughout that create harmonic interest as well as dramatic focus for the changing concepts in the lyrics. Structurally, the composer alters his tonal base for each line of the lyric: • Take care of this house, keep it from harm: tonal base—C major • If someone breaks in, sound the alarm: tonal base—B minor • Care for this house. Shine it by hand: tonal base—C major • And keep it so clean the glow can be seen all over the land: tonal base—A major • Be careful at night, check all the doors: tonal base—G major • If someone makes off with a dream, the dream will be yours: tonal base—A major • Take care of this house. Be always on call: tonal base—C major • For this house is the hope of us all: tonal base—mediant A𝄬 major/C major There is an elegant symmetry in the relationship of tonalities in the work: C–B–C followed by A–G–A, which, when reconfigured, forms the original motif transposed up a perfect fifth: B–A–C–B–G.
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Example 14.16
Example 14.16 (Continued)
The Performance
Example 14.16 (Continued)
Bernstein also differentiates between literal (practical) and figurative (philosophical) lyrics in his setting of the song, dramatically setting all the direct commands of a literal or practical sort in the key of C major, or its dominant G major. Figurative lyrics, such as “And keep it so clean the glow can be seen all over the land,” “If someone makes off with a dream, the dream will be yours,” and “For this house is the hope of us all” are set in mediant keys relevant to C major—A major and A𝄬 major, the last of which actually resolves to C in a flatted mediant cadence at the end of the piece (E𝄬, the V chord of A𝄬, is the flatted mediant in C). It is also noteworthy that the lyrics suggesting burglary (lines 2, 5, 6) are in adjacent keys (G major—one sharp, B minor—two sharps, A major—three sharps) that create a subtle tonal association for the lyrics. Note the subtle descending chromatic scale leading to C starting on measure sixteen of example 14.16. The E in the bass leads to E𝄬; the E𝄬 remains in the bass as a pedal tone in measure eighteen, but there is a D𝄬 at the bottom of the B𝄬 minor chord in the treble register that resolves to C major in the next measure. Such stepwise motion to and from tonicized phrases occurs throughout the work starting in measure four where the C♯ (the most dissonant tone in the harmonization and an appropriate climax to the lyrics, “If bandits break in”) resolves as a supertonic to B. The device appears again in measure six where the G functions as supertonic to F in the next measure, and where the D in measure seven resolves by half step to C♯ in measure eight. The B in the following measure leads to A in measure ten, and the A, in turn, resolves to G at the beginning of measure eleven. The D at the end of that measure leads to E and the D at the end of measure thirteen resolves again by half step to C♯. Bernstein’s pattern of voice leading both maintains a forward motion in the harmonization of the song and enables a seamless program of tonicization throughout the composition that sounds organic and necessary. Since the tonicization is integral to Lerner’s lyrics, Bernstein’s tight musical structure renders the words organic and necessary as well. The tripartite musical structure of “Take Care of This House” closely mirrors and drives the dramatic action: 390
• The first section, Abigail’s immediate response to the house; her sarcasm is reflected in the ironic evocation of a melody used earlier in the musical; • The second section, Abigail’s change, marking her realization of the existence of something special in the house; the music becomes atmospheric and her melodic line begins to identify a motif that connects the house with a feeling of hope. Her earlier response, more intellectual than emotional, begins to give way to feeling; • The third section, Abigail’s instructions to her young servant that are both practical and spiritual, allowing her to respond both emotionally and intellectually to the importance of the president’s house to Americans and America. The passionate, anthem-like music enables Abigail to communicate her feelings to the youth who proves that he has understood the instructions by joining her in a repetition of the third section. Abigail Adams ends the number in a very different place from where she began both musically and dramatically. Is it the dramatic event that propelled her change, or the music? In an extraordinary musical scene such as this, in which the music and dramatic event appear to
Analysis—Bernstein and Sondheim
motivate one another to create an organically inter-reliant work of musical theatre, the question is moot. To paraphrase Keats from “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” “Music is drama, drama music.”
Exercise 1 Using the above sample analyses as models, create a musical-dramatic analysis of either “Something’s Coming” or “Somewhere” from West Side Story, and “New York, New York” or “Lonely Town” from On the Town. Identify how the music of the selection effectively serves any or all of the following functions: • Creating a mood or tone; • Identifying character; • Playing subtext; • Establishing locale; • Creating emphasis; • Establishing the rhythm of the musical or dramatic event.
“With So Little to Be Sure Of” Example 14.17
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Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents’s Anyone Can Whistle concludes its three acts of madness and mistaken identity with forty-nine inmates returning to the asylum (colloquially known as the Cookie Jar) and the fiftieth, J. Bowden Hapgood (masquerading as a doctor throughout the musical) finally getting away. His escape is orchestrated by nurse Fay Apple who, disguised as “Ze Lady from Lourdes,” a French sexpot, allows herself to fall in love with him (something she could never do in the persona of the unapproachable, no-nonsense, and methodical nurse). Hapgood wants Fay to escape with him but she refuses, claiming to be too
The Performance
practical—not to mention, too important in her job—to consider leaving. As Hapgood turns to go, Fay stops him with a reprise of “Come Play wiz Me” (example 14.17, above) as a reminder of the fun they enjoyed together. Note the clever musical word-painting in measures 5–7 where syncopated neighbor tones jauntily suggest the movement of hips swaying. After a moment passes, it is Hapgood’s turn to reminisce in one of Sondheim’s most rhapsodic melodies, “With So Little to Be Sure Of” (example 14.18). Example 14.18
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With few substitutions, the harmonic pattern of every four-measure phrase in the A statement of this AABA structured melody follows the circle of fifths: iii (Em)–vi (Am)–ii7 (Dm7)–V7 (G7). This progression creates an ostinato effect (a musical pattern that continues to repeat while other musical components continue to change). According to Richard Hudson, writing in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, “Although powerful as forces of organization in purely musical terms, ostinatos have also been used for descriptive purposes: they usually occur at moments when action is suspended, either because of emotional intensity … or because resolution has been achieved” (Hudson 1980, XIV, 12). Stephen Sondheim who is candidly articulate about the creation of his work says nothing about the ostinato as being a dramatic choice in his discussion of the song in Finishing the Hat (Sondheim 2010, 138–39), or in Sondheim’s Broadway Musicals (Banfield 1993, 131–33) but since the lyric is part reminiscence, part Wittgensteinian epistemology, the use of an ostinato allows the listener to understand a forward motion provided by the circle of fifths but also a continual return to the beginning, as if the music itself, in the juxtaposition of changing and unchanging elements, is elaborating on the initial concept. Within the ostinato, for example, Sondheim employs subtle harmonic changes that elaborate upon the original falling fifth pattern. Like the film Groundhog Day—in which Bill Murray relives February 2 ad nauseam but in every repetition of the day, he makes a discovery that allows him to change—the ostinato assists in the creation of dramatic movement in the elaboration and intensification of the initial idea or objective. On another level, the ostinato often provides the performer with a useful musical obstacle that grounds the character in a place from which he or she seeks to escape.
Analysis—Bernstein and Sondheim
One of the few distinctive changes in the repeating chord progressions occurs in measures 13–16 of the song (example 14.19) where Sondheim employs a chromatic variant as a turnaround, a chordal pattern that leads to the second A section of the song. Example 14.19
In the turnaround, Sondheim continues the falling fifth ostinato but substitutes an E𝄬 augmented eleventh chord for what would have been an A7 in measure 2 and an A𝄬 major ninth chord for what would have been a D7 in measure 3. We have seen in Unit 12 how chords that are a tritone apart may substitute for one another: E𝄬7, for example, resolves to A𝄬 by a V–I progression and to D by respelling the E𝄬7 as an augmented sixth chord. A7, its tritone counterpart resolves to D by a V–I progression and to A𝄬 by respelling the A7 chord as an augmented sixth. In example 14.19, Sondheim replaces the continuous falling fifth structure with two central chords that are a perfect fifth apart from one another but only half steps away from the outer chords that enclose them. In the ongoing deconstruction of the concept of certainty in the number, the harmonic change draws attention to, and intensifies, the power of the lyrics, “I’m sure of here and now and us together” in which Hapgood realizes (and attempts to make Fay realize) that they need to stay together. With the B section of the number, Sondheim leaves the harmonic ostinato for a rhythmic ostinato (𝅘𝅥 𝅗𝅥 𝅘𝅥) in a series of ii7–V7 progressions over a pedal tone that drive the pulse of the dramatic event forward to a reiteration of the core lyric, “Everything that’s here and now and us together” (example 14.20, below). Note how the quarter-half-quarter rhythm of the accompaniment creates a kind of hypnotic undulation that sustains as well as propels the dramatic event of holding on to the past. Example 14.20
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The Performance
Example 14.20 (Continued)
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Note also how the B section builds to the “here and now” moment where the rhythmical pattern in the accompaniment is joined by the emphatic repetition of tones one half step apart in the melody (A and a dissonant neighbor tone, B𝄬), ultimately resolving by whole step to B♮ (example 14.20, measures 14–17). In this case, the repetition of tones not only adds emphasis to the lyrics, but it also adds tension because of the nonchord notes. Given the dramatic event of the number, it is not inappropriate that the release from tension occurs on the word “together.” Finally, note how the B section ends with an F7𝄬5 chord (or enharmonically a B7𝄬5) that will resolve to an Em7 with the recapitulation of the A section. A vestige of the musical device used in the turnaround (see example 14.19) and a prominent harmonic presence in “I’m Like the Bluebird,” the show’s opening number sung by the inmates of the asylum, the chromatic variant of the diatonic system may well serve to evoke the lunatics (the “cookies”), and the easy substitution of one system for the other musically might well suggest the inability to separate the sane from the insane, one of the major obstacles in the action of the musical.
Analysis—Bernstein and Sondheim
The original ostinato progression reappears with the recapitulation and the lyrics, “It was marvelous to know you/And it isn’t really through,” and continues through a twelve-measure coda, elaborating on the melodic phrase Sondheim inserted immediately before the B section, set to the lyrics, “Being sure enough of you/Makes me sure enough of me.” For the coda, the phrase is repeated three times, first with the lyrics, “Crazy bus’ness this, this life we live in,” and then with the music and lyrics of example 14.21. Example 14.21
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Note the lack of finality in measures 9–11 of the above example. The presence of an F♯ in the accompaniment at measures 9 and 11 recall the Lydian mode and imply a possible tonicization or modulation to G or some other related key. Even though a perfect fifth C–G functions as a pedal throughout, the chord progression of Bm7 to Am7 (or C6), especially with a sixth as the melody note does not bring the musical event to an end. Instead it adds Fay’s voice to the number and modulates to the key of A, where the original ostinato functions in exactly the same way it did in Hapgood’s chorus. Fay sings a counter line to the original melody that leads her to a new awareness of her need for Hapgood as she approaches the chromatically harmonized turnaround (see example 14.22).
The Performance
Example 14.22
Fay’s admission of need and the realization that that condition actually makes her happy prompts her to continue with the actual melody of the song, echoing Hapgood’s lyrics: “All I’ll ever be I’ll owe you/If there’s anything to be./Being sure enough of you/Made me sure enough of me.” Suddenly Hapgood re-experiences the happiness they shared (“The more I memorize your face,/The more I never want to leave”) and he once again asks Fay to go with him. The invitation leads both of them into a rhapsodic, contrapuntal duet using the music of the B section (example 14.23). Example 14.23
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Analysis—Bernstein and Sondheim
Example 14.23 (Continued)
Hapgood and Fay surrender to the passion of the moment, their counterpoint giving way to harmonizing on the core lyrics, “Ev’rything that’s here and now and us together.” Lost in the hypnotic reiteration of their past (ably assisted by the recurring ostinato) they sing the coda in unison, implying agreement since both voices pronounce the same words on the same notes, when, suddenly, just after the lyrics, “With so little to be sure of in this world,” and before the resolution of the number, the composer inserts a caesura—what musicians typically call “railroad tracks,” an unmeasured stop in the music. As Sondheim recalled in Finishing the Hat: The ending of “With So Little to Be Sure Of” was problematical: the final harmony was left unresolved, which made the fading farewell of the two lovers effective but left the audience unready to applaud when they wanted to. It was the same problem I had faced with the ending of “Rose’s Turn.” This time I was determined to resist the big false finish, but in the isolation of my Philadelphia hotel room during the tryout I couldn’t figure out how. So one evening I went down to the theater in the hope that I would get a Eureka! moment from seeing and hearing the song in its full panoply… . I knew that the quickest place to go would be the men’s room, which was down a long flight of stairs in the basement. I pushed through the door, sat down on one of the steps and held my hands over my ears to drown out the faint sounds of dialogue and music coming from the auditorium above so that I could concentrate on how to fix the cadence. (Sondheim 2010, 138) The solution the composer discovered was a variation of the conclusion of Hapgood’s chorus, “We had a moment” (see example 14.21), that involved Kay’s reiterating the lyrics “Hold me” (see example 14.24) over an accompaniment that maintained the Lydian feature of a raised fourth scale degree. The resulting chords—G♯m–F♯m–A—and a final cadence of B7 to A avoided an authentic cadence, thus allowing for the indeterminate conclusion for the number that Sondheim had envisioned. The presence of the raised fourth, which creates a tritone dissonance with the tonic, certainly implies a less than romantic, story-book ending, but the unadorned A major chord still suggests some sort of peaceful and positive resolution to follow and provides the audience with a cue for applause. This kind of indeterminacy is the only probable resolution for a number that finds the tonic chord in root position only at the final measure. Neither the chordal nor rhythmic ostinatos actually resolve to the tonic so a lack of finality pervades the music just as the lack of certainty occupies the lyrics.
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The Performance
Example 14.24
At the conclusion of the musical scene, Fay walks toward the asylum and Hapgood, in the opposite direction, toward the outside world mirroring the dramatic event that originally motivated the song.
Exercise 2 Using the above sample analyses as models, create a musical-dramatic analysis of either “Anyone Can Whistle” from Anyone Can Whistle or “Love, I Hear” from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and “Talent” from Road Show or “Every Day a Little Death” from A Little Night Music. Identify how the music of the selection effectively serves any or all of the following functions:
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• Creating a mood or tone; • Identifying character; • Playing subtext; • Establishing locale; • Creating emphasis; • Establishing the rhythm of the dramatic event.
Suggestions For Further Analysis Jerry Bock: “Too Close for Comfort” (Mr. Wonderful) Jerry Bock: “(I’ll Marry) the Very Next Man” (Fiorello!) Jerry Bock: “My Gentle Young Johnny” (Tenderloin) Cy Coleman: “On the Other Side of the Tracks” (Little Me) Cy Coleman: “Where Am I Going?” (Sweet Charity) Cy Coleman: “Never” (On the Twentieth Century)
Analysis—Bernstein and Sondheim
Larry Grossman: “Stay with Me, Nora” (A Doll’s Life) Larry Grossman: “To Make the Boy a Man” (Goodtime Charley) Larry Grossman: “Mama, a Rainbow” (Minnie’s Boys) John Kander: “A Quiet Thing” (Flora, the Red Menace) John Kander: “I Don’t Care Much” (Cabaret) John Kander: “The Day after That” (Kiss of the Spider Woman) Frank Loesser: “My Time of Day” (Guys and Dolls) Frank Loesser: “Somebody, Somewhere” (The Most Happy Fella) Frank Loesser: “Never Will I Marry” (Greenwillow) Frederick Loewe: “There But for You Go I” (Brigadoon) Frederick Loewe: “They Call the Wind Maria” (Paint Your Wagon) Frederick Loewe: “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face” (My Fair Lady) Charles Strouse: “A Lot of Livin’ to Do” (Bye Bye Birdie) Charles Strouse: “I Want to Be with You” (Golden Boy) Charles Strouse: “Welcome to the Theatre” (Applause) Jule Styne: “I Met a Girl” (Bells Are Ringing) Jule Styne: “Some People” (Gypsy) Jule Styne: “I’m the Greatest Star” (Funny Girl)
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15
Analysis—Andrew Lloyd Webber, William Finn, and Jason Robert Brown
In the two previous units the focus has been on musical-dramatic analyses of songs by significant musical theatre composers who had a profound influence on what historians have called “the Broadway sound.” Admittedly, a great many successful and popular theatre composers who have been represented in earlier units of this book were omitted, not because their work is unworthy of analysis but rather because their songs exhibited musical and dramatic issues similar to those pieces examined in the book. It is the hope that a study of the unique voices of George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers, Leonard Bernstein, and Stephen Sondheim can serve as a model for a musical-dramatic interpretation of any Broadway composer writing in the traditional Broadway medium. The three composers represented in this unit, Andrew Lloyd Webber, William Finn, and Jason Robert Brown are representative of a new wave of composers who injected the Broadway sound with rhythms, chord patterns, and vocal styles borrowed from rock idioms. These are, of course, only a small sampling of the composers writing for Broadway in a popular style and, as in the case of the traditional composers, many others have already been included in earlier units. It is the hope that the analyses below will assist in the study of any composer currently employing a contemporary idiom on Broadway.
“The Beauty Underneath” At the end of the first act of Love Never Dies, the Phantom of the Opera (now in New York City) finds himself inexplicably drawn to Christine’s ten-year-old son, Gustave. A piano performance by the lad causes the Phantom to suspect that he, rather than Raoul, might be the boy’s father; and when he questions the young man in “The Beauty Underneath,” an AB–ABC–ABC–AAA structured musical scene composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber to lyrics by Glenn Slater, the Phantom realizes that he and Gustave appear to share the same interests in things mystical (example 15.1 below).
