This document provides context and background information about the song "Something's Coming" from the musical West Side Story, composed by Leonard Bernstein. It discusses Bernstein's background and influence of jazz and Latin American music. It describes West Side Story as a modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, set among rival New York gangs. The document analyzes the melody of "Something's Coming", noting it is in the key of D major sung by a tenor voice, contains intervals like the tritone, and has a diatonic yet expressive melody. It encourages learning the song's melodic themes and intervals.

1. SOMETHING’S COMING
By BERNSTEIN
From
WEST SIDE
STORY
Lesson 2

2. Key Vocab Revision from last
lesson
SYNCOPATION STRUCTURE
TONY’S
VOICE
TONALITY TRITONE OSTINATO

3. “Something’s Coming” from
West Side Story
(Leonard Bernstein, 1958)
Context & Background
GCSE Music: Area of Study 2

4. Quick Background – Context
(Bernstein)
 Bernstein was born in America
in 1918
 He was a highly skilled
musician, pianist, conductor,
broadcaster and composer.
 Bernstein’s first musical was On
The Town.
 Bernstein had a wide range of
musical tastes, but particularly
Jazz (which is evident in West
Side Story, as well as Latin
American rhythms, as his wife
was from South America)

5. Context (Musicals)
 Musicals came from lighter versions of opera, such as Opera Comique or Operetta (Gilbert
& Sullivan)
 Broadway – New York Musical Theatre hub from 1920s onwards
 Musicals – singing, dancing and acting
 The style of the musical is normally reflective of the genre of the time (i.e. West Side Story
is based on Jazz harmony, Jazz being a prominent genre of the 1930s-1950s, when
Bernstein was around).
 Orchestras provide accompaniment and incidental music/underscoring (background music
– like the opening scene (prologue) in West Side Story)
 Some musicals are made into films – some films are made into musicals.
 Some pop songs are collated to make musicals (Moulin Rouge, Mamma Mia, We Will Rock
You)

6. Context (West Side Story)
 West Side Story was composed in 1957 and made into an award winning film in 1961.
 Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics for the musical (librettist/lyricist/composer – Sweeny
Todd)
 Based on the tragic love story of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet
 Maria (Juliet) and Tony (Romeo)
 Jets (Capulets) and Sharks (Montagues)
 Famous balcony scene is mirrored on the stairs of a New York apartment fire escape
 The themes (racism, immigration, love, tragedy, rivalry) are still as relevant today as they
were when Bernstein composed the musical.
 Revolutionary – not about happy, sweet things (like Rodgers & Hammerstein) – West Side
Story is a story of doomed love, extended dance scenes, underscoring, use of tritone
 Something’s Coming is sung by Tony – solo character song sung quite early on in the
musical
 Excited about the future and sings it before he meets Maria – dramatic irony

7. “Something’s Coming” from
West Side Story
(Leonard Bernstein, 1958)
MELODIC INTERVALS
GCSE Music: Area of Study 2

8. ‘Something’s Coming: Melody
Listen to the song and look at your scores:
 What is the key of the piece?
 What type of ‘voice’ (soprano, alto, tenor bass) is Tony?
 What is the first note that Tony sings?
 What is the vocal range (lowest note to highest note of
the melody line)?
 Is the melody line syllabic or melismatic?
 Is the melody diatonic or chromatic?

9. ‘Something’s Coming: Melody
Listen to the song and look at your scores:
 What is the key of the piece?
 What type of ‘voice’ (soprano, alto, tenor bass) is Tony?
 What is the first note that Tony sings?
 What is the vocal range (lowest note to highest note of
the melody line)?
 Is the melody line syllabic or melismatic?
 Is the melody diatonic or chromatic?
Tenor
D
10th (E to G)
Syllabic – one note
per syllable
Diatonic melody
D Major (2 sharps)

10. Something’s Coming: Melody
 Strong opening melody (questions) falling
from tonic to dominant (D to A)
 Bar 8-9: first melodic tritone heard in the
melody line (D to G# - the tritone has so
far been heard harmonically in the
accompanying riff pattern)
 Bar 17: Melodic tritone “soon as it shows”

11. F-B is a tritone. This is because F-G is one whole tone, G to A is one whole tone and A-B is one
whole tone = an interval of 3 whole tones, which is a TRITONE
 What is a Tritone?
‘Something’s Coming: Melody
A tritone is an interval spanning three whole tones,
also known as “diabolus in musica”: the devil in
music. It is also known as a diminished fifth or an
augmented 4th.

12. Something’s Coming:
 What is an interval?
 An interval is the distance between 2 notes.
 TASK: Identify the intervals. You have 5
minutes.

13. Answers
Interval 1 = 3rd (Major)
Interval 2 = Octave or 8th
Interval 3 = 6th (Minor)
Interval 4 = 4th (Perfect)
Interval 5 =3rd (Minor)
Interval 6 = 7th (Major)

14. Practical Learning
You’ve looked at the range of intervals
(gaps) between notes.
TASK 1
Have a look at some of the intervals in the melody and
learn the sound of them. We’re going to have an intervals
test!
TASK 2
Commit to memory the melodic shape of THEME A and
TUNE B – these are the 2 themes for the whole piece
and you need to learn them to understand the structure!

15. Fill in the gaps
The melody of ‘Something’s Coming’ is
D*******
The melody line is *******c
The voice of Tony would be classed as a
**n** voice
An important interval in this song is the
**i**** - this definition of this interval is
......................