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Example 15.1
Analysis—Lloyd Webber, Finn, and Brown
Example 15.1 (Continued)
The melodic line makes effective use of the exotic-sounding Phrygian mode to create a mysterious and mystical atmosphere; and even the non-Phrygian A natural in measure 4 does not appear out of place because its half-step relationship to A𝄬 mirrors the natural Phrygian relationship between F and G𝄬 in measures 1–2. The spare, virtually nonharmonic accompaniment, driven by a pervasive eighth-note pattern in a dark, lower octave, evoking the pulse of the older, menacing, and disfigured Phantom, permits the melody to suggests its own harmonization, reflecting musically the way the Phantom dramatically draws his own conclusions about the boy. The music creates a hypnotic mood in which the Phantom’s attempts to seduce the boy with his way of thinking lead him to become seduced by the boy into believing that he can trust him and reveal himself to him. Example 15.2
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With the B section of the number comes the rarely used Locrian mode beginning on F, with its tritone (the “devil’s interval”) between root and fifth scale degrees (example 15.2, measures 1–2). After creating two mirrored phrases in that mode, the composer shifts to F melodic minor for the final two phrases of the section. Like the use of the A natural in the previous section, the change of mode does not sound inappropriate since the melody notes in F melodic minor may also be interpreted in the Locrian mode starting on D (note how the final two measures of example 15.2 are the first two bars transposed down a minor third). This tonal indeterminacy adds to the mysterious and mystical tone of the scene and reflects the dramatic question: is Gustave the Phantom’s son? The boy’s responses to the Phantom’s queries might lead the Phantom to believe that they are kindred spirits, but without confirmation from the boy’s mother (and/or the usual steps to determine paternity), the only certainty is uncertainty. We first hear ten-year-old Gustave’s choirboy soprano in the C section of the number, composed in the key of E major, a tonality introduced in deceptive cadences at the end of the second and third B sections. Although the pulsating eighth-note figure continues through the C section, the presence of additional harmonic tones creates a more definite harmonization of
The Performance
the melodic line than in the earlier segments. An angelic diatonic harmony on the tonic triad gives way to a series of chromatic alterations beginning with the fourth measure where either an E augmented or C major tonality resolves to the tonic. The absence of the third (G♯) of an E augmented or fifth (G♮) of a C major triad makes it difficult to determine which—another of the significant indeterminacies of the musical number. In either case, the chromatic alteration is evocative of the kind of “space music” frequently encountered in popular film series such as Star Wars and Star Trek, but hardly original with either. And if that were insufficient to render the section atmospheric musically, melodic and harmonic chromatic alterations follow in the next two measures to produce a subtonic dominant seventh chord (D–F♯–A–C) that resolves (by way of a flatted leading tone cadence) to the tonic triad, E major (see e xample 15.3 below). Example 15.3
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Note how the chromatically altered chord in measure 2 of the above example lends a feeling of mysticism and strangeness to the word “beautiful” that appears to motivate a deeply felt reaction from the boy rather than a rational or intellectual one. The emotional response continues over the next three measures prompted by the subtonic harmonization that creates a much subtler and more atmospheric cadence than that propelled by a leading-tone chord. Much the same can be said of the Phantom’s reply, a realization that the boy is perhaps “too beautiful” to be the Phantom’s son. The subtonic declaration by the Phantom, “What I suspect cannot be,” is both emotionally driven and indeterminate since he adds another subtonic phrase that shines a ray of hope, “and yet, somehow we both see the very same way!” and resolves triumphantly in C major (the submediant of E minor). The change of tonal center accentuates the Phantom’s new hope and encourages Gustave to barrage him with questions about his newfound experience as the music returns to section A, the accompaniment of which has been enlarged to include a drone-like series of perfect fourths (C–F) that is often dissonant when juxtaposed with the melody, and that adds a subtle tension intensifying the dramatic event. The return to the B section finds Gustave and the Phantom singing together for the first time and using exactly the same words to describe the experience: the boy has been seduced by the world of the Phantom, and the Phantom seduced by the child’s reaction. The obvious intensification of their relationship is reflected in the modulation from E major to G𝄬 major
Analysis—Lloyd Webber, Finn, and Brown
that marks the return of the C section, in which the duo continue their seductive duet. Gustave’s lyrics, subtly reflecting the Phantom’s earlier in the number—“It’s all so beautiful! / Almost too beautiful!”—lead him to wonder in amazement, “How can this be what it seems?” The Phantom, in turn, joins him in an expression of the immediate experience, “All of my most secret dreams,/ Somehow set free!” The boy’s imagination is made real by the Phantom’s world; the beauty of the Phantom’s world is completed in the beauty of the boy. The section ends with the pair singing the word “free” on an F♯, the highest note of the song thus far, conveying the dynamic emotion experienced by each of the characters. Believing that the child’s mature words represent mature emotions, the Phantom decides to reveal his true appearance to the boy, certain that the bond between them will overcome any response of terror or disgust at the sight. The music abruptly returns to the A section in the original key of F minor (the previous section ended on a D major chord implying a resolution to G minor), a surprise that is heightened by a significant change in the Phantom’s vocal line (example 15.4). Example 15.4
In the three final statements of the A section, it is the accompaniment that sustains the melodic line, leaving the Phantom with a counterpoint that joins the melody only in measures concerned with the “beauty underneath.” Elsewhere, the slow rising counter line provides instructions to the boy in preparation for the climactic revelation. The second iteration of the section drives the Phantom up the octave where he assumes a godlike position, employing language (“To the spendour!/ And the glory!”) reminiscent of the doxology in the Christian “Lord’s Prayer” (“For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory”). The self-association with divinity at the beginning of a series of money notes results in an almost frenzied display of pride and confidence that continues through the next phrase, where the Phantom’s words to Gustave, “you’ll accept it! You’ll embrace it!,” appear more like predictions than commands, implying that the boy’s mind is so in tune with the Phantom that he has no choice but to respond as his father/master/lord expects. Singing the above words on the tonic note in a money-octave range suggests much less vulnerability on the part of the Phantom than in earlier sections where the indeterminate tonal base might imply vacillation and doubt. At length, in the third and final iteration of the section, the Phantom repeats the lyrics discussed above on even higher pitches and reveals his monstrous face to his son, who screams and runs away in horror. Having been seduced by what he surmised was a kindred spirit in his son, the Phantom permitted himself a full expression of his passion: to be accepted as he really is. Instead of attaining divinity, the Phantom is again reduced to monstrosity as Gustave’s scream abruptly stops the music, ending the well-crafted musical scene.
Exercise 1 Using the above sample analysis as a model, create a musical-dramatic analysis of either “Memory” (Cats) or “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” from Evita, and “Music of the Night”
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The Performance
(Phantom of the Opera) or “Love Changes Everything” from Aspects of Love. Identify how the music of the selection effectively serves any or all of the following functions: • Creating a mood or tone; • Identifying character; • Playing subtext; • Establishing locale; • Creating emphasis; • Establishing the rhythm of the dramatic event.
“The Baseball Game” William Finn’s musical scene, “The Baseball Game,” first introduced in Falsettoland and later used in Falsettos, is constructed like a through-composed concerted number or a “finaletto” in an operetta in which essential dramatic events are expressed musically through an assortment of melodic and harmonic devices. Finn’s particular construction resembles in form (though not always in key relationships) the classical rondo, with a repeating first subject (A) interspersed with melodic ideas of varying lengths (B, C, etc.). In “The Baseball Game,” the rondo is structured AB–AC–ADE–AFE–A. Such a structure allows the various dramatic events to be associated with musical themes or motifs that reflect the dynamics between the characters involved with the number, both on and offstage: Marvin, Jason (Marvin’s son), Trina (Jason’s mother and Marvin’s ex-wife), Whizzer (Marvin’s ex-lover), Dr. Charlotte (Marvin’s neighbor), Cordelia (a caterer, Dr. Charlotte’s lover), and Mendel (Marvin’s therapist and Trina’s present husband). The musical scene begins, in operetta-like fashion, with the ensemble (everyone except Jason and Whizzer) establishing the situation: “We’re sitting, and watching Jason play baseball.” The patter-like melody employs a number of major sevenths that add a subtle dissonance suggesting that this is not an entirely happy social event (example 15.5). Example 15.5
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Analysis—Lloyd Webber, Finn, and Brown
Example 15.5 (Continued)
Almost immediately, a new section (B) begins, in which Marvin expresses his dislike of baseball with a whining descending melodic line beginning on the minor seventh of the subdominant. The juxtaposition of Marvin’s minor sevenths with the major sevenths of the opening section creates an immediate understanding of Marvin’s position while the other characters comment on Jason’s baseball playing abilities in a variety of meters and syncopations creating the effect of natural dialogue (example 15.6). Example 15.6
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The Performance
Example 15.6 (Continued)
The ensemble returns to the first theme for a brief eight measures complaining about Jason’s errors and the anachronism of Jewish boys “who almost read Latin up battin’ and battin’ bad.” Mendel attempts to inspire courage in the players by reminding them of Sandy Koufax in a Latin-syncopated section (C), ironically propelled by Mendel’s earlier reference to the boys’ Latin studies (example 15.7). Example 15.7
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Analysis—Lloyd Webber, Finn, and Brown
Example 15.7 (Continued)
The sinewy and mesmerizing accompaniment of example 15.7 (measures 1–6) joins Mendel’s expansive melodic line in giving confidence and support to the young ball players. The accompaniment in measures 7–9 evokes a similar pattern in example 15.6 (measures 4–6) where it underscores negative phrases, such as “I hate baseball” and “We really wish he’d take this more seriously.” With Mendel’s words, it has a more conciliatory effect, particularly in transforming Marvin’s phrase (example 15.6, measure 4) into “copasetic” and “I think it can” (example 15.7, measures 9–11). Another iteration of the first section follows, continuing the baseball game and ending with the ensemble advising Jason to slide. The unexpected entrance of Whizzer initiates a new section (D) in the mediant key of F♯ (example 15.8) and draws the group’s attention momentarily away from the game and toward Marvin’s former lover who calmly explains that Jason had invited him, information that does not appear to surprise anyone in the ensemble. It is significant that while Whizzer is singing his simple (and repetitive) five-note melody, his accompaniment is an easy four staccato quarter notes with only the slightest hint of syncopation in the bass line, differentiating his dramatic rhythm from the rest of the group. When Trina comments on Whizzer’s presence, she attempts to reflect his cool demeanor, but almost immediately she is driven by the syncopated bass line back to the nervous chordal syncopation of Dr. Charlotte and Cordelia earlier in the scene (example 15.6, measures 5–6). It is disconcerting to her that Marvin’s former wife and former lover are in the same place at the same time (see example 15.8, measures 7–12). Example 15.8 407
The Performance
Example 15.8 (Continued)
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The section continues with the usually diplomatic Mendel noting, in a four-tone melody, that “Looking at Whizzer is like eating treyf” (the Yiddish word for food that does not conform to Jewish dietary laws), and Cordelia and Dr. Charlotte use the same tune to argue whether the “kid was out” or safe—a heated discussion that draws attention away from Whizzer and back to the baseball game. Instead of returning to the first section with commentary about the game (which had been the practice in the musical scene thus far), section D is followed by an extended duet between Marvin and Whizzer (section E, example 15.9) beginning with a slightly awkward and repetitive three-tone ascending motif with a tenuously syncopated accompaniment (measures 1–6) that gradually develops into a more lyrical phrase with the kind of syncopated (and seductive) Latin accompaniment (measures 9–16) that is often found in slower ragtime compositions, such as Scott Joplin’s “Heliotrope Bouquet.” Note how the Latin flavor is evocative of section C (example 15.7, measures 1–6) and how the rhythmic pattern of the accompaniment in measures 9 and 13 reflects the music at Whizzer’s entrance (example 15.8, measures 1 and 3). Suddenly, both men have forgotten about the baseball game and have become engaged in a game of their own.
Example 15.9
The Performance
Example 15.9 (Continued)
Marvin continues to press Whizzer about the bald spot (his one physical imperfection) for the final ten measures of the section (example 15.10). Note the reversal of expectations in the dynamics: instead of building mezzo forte to forte as the chord progression resolves, the composer writes a forte that resolves to a mezzo piano. What begins publicly as a tease evidently finds resolution in something more private and personal. Example 15.10
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Analysis—Lloyd Webber, Finn, and Brown
Example 15.10 (Continued)
Note the use of the G7 chord in measures 7–8 as an enharmonically spelled augmented sixth chord building to the resolution of I and V7 in B. There is a playfulness in the ragtime-like figures that accompany the vocal line and in the addition of the augmented sixth, elongating for two more measures the musical and dramatic build to the punch line, “I wanna run my hands through it.” The phrase is ironic since one typically runs one’s hands (or fingers) through hair, not the lack of it, and the remark certainly caps the sparring section between Marvin and Wheezer begun in example 15.9. That the phrase is marked mezzo piano does suggest that a real attraction still exists between Marvin and Whizzer, one that cannot be expressed in the presence of Mendel, Trina, Dr. Charlotte, and Cordelia. Measure 10 of example 15.10 leads, by means of an abrupt change of tonal center, to a reprise of section A in the original key of B𝄬 where the ensemble (except for Marvin and Whizzer) remind themselves (and the audience) that they are watching a baseball game and remark on Marvin’s behavior toward Whizzer (“We’re watching Marvin throw kisses”). Marvin and Whizzer join the group in time to note that Jason is on deck, ready to bat, a situation that propels Whizzer into the next section (F) in D𝄬. Alone he gives sound batting advice to Jason, guidance that is immediately appropriated by the others who reiterate it like an operetta chorus, softly behind him as he sings (see e xample 15.11). Note how the accompaniment to measures 4–6 reflects the chromatically ascending background of the “I think it can” segment (measures 9–11) of e xample 15.7, and how the phrase “head in the box” of Whizzer’s tune recalls the chromaticism of Marvin’s “I hate baseball” (example 15.6, measure 4), and Mendel’s “copasetic” (example 15.7, measure 9). Note also how Whizzer’s neighbor tone melodies, “in the box” (example 15.11, measure 3), “on the ball” (example 15.11, measure 4), and “then let it” (example 15.11, measure 6) evoke the phrase “we’re watching” (example 15.5, measure 5) each time the first section appears.
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Example 15.11
The Performance
Example 15.11 (Continued)
The section ends on a chord pattern identical with that of Whizzer’s entrance (see example 15.8, measure 1) and leads to a reprise of section E (again in the key of F♯ but now more serious than playful), which continues to deepen the attraction between the two men, although both are struggling to avoid it (“Please God, don’t let me make the same mistake”). Before the section comes to any dramatic resolution, Mendel draws attention to home plate where Jason is up at bat, causing everyone in the ensemble (except Marvin) to return to the opening section (example 15.12), this time in the key of A (a mediant relative of F♯). Example 15.12
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Example 15.12 (Continued)
The Performance
The final iteration of the principal subject (A section) of this rondo-like musical scene cleverly resolves the two interconnected dramatic events of Jason’s baseball game and Marvin’s attraction to Whizzer: if Jason, a Jewish boy, can get a hit, then, in answer to Marvin’s question, “Could it be possible to see you, or to kiss you, or to give you a call? Anything’s possible!” Because of the complex structure of Finn’s musical scene, a review of the musical and dramatic events is essential: • Section A (B𝄬): Ensemble (except Whizzer and Jason) explain where they are and what they are doing; • Section B (B𝄬): Individual commentary. Marvin expresses his dislike of baseball and the way Jason throws a ball; Dr. Charlotte and Cordelia wish Jason (who cares more about which girls to invite to his Bar Mitzvah than the game) would take baseball more seriously; Mendel likes the way Jason swings a bat; • Section A (B𝄬): Group expresses disappointment in Jason’s errors and the poor batting of the Jewish team; • Section C (B𝄬): Mendel attempts to encourage the team; • Section A (B𝄬): Ensemble continues to watch the game and give Jason advice; • Section D (F♯): Change of tonality with Whizzer’s entrance; individual commentary about Whizzer’s presence; Whizzer explains that he was invited by Jason and that he likes baseball (as opposed to Marvin); • Section E (F♯): Teasing duet between Marvin and Whizzer that exposes Marvin’s attraction to him; • Section A (B𝄬): Ensemble (except for Marvin and Whizzer) return their attention to the baseball game and note that Jason is on deck to bat; • Section F (D𝄬): Whizzer gives Jason batting advice, echoed by the others; note the tonal relationship between this section and the other Whizzer sections in F♯; • Section E (F♯): A more serious version of Marvin and Whizzer’s duet; with the difference of tone come variations in the melodic line and harmony; • Section A (A): The only iteration of the A section not in the key of B𝄬; the ensemble remarks on Jason’s turn at bat, and Marvin asks to see Whizzer again; the two dramatic events find a happy resolution.
Exercise 2 Using the above sample analysis as a model, create a musical-dramatic analysis of either “I’d Rather Be Sailing” (A New Brain) or “I’m Not That Smart” from The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and “One Song Glory” or “Light My Candle” from Jonathan Larson’s Rent. Identify how the music of the selection effectively serves any or all of the following functions: 414
• Creating a mood or tone; • Identifying character; • Playing subtext; • Establishing locale; • Creating emphasis; • Establishing the rhythm of the dramatic event.
“It’s Hard to Speak My Heart” Near the end of the first act of Jason Robert Brown and Alfred Uhry’s Tony-winning musical Parade, Leo Frank, a Brooklyn Jew who manages Atlanta’s National Pencil Factory, finds himself on trial for the murder of fourteen-year-old Mary Phagan, an employee at the factory. In an attempt to sway the jury’s opinion in his favor, Luther Rosser, Leo’s lawyer, calls on his client to make an unrehearsed and unprepared public statement, confident that his simple honesty and heartfelt words would be more than enough to acquit him. The simply constructed (AAA) and dramatically intense musical statement, “It’s Hard to Speak My Heart,” constitutes Frank’s entire address to the jury (example 15.13).
Analysis—Lloyd Webber, Finn, and Brown
Example 15.13
Against an ostinato of quarter-note perfect fourths, which seem to mark time, pulsating the seconds on a clock, a plaintive diatonic melody unfolds, accompanied by dissonances that modify the tune dramatically but that are not necessarily idiomatic to it. In other words, if the melody is the honest voice of Leo Frank, a natural blending of scale tones and leaps with characteristic motifs (major sixths and perfect fifths) reflecting the natural inflection of the individual’s speech patterns, the accompaniment expresses the tension of the dramatic situation in which the simple, honest man finds himself: the life-and-death necessity of expressing his inner feelings at a trial for a crime of which he needs to prove his innocence. Leo is unprepared, at a loss for words, and frightened as the moments tick by in the accompaniment. The terror he feels as he begins to speak to the court is expressed in the opening chord, C major with a raised fourth (the tension-bringing tritone) with an added major seventh (from the ostinato fourths). Although the accompaniment harmony becomes less dissonant as the melody develops (just as, having begun to speak, Leo might be less frightened of speaking), musical tension continues throughout all the chord structures in the first statement of the A section. Often the tension is created within the chord structure (with the addition of major seconds, or the tritone) but just as frequently, the tension arises from the juxtaposition of the melody with the accompaniment. The music suggests that Leo continues to feel uncomfortable throughout his speech. Example 15.14
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The Performance
The second iteration of the A section (example 15.14, above) begins with Leo’s proclamation of innocence. To the ostinato in the accompaniment is added a series of sixteenth-note arpeggios that outline the harmony. Although the sixteenth-note figures suggest a rising turbulence, the section is marked “Steady, calm,” an indication that Leo is struggling to maintain his composure in spite of the anxiety the music implies he might be feeling when speaking about the victim of the crime. The simple and honest melody does not change (except to conform to the natural scansion of the lyrics) to accommodate the more serious subject matter: Leo uses the same voice to speak about the murder as he did to express his inability to bare his soul. If the musical number were a lie-detector test, he would pass. The melody, however, does change at the beginning of the third statement (example 15.15 below). Evidently the turbulence introduced in the second iteration has succeeded in manifesting itself in Leo’s performance with the words “strongly” and “Intensely” marking the music. Instead of the lyrical opening phrase, Leo begins an octave higher and chromatically lowers the sixth and seventh degrees of the E major scale, creating pathos with his natural-minor pleas to the jury. Added to the now intense sixteenth-note arpeggios and quarter-note patterns marking time, tonal groups moving in and out of dissonance assist in creating even greater musical tension in the accompaniment. Example 15.15
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A notable difference in the third iteration of the melody occurs in the performance of the high E at the climax of the melody. In the first two statements of the A section, Leo is directed to sing the E in falsetto. In the second statement, the instruction “falsetto” is absent, but the indication ⭘ (typically used for harmonics—a lighter, higher sound) remains over the pitch. The third statement displays no direction in the vocal line but indicates a crescendo to fortissimo in the accompaniment—a dynamic that would invariably overwhelm the singer unless he were performing the note in full voice. The intensity of the dramatic situation, reflected in the emotionally crafted accompaniment, has been slowly building from the start of Leo’s address to the court. In the first two statements he defends himself quietly and rationally, but by the
Analysis—Lloyd Webber, Finn, and Brown
time he arrives at his final appeal, whether it is the expression on one or another juror’s face, his inability to control the feelings that continue to storm inside him, or a sudden burst of courage to speak his mind, something has caused a change in his approach, in his tactics for convincing the jury. Leo even invokes the name of God, something he knows to be forbidden, on the way to his final, full-voiced avowal, “I never raised my hand!” But after he sings the phrase, a series of decrescendos return Leo Frank to where the song began, begging the court to understand how he feels, while the stark quarter notes in fourths remind him of the fatality of time. The pianissimo conclusion of Leo’s statement is, perhaps, the greatest proof of his innocence: if it is so torturous for the man to defend himself, how could he possibly summon the strength to commit the crime?
Exercise 3 Using the above sample analysis as a model, create a musical-dramatic analysis of either “She Cries” (Songs for a New World) or “Moving Too Fast” from The Last Five Years. Identify how the music of the selection effectively serves any or all of the following functions: • Creating a mood or tone; • Identifying character; • Playing subtext; • Establishing locale; • Creating emphasis; • Establishing the rhythm of the dramatic event.
Suggestions For Further Analysis Stephen Schwartz: “The Wizard and I” (Wicked) Burt Bacharach: “Knowing When to Leave” (Promises, Promises) Al Carmines: “Capricious and Fickle” (Promenade) Sherman Edwards: “Momma Look Sharp” (1776) Stephen Flaherty: “Waiting for Life” (Once on This Island) Scott Frankel: “Another Winter in a Summer Town” (Grey Gardens) Gary Geld: “I Got Love” (Purlie) Adam Guettel: “The Light in the Piazza” (Light in the Piazza) Carol Hall: “Hard Candy Christmas” (The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas) Marvin Hamlisch: “Nothing” (A Chorus Line) Elton John: “The Circle of Life” (The Lion King) Henry Krieger: “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” (Dreamgirls) Michael John LaChiusa: “I Don’t Hear the Ocean” (Marie Christine) Galt MacDermot: “Easy to Be Hard” (Hair) Alan Menken: “Grow for Me” (Little Shop of Horrors) Roger Miller: “Leavin’s Not the Only Way to Go” (Big River) Lin-Manuel Miranda: “Everything I Know” (In the Heights) Marc Shaiman: “You Can’t Stop the Beat” (Hairspray) David Shire: “The Story Goes On” (Baby) Charlie Smalls: “If You Believe” (The Wiz) Lucy Simon: “Winter’s on the Wing” (The Secret Garden) Jeanine Tesori: “Story of My Life” (Shrek The Musical) Robert Waldman: “Sleepy Man” (The Robber Bridegroom) Frank Wildhorn: “This Is the Moment” (Jekyll & Hyde) David Yazbek: “Give Them What They Want” (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) Maury Yeston: “Unusual Way” (Nine)
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to acknowledge his colleagues and friends who have had a profound influence on his musical theatre experience both in the profession and academia, especially Sue Lawless, Sam and Peg Falcetti, Pembroke Davenport, Leo Brady, Bill Graham, John Morris, Susan Sarandon, Ray DeMattis, Jane Summerhays, Walter Bobbie, Annie Hodapp, Jimmy Hoskins, Neal Kenyon, John Berkman, Jay Norman, Dennis Courtney, Amy Saltz, Ray Harrison, Jan Peerce, Nell Carter, Gwen Verdon, Theodore Bikel, Elke Sommer, Aaron Gandy, Louisa Flaningam, Jim Walton, Jay Douglas, Frank Ventura, Dennis Buck, Mark Weston, Jeff Frankel, Paige O’Hara, Michael Piontek, Davis Gaines, Darren Bagert, Van Dean, Gayle Seaton, Kate Gelabert, George Judy, Marie Kemp, and Mary Saunders. He is also grateful to his peer reviewers for their insightful comments, corrections, and suggestions; his editors at Oxford University Press, Norman Hirschy and Lisbeth Redfield, for their patient and enthusiastic support; and to project manager, Mary Jo Rhodes, and copy editor, Patterson Lamb. He would especially like to thank the publishers and license holders who have given permission to quote at length from the following songs in their catalogs: “Alas, Am I Then Forsaken” from Emperor of the Moon Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 2008 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “The Baseball Game” from Falsettos Music and Lyrics by William Finn © l990, l99l WB Music Corp. and Ipsy Pipsy Music All rights administered by WB Music Corp. All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of Alfred Publishing Co. Inc. “Better Than” from Out of Line Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 2007 BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “A Curse upon That Faithless Maid” from Emperor of the Moon Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 2008 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Dancing” from Emperor of the Moon Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 2008 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media
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Acknowledgments
“Follow the Cross” from Let the Children Play Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 1975 by Crocus Music All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Fugue for Fops” from My Love to Your Wife Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 1978 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Happily Off to War” from The Coldest War of All Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by Leo Brady © 1969 by Crocus Music All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “How Can I Leave You?” from Let the Children Play Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 1975 by Crocus Music All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “How Shall I Swear to Love” from Love’s Labors Lost Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by William Shakespeare © 2009 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “I Love My Wife” from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner © Copyright 1976 by Alan Jay Lerner and Leonard Bernstein Published by Amberson Enterprises, Inc. as administrator for Amberson Enterprises, Inc. and Ayjayel Music, Inc. Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.; Sole Selling Agents. Boosey & Hawkes Publication: 1985 International Copyright Secured. Reprinted by permission of Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.
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“I’m So Happy I Could Dance” from Out of Line Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 2007 BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “I See the Trick” from Love’s Labors Lost Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by William Shakespeare © 2009 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media
Acknowledgments
All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “I Want to Go to Town” from My Love to Your Wife Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 1978 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Jealousy’s the Sign of Love” from My Love to Your Wife Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 1978 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Jolly Town Rake” from Emperor of the Moon Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 2008 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Let That Pass” from Love’s Labors Lost Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by William Shakespeare © 2009 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Living a Lie” from Kingfish! Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by Jeff Frankel © 1988 by John Franceschina and Jeff Frankel All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Love Letters” from Love’s Labors Lost Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by William Shakespeare © 2009 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Meadow Serenade” from Strike Up the Band Music by George Gershwin. Lyrics by Ira Gershwin © 1987 (Renewed) George Gershwin Music (ASCAP) and Ira Gershwin Music (ASCAP) All Rights Administered by WB Music Corp. All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of Alfred Publishing Co. Inc. “Me” from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
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© Copyright 1976 by Alan Jay Lerner and Leonard Bernstein. Published by Amberson Enterprises, Inc. as administrator for Amberson Enterprises, Inc. and Ayjayel Music, Inc. Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.; Sole Selling Agents. Boosey & Hawkes Publication: 1985 International Copyright Secured. Reprinted by permission of Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. “Men Come, Men Go” from The Coldest War of All Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by Leo Brady © 1969 by Crocus Music All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Off on a Quest” from Gawain and the Green Knight Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 1982 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “On a Day, Alack the Day!” From Love’s Labors Lost Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by William Shakespeare © 2009 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “One of These Springs” from The Day the Senate Fell in Love Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by Bruce Harrison © 1967 by Crocus Music All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “The Player Piano” from Louise Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 1979 by John Franceschina All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media
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“Rocking in the Old Canoe” from Dayton, Ohio Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by Paul Laurence Dunbar © 2011 by John Franceschina All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim © Copyright 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959 by Amberson Holdings LLC and Stephen Sondheim. Copyright renewed.
Acknowledgments
Leonard Bernstein Music Publishing Company LLC, publisher. Boosey & Hawkes, agent for rental. International copyright secured. Reprinted by permission of Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. “Somewhere There’s Always Someone” from Out of Line Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 2007 BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Soon” from Strike Up the Band Music and Lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin © 1929 (Renewed) WB Music Corp. All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of Alfred Publishing Co. Inc. “Take Care of this House” from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner © Copyright 1976 by Alan Jay Lerner and Leonard Bernstein. Published by Amberson Enterprises, Inc. as administrator for Amberson Enterprises, Inc. and Ayjayel Music, Inc. Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.; Sole Selling Agents. Boosey & Hawkes Publication: 1985 International Copyright Secured. Reprinted by permission of Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. “Tout au Tour” from Emperor of the Moon Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 2008 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Understudy Chorale” from Out of Line Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 2007 BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “What a Waste” from Wonderful Town Music by Leonard Bernstein. Lyrics by Betty Comden, and Adolph Green © Copyright 1953 by Amberson Holdings, LLC, and Betty Comden and Adolph Green. Copyright renewed. Reprinted by permission of Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. “When Does the Loving Start?” from My Love to Your Wife Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 1978 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “When I Hear Music I Dance” from Out of Line Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina
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© 2007 BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Who Loves You More” from My Love to Your Wife Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 1978 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Who Took the Moon” from The Coldest War of All Music by John Franceschina. Lyrics by Leo Brady © 1969 by Crocus Music All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “Will There Be Consolation?” from Gawain and the Green Knight Music and Lyrics by John Franceschina © 1982 by Alden Mills All Rights Administered by BearManor Media All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of BearManor Media “With So Little to Be Sure Of” from Anyone Can Whistle Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim © 1964 (Renewed) Burthen Music Company, Inc. All Rights Administered by Chappell & Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved Reprinted by permission of Alfred Publishing Co. Inc.
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ALPHABETICAL LIST OF MUSICAL THEATRE EXAMPLES The number following each entry refers to the number of each example in the text. “The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea” (Pacific Overtures) 12.14 “Agony” (Into the Woods) 1.30 “Alas, Am I Then Forsaken” (Emperor of the Moon) 1.46, 2.38 “All-American Prophet” (The Book of Mormon) 1.43, 11.7 “All Through the Night” (Anything Goes) 3.29 “Another Day” (Rent) 10.20, 11.1 “Another Hundred People” (Company) 12.16 “Another Op’nin’, Another Show” (Kiss Me, Kate) 4.4 “At the Ballet” (A Chorus Line) 9.34 “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd” (Sweeney Todd) 3.3 “The Baseball Game” (Falsettos) 15.5–15.12 “Beautiful, Beautiful World” (The Apple Tree) 9.8 “The Beauty Underneath” (Love Never Dies) 3.12, 15.1–15.4 “Better Than” (Out of Line) 12.12 “Big Black Man” (The Full Monty) 3.6 “Big, Blonde and Beautiful” (Hairspray) 1.39 “Big D” (The Most Happy Fella) 7.9 “Big Spender” (Sweet Charity) 12.1 “A Boy like That” (West Side Story) 8.10 “Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day” (The Mikado) 8.22 “Buenos Aires” (Evita) 10.6 “Build a Wall” (Shrek The Musical) 11.6 “Cabaret” (Cabaret) 4.16 “Carrying the Banner” (Newsies The Musical) 11.3 “City of Angels Theme” (City of Angels) 12.6 “Come Rain or Come Shine” (St. Louis Woman) 9.10 “Cuddle Up a Little Closer” (Three Twins) 4.40 “A Curse upon That Faithless Maid” (Emperor of the Moon) 2.39 “Dancing” (Emperor of the Moon) 9.36 “Dancing on the Ceiling” (Ever Green) 9.16 “Dear Friend” (She Loves Me) 3.14 “Dear World” (Dear World) 5.14 “Dixit Dóminus” (The Sound of Music) 3.1 “Do Me a Favor” (Carrie) 11.5 “Don’t Waste the Moon” (Carrie) 4.28 “Do–Re–Mi” (The Sound of Music) 4.10 “Eager Beaver” (No Strings) 1.23 “Ease On Down the Road” (The Wiz) 3.5 “Electricity” (Billy Elliot: The Musical) 10.18 “Embassy Lament” (Chess) 9.32 “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables” (Les Misérables) 11.9 “Everybody Says Don’t” (Anyone Can Whistle) 11.20 “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” (Gypsy) 5.25 “Expressing Yourself” (Billy Elliot: The Musical) 5.22 “Fiddler on the Roof” (Fiddler on the Roof) 3.8
425
Musical Theatre Examples
426
“Finale Act 2” (Yeomen of the Guard) 8.1 “Finaletto” (Strike Up the Band) 13.6 “Follow the Cross” (Let the Children Play) 3.22 “Frank Mills” (Hair) 6.14 “Freak Flag” (Shrek The Musical) 11.15 “A Freak like Me Needs Company” (Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark) 10.14 “Fugue for Fops” (My Love to Your Wife) 8.16 “Gee, Officer Krupke” (West Side Story) 11.2 “Giants in the Sky” (Into the Woods) 12.19 “Gifts of Love” (The Baker’s Wife) 4.12 “Gun Song” (Assassins) 4.29 “A Handful of Keys” (Ain’t Misbehavin’) 9.24 “Happily Off to War” (The Coldest War of All) 3.32 “Hasa Diga Eebowai” (The Book of Mormon) 8.15 “He Could Be a Star” (Billy Elliot: The Musical) 10.19 “Here in My Arms” (Dearest Enemy) 10.13 “Here She Comes, the Princess” (The Slim Princess) 8.28 “Hernando’s Hideaway” (The Pajama Game) 2.22 “He’s a Ladies’ Man” (Good News) 6.8 “High Times, Hard Times” (Newsies) 9.22, 9.30 “Hey, Look Me Over!” (Wildcat) 9.1 “Holmes and Watson” (Drat! The Cat!) 9.27 “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” (Finian’s Rainbow) 5.31 “How Can I Leave You?” (Let the Children Play) 3.23 “How I Feel” (The Me Nobody Knows) 2.14 “How Shall I Swear to Love” (Love’s Labors Lost) 10.31 “I Believe” (Spring Awakening) 7.7 “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You” (Evita) 10.27 “I, Don Quixote” (The Man of La Mancha) 2.31, 2.32 “I Don’t Want to Know” (Dear World) 5.13 “I Feel Pretty” (West Side Story) 1.28 “If He Walked into My Life” (Mame) 10.17 “If I Can’t Love Her” (Beauty and the Beast) 2.4 “If I Were Anybody Else but Me” (Naughty Marietta) 10.1 “If You Believe” (The Wiz) 6.17 “I’ll Cover You” (Rent) 10.29 “I’ll Tell You What I’ll Do” (Morocco Bound) 8.30 “I Love My Wife” (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) 14.9–14.13 “I Love to Cry at Weddings” (Sweet Charity) 11.11 “I Married an Angel” (I Married an Angel) 10.5 “I’m Glad to See You Got What You Want” (Celebration) 11.19 “Impossible” (Cinderella) 9.31 “I’m So Happy I Could Dance” (Out of Line) 1.1, 1.45, 5.9 “In a Doleful Train” (Patience) 8.7 “Into the Woods” (Into the Woods) 1.32 “I See the Trick” (Love’s Labors Lost) 11.23 “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here” (Annie) 1.24 “It Might as Well Be Spring” (State Fair) 4.9 “It Must Be So” (Candide) 1.26 “It Never Was You” (Knickerbocker Holiday) 9.14 “It’s Hard to Speak My Heart” (Parade) 15.13–15.15 “It’s Your Fault” (Drat! The Cat!) 2.25 “I Want to Be Happy” (No, No, Nanette) 6.9 “I Want to Go to Town” (My Love to Your Wife) 11.22
Musical Theatre Examples
“I Won’t Send Roses” (Mack and Mabel) 9.9 “Jealousy’s the Sign of Love” (My Love to Your Wife) 8.33 “Johanna” (Sweeney Todd) 4.17 “Jolly Town Rake” (Emperor of the Moon) 3.33 “A Kiss for Cinderella” (Of Thee I Sing) 7.17 “Kiss Me Again” (Mlle. Modiste) 4.42 “The Last Night of the World” (Miss Saigon) 1.40 “Last Midnight” (Into the Woods) 1.41 “The Last Part of Every Party” (Irene) 8.8 “Left Behind” (Spring Awakening) 10.30 “Life with Harold” (The Full Monty) 6.26 “The Little Girl Up There” (Three Twins) 4.41 “Living a Lie” (Kingfish!) 11.13 “Loads of Love” (No Strings) 2.20 “The Lorelei” (Sally) 5.1 “Losing My Mind” (Follies) 11.10 “Lost and Found” (City of Angels) 12.5 “Loudly Let the Trumpet Bray” (Iolanthe) 8.29 “Love Letters” (Love’s Labors Lost) 5.18 “Love, Look Away” (Flower Drum Song) 9.13 “Mack the Knife” (The Threepenny Opera) 6.24 “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now” (Hairspray) 6.18, 6.33 “Man” (The Full Monty) 9.35 “March of the Rangers” (Rio Rita) 7.6 “Maria” (West Side Story) 4.24 “Master of the House” (Les Misérables) 1.25 “Me” (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) 12.21, 14.3 “Meadowlark” (The Baker’s Wife) 12.17 “Meadow Serenade” (Strike Up the Band) 13.1–13.5 “Mean Ole Lion” (The Wiz) 6.16 “Men Come, Men Go” (The Coldest War of All) 10.33 “Miya Sama” (The Mikado) 3.25 “Moonbeams” (The Red Mill) 8.31 “More to the Story” (Shrek The Musical) 11.8 “Morning Hymn” (The Sound of Music) 7.1 “Motoring” (The Dollar Princess) 6.30 “Mountain Duet” (Chess) 12.11 “Music of the Night” (The Phantom of the Opera) 4.11 “My Favorite Things” (The Sound of Music) 2.29, 2.30 “My Lovey Dovey Baby” (Newsies) 9.5 “Nobody Told Me” (No Strings) 12.18 “No Good Deed” (Wicked) 12.15 “Not a Day Goes By” (Merrily We Roll Along) 11.18 “Nymph Errant” (Nymph Errant) 6.25 “The Ocarina” (Call Me Madam) 7.8 “The Old Red Hills of Home” (Parade) 12.22 “Off on a Quest,” (Gawain and the Green Knight) 3.21 “On a Day, Alack the Day!” (Love’s Labors Lost) 6.20 “Once a Year Day” (The Pajama Game) 11.14 “Once Upon Another Time” (Love Never Dies) 10.15 “Once We Were Kings” (Billy Elliot: The Musical) 5.35 “One Boy” (Bye Bye Birdie) 10.32 “One of These Springs” (The Day the Senate Fell in Love) 3.31 “On the Steps of the Palace” (Into the Woods) 1.31
427
Musical Theatre Examples
428
“Our Customary Attitude” (The Bride Elect) 7.16 “Our Language of Love” (Irma La Douce) 10.3 “Out on the Loose” (Rio Rita) 6.10 “Out Tonight” (Rent) 10.4 “Over the Rainbow” (The Wizard of Oz) 4.6 “People Will Say We’re in Love” (Oklahoma!) 4.5 “Perpetual Anticipation” (A Little Night Music) 7.10 “Pity the Child” (Chess) 12.10 “The Player Piano” (Louise) 2.37 “Poor, Poor Harry Horner” (My Love to Your Wife) 8.6 “A Puzzlement” (The King and I) 13.12–13.16 “Quartet Finale” (Candide) 8.27 “A Quiet Girl” (Wonderful Town) 10.11 “The Rhythm of Life” (Sweet Charity) 8.23 “Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody” (Sinbad) 9.20 “Rocking in the Old Canoe” (Dayton, Ohio) 2.36 “Scrap” (The Full Monty) 3.16 “The Shade of the Palm” (Florodora) 10.22 “Shine” (Billy Elliot: The Musical) 10.10 “Side by Side by Side” (Company) 5.20 “Simple” (Anyone Can Whistle) 8.25 “The Simple Joys of Maidenhood” (Camelot) 9.17 “Sixty Million Years Ago” (Celebration) 12.13 “Solidarity” (Billy Elliot: The Musical) 5.8 “Soliloquy” (Carousel) 5.33 “Solomon” (Nymph Errant) 2.24 “Somebody, Somewhere” (The Most Happy Fella) 11.21 “Someday I’m Gonna Fly” (The Yearling) 10.9 “Someone Else’s Story” (Chess) 5.27 “Something for the Boys” (Something for the Boys) 9.7 “Somewhere” (West Side Story) 4.18 “Somewhere There’s Always Someone” (Out of Line) 12.24 “Soon” (Strike Up the Band) 13.7–13.11 “Standing on the Corner” (The Most Happy Fella) 7.11 “Stranger in Paradise” (Kismet) 5.24 “Sunshine” (Sunny) 8.9 “Supreme Court Judges” (Of Thee I Sing) 3.27 “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” (Oklahoma!) 4.3 “Take Care of This House” (1600 Pennsylvania Avenue) 14.14–14.16 “Tango Amoroso” (Love’s Labors Lost) 5.2 “The Talk of the Town” (Irene) 6.13 “Ten Cents a Dance” (Simple Simon) 9.19 “There’s a Small Hotel” (On Your Toes) 1.21, 10.7 “There’s No Business like Show Business” (Annie Get Your Gun) 2.3 “The Telephone Hour” (Bye Bye Birdie) 1.34 “They Were You” (The Fantasticks) 5.29 “This Is Not Over Yet” (Parade) 12.20 “This Joint Is Jumpin’ ” (Ain’t Misbehavin’) 9.23 “Those You’ve Known” (Spring Awakening) 8.24 “Timeless to Me” (Hairspray) 1.38 “To and Fro” (The Earl and the Girl) 7.19 “Too Close for Comfort” (Mr. Wonderful) 2.28 “Too Many Mornings” (Follies) 11.17 “Tout au Tour” (Emperor of the Moon) 12.25
Musical Theatre Examples
“Tradition” (Fiddler on the Roof) 9.26 “Turn Back, O Man” (Godspell) 9.4 “Turn It Off” (The Book of Mormon) 11.4 “Two Ladies in de Shade of de Banana Tree” (House of Flowers) 4.15 “Understudy Chorale” (Out of Line) 8.26 “Unsuspecting Hearts” (Carrie) 11.16 “Veronique” (On the Twentieth Century) 11.12 “We Always Work the Public” (The Burgomaster) 10.21 “Welcome to the Sixties” (Hairspray) 1.42 “We’ve Swept the Halls” (Three Twins) 7.20 “What a Waste” (Wonderful Town) 14.1–14.8 “What You Don’t Know about Women” (City of Angels) 12.7 “When Anger Spreads Her Wing” (Princess Ida) 7.18 “When Does the Loving Start?” (My Love to Your Wife) 12.23 “When I Hear Music (I Dance)” (Out of Line) 1.37 “Where Do I Go?” (Hair) 6.15, 6.32 “Where I Want to Be” (Chess) 1.27 “Where or When” (Babes in Arms) 2.1 “Where You Are” (Kiss of the Spider Woman) 12.8 “Who Loves You More” (My Love to Your Wife) 5.38 “Who Took the Moon” (The Coldest War of All) 6.31 “Why Did I Choose You?” (The Yearling) 9.21 “Wild Rose” (Sally) 6.11 “Willkommen” (Cabaret) 6.21 “Will There Be Consolation?” (Gawain and the Green Knight) 3.20 “With So Little to Be Sure Of” (Anyone Can Whistle) 14.17–14.24 “Wooden Wedding” (One Touch of Venus) 9.15 “You and Me (But Mostly Me)” (The Book of Mormon) 10.28 “You Can Always Count on Me” (City of Angels) 10.23–10.26 “You Can’t Keep a Good Girl Down” (Sally) 6.12 “You Have Cast Your Shadow on the Sea” (The Boys from Syracuse) 1.20 “You’re Just in Love” (Call Me Madam) 8.32 “You Took Advantage of Me” (Present Arms) 9.6 “You’ve Got Possibilities” (It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman) 5.37
429
BIBLIOGRAPHY Scores Adler, Richard, Jerry Ross, George Abbott, and Douglass Wallop. Damn Yankees. Vocal Score. Boston: Frank Music, 1955. Adler, Richard, Jerry Ross, George Abbott, and Richard Bissell. The Pajama Game. Vocal Score. Boston: Frank Music, 1952. Distributed, Van Nuys, CA: Alfred, n.d. Andersson, Benny, Björn Ulvaeus, and Catherine Johnson. Mamma Mia! Vocal Selections. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred, 2002. Andersson, Benny, Björn Ulvaeus, and Tim Rice. Chess. Vocal Selections. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred, 1986. Arlen, Harold, and E. Y. Harburg. The Wizard of Oz. Vocal Selections. Secaucus, NJ: Warner Bros., 1997. Arlen, Harold, and Truman Capote. House of Flowers. Vocal Selections. New York: Edwin H. Morris, 1968. Distributed, New York: Charles Hansen, n.d. Berlin, Irving, Howard Lindsay, and Russel Crouse. Call me Madam. Vocal Score. London: Irving Berlin, Ltd., 1952. Bernstein, Elmer, Don Black, Richard Levinson, and William Link. Merlin. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1963. Bernstein, Leonard, and Alan Jay Lerner. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Manuscript Vocal Score. London: Boosey and Hawkes, 1985. Bernstein, Leonard, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, Joseph Fields, and Jerome Chodorov. Wonderful Town. Manuscript Vocal Score. New York: Tams-Witmark, [1977]. Bernstein, Leonard, Richard Wilbur, Lillian Hellman, John LaTouche, and Dorothy Parker. Candide. Vocal Score. New York: Amberson, 1955. Distributed, New York: G. Schirmer, n.d. Bernstein, Leonard, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents. West Side Story. Vocal Score. London: Boosey and Hawkes, 2000. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Bock, Jerry, Larry Holofcener, and George Weiss. Mr. Wonderful. Vocal Selections. N.p.: Laurel Music, 1956. Bock, Jerry, Sheldon Harnick, and Joe Masteroff. She Loves Me. Vocal Score. New York: Music Theatre International, n.d. Bock, Jerry, Sheldon Harnick, and Joseph Stein. Fiddler on the Roof. Vocal Score. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred, 1993. Bock, Jerry, Sheldon Harnick, Jerome Weidman, and George Abbott. Fiorello! Vocal Selections. N.p.: Sunbeam Music, 1960. Distributed, New York: Valando Music, 1960. Bono, and The Edge. Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Vocal Selections. N.p.: Universal Music, 2011. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Brooks, Mel, and Thomas Meehan. The Producers. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [2000]. Brown, Jason Robert. The Last Five Years. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [2002]. ________. Songs for a New World. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [1996]. Brown, Jason Robert, and Alfred Uhry. Parade. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [1999]. Carr, F. Osmond, Arthur Branscombe, and Adrian Ross. Morocco Bound. Vocal Score. London: Joseph Williams, 1893. Caryll, Ivan, and C. M. S. McLellan. The Pink Lady. Vocal Score. London: Chappell, 1911.
431
Bibliography
Caryll, Ivan, Percy Greenbank, and Seymour Hicks. The Earl and the Girl. Vocal Score. London: Chappell, 1904. Reprint. Breinigsville, PA: Kessinger, 2009. Coleman, Cy, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. On the Twentieth Century. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Coleman, Cy, Carolyn Leigh, and N. Richard Nash. Wildcat. Vocal Score. New York: Morley Music, 1964. Distributed, New York: Edwin H. Morris, n.d. Coleman, Cy, David Zippel, and Larry Gelbart. City of Angels. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Coleman, Cy, Dorothy Fields, and Neil Simon. Sweet Charity. Vocal Score. N.p.: Wise Publications, [1983]. Coleman, Cy, Michael Stewart, and Mark Bramble. Barnum. Vocal Selections. New York: Big 3 Music, 1980. Drake, Ervin. Her First Roman. Vocal Selections. Secaucus, NJ: Warner Bros., 1994. Drake, Ervin, and Budd and Stuart Schulberg. What Makes Sammy Run? Vocal Selections. Secaucus, NJ: Warner Bros., 1993. Du Prez, John, and Eric Idle. Spamalot. Vocal Score. New York: Theatrical Rights Worldwide, 2012. Edwards, Sherman. 1776. Vocal Selections. New York: G. Schirmer, 1964. Fall, Leo, A. M. Willner, F. Grünbaum, Basil Hood, and Adrian Ross. The Dollar Princess. Vocal Score. London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1908. Finn, William, and James Lapine. Falsettos. Vocal Selections. Secaucus, NJ: Warner Bros, 1992. Flaherty, Stephen, Lynn Ahrens, and Joseph Dougherty. My Favorite Year. Vocal Selections. Secaucus, NJ: Warner Bros., 1993. Forrest, George, and Robert Wright. Kismet. Vocal Score. Boston: Frank Music, 1955. Franceschina, John. Emperor of the Moon. Vocal Score. Sarasota, FL: Alden Mills, 2008. ________. Gawain and the Green Knight. Vocal Score. Sarasota, FL: Alden Mills, 1982. ________. Let the Children Play. Vocal Score. Washington, DC: Crocus Music, 1975. ________. Quadrille. Vocal Score. Sarasota, FL: Alden Mills, 1983. Franceschina, John, and Bruce Harrison. The Day the Senate Fell in Love. Vocal Score. Washington, DC: Crocus Music, 1967. Franceschina, John, and Jeffrey Frankel. Kingfish! Manuscript Vocal Score, 1988 Franceschina, John, and Julio Agustin Matos. Out of Line. Vocal Selections. Albany, GA.: BearManor Media, 2007. ________. Out of Line. Manuscript Full Score, 2006. Franceschina, John, and Leo Brady. The Coldest War of All. Vocal Score. Washington, DC: Crocus Music, 1969. Franceschina, John, and Mark Weston. Louise. Manuscript Vocal Score, 1979. Franceschina, John, and Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dayton, Ohio. Manuscript Vocal Score, 2011. Franceschina, John, George Judy, and William Shakespeare. Love’s Labors Lost. Full Score. Sarasota, FL: Alden Mills, 2009. 432
Franceschina, John, Neal Kenyon, and Brian McFadden. My Love to Your Wife. Vocal Score. Sarasota, FL: Alden Mills, 1978. Friedman, Gary William, Will Holt, and Herb Schapiro. The Me Nobody Knows. Vocal Selections. New York: Times Square Music, 1970. Gershwin, George, Ira Gershwin, and George S. Kaufman. Strike Up the Band. Vocal Score. Miami, FL: Warner Bros., n.d. Gershwin, George, Ira Gershwin, Fred Thompson, and Robert Benchley. Funny Face. New York: Warner Bros., 1984.
Bibliography
Gershwin, George, Ira Gershwin, George Kaufman, and Morrie Ryskind. Of Thee I Sing. Vocal Score. New York: Warner Bros., 1932. Gershwin, George, Ira Gershwin, Guy Bolton, and John McGowan. Girl Crazy. Vocal Selections. N.p.: Warner Bros., 1984. Gershwin, George, Ira Gershwin, Guy Bolton, and P. G. Wodehouse. Oh, Kay! Vocal Selections. New York: Warner Bros., 1984. Gore, Michael, Dean Pitchford, and Lawrence D. Cohen. Carrie: The Musical. Manuscript Vocal Score, n.d. Grossman, Larry, and Ellen Fitzhugh. Grind. Vocal Selections. New York: Tommy Valando, 1985. Grossman, Larry, and Hal Hackady. Minnie’s Boys. Vocal Selections. New York: New York Times Music, 1970. Grossman, Larry, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. A Doll’s Life. Vocal Selections. New York: Tommy Valando, 1982. Guettel, Adam, and Craig Lucas. The Light in the Piazza. Vocal Selections. New York: Williamson Music, 2005. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Hamlisch, Marvin, David Zippel, and Neil Simon. The Goodbye Girl. Vocal Selections. Secaucus, NY: Warner Bros., 1993. Hamlisch, Marvin, Edward Kleban, James Kirkwood, and Nicholas Dante. A Chorus Line. Vocal Score. New York: Edwin H. Morris, [1975]. Hansard, Glen, and Marketa Irglova. Once. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [2006]. Henderson, Ray, B. G. DeSylva, Lew Brown, and Laurence Schwab. Good News. Vocal Score. New York: Samuel French, 1932. Heneker, David, John Taylor, Hugh and Margaret Williams, and Ray Cooney. Charlie Girl. Vocal Selections. London: Chappell, 1986. Herbert, Victor, and Henry Blossom. Mlle. Modiste. Vocal Score. New York: M. Witmark, 1905. ________. The Princess, Pat. Vocal Score. New York: M. Witmark, 1915. Reprint. Breinigsville, PA: Kessinger, 2009. ________. The Red Mill. Vocal Score. New York: M. Witmark, 1906. Herbert, Victor, and Rida Johnson Young. Naughty Marietta. Vocal Score. New York: M. Witmark, 1910. Herman, Jerry, and Harvey Fierstein. La Cage aux Folles. Vocal Selections. New York: Jerryco, 1983. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Herman, Jerry, and Michael Stewart. Mack and Mabel. Vocal Selections. New York: Jerryco Music, 1974. Distributed, New York: Edwin H. Morris, n.d. Herman, Jerry, Jerome Lawrence, and Robert E. Lee. Dear World. Vocal Selections. New York: Jerryco Music, 1969. Distributed, New York: Edwin H. Morris, n.d. Herman, Jerry, Michael Stewart, and Mark Bramble. The Grand Tour. Vocal Selections. New York: Jerry Herman, 1979. Distributed, New York: G. Schirmer, n.d. Hollmann, Mark, and Greg Kotis. Urinetown. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [2001]. Hoschna, Karl L., Otto Hauerbach [Harbach], Mrs. R. Pacheco, and Charles Dickson. Three Twins. Vocal Score. New York: M. Witmark, 1908. John, Elton, and Lee Hall. Billy Elliot: The Musical. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [2005]. John, Elton, and Tim Rice. Aida. Vocal Selections. N.p.: Wonderland Music, 1998. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Kander, John, Fred Ebb, and Bob Fosse. Chicago. Vocal Selections. New York: Chappell, [1973]. Kander, John, Fred Ebb, and Joe Masteroff. Cabaret. Vocal Score. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1983.
433
Bibliography
Kander, John, Fred Ebb, and Rupert Holmes. Curtains. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [2007]. Kander, John, Fred Ebb, and Terrence McNally. Kiss of the Spider Woman. Vocal Selections. New York: Tommy Valando, n.d. Kern, Jerome, and Oscar Hammerstein II. Show Boat. Vocal Score. New York: T.B. Harms, 1927. ________. Music in the Air. Vocal Score. New York: T.B. Harms, 1933. Kern, Jerome, and Otto Harbach. The Cat and the Fiddle. Vocal Score. New York: T.B. Harms, 1932. ________. Roberta. Vocal Score. New York: T.B. Harms, 1933. Kern, Jerome, Guy Bolton, and Clifford Grey. Sally. Vocal Score. New York: T.B. Harms, 1920. Kern, Jerome, Otto Harbach, and Oscar Hammerstein II. Sunny. Vocal Score. New York: T.B. Harms, 1925. Lane, Burton, Alan Jay Lerner, and Joseph Stein. Carmelina. Vocal Selections. New York: Chappell, 1979. Lane, Burton, and E. Y. Harburg. Finian’s Rainbow. Vocal Score. Revised ed. New York: Chappell, 1968. Larson, Jonathan. Rent. Vocal Selections. N.p.: EMI Music, 1996. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Leigh, Mitch, Joe Darion, and Dale Wasserman. Man of La Mancha. Vocal Score. New York: Cherry Lane, 1986. Leigh, Mitch, Lee Adams, and Thomas Meehan. Ain’t Broadway Grand. Vocal Selections. Port Chester, NY: Cherry Lane Music, 1993. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Leonard, Michael, Herbert Martin, and Lore Noto. The Yearling. Vocal Selections. New York: Edwin H. Morris, 1966. Lippa, Andrew, Marshall Brickman, and Rick Elice. The Addams Family. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [2010]. Lloyd Webber, Andrew, and Tim Rice. Evita. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. ________. Jesus Christ Superstar. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Lloyd Webber, Andrew, Charles Hart, Richard Stilgoe, and Mike Batt. The Phantom of the Opera. Vocal Selections. London: Really Useful Group, 1986. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Lloyd Webber, Andrew, Don Black, and Christopher Hampton. Sunset Blvd. Vocal Selections. London: Really Useful Group, 1993. Lloyd Webber, Andrew, Glenn Slater, and Ben Elton. Love Never Dies. Vocal Selections. London: Really Useful Group, 2010. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Loesser, Frank. The Most Happy Fella. Vocal Score and Libretto. New York: Frank Music Corp., 1956. Distributed, New York: Bradley Publications, n.d. Loesser, Frank, Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock, and Willie Gilbert. How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Vocal Score. Boston: Frank Music, 1965. Loesser, Frank, and Lesser Samuels. Greenwillow. Vocal Score. New York: Music Theatre International, 1960. 434
Loesser, Frank, Jo Swerling, and Abe Burrows. Guys and Dolls. Vocal Score. Boston: Frank Music, 1953. Loewe, Frederick, and Alan Jay Lerner. Brigadoon. Vocal Score. New York: Tams-Witmark, n.d. ________. Camelot. Vocal Selections. New York: Chappell, 1961. ________. Gigi. Vocal Selections. New York: Chappell, 1974. ________. My Fair Lady. Vocal Score. New York: Chappell, 1956. ________. Paint Your Wagon. Vocal Score. New York: Chappell, 1953.
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Lopez, Robert, Jeff Marx, and Jeff Whitty. Avenue Q. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [2003]. MacDermot, Galt, Gerome Ragni, and James Rado. Hair. Vocal Selections. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Music, 2009. Menken, Alan, and Jack Feldman. Disney’s The Musical Newsies. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1992. Menken, Alan, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice. Disney’s Beauty and the Beast: The Broadway Musical. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1994. Menken, Alan, Howard Ashman, Glenn Slater, and Doug Wright. Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [2007]. Menken, Alan, Jack Feldman, and Harvey Fierstein. Newsies The Musical. Vocal Selections. N.p.: Wonderland Music Company, n.d. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Monnot, Marguerite, Alexandre Breffort, Julian More, David Heneker, and Monty Norman. Irma La Douce. Vocal Score. New York: Tams-Witmark, n.d. Parker, Trey, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. The Book of Mormon. Vocal Selections. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred Music, n.d. Porter, Cole, and Romney Brent. Nymph Errant. Vocal Selections. N.p.: Warner Bros., 1991. Porter, Cole, and Sam and Bella Spewack. Kiss Me, Kate. Vocal Score. New York: Chappell, [1967]. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Porter, Cole, Guy Bolton, P. G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsay, Russel Crouse, Timothy Crouse, and John Widman. Anything Goes. Manuscript Vocal Score. New York: Tams-Witmark Music Library, 1987. Rodgers, Richard, and Lorenz Hart. The Rodgers and Hart Songbook. Vocal Selections. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1951. Rodgers, Richard, and Oscar Hammerstein II. Carousel. Vocal Score. New York: Williamson, 1945. Distributed, Melville, NY: Belwin Mills, n.d. ________. The King and I. Vocal Score. London: Williamson, 1951. ________. Oklahoma! Vocal Score. New York: Williamson, 1943. ________. Pipe Dream. Vocal Score. New York: Williamson, 1956. Rodgers, Richard, and Samuel Taylor. No Strings. Vocal Score. New York: Williamson, 1962. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Rodgers, Richard, Lorenz Hart, and George Abbott. The Boys from Syracuse. Vocal Score. New York: Chappell, 1965. Rodgers, Richard, Lorenz Hart, and Herbert Fields. A Connecticut Yankee. Vocal Selections. New York: Warner Bros., 1984. Rodgers, Richard, Oscar Hammerstein II, and Joseph Fields. Flower Drum Song. Vocal Score. New York: Williamson, 1959. Rodgers, Richard, Oscar Hammerstein II, Howard Lindsay, and Russel Crouse. The Sound of Music. Vocal Score. New York: Williamson, 1960. Rosenthal, Laurence, and James Lipton. Sherry! Vocal Selections. New York: Chappell, [1967]. Russell, Willy. Blood Brothers. Vocal Selections. London: Wise, 1990. Distributed, London: Music Sales, n.d. Sandrich, Mark Jr., and Sidney Michaels. Ben Franklin in Paris. Vocal Selections. New York: Morley Music, 1965. Distributed, New York: Edwin H. Morris, n.d. Schafer, Milton, and Ira Levin. Drat! The Cat! Vocal Selections. New York: Edwin H. Morris, 1966. Schmidt, Harvey, and Tom Jones. Celebration. Vocal Score. New York: Portfolio/Chappell, 1970. ________. The Fantasticks. Vocal Score. New York: Chappell, 1963. ________. I Do! I Do! Vocal Score. New York: Portfolio/Chappell, [1968].
435
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Schmidt, Harvey, Tom Jones, and N. Richard Nash. 110 in the Shade. Vocal Score. New York: Chappell, 1964. Schönberg, Claude-Michel, Alain Boublil, and Richard Maltby Jr. Miss Saigon. Vocal Selections. New York: Alain Boublil Music, 1987. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1990. Schönberg, Claude-Michel, Alain Boublil, Herbert Kretzmer, Jean-Marc Natel, and James Fenton. Les Misérables. Vocal Selections. New York: Alain Boublil Music, 1987. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Schwartz, Stephen, and John-Michael Tebelak. Godspell. Vocal Score. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1983. Schwartz, Stephen, and Joseph Stein. The Baker’s Wife. Vocal Score. New York: Music Theatre International, n.d. Schwartz, Stephen, and Winnie Holzman. Wicked. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Shaiman, Marc, and Scott Wittman. Hairspray. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Sheik, Duncan, and Steven Sater. Spring Awakening. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, [2006]. Shire, David, Richard Maltby Jr., and Sybille Pearson. Baby. Vocal Score. New York: Music Theatre International, n.d. Smalls, Charlie, and William F. Brown. The Wiz. Vocal Selections. Los Angeles: Fox Fanfare Music, 1974. Sondheim, Stephen, and Arthur Laurents. Anyone Can Whistle. Vocal Score. New York: Burthen Music Company, 1968. Distributed, New York: Chappell, n.d. Sondheim, Stephen, and George Furth. Company. Vocal Score. New York: Herald Square Music/ Rilting Music, 1970. Reprint. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1983. ________. Merrily We Roll Along. Vocal Score. New York: Music Theatre International, n.d. Sondheim, Stephen, and Hugh Wheeler. A Little Night Music. Vocal Score. New York: Rilting/ Revelation Music, 1974. Distribution, New York: Tommy Valando, n.d. ________. Sweeney Todd. Vocal Score. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 2010. Sondheim, Stephen, and James Goldman. Follies. Vocal Score. New York: Charles Hansen/ Metromedia Music, n.d. Sondheim, Stephen, and James Lapine. Into the Woods. Vocal Score. New York: Rilting Music, 1987. Distribution, Secaucus, NJ: Warner Bros., n.d. Sondheim, Stephen, and John Weidman. Pacific Overtures. Vocal Score. New York: Revelation Music and Rilting Music, 1975. ________. Assassins. Vocal Score. New York: Rilting Music, 1990. ________. Road Show. Vocal Selections. New York: Rilting Music, 2003. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Sousa, John Philip. The Bride-Elect. Vocal Score. Cincinnati: John Church, 1897. Strouse, Charles, and Warren Leight. Mayor: The Musical. Vocal Selections. Miami, FL: Columbia Pictures, 1985. Strouse, Charles, Lee Adams, and Michael Stewart. Bye Bye Birdie. Vocal Selections. New York: Edwin H. Morris, 1963. Distributed, Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. 436
Strouse, Charles, Lee Adams, David Newman, and Robert Benton. It’s a Bird… It’s a Plane… It’s Superman. Vocal Selections. New York: Strada Music, 1966. Strouse, Charles, Martin Charnin, and Thomas Meehan. Annie. Vocal Selections. Miami, FL: Warner Bros., [1977]. Strouse, Charles, Richard Maltby Jr., and Arthur Laurents. Nick and Nora. Vocal Selections. Miami, FL: CPP/Belwin, 1993.
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Strouse, Charles, Stephen Schwartz, and Joseph Stein. Rags. Vocal Selections. Miami, FL: CPP/ Belwin, 1992. Stuart, Leslie, and Henry Blossom. The Slim Princess. Vocal Score. London: Chappell, 1910. Stuart, Leslie, Owen Hall, E. Boyd-Jones, and Paul Rubens. Florodora. Vocal Score. New York: T.B. Harms, 1899. Styne, Jule, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Arthur Laurents. Hallelujah, Baby! Vocal Selections. New York: Stratford Music/Chappell, [1967]. Styne, Jule, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green. Fade Out–Fade In. Vocal Selections. New York: Stratford Music/Chappell, [1964]. Styne, Jule, Bob Merrill, and Isobel Lennart. Funny Girl. Vocal Score. Van Nuys, CA: Alfred, 2011. Styne, Jule, Sammy Cahn, and Leonard Spigelgass. Look to the Lilies. Vocal Selections. New York: Chappell, [1970]. Styne, Jule, Stephen Sondheim, and Arthur Laurents. Gypsy. Vocal Score. New York: Williamson, 1959. Sullivan, Arthur, and W. S. Gilbert. Iolanthe. Vocal Score. New York: G. Schirmer, n.d. ________. The Mikado. Vocal Score. New York: William A. Pond, n.d. ________. Patience. Vocal Score. N.p.: J.M. Stoddart, 1881. ________. Princess Ida. Vocal Score. London: Chappell, n.d. Tesori, Jeanine, and David Lindsay-Abaire. Shrek The Musical. Vocal Selections. Piano/vocal arrangements by John Nicholas. N.p.: Cherry Lane Music, 2009. Tierney, Harry, Joseph McCarthy, and James Montgomery. Irene. Vocal Score. New York: Leo Feist, 1920. Tierney, Harry, Joseph McCarthy, Guy Bolton, and Fred Thompson. Rio Rita. Vocal Score. New York: Leo Feist, n.d. Walden, Stanley, and Jacques Levy. Back Country. Manuscript Vocal Selections. Weill, Kurt, and Maxwell Anderson. Knickerbocker Holiday. Vocal Score. New York: Crawford, 1938. Weill, Kurt, Ogden Nash, and S. J. Perelman. One Touch of Venus. Vocal Score. New York: Tams-Witmark, n.d. Willson, Meredith. The Music Man. Vocal Selections. Boston: Frank Music/Rinimer, 1957. Yazbek, David, and Terrence McNally. The Full Monty. Vocal Selections. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, n.d. Youmans, Vincent, Irving Caesar, Otto Harbach, and Frank Mandel. No, No, Nanette. Vocal Score. New York: Harms, 1925. Revised. New York: Warner Bros., 1972.
Secondary Sources Aldwell, Edward and Carl Schachter. Harmony and Voice Leading. 2nd edition. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers, 1989. Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music. 2nd edition, revised and enlarged. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1972. Banfield, Stephen. Sondheim’s Broadway Musicals. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1993. Berry, Wallace. Structural Functions in Music. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1976. Reprint. New York: Dover, 1987. Block, Geoffrey. Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. 2nd. edition, 2009. Bordman, Gerald. American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle. Expanded edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Burkholder, J. Peter, Donald Jay Grout, and Claude V. Palisca. A History of Western Music. 9th edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 2014.
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Campbell, Mike. Sightsinging: The Complete Method for Singers. Milwaukee: Hal Leonard, 1998. Comotti, Giovanni. Music in Greek and Roman Culture. Translated by Rosaria V. Munson. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989. Paperback edition, 1991. Cooper, Grosvenor, and Leonard B. Meyer. The Rhythmic Structure of Music. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1960. Fux, Johann Joseph. Gradus ad Parnassum. Vienna: Joannis Petri Van Ghelen, 1725. Hausam, Wiley, ed. The New American Musical: An Anthology from the End of the Century. Floyd Collins, Rent, Parade, The Wild Party. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2003. Hudson, Richard. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 20 vols. London: Macmillan, 1980, s.v. “Ostinato.” Jones, George Thaddeus. Music Theory: The Fundamental Concepts of Tonal Music including Notation, Terminology, and Harmony. New York: Barnes and Noble Books, 1974. Kivy, Peter. Music Alone: Philosophical Reflections on the Purely Musical Experience. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990. Koska, Stefan, and Dorothy Payne. Tonal Harmony: With an Introduction to Twentieth-Century Music. 3rd edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995. Laurents, Arthur, and Stephen Sondheim. Anyone Can Whistle. New York: Leon Amiel, 1976. Mann, Alfred, ed. and trans. The Study of Counterpoint: From Johann Joseph Fux’s Gradus Ad Parnassum. New York: W.W. Norton, 1971. McMillin, Scott. The Musical as Drama. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2006. O’Donnell, Laurence. “Music and the Brain.” www.cerebromente.org.br/n15/mente/musica. html. Piston, Walter. Harmony. 4th edition. Revised and expanded by Mark DeVoto. New York: W.W. Norton, 1978. Pollack, Howard. George Gershwin: His Life and Work. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006. Richards, Stanley, ed. Great Musicals of the American Theatre. Vol. 2. Radnor, PA: Clinton, 1976. Richards, Stanley, ed. Great Rock Musicals. New York: Stein and Day, 1979. Richards, Stanley, ed. Ten Great Musicals of the American Theatre. Radnor, PA: Clinton, 1973. Sondheim, Stephen. Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954–1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. ________. Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981–2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011. Stein, Leon. Structure and Style: The Study and Analysis of Musical Forms. Expanded edition. Miami: Summy-Birchard, 1979. Swain, Joseph P. The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
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INDEX AABA structure. See song structure: AABA structure ABA structure. See song structure: ABA structure AB structure. See song structure: AB structure accidentals, 15–17 double flat, 17, 53 double sharp, 17, 53 flat, 15–16 natural, 16 sharp, 15–16 An Actor Prepares, 4 Adam of Fulda, 63 “add” chords. See embellished chords: “add” chords The Addams Family, 76 Adler, Richard, 51, 83 “The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea,” 326 Aeolian mode. See modes: Aeolian “Agony,” 25–26 “Ah, Paris!,” 23 Ain’t Broadway Grand, 77, 87 Ain’t Misbehavin’, 32, 40, 247 “Alas, Am I Then Forsaken,” 35, 36, 59 Alice Cooper, 2 All American, 123 “All-American Prophet,” 19, 76, 289 “All I Ask of You,” 80, 91 “All I Need Now Is the Girl,” 16 “All That Jazz,” 81 “All That’s Known,” 80 “All the Dearly Beloved,” 76 “All the Things You Are,” 51, 55, 286 “All Through the Night,” 72, 375 “Along Came Bialy,” 81 altered chord. See chord: altered alternating bass, 142–143, 146 “America,” 26, 363 The American Musical Theatre: A Consideration, 4 American Popular Song: The Great Innovators 1900–1950, 4 Andersson, Benny, 24, 77, 80, 83, 84, 85, 87, 91 “And I am Telling You I’m Not Going,” 364, 417 “And Then There Were None,” 83 “Angel of Music,” 78 Annie, 23, 32, 105, 123 Annie Get Your Gun, 32, 40, 203, 258, 375 “Another Day,” 269, 285, 286, 291 “Another Hundred People,” 76, 328, 364, 378 “Another Op’nin’, Another Show,” 77 “Another Winter in a Summer Town,” 417 antecedent phrase, 259, 270, 303, 308, 321, 344, 352, 369. See also song structure: phrase “Anthem,” 126
439
anticipation. See nonchord tones: anticipation “Anyone Can Whistle,” 81, 84, 398 Anyone Can Whistle, 4, 76, 81, 207, 301, 376, 391–398 Anything Goes, 72, 375 Applause, 399 The Apple Tree, 238–239 appoggiatura. See nonchord tones: appoggiatura Aristotle, 2, 136 arpeggio, 105, 110, 115, 192, 313, 327, 351, 352, 374, 416 articulation marks, 37 “As Long as You’re Mine,” 78 Aspects of Love, 40, 125, 128, 404 Assassins, 85, 90, 376 As Thousands Cheer, 32, 375 “At the Ballet,” 252–253 “At the End of the Day,” 80 Augmentation, 19–21 augmented sixth chord, 248, 249–251, 276, 294, 295, 301, 317, 337, 344, 374–375, 393, 411 French augmented sixth chord, 249–250, 301, 337 German augmented sixth chord, 249–250 Italian augmented sixth chord, 249–250 augmented sixth chord modulation. See modulation: augmented sixth chord modulation authentic cadence. See cadence: authentic cadence Babes in Arms, 39, 47, 55, 105, 129 Baby, 417 Bacharach, Burt, 417 Bachman-Turner Overdrive, 2 “backdoor” cadence. See cadence: “backdoor” cadence “Bajour,” 64 Bajour, 64 The Baker’s Wife, 81, 91, 329 “The Ballad of Guiteau,” 85 “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” 63 The Band, 2 The Band Wagon, 375 Banfield, Stephen, 4, 392 bar line, 12, 21, 27, 36, 116, 201 double bar line, 12, 21, 36, 116 shaded double bar line, 12, 21 single bar line, 12, 21 Barnum, 77, 80 “The Baseball Game,” 404–414 bass clef. See clef: bass clef “Be a Lion,” 24 beat, 1, 2, 21–29, 30–32, 35, 36, 51, 88, 126, 141, 145, 175, 178, 179, 180, 187, 192, 194, 195, 197, 200, 253, 279, 329, 367, 373, 374
Index
440
A Beautiful Game, 78 “Beautiful, Beautiful World,” 238–239 Beauty and the Beast, 40 “The Beauty Underneath,” 66, 83, 400–403 Beehive, 26 “Be Happy,” 47 Behn, Aphra, 35 “Believe Me,” 26 Bell, John, 3 Bells Are Ringing, 16, 83, 399 “Beneath a Moonless Sky,” 91 Ben Franklin in Paris, 80, 81, 91 Berlin, Irving, 40, 55, 155, 170, 203, 223, 375 Bernstein, Elmer, 77, 78 Bernstein, Leonard, 4, 18, 23, 24, 25, 55, 66, 77, 84, 85, 101, 140, 194, 208, 214, 264, 336–337, 376–391, 400 “Bess, You Is My Woman Now,” 67 The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, 417 “The Best of All Possible Worlds,” 77 “Betrayed,” 77 Betsy, 55 “Better Than,” 321–323 Between the Devil, 375 “Big Black Man,” 63 “Big, Blonde and Beautiful,” 16, 31, “Big D,” 171–172 Big River, 417 “Big Spender,” 313 Billy Elliot: The Musical, 76, 78, 80, 106, 123, 128, 264, 268 “The Bitch of Living,” 83 “Black and Blue,” 32 The Black Crook, 236 Block, Geoffrey, 4 Bloomer Girl, 67 The Blue Danube, 2 “The Blue Room,” 126 blues, 52, 67, 84, 92, 149, 316 “Blue Skies,” 55 Bock, Jerry, 24, 47, 55, 66, 77, 83, 87, 105, 398 The Book of Mormon, 19, 31, 32, 76, 83, 128, 197, 277, 287, 289 “Boom, Chica Boom,” 32 Bounce, 376 “Bouncing Off the Walls,” 80 “The Boy From,” 129 “A Boy like That,” 24, 194–195 The Boys from Syracuse, 21, 24, 127, 258 “Brave Sir Robin,” 77 breve. See note: breve The Bride Elect, 176–177 Brigadoon, 23, 25, 399 “Brightly Dawns Our Wedding Day,” 203–204 “Bring Him Home,” 36, 78 “Broadway Baby,” 87 The Broadway Musical: A Critical and Musical Survey, 4
Brooks, Mel, 77, 78, 80, 81, 83, 85, Brown, Jason Robert, 4, 336, 337, 400, 414–417 “Buenos Aires,” 262 “Build a Wall,” 288–289 Building a Character, 4 The Burgomaster, 270–271 Bye Bye Birdie, 28, 279–280 “By Myself,” 375 “Cabaret,” 83, 258, Cabaret, 28, 36, 77, 83, 125, 152–153, 258, 364, 399 cadence, 5, 259–280, 344, 352, 367, 375, 378, 384, 397, 402 authentic cadence, 260–263, 264, 285, 397 “backdoor” cadence, 276–280 chromatic leading-tone cadence, 278–279 deceptive cadence, 267–270, 285, 291, 326, 401 final cadence, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 270, 397 flatted leading-tone cadence, 277–278, 402 flatted mediant cadence, 276–277, 390 flatted submediant cadence, 277 flatted supertonic cadence, 276 half cadence, 263–264, 374, 383 imperfect authentic cadence, 260, 261–263 internal cadence, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 268–269, 270 perfect authentic cadence, 260–261 plagal cadence, 265–266, 317 turnaround, 279–280, 393, 394, 395 “La Cage Aux Folles,” 56, 87 La Cage Aux Folles, 56, 87, 91 Call Me Madam, 129, 155, 170–171, 203, 223 “Call Me Savage,” 32 cambiata, 187–188 Camelot, 245, 258 Can-Can, 56, 165, 258 Candide, 18, 23, 25, 77, 214, 376 “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man,” 149 cantus firmus, 166, 167, 174, 175, 177, 202 “Capricious and Fickle,” 417 Carmelina, 76 Carmines, Al, 417 Carousel, 81, 127, 286, 372, 374, 375 Carrie, 32, 76, 80, 89–90, 288, 295 “Carrying the Banner,” 286 Caryll, Ivan, 180 Cats, 121, 403 Celebration, 63, 66, 300–301, 325–326 changing tones. See nonchord tones: changing tones “Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White,” 156 Chess, 24, 25, 27, 80, 84, 85, 91, 125, 126, 251, 319–320 Chicago, 81 Chicurel, Steven R., 3 “Children of the Wind,” 91 chord, 4, 5, 7, 101, 102–121 altered, 5, 137, 149, 234–238, 241–254, 276–279, 291, 295, 303, 307, 344, 351, 402
Index augmented, 103, 104, 106, 110, 111, 127, 137, 138, 224, 402 augmented seventh, 112, 113, 115, 138 diatonic, 5, 6, 47, 137, 138, 139–141, 149, 152, 154, 234, 235, 241, 248, 252, 254, 260, 266, 267, 280, 285, 287, 291, 295, 307, 308, 313, 327, 329, 373, 374, 386, 394, 402, 415 diminished, 103, 104, 106, 110, 111, 113, 114, 136, 137, 145, 149, 235, 241, 242, 243, 253, 276, 307, diminished seventh, 112–113, 114, 115, 138, 149, 241, 242, 243–246, 276, 292–293, 295, 307, dominant seventh, 112, 115, 138, 141, 143, 144, 145, 154, 234, 235–238, 241, 243–245, 250–254, 293–295, 313–314, 337, 384, 402 eleventh, 4, 313–317, 319, 366, 393 half-diminished seventh, 112–113, 115, 138, 153, 155, 241, 242, 251 inversion, 4, 105–107, 111, 115, 118, 128, 130, 143, 153, 154, 155, 157, 235, 244, 246, 248, 251, 266, 277, 301, 316, major, 103–107, 110–112, 136–139, 141, 149, 150, 154, 157, 188, 192, 234, 235, 236, 241, 243, 244, 245, 248, 251, 252, 254, 267, 278, 285, 287, 288, 290, 291, 293, 313, 314, 316, 319, 326, 374, 381, 383, 390, 397, 402, 403, 415 major seventh, 112, 113, 114, 115, 138–139, 155, 307, 314, 326, 404, 405 major sixth, 152–156 minor, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 110, 111, 112, 113, 136, 137, 144, 149, 150, 235, 236, 238, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 252, 265, 266, 267, 276, 288, 316, 374, 381, 384, 385, 390 minor seventh, 112, 115, 138, 153, 154, 155, 243, 245, 252, 253, 266, 307, 313, 314, 405 minor sixth, 152–156 ninth, 4, 313–317, 319, 320–321, 326, 393 seventh, 112–121 thirteenth, 4, 313–317 triad, 4, 5, 103–107, 110–115, 130, 138, 141, 145, 152, 154, 156, 157, 167, 175, 188, 196, 201, 234, 235, 236, 241, 242, 243, 249, 253, 254, 314, 319, 325, 326, 327, 351, 383, 402 chord functionality, 140–146 dominant, 112, 137, 138, 141–146, 149, 154, 235, 236, 243, 245, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 263, 266, 276, 279, 287, 291, 292, 293, 294, 300, 301, 328, 365, 390 leading tone, 137, 143, 234, 241–243, 245, 253, 277–279, 292, 317, 344, 402 mediant, 137, 145, 276–277, 287–288, 289, 291, 295, 301, 366, 372, 381, 383, 384, 388, 390, 407, 412 subdominant, 137, 141, 142, 144, 145, 149, 154, 236, 243, 252, 265, 266, 269, 290, 291, 294, 300, 405 submediant, 137, 141, 142, 144, 243, 253, 267, 277, 290, 301, 316, 374, 385, 402 subtonic, 137, 253, 277, 365, 383, 402 supertonic, 137, 144, 188, 245, 248, 266, 276, 278, 294, 390
tonic, 136, 137, 141–146, 149, 154, 155, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 241–246, 248–253, 260–263, 265, 266, 267, 276–279, 288–290, 294, 300, 301, 303, 313, 325, 336, 352, 365, 367, 374, 383, 384, 397, 402, 403 chord progression, 49, 136–149, 150, 254, 344, 373, 393, 395, 410 chord tones, 104–105 chorus. See song structure: chorus A Chorus Line, 81, 87, 165, 252, 417 chromatic leading-tone cadence. See cadence: chromatic leading-tone cadence chromatic scale. See scale: chromatic scale “Chrysanthemum Tea,” 78 Cinderella, 40, 251 circle of fifths, 50–51, 55, 113, 141, 145, 149, 234, 237, 238, 253, 264, 300, 365, 374, 392 “The Circle of Life,” 417 City of Angels, 128, 273–275, 316, 317–318 “City of Angels Theme,” 317 clef, 12, 13, 21, 33, 35, 41 bass clef, 12, 13, 105 treble clef, 12, 13, 105 “Climb Every Mountain,” 66 The Coldest War of All, 73, 161, 280, Coleman, Cy, 77, 80, 205, 234, 273, 316, 398 “The Colors of My Life,” 77, 80 “Comedy Tonight,” 77 “Come Follow the Band,” 80 “Come Rain or Come Shine,” 238, 240 “Come Up to My Office,” 128 common chord modulation. See modulation: common chord modulation common time. See time signature: common time common tone diminished chord, 244–245 common tone modulation. See modulation: common tone modulation Company, 25, 76, 122, 124, 129, 328, 364, 376 compound meter. See meter: compound meter consequent phrase, 259, 270, 303, 308, 321, 344, 352, 369. See also song structure: phrase consonance, 92–93, 187, 195, 321, 327, 330, 337, 386 imperfect, 93, 167 perfect, 93, 167, 188 “Cool,” 66, 87, 208 counterpoint, 4, 5, 6, 165–223, 397, 403 first species, 166–173, 174, 175, 195, 200, 203, 206, 214, second species, 174–180, 187, 192, 195, 203, 206 third species, 180, 187–195, 203, 205, 206 fourth species, 195–199, 200, 203 fifth species, 174, 199–207, 214 “Cuddle Up a Little Closer,” 96 “A Curse upon That Faithless Maid,” 59, 61 cut time. See time signature: cut time Damn Yankees, 23, 124 “Dancing,” 254–257 “Dancing in the Dark,” 375
441
Index
442
“Dancing on the Ceiling,” 39, 244 “Dancing with the Fools,” 87 Davenport, Pembroke, 6 “The Day after That,” 399 The Day the Senate Fell in Love, 73 Dayton, Ohio, 59 Dearest Enemy, 265 “Dear Friend,” 16, 66, 83 “Dear World,” 113–114 Dear World, 113, 123, 125, 155 deceptive cadence. See cadence: deceptive cadence “Deep Into the Ground,” 78 “Defying Gravity,” 91 “Devil’s Interval.” See interval: tritone “Devil Take the Hindmost,” 87 Diamond, Dr. John, 2 diatonic, 6, 47, 234, 248, 252, 260, 266, 267, 280, 285, 291, 308, 313, 327, 373, 374, 386, 394, 402, 415. See also chord diminished seventh modulation. See modulation: diminished seventh modulation “Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead,” 67 direct modulation. See modulation: direct modulation Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 417 dissonance, 92–93, 114, 121, 178, 180, 187, 192, 194, 195, 313, 314, 316, 327, 329, 330, 335, 337, 373, 377, 383, 386, 397, 404, 415, 416 “Dixit Dóminus,” 62 “DIY World,” 76 “Do I Hear a Waltz?,” 127 Do I Hear a Waltz?, 72, 127 The Dollar Princess, 159 A Doll’s Life, 24, 399 “Do Me a Favor,” 32, 288 dominant, 49, 63, 65, 66, 72. See also chord functionality: dominant “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” 403 “Don’t Waste the Moon,” 76, 89–90 The Doors, 2 “Do–Re–Mi,” 43, 80, 122 Dorian mode. See mode: Dorian dotted note. See note: dotted note double dotted note. See note: double dotted note double flat. See accidentals: double flat double sharp. See accidentals: double sharp double whole note. See note: breve double whole rest. See rest: double whole rest downbeat, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, 35, 178, 190, 367, 371 “Down On MacConnachy Square,” 23 Drat! The Cat!, 52, 127, 129, 248 Dreamgirls, 364, 417 duple meter. See meter: duple meter duration, 12, 17–18, 19, 20, 21 dynamic marking, 37 “Eager Beaver,” 23, 76 The Earl and the Girl, 180
“Ease On Down the Road,” 63 “Easy to Be Hard,” 417 Ebb, Fred, 152 Edwards, Sherman, 67, 417 eighth note. See note: eighth note eighth rest. See rest: eighth rest “Electricity,” 268 “Embassy Lament,” 251 embellished chords, 5, 313–318, 319 “add” chords, 319–321 “sus” chords, 319–321 Emperor of the Moon, 35, 59, 73, 254, 351 “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” 291–292 Enchanted Evenings: The Broadway Musical from Show Boat to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber, 4 Engel, Lehman, 4 enharmonic, 3, 16, 41, 72, 85, 86, 87, 113, 243, 246, 249, 250, 276, 291, 292, 293, 295, 301, 314, 317, 319, 326, 337, 374, 375, 380, 394, 411 escape tones. See nonchord tones: escape tones “Evelina,” 67 Ever Green, 39, 244 “Everybody Says Don’t,” 76, 81, 301, 302 “Everybody Wants To Do a Musical,” 80 “Every Day a Little Death,” 398 “Everything I Know,” 417 “Everything’s Alright,” 27 “Everything’s Coming up Roses,” 83, 122, 124, 126 Evita, 262, 276, 403 “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye,” 56 expression marks, 37–38 “Expressing Yourself,” 123 Fade Out—Fade In, 32 “Falling in Love with Love,” 24 Falsettoland, 404 Falsettos, 4, 404 The Fantasticks, 40, 126 “Far from the Home I Love,” 56, 64 “Fathoms Below,” 77 “Fiddler on the Roof,” 64 Fiddler on the Roof, 47, 56, 64, 77, 105, 121, 248, 313 fifth species counterpoint. See counterpoint: fifth species figured bass, 1, 105, 115 final cadence. See cadence: final cadence “Finale Act Two,” (Yeomen of the Guard), 187 “Finaletto” (Strike Up the Band), 368 Finian’s Rainbow, 23, 125, 126, 258 Finishing the Hat, 392, 397 Finn, William, 4, 400, 404–414 Fiorello!, 24, 87, 125, 398 Firebrand of Florence, 66 first species counterpoint. See counterpoint: first species Flaherty, Stephen, 417 flat. See accidentals: flat flatted leading-tone cadence. See cadence: flatted leading-tone cadence
Index flatted mediant cadence. See cadence: flatted mediant cadence flatted submediant cadence. See cadence: flatted submediant cadence flatted supertonic cadence. See cadence: flatted supertonic cadence florid counterpoint. See counterpoint: fifth species Flora, the Red Menace, 399 Florodora, 270 Flower Drum Song, 87, 243 Follies, 23, 81, 87, 101, 125, 291, 295, 376 “Follow the Cross,” 69 “For My Mary,” 91 “Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway,” 24, 40 Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway, 24, 40 fourth species counterpoint. See counterpoint: fourth species Frankel, Scott, 417 “Frank Mills,” 146 “Freak Flag,” 295 “A Freak like Me Needs Company,” 266 free tones. See nonchord tones: free tones Friedman, Gary William, 47 “From This Moment On,” 55 fugue, 208–213, 214 Fugue for Fops,” 197–199 “Fugue for Tinhorns,” 203 The Full Monty, 63, 67, 129, 156, 253, 278 Funny Girl, 80, 87, 125, 399 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, 77, 376, 398 Fux, Johann Joseph, 166, 169, 177, 201, 202, 208 “The Game,” 23 Gawain and the Green Knight, 69 Gay Divorce, 375 “Gee, Officer Krupke,” 286 Geld, Gary, 417 “Gentleman Jimmy,” 87 George White’s Scandals of 1922, 67 Gershwin, George, 4, 67, 72, 178–179, 363, 364–371, 400 “Getting to Know You,” 28 “Giants in the Sky,” 330, 333 “Gifts of Love,” 81 “Gigi,” 121, 123 Gigi, 121, 123 “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!,” 83, 87 Girl Crazy, 67 The Girl Friend, 126 “The Girl of the Pi Beta Phi,” 40 “Girls Ahoy!,” 77, 87 “Give Them What They Want,” 417 “Glad To Be Unhappy,” 39 Godspell, 63, 85, 236 “Go Home with Bonnie Jean,” 25 The Golden Apple, 155 Golden Boy, 313, 399 Golden Rainbow, 313
The Goodbye Girl, 81 “Good Morning Baltimore,” 28 Good News, 40, 128, 140 “Goodnight, My Someone,” 26 Goodtime Charley, 399 Gore, Michael, 76, 80, 90 Gradus ad Parnassum, 166, 167, 175, 177, 188, 196, 201, 202, 208. See also counterpoint Grand Staff, 13, 14 The Grand Tour, 81, 83 Grease, 6, 123 Great Day, 28, 375 Greenwillow, 91, 123, 399 Grey Gardens, 417 Grossman, Larry, 24, 47, 399 Groundhog Day, 392 “Grow for Me,” 417 Guettel, Adam, 417 “Gun Song,” 90 Guys and Dolls, 67, 105, 129, 203, 364, 399 Gypsy, 16, 36, 40, 77, 83, 122, 124, 126, 313, 399 Hague, Albert, 40 Hair, 146, 417 Hairspray, 16, 18, 26, 28, 31, 32, 146, 417 half cadence. See cadence: half cadence half note. See note: half note half rest. See rest: half rest half step, 15, 16, 17, 39, 40, 41, 46, 47, 49, 51– 53, 62–68, 71–72, 76–78, 80–87, 154, 166, 167, 241, 243, 245, 246, 251, 253, 268, 293, 295, 301, 313, 314, 382, 390, 393, 394, 401 Hall, Carol, 417 Hamlisch, Marvin, 81, 87, 417 Hammerstein, Oscar II, 251, 376 “A Handful of Keys,” 40, 247–248 “Happily Off to War,” 73, 74 “The Happy Time,” 125 The Happy Time, 125, 155 “Hard Candy Christmas,” 417 harmony, 89, 92, 102, 104, 105, 112, 118, 123, 126, 127, 129, 141, 144, 146, 150, 155, 159, 161, 166, 234, 237, 245, 254, 264, 279, 280, 294, 303, 313, 316, 321, 325, 327, 328, 351, 366, 374, 382, 383, 397, 402, 414, 415, 416 Harnick, Sheldon, 24, 56, Hart, Lorenz, 55 “Hasa Diga Eebowai,” 32, 197 “Have You Met Miss Jones?,” 39 “A Heart Full of Love,” 80 “Heat Wave,” 32 “Heaven by the Sea,” 83 “He Could Be a Star,” 268–269 “Heliotrope Bouquet,” 408 “Hello!,” 83 Hello, Dolly!, 36 Herbert, Victor, 96, 222, 260 “Here in My Arms,” 265 “Here She Comes, the Princess,” 216
443
Index
444
Herman, Jerry, 56, 77, 81, 83, 87, 91, 105, 113, 155, 267 “Hernando’s Hideaway,” 51, 83 “Her Voice,” 80 “He’s a Ladies’ Man,” 128, 140–141 “Hey, Look Me Over,” 234 “High Times, Hard Times,” 247, 251 “Holmes and Watson,” 248–249 homophonic, 170, 259 homorhythmic, 170, 190, 202, 206, 214 “The Honeymoon Is Over,” 83 “Hoping That Someday You’d Care,” 368 Hoschna, Karl L., 96, 180 “The Hostess with the Mostes’ on the Ball,” 155 House of Flowers, 67, 83, “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?,” 125, 126 “How Can I Leave You?,” 69–71 “How Can Love Survive?,” 123 “How I Feel,” 47 “How Shall I Swear to Love,” 278–279 How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, 26, 123, 129 Hudson, Richard, 392 “I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple,” 375 “I Believe,” 170, 171 “I Believe in You,” 123, 129 “I Cain’t Say No,” 77 “I’d Be Surprisingly Good for You,” 276 “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was,” 375 I Do! I Do!, 76, 81, 83 “I, Don Quixote.” See “Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote)” “I Don’t Care Much,” 399 “I Don’t Hear the Ocean,” 417 “I Don’t Know How to Love Him,” 258 “I Don’t Want to Know,” 113, 155 I’d Rather Be Right, 39 “I’d Rather Be Sailing,” 414 “I Feel Pretty,” 24, 25 “If Ever I Would Leave You,” 258 “If He Walked into My Life,” 267 “If I Can’t Love Her,” 40 “If I Loved You,” 81 “If I Were Anybody Else but Me,” 259–260 “If They Could See Me Now,” 125 “If This Isn’t Love,” 23 “If You Believe,” 28, 81, 146, 148, 417 “I Got Love,” 417 “I Invented Myself,” 80 “I Know Where I’ve Been,” 26 “I Like Him,” 129 “I’ll Be Here Tomorrow,” 81 “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise,” 67 “I’ll Cover You,” 80, 277 “(I’ll Marry) the Very Next Man,” 398 “I’ll Never Be Lonely Again,” 122 “I’ll Tell You What I’ll Do,” 220 “I Love a Piano,” 375
“I Love My Wife,” 383–386, 387 “I Love Paris,” 56, 258 “I Love to Cry at Weddings,” 292–293 “I Love You,” 259 “I’m All Alone,” 78 “I Married an Angel,” 261–262 I Married an Angel, 39, 261 “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy,” 23 “I Met a Girl,” 399 “I’m Glad to See You Got What You Want,” 300–301 “I’m Like the Bluebird,” 394 “I’m Not That Smart,” 414 “Impossible,” 251 “I’m So Happy I Could Dance,” 11–12, 33–34, 107–109 “I’m the Greatest Star,” 399 imperfect authentic cadence. See cadence: imperfect authentic cadence “In a Doleful Train,” 191–192 “Independence Day Hora,” 364 “I Never Has Seen Snow,” 67 intensity, 12, 206, 269, 291, 320, 365, 371, 392, 416 internal cadence. See cadence: internal cadence interval, 3, 5, 52, 75–93, 103, 106, 115, 155, 167, 168, 170, 175, 188, 193, 195, 196, 200, 201, 325, 368, 371, 374 augmented, 86–87, 249, 374, 377 compound, 91 diminished, 85–86 harmonic, 89, 167, 171, 175 inversions, 90 major, 79–82, 106, 155, 178, 371, 374, 375 melodic, 89, 167, 171, 175, 180, 181, 188, 196, 200, 201, 224 minor, 82–85, 106, 155, 178 perfect, 75–78, 371 qualitative, 75, 78–79 quantitative, 75 simple, 91 tritone, 66, 87, 167, 179, 337, 377, 401 “In the Arms,” 76 In the Heights, 417 “Into the Woods,” 26 Into the Woods, 17, 24, 25, 26, 28, 31, 330, 376 Iolanthe, 218 Ionian mode. See mode: Ionian Irene, 145, 192 Irma La Douce, 261 “I See the Trick,” 307–311 isorhythmic, 141, 206 “Is There Anything Better Than Dancing?,” 28 “I Think I’m Gonna Like It Here,” 23 “It Might As Well Be Spring,” 80 “It Must Be So,” 18, 23–24 “It Never Was You,” 243 It’s a Bird … It’s a Plane … It’s Superman, 76, 77, 122, 129 “It’s About Magic,” 77 “It’s a Lovely Day Today,” 129 “It’s Hard to Speak My Heart,” 414–417
Index “It’s Love,” 377 “It’s Superman,” 122 “It’s Your Fault,” 52 “It Takes Two” (Hairspray), 26 “It Takes Two” (Into the Woods), 28 “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” 399 “I Want to Be a Producer,” 81 “I Want to Be Happy,” 83, 141–142, 144, 145 “I Want to Be with You,” 399 “I Want to Go to Town,” 303–306 “I Won’t Send Roses,” 238, 240 Jaws, 2, 83 jazz chords. See embellished chords “Jealousy’s the Sign of Love,” 224–231 Jekyll & Hyde, 125, 128, 417 Jesus Christ Superstar, 27, 258 “Jingle Bells,” 56 Jobim, Antonio Carlos, 76, 129 “Johanna,” 36, 83–84 John, Elton, 76, 78, 80, 264, 268, 269, 417 “Johnny One-Note,” 105, 129 “The Joint Is Jumpin’,” 32 “Jolly Town Rake,” 73–74 Joplin, Janis, 2 Joplin, Scott, 408 Jumbo, 39 “Just in Time,” 16, 83 “Just Once in a Lifetime,” 125 Kahn, Gus, 122 Kander, John, 72, 77, 81, 83, 152, 155, 318, 399 “Kansas City,” 76 Kern, Jerome, 24, 51, 55, 101, 143, 144, 149, 193, 194, 286 key note, 39, 40, 43, 47, 49, 54, 55, 56–57, 62, 63, 64, 66, 67, 72, 75, 136, 137, 301, 325, 326, key signature, 3, 21, 33, 35, 40–41, 47–48, 49, 50, 53–57, 59, 94, 96, 106, 118, 137, 234, 250, 253, 285, 294, 303, 326, 351, 382 The King and I, 3, 4, 28, 66, 84, 258, 371 “King Arthur,” 77 Kingfish!, 294 Kismet, 124 “A Kiss for Cinderella,” 178–179, 192 “Kiss Her Now,” 123, 125 “Kiss Me Again,” 96, 97 Kiss Me, Kate, 55, 77, 258, 364, 375 Kiss of the Spider Woman, 72, 318, 399 “Kiss the Girl,” 80 Knickerbocker Holiday, 243 “Knowing When to Leave,” 417 Krasker, Tommy, 367 Krieger, Henry, 417 LaChiusa, Michael John, 417 “Lambeth Walk,” 105 Lane, Burton, 76, 365, 366
Larson, Jonathan, 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 87, 261, 269, 277, 285, 414 The Last Five Years, 417 “Last Midnight,” 17, 24, 31 “The Last Night of the World,” 17, 31 “The Last Part of Every Party,” 192–193, 203 “Later,” 91 Laurents, Arthur, 391 “Lazy Afternoon,” 155 leading tone, 49, 51, 67, 82, 137, 143, 166, 188, 234, 241, 243, 245, 249, 253, 276, 277, 278, 292, 317, 327, 344, 374, 402 lead sheet, 1, 2, 3, 4, 13, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 33, 49, 92, 101, 105, 107, 128, 150 “Leavin’s Not the Only Way to Go,” 417 ledger lines, 12–14 Led Zeppelin, 2 “Left Behind,” 278 Leonard, Michael, 264 Lerner, Alan Jay, 383, 386 “Let Me Come In,” 125 Let the Children Play, 69 “Liaisons,” 24 “Life with Harold,” 156 “The Light in the Piazza,” 417 Light in the Piazza, 417 “Light My Candle,” 414 “Light Sings,” 47 The Lion King, 417 Lippa, Andrew, 76 “A Little Fall of Rain,” 81 “The Little Girl Up There,” 96–97 “Little Grey House,” 155 Little Johnny Jones, 23 Little Mary Sunshine, 259 Little Me, 398 The Little Mermaid, 77, 80 A Little Night Music, 24, 91, 171, 364, 376, 398 Little Shop of Horrors, 417 “Living a Lie,” 294 Lloyd Webber, Andrew, 4, 40, 66, 76, 78, 80, 81, 83, 84, 87, 91, 101, 140, 262, 266, 276, 400, “Loads of Love,” 51 Locrian mode. See mode: Locrian Loesser, Frank, 40, 67, 91, 105, 129, 301, 399 Loewe, Frederick, 399 Lohengrin, 77 “Lonely Room,” 375 “Lonely Town,” 391 “Look No Further,” 128 Look to the Lilies, 77, 78 “Look What Happened to Mabel,” 77 “Look with Your Heart,” 84 “The Lorelei,” 101 “Losing My Mind,” 101, 291, 292 “Lost and Found,” 316 “A Lot of Livin’ to Do,” 399 “Loudly Let the Trumpet Bray,” 218 Louise, 59
445
Index
446
“Love Changes Everything,” 404 “Love, I Hear,” 398 “Love Letters,” 118–121 “Lovelier Than Ever,” 40 “Love, Look Away,” 243 “Love Makes the World Go,” 66 Love Me Tonight, 72 “Love Never Dies,” 78 Love Never Dies, 4, 66, 78, 83, 84, 87, 91, 266, 400 “The Love of My Life,” 23 “Lover,” 72 Love’s Labors Lost, 101, 118, 150, 278, 307 “Luck Be a Lady,” 67, 129 Luders, Gustav, 270 “Lud’s Wedding,” 25, 383–386 Lydian mode. See mode: Lydian MacDermot, Galt, 417 Mack and Mabel, 77, 238 “Mack the Knife,” 155 madrigal, 203, 205, 367 The Mad Show, 129 Maelzel, Johann, 36 Magdalena, 203 “Make a Move,” 78 “Mama, a Rainbow,” 399 “Mama, I’m a Big Girl Now,” 146, 163, 164 “Mama Who Bore Me,” 76 Mame, 19, 105, 258, 267 “Mamma Mia!,” 80 Mamma Mia!, 77, 80, 83, 84, 87 “Man,” 129, 253, 254, 278 Man of La Mancha, 56 “Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote),” 56 “The Man Who Has Everything,” 67 “Many a New Day,” 28, 84 “March of the Rangers,” 169–170, 171 “Maria,” 16, 66, 87 “Marianne,” 83 Marie Christine, 417 Marks, Walter, 64 Martin Guerre, 128 “Masquerade,” 76 “Master of the House,” 23, 76, 77 “Maybe,” 105 Mayor: The Musical, 77 McMillin, Scott, 4 “Me,” 336–337, 377 “Meadowlark,” 91, 329 “Meadow Serenade,” 363, 364–367, 368, 369, 371 “Mean,” 64 Me and My Girl, 40, 105 “Mean Ole Lion,” 146, 147 measure, 12, 16, 19, 21–22, 23–27, 30, 35–36 mediant, 49, 137, 145, 276–277, 287, 289, 291, 295, 301, 366, 371, 381, 383, 384, 388, 390, 407, 412 melody, 3, 4, 6, 17, 19, 20, 22, 25, 26, 28, 31, 40, 45, 51, 52, 55, 56, 57, 63, 64, 71, 72, 76, 77, 81, 87, 101, 102, 104, 105. 113, 114, 121, 122, 123, 127, 129,
136, 141, 142, 143, 144, 150, 156, 157, 177–178, 192–193, 203, 238, 244, 253, 259, 260, 261, 264, 266, 268, 286, 288, 290, 294, 316, 317, 321, 326, 327, 335, 365, 366, 368, 369, 371, 373–375, 377–378, 382, 383–386, 388, 390, 392, 394–396, 401–403, 404, 407–408, 415–416 “Memory,” 121, 403 “Men Come, Men Go,” 280 Menken, Alan, 40, 67, 77, 80, 237, 287, 417 The Me Nobody Knows, 47, 125 “Merano,” 25 Merlin, 77, 78 Merman, Ethel, 3 Merrily We Roll Along, 295, 376 meter, 21–32 compound meter, 25–26 duple meter, 23, 180, 187, 377, 378 simple meter, 22–24, 25 triple meter, 23–24, 174, 180, 187, 377 The Method of Physical Action, 4 metronome, 24, 36 “The Mexican Hat Dance,” 77 Mexican Hayride, 259 The Mikado, 71, 203 Milk and Honey, 364 Miller, Roger, 417 Minnie’s Boys, 47, 399 Miranda, Lin-Manuel, 417 “The Mirror-Blue Night,” 81 Les Misérables, 23, 36, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 291 Miss Saigon, 17, 31 Mr. Wonderful, 55, 398 Mitchell, Julian, 3 Mixolydian mode. See mode “Miya Sama,” 71 Mlle. Modiste, 96 “M.M.” See metronome mode, 2, 3, 5, 54, 55, 62–71, 72, 94–95, 235, 241, 252, 266, 316, 335, 364, 383, 384–385, 395, 401 Aeolian, 62–63, 64, 65. See also scale: natural minor scale Dorian, 62, 63, 64, 65 Ionian, 62, 67, 68. See also scale: major scale Locrian, 62, 65–66, 401 Lydian, 62, 66–67, 68, 72, 325, 395, 397 Mixolydian, 62, 67, 68 Phrygian, 2, 62, 64, 65, 72, 401 mode mixture, 54–56, 252–254 modulation, 5, 269, 285–300, 303, 308, 344, 351, 372, 374, 382, 384, 395, 402 augmented sixth chord modulation, 294 common chord modulation, 291–292 common tone modulation, 289–291 direct modulation, 286–287, 294 diminished seventh chord modulation, 292–293, 295 secondary dominant modulation, 287, 294 third relation modulation, 287–289, 295 “Momma, Look Sharp,” 67
Index “Money, Money, Money,” 83 “Moonbeams,” 222 “More Than You Know,” 28 “More to the Story,” 290–291 “Morning Hymn,” 165, 166, 169, 170, 171 Morocco Bound, 220 Moross, Jerome, 155 “The Morphine Tango,” 72 “Morticia,” 76 The Most Happy Fella, 171, 301, 363, 399 “Motoring,” 159–160 “Mountain Duet,” 27, 320–321 “Moving Too Fast,” 417 The Musical as Drama, 4 musical functions in musical theatre, 363–364 The Music Man, 25, 26 “Music of the Night,” 81, 403 Music Theatre International, 12 Music Theory for Musical Theatre, 3 “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean,” 81 My Fair Lady, 36, 313, 399 “My Favorite Things,” 55, 78 “My Funny Valentine,” 47, 55 “My Gentle Young Johnny,” 398 “My Junk,” 78 “My Love,” 25 My Love to Your Wife, 130, 190, 197, 224, 303, 337 “My Lovey Dovey Baby,” 237 “My Romance,” 39 “My Time of Day,” 399 natural. See accidentals: natural Naughty Marietta, 260 Neapolitan sixth chord, 248–249, 250, 276, 337, 344, 384, 385 neighbor tones. See nonchord tones: neighbor tones “Never,” 398 “Never Will I Marry,” 91, 399 A New Brain, 414 “A New Life,” 125 Newsies (film), 67, 237, 247, 251 Newsies The Musical, 122, 286 “New York, New York,” 391 “The Nicest Kids in Town,” 32 Nick and Nora, 28, 32, 80, 84 “Night and Day,” 375 Nine, 417 “Nobody’s Perfect,” 83 “Nobody Told Me,” 72, 330 “No Good Deed,” 76, 91, 327–328 “No More,” 83 “No More Mornings,” 24 nonchord (nonharmonic) tones, 121–129, 136, 143, 234 anticipation, 126 appoggiatura, 124–125, 127, 144, 146, 238 changing tones, 127 escape tones, 125–126, 127 free tones, 129
neighbor tones, 121–122, 127, 144, 146, 175, 374, 378, 392 passing tones, 122–123, 124, 144, 146, 175 pedal tones, 127–129, 146 retardations, 123–124 suspensions, 123–124, 166, 195, 197, 201, 202 No, No, Nanette, 83, 141, 375 “No One Mourns the Wicked,” 80 No Strings, 23, 51, 55, 66, 67, 72, 76, 122, 123, 125, 128, 330 “Not a Day Goes By,” 295, 299 note, 2, 3, 5, 12, 13, 14, 15–16, 17, 18–19, 20, 21, 22, 23–27, 28, 29, 30, 35. See also key note breve (double whole note), 18, 24, 188 dotted note, 19, 22, 24, 25, 28, 174, 179, 180, 192, 365 double dotted note, 19 eighth note, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 41, 174, 177, 179, 180, 192, 200, 201, 378, 401 grace note, 18, 31 half note, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23–24, 25, 28, 31, 35, 36, 46, 174, 175, 177, 179, 192, 202, 254 quarter note, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 174, 177, 180, 192, 254, 374, 378, 380, 407, 415, 416, 417 sixteenth note, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 29, 179, 180, 192, 327, 416 sixty-fourth note, 18, 19 thirty-second note, 18, 19, 388 whole note, 18, 19, 22, 31, 46, 174, 175, 177, 200, 201, 301 “Nothing,” 81, 417 “No Way to Stop It,” 125 “Nymph Errant,” 155 Nymph Errant, 52, 155 “O Bless the Lord, My Soul,” 63 “The Ocarina,” 170–171 octave, 12, 14, 15, 37, 49, 56, 72, 75, 78, 85, 90, 91, 92, 106–107, 155, 161, 167, 170, 181, 200, 249, 313, 319, 325, 401, 403, 416. See also interval: perfect O’Donnell, Laurence, 2 “Officer Krupke,” 286, 363 “Off on a Quest,” 69 Of Thee I Sing, 72, 178 “Ohio,” 377 “Oh, Susanna,” 258 “Oklahoma!,” 77 Oklahoma!, 28, 76, 77, 84, 375 “Old Fashioned Wedding,” 203 “The Old Red Hills of Home” 337–338 Oliver, 259 “On a Day, Alack the Day!,” 150–152 “On Broadway,” 128 “Once and For All,” 122 “Once a Year Day,” 23, 295 “Once in a Blue Moon,” 259 Once on This Island, 417 “Once Upon Another Time,” 266 “Once Upon a Time,” 123
447
Index
448
“Once We Were Kings,” 128 “One Boy,” 279 “One Little Brick at a Time,” 77 “One More Kiss,” 125 “One More Walk around the Garden,” 76 “One-Note Samba,” 76, 129 “One of These Springs,” 73–74 “One Short Day,” 78 “One Song Glory,” 80, 414 One Touch of Venus, 243 “On My Own,” 77 “On Ten Square Miles by the Potomac River,” 386 “On the Other Side of the Tracks,” 398 “On the Steps of the Palace,” 26 On the Town, 376, 391 On the Twentieth Century, 293, 398 On Your Toes, 21, 262 “Ooh, Do You Love You,” 76 “Ooh, My Feet,” 363 “An Ordinary Couple,” 125 “Orphan in the Storm,” 63 ostinato, 392, 393, 395, 397, 415, 416 “Other Pleasures,” 125 “Our Customary Attitude,” 176–177, 179 “Our Kind of Love,” 78 “Our Language of Love,” 261 Out of Line, 12, 30, 165, 208, 321, 344 Out of This World, 55 “Out on the Loose,” 142–143 “Out Tonight,” 261 “Over the Rainbow,” 78 Pacific Overtures, 71, 78, 326, 376 Paint Your Wagon, 399 The Pajama Game, 23, 51, 83, 295 Parade, 4, 122, 128, 336, 337, 414 passing diminished chord, 245–246 passing tones. See nonchord tones: passing tones “Pass the Football,” 85 Patience, 191, 193 “Paula (An Improvised Love Song),” 81 pedal tones. See nonchord tones: pedal tones pentatonic scale. See scale: pentatonic scale “People,” 80, 125 “People Will Say We’re in Love,” 77 perfect authentic cadence. See cadence: perfect authentic cadence period. See song structure: period “Perpetual Anticipation,” 171–172 The Phantom of the Opera, 66, 76, 78, 80, 81, 83, 91, 125, 266 phrase. See song structure: phrase phrasing mark, 37. See also articulation marks Phrygian mode. See mode: Phrygian Picardy third, 54, 252, 276 pickup measure, 35–36, 88, 96, 203 Pickwick, 122 “Picture This,” 83
pitch, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17–18, 20, 39, 43, 53, 63, 65, 68, 71–72, 76, 96, 111. 116, 161, 166, 181, 260, 289, 316, 328, 365, 369, 371, 403, 416 Pitchford, Dean, 90 “Pity the Child,” 27, 80, 91, 319–321 pivot chord, 285, 291, 295. See also modulation: common chord modulation pivot tone modulation. See modulation: common tone modulation plagal cadence. See cadence: plagal cadence Plain and Fancy, 40, 126 “The Player Piano,” 59, 60, Politics (Arisotle), 2 polyphony, 166, 170 “Poor, Poor Harry Horner,” 190 “Pop, Goes the Weasel,” 258 Porgy and Bess, 67 Porter, Cole, 6, 52, 55, 56, 72, 77, 155, 165, 238, 375 Present Arms, 124, 125, 237 “Pretty Music,” 122 “Prima Donna,” 81 Princess Ida, 179–180 “Prisoners of Love,” 77, 85 The Producers, 77, 78, 80, 81, 83, 85 “Prologue” (West Side Story), 25, 363 Promenade, 417 Promises, Promises, 417 “Pulled,” 76 Purlie, 417 “Put a Little Magic in Your Life,” 78 “Putting It Together,” 1 “A Puzzlement,” 371–375 quarter note. See note: quarter note quarter rest. See rest: quarter rest “Quartet Finale,” 214 Queen, 2 “A Quiet Girl,” 264 “A Quiet Thing,” 399 Rags, 87, 91 recapitulation. See song structure: recapitulation recitative, 289, 373 The Red Mill, 222 release. See song structure: release “Rent,” 76, 83 Rent, 76, 77, 78, 80, 83, 87, 261, 269, 277, 285, 414 repeat signs, 36, 116 rest, 3, 20–21, 26, 28, 30, 33, 35, 52, 175, 187, 190, 194, 195, 260, 366–367, 387, double-whole rest, 20 eighth rest, 20 half rest, 20 quarter rest, 20 sixteenth rest, 20 sixty-fourth rest, 20 thirty-second rest, 20 whole rest, 20
Index retardations. See nonchord tones: retardations “Revenge,” 77 Revenge with Music, 375 rhythm, 1–5, 7, 12, 18–19, 25, 27, 29–30, 32, 35, 43, 45, 62, 67, 92, 96, 166, 170, 254, 259, 321, 329, 364–366, 374, 377–378, 382, 386, 393–394, 397, 400, 407–408 “The Rhythm of Life,” 205, 206 Rio Rita, 142, 169 “Rise Above 2,” 78 Rittman, Trude, 3 Rivera, Chita, 64 Road Show, 376, 398 “The Road You Didn’t Take,” 81 The Robber Bridegroom, 417 Robbins, Jerome, 3 “Rock-a-bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody,” 246 “Rocking in the Old Canoe,” 59–60 Rodgers, Richard, 4, 21, 24, 39, 43, 47, 51, 55, 62, 66, 67, 72, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 84, 87, 129, 237, 251, 261, 262, 265, 266, 286, 371–375, 376, 400 Ross, Jerry, 51, 83 round, 203 rounded AB structure. See song structure: rounded AB structure “Row, Row, Row Your Boat,” 203 “Run Away!,” 80 “Runyonland,” 364 Ryskind, Morrie, 368 “Sadie, Sadie,” 87 St. Louis Woman, 238 Sally, 101, 143, 144 Samuel French, 12 Sandrich, Mark Jr., 80, 81, 91 scale, 3, 5, 39, 54, 55, 56, 62-71, 84, 86, 87, 94, 116, 122, 137, 141, 149, 150, 154, 166, 188, 234, 248, 249, 251, 269, 316, 317, 319, 321, 369, 370, 371, 383, 397, 401, 415 chromatic scale, 72–74, 387, 390 harmonic minor scale, 51–52, 53–54, 136–137, 154, 235, 241 major scale, 39–46, 56–61, 62, 67, 75, 79, 80, 82–83, 93, 96, 102, 136, 137, 138, 149, 154, 166, 252, 416 melodic minor scale, 52–54, 136–137, 154, 235, 241 natural minor scale, 46–49, 53–54, 56–61, 62, 93, 96, 102, 136–137, 138, 144, 154, 236, 252, 253 pentatonic scale, 71, 72–74, 327 whole-tone scale, 71–74, 301 Schönberg, Claude-Michel, 17, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, Schwartz, Arthur, 375 Schwartz, Stephen, 63, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 85, 91, 236, 417 “Scrap,” 67 “Seasons of Love,” 77 secondary chords, 234–244, 280
secondary dominants, 235–240, 248, 253, 287, 293, 294, 301, 308, 344 secondary leading tone chords, 241–244, 245, 248, 253, 344 secondary dominant modulation. See modulation: secondary dominant modulation second species counterpoint. See counterpoint: second species “A Secretary Is Not a Toy,” 26 The Secret Garden, 417 “The Seed of God,” 203 “Seeing Is Believing,” 40, 128 “Seize the Day,” 67 sequence, 51, 144, 145, 149, 205, 237, 238, 261 The Seven Lively Arts, 56 1776, 417 “Seventy-Six Trombones,” 25, 26 “The Shade of the Palm,” 270, 272 Shaiman, Marc, 417 “Shall We Dance?,” 258 sharp. See accidentals: sharp “She Cries,” 417 She Loves Me, 16, 66, 83, 313, 363 “She’s In Love,” 77 “Shine,” 264 Shire, David, 417 Show Boat, 24, 149 The Show Makers, 3 Show Tunes: The Songs, Shows, and Careers of Broadway’s Major Composers, 4 Shrek The Musical, 78, 80, 288, 290, 295, 417 “Side by Side,” 122 “Side by Side by Side,” 122, 124 Simon, Lucy, 417 “Simple,” 207 “The Simple Joys of Maidenhood,” 245 simple meter. See meter: simple meter Simple Simon, 246 Sinbad, 246 “Sing Me Not a Ballad,” 66 “Sinistereo,” 76 “Sixteen Going on Seventeen,” 16, 126 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, 4, 25, 336, 376, 377, 383–391 sixteenth note. See note: sixteenth note sixteenth rest. See rest: sixteenth rest sixty-fourth note. See note: sixty-fourth note sixty-fourth rest. See rest: sixty-fourth rest “Sixty Million Years Ago,” 66, 325–326 “Sleepy Man,” 417 The Slim Princess, 216 Smalls, Charlie, 24, 63, 81, 417 “Small World,” 77 Smokey Joe’s Café, 128 “So in Love,” 55, 364 solfège, 43, 45, 53, 57, 59, 64, 65, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 75, 79, 82, 85, 89, 90, 92, 96, 110, 111, 115, 118, 150, 161, 163, 280 “Solidarity,” 80, 106
449
Index
450
“Soliloquy” (Carousel), 375 “Solomon,” 52 “Somebody, Somewhere,” 301–302, 399 “Someday I’m Gonna Fly,” 264 “Someone Else’s Story,” 125, 126 “Someone Like You” (Do I Hear a Waltz?), 72 “Someone Like You” (Jekyll & Hyde), 128 “Some People,” 399 “Something for the Boys,” 238–239 Something for the Boys, 238 “Something’s Coming,” 16, 377, 378, 391 “Something Wonderful,” 66, 84 “Somewhere,” 391, 84 “Somewhere There’s Always Someone,” 344–348 “So Much to Do in New York,” 27 Sondheim’s Broadway Musicals, 4, 392 Sondheim, Stephen, 1, 4, 17, 24, 25, 26, 55, 63, 71, 76, 77, 78, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 90, 91, 101, 129, 140, 207, 301, 327, 328, 329, 364, 376, 378, 391–398, 400 Song and Dance, 27 “The Song of Purple Summer,” 78 Songs for a New World, 417 song structure, 258–259 AABA structure, 258, 365, 367, 392 ABA structure, 258, 388 AB structure, 258, 380, 383, 400, 404 chorus, 47, 55, 77, 84, 165, 258, 269, 301, 365, 366, 367, 369, 371, 378, 381, 382, 385, 395, 397, period, 259–260 phrase, 1, 2, 3, 31, 52, 77, 78, 80, 81, 85, 113, 114, 116, 143, 146, 150, 206, 207, 243, 259–260, 262, 270, 277, 280, 303, 308, 319, 321, 328, 344, 352, 365, 366, 369, 370, 371, 374, 377, 378, 382, 383, 385, 387, 388, 390, 392, 395, 401, 402, 403, 407, 408, 411, 416, 417 recapitulation, 258, 372, 374, 394, 395 rounded AB structure, 258 release, 258, 300 verse, 105, 258, 365, 366, 367, 368, 369, 370, 378, 380, 386 “Song on the Sand,” 91 “The Song That Goes Like This,” 83, 122, 123 “Soon,” 368–371 “Soon It’s Gonna Rain,” 40 “Sorry—Grateful,” 129 “The Sound of Music,” 122, 128 The Sound of Music, 16, 43, 55, 62, 63, 66, 78, 80, 122, 123, 125, 126, 128, 166, 169, 203 South Pacific, 40, 321 Spamalot, 77, 78, 80, 83, 122, 123 Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, 76, 78, 80, 83, 266 “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream,” 128 Spring Awakening, 76, 78, 80, 81, 83, 170, 206, 207, 278 “Spring Is Here,” 39 “Springtime for Hitler,” 78 staff, 3, 12, 13, 14, 17, 25, 36, 39, 49, 75, 89, 90, 94, 95, 101, 105, 110, 115, 118, 146, 148, 157, 200, 254, 280, 344, 370, 374
“Standing on the Corner,” 171 Stanislavski, Konstantin, 4, 5, 168, 382 Star Spangled Rhythm, 67 “The Stars Look Down,” 76 Star Trek, 402 Star Wars, 77, 92, 402 State Fair, 80 stems, 12, 13 “Stepsisters’ Lament,” 40 Stop! Look! Listen!, 375 Stop the World–I Want to Get Off, 125 “The Story Goes On,” 417 “Story of My Life,” 80, 417 “Stranger in Paradise,” 124 Strike Up the Band, 4, 364–371 Strouse, Charles, 76, 77, 80, 83, 84, 87, 91, 155, 279, 399 Stuart, Leslie, 216, 270 Styne, Jule, 40, 77, 78, 80, 83, 87, 399 subdominant, 49, 65, 66. See also chord functionality: subdominant submediant, 49, 63. See also chord functionality: submediant subtonic, 49, 51, 67. See also chord functionality: subtonic “Summer Nights,” 123 “Summertime Love,” 123 “Sunday,” 87 Sunday in the Park with George, 1, 376 “The Sun Has Got His Hat On,” 40, 105 “Sunny,” 194 Sunny, 194 “Sunshine,” 194 “Sunrise, Sunset,” 47, 105 supertonic, 49, 64. See also chord functionality: supertonic “Supper Time,” 375 “Supreme Court Judges,” 72 “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” 76 “sus” chords. See embellished chords: “sus” chords suspensions. See nonchord tones: suspensions. See also counterpoint: fourth species Suskin, Stephen, 4 Swain, Joseph, 4 Sweeney Todd, 36, 63, 83, 376 Sweet Charity, 125, 205, 292, 313, 326, 398 “The Sweetest Sounds,” 55, 122, 125 Sweet Rosie O’Grady, 364 “Swell,” 84 “swing it,” 28 syncopation, 29–32, 33, 94, 179, 195, 364, 367, 405, 407 anticipation, 30–32 missed-beat, 30–32 off-beat, 30–32 weak-beat accent, 30–32 syncope, 195, 197, 200. See also counterpoint: fourth species system, 101, 105, 106, 107, 118, 130, 146, 159, 161, 177, 280, 315, 344, 351, 352
Index “Take Care of This House,” 386–391 “Take Me or Leave Me,” 83, 87 “The Talk of the Town,” 145 Tams Witmark, 12 “Tango Amoroso,” 101, 102 “The Telephone Hour,” 28 tempo, 24, 36, 289, 364 tempo marks, 36–37 “Ten Cents a Dance,” 246 Tenderloin, 398 Tesori, Jeanine, 78, 80, 417 “Thank You for the Music,” 83 “That Face,” 80 “That Old Black Magic,” 67 Theatrical Rights Worldwide, 12 “There But for You Go I,” 399 “There Comes a Time,” 78 “There Is No Other Way,” 71 “There’s a Small Hotel,” 21, 22, 262–263 “There’s No Business like Show Business,” 32, 40, 258 “There Won’t Be Trumpets,” 81 “They Call the Wind Maria,” 399 “They Say It’s Wonderful,” 375 “They Were You,” 126 “Think of Me,” 83, 125 third relation modulation. See modulation: third relation modulation third species counterpoint. See counterpoint: third species thirty-second note. See note: thirty-second note thirty-second rest. See rest: thirty-second rest “This Is the Moment,” 417 “This Old Man,” 83 The Threepenny Opera, 155 Three Twins, 96, 180 “Through the Years,” 375 Through the Years, 375 tie, 20 “’Til Him,” 83 “’Til I Hear You Sing,” 78 “’Til Tomorrow,” 24, 125 timbre, 12 “Timeless to Me,” 16, 31 time signature, 3, 21–27, 35, 93, 364. See also meter common time, 21, 22, 23, 28, 30, 174, 329, 368, 369, 377 cut time, 21, 22, 23, 35, 36, 179, 201, 368, 369, 372 “To and Fro,” 180–183 “To Be Alone With You,” 91 “Tomorrow,” 123 “Tomorrow Belongs to Me,” 36 tone groups, 5, 313, 325–344 tones, 12–13, 15, 18, 21, 39, 43, 46, 49, 54, 56, 62, 71, 72, 75, 82, 83, 93, 102, 104, 106, 110, 141, 142, 146, 149, 154, 155, 234, 245, 252, 253, 320, 325, 371, 387, 394, 401, 415, tonic, 39, 49, 51, 54, 56, 66, 67, 72, 75, 79, 82–83, 105, 115, 118, 136, 136, 141–146, 149, 154, 155,
234–238, 241–246, 248–253, 260–263, 265–267, 276–279, 288, 289–290, 294, 300, 301, 303, 313, 325, 336, 352, 365, 367, 374, 383, 384, 397, 402, 403. See also chord functionality: tonic tonicization, 5, 269, 285–286, 300–302, 303, 308, 344, 351, 366, 367, 374, 381, 383, 385, 386, 388, 390, 395. See also modulation “Tonight at Eight,” 363 “Too Charming,” 91 “Too Close for Comfort,” 55, 398 “Too Many Mornings,” 295, 298 “Tout au Tour,” 351–356 “Tradition,” 77, 121, 248–249 Travolta, John, 6–7 “Treat Me Rough,” 67 treble clef. See clef: treble clef triad. See chord: triad triple meter. See meter: triple meter triplet. See tuplet tritone. See interval: tritone Tunick, Jonathan, 101 tuplet, 28 turnaround. See cadence: turnaround “Turn Back, O Man,” 85, 236 “Turn It Off,” 287 “Turn Off the Dark,” 78 The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 414 “Twin Soliloquys,” 321 “Two By Two,” 32 “Two Ladies,” 28 “Two Ladies in de Shade of de Banana Tree,” 83 “Two Lost Souls,” 124 Ulvaeus, Björn, 24, 77, 80, 83, 84, 85, 87, 91 “Understudy Chorale,” 208–214 “Unsuspecting Hearts,” 80, 295, 297 “Unusual Way,” 417 “Veronique,” 293 verse. Sees song structure: verse Very Warm for May, 51, 286 “Voulez-Vous,” 77 “Waiting for Life,” 417 “Waiting for the Girls Upstairs,” 87 Waldman, Robert, 417 “We Always Work the Public,” 270–271 “The Wedding March,” 77 Weill, Kurt, 55, 66, 155, 243 “Welcome to the Sixties,” 18, 31, 32, “Welcome to the Theatre,” 399 “We Need a Little Christmas,” 105, 258 West Side Story, 12, 16, 24, 25, 26, 66, 84, 87, 165, 194, 208, 286, 313, 363, 376, 377, 391 “We’ve Swept the Halls,” 180, 184–186 “What a Waste,” 377–383, 385–386 “What Happened to My Part?,” 77 “What I Did for Love,” 87 “What Is a Woman?,” 81
451
Index
452
“What Is This Feeling?,” 77 “What I’ve Always Wanted,” 123 “What’s the Use of Wond’rin’,” 81 “What You Don’t Know about Women,” 317–318 “When Anger Spreads Her Wing,” 179–180 “When Does the Loving Start?,” 337, 341–342 “When I Dance with the Person I Love,” 81 “When I Hear Music (I Dance),” 30–31 “When Will Someone Hear?,” 128 “When You’re an Addams,” 76 “Where Am I Going?,” 326, 398 “Where Do I Go?,” 146, 147, 163–164 “Where Has My Hubby Gone Blues,” 375 “Where I Want to Be,” 24, 84, 85 “Where or When,” 39 Where’s Charley?, 40 “Where the Boys Are,” 26 “Where You Are,” 318 “Who?,” 194 “Who Am I?,” 77 whole note. See note: whole note whole rest. See rest: whole rest whole step, 15, 17, 39, 40, 46, 47, 48, 49, 51, 62, 63, 64, 65, 67, 68, 71, 80, 167, 301, 313, 394 whole-tone scale. See scale: whole-tone scale “Who Loves You More,” 130–135 “Who Took the Moon,” 161–163 “Who Will Buy?,” 259 “Why Can’t You Behave?,” 258 “Why Did I Choose You?,” 246 Wicked, 76, 77, 78, 80, 91, 327, 328, 417 “Wild and Reckless,” 127 Wildcat, 234 Wilder, Alec, 4 Wildhorn, Frank, 417 “Wild Rose,” 143, 144, 145 “Wilkommen,” 77, 125, 152, 153, 154, 364 Williams, John, 2, 77, 83 “Will There Be Consolation?,” 69
“The Winner Takes It All,” 84 “Winter’s on the Wing,” 417 “Without a Song,” 375 “Without Me,” 155 “Without You,” 78 “With So Little to Be Sure Of,” 391–398 The Wiz, 24, 28, 63, 81, 146, 417 The Wizard of Oz, 67, 78 Wonderful Town, 4, 85, 264, 376, 377–383 “Wooden Wedding,” 243–244 Woods, Harry M., 122 Words and Music, 4 Yazbek, David, 63, 67, 156, 417 The Yearling, 246, 264 Yeston, Maury, 417 “You and Me (But Mostly Me),” 32, 277 “You and the Night and the Music,” 375 “You Are Love,” 24 “You Can Always Count on Me,” 273–275 “You Can Be a New Yorker, Too,” 77 “You Can’t Keep a Good Girl Down,” 144 “You Can’t Stop the Beat,” 417 “You Don’t Know This Man,” 122 “You Don’t Own Me,” 26 “You Don’t Tell Me,” 122, 123 “You Have Cast Your Shadow on the Sea,” 21, 22, 127 “You’ll Never Get Away from Me,” 40 “You Naughty, Naughty Men,” 236 “You’re in Paris,” 81 “You’re Just in Love,” 203, 223 Youmans, Vincent, 83, 141, 375 “Young and Foolish,” 40, 126 “Younger Than Springtime,” 40 “You’re Never Fully Dressed without a Smile,” 32 “You’re Nothing without Me,” 128 “You Took Advantage of Me,” 124, 125, 237–238 “You’ve Got Possibilities,” 129, 155