Skip to main content
University of Michigan Press Ebook Collection

University of Michigan Press
Ebook Collection
Browse Books Help
Get access to more books. Log in with your institution.

Your use of this Platform is subject to the Fulcrum Terms of Service.

Share the story of what Open Access means to you

a graphic of a lock that is open, the universal logo for open access

University of Michigan needs your feedback to better understand how readers are using openly available ebooks. You can help by taking a short, privacy-friendly survey.

  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Here for the Hearing: Analyzing the Music in Musical Theater

Here for the Hearing: Analyzing the Music in Musical Theater

Michael Buchler and Gregory J. Decker, Editors
Open Access Open Access
Read Book
  • EPUB (6.17 MB)
  • PDF (6.21 MB)
Buy Book

  • Overview

  • Contents

  • Funder Information

  • Stats

This book offers a series of essays that show the integrated role that musical structure (including harmony, melody, rhythm, meter, form, and musical association) plays in making sense of what transpires onstage in musicals. Written by a group of music analysts who care deeply about musical theater, this collection provides new understanding of how musicals are put together, how composers and lyricists structure words and music to complement one another, and how music helps us understand the human relationships and historical and social contexts. Using a wide range of musical examples, representing the history of musical theater from the 1920s to the present day, the book explores how music interacts with dramatic elements within individual shows and other pieces within and outside of the genre. These essays invite readers to consider issues that are fundamental both to our understanding of musical theater and to the multiple ways we engage with music.
  • Cover
  • Title Page
  • Copyright Page
  • Contents
  • List of Examples
  • List of Figures
  • List of Tables
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • Part 1: Chapters That Engage Multiple Works
    • Chapter 1. “Was It Ever Real?”
    • Chapter 2. Sondheim’s Dissonant Tonality
    • Chapter 3. Topical Interpretive Strategies in American Musical Theater
    • Chapter 4. A Phenomenological Approach to Music Theater Rhyme
    • Chapter 5. The Changing Rhythms of Bridges and Ends
  • Part 2: Chapters That Engage a Single Work
    • Chapter 6. Three Notions of Long-Range Form in Guys and Dolls
    • Chapter 7. Style, Tonality, and Sexuality in The Rocky Horror Show
    • Chapter 8. Music, Time, and Memory in Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years
    • Chapter 9. Lesbian Desire in Fun Home
    • Chapter 10. The Hip-Hop History of Hamilton
    • Chapter 11. “Isn’t It Queer?”
  • Contributors
  • Index
Sponsored in part by the Florida State University Libraries' Open Access Publishing Fund
Citable Link
Published: 2023
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license
ISBN(s)
  • 978-0-472-90353-5 (open access)
  • 978-0-472-13331-4 (hardcover)
  • 978-0-472-03930-2 (paper)
Series
  • Tracking Pop
Subject
  • Music:Musicology
  • Music:Music Theory

Resources

Search and Filter Resources

Limit your search

  • Chapter 110
  • Chapter 225
  • Chapter 314
  • Chapter 416
  • Chapter 518
  • Chapter 64
  • Chapter 74
  • Chapter 84
  • Chapter 99
  • Chapter 103
  • Chapter 114

  • Sondheim25
  • rhyme19
  • Phrase structure16
  • modulation13
  • Fun Home10
  • more Keyword »

  • Nobile, Drew25
  • Short, Rachel18
  • Blustein, Nathan10
  • Decker, Gregory J.10
  • Kron, Lisa9
  • more Creators »

  • musical example91
  • chart20

This is the en.blacklight.search.search_results_header

« Previous | 1 - 20 of 111 | Next »
First Appearance Section (Earliest First) Section (Last First) Format (A-Z) Format (Z-A) Year (Oldest First) Year (Newest First)
Number of results to display per page
10 per page 20 per page 50 per page 100 per page
View results as:
List List Gallery Gallery

Search Results

A music example representing a single modulation in “What a Game” from C major to D♭ major.

“What a Game,” from A to A′

From Chapter 1

Example 1.1a. From A to A′ (mm. 37–41).

A music example representing a single modulation in “What a Game” from D♭ major to B♭ major.

“What a Game,” from A′ to trio

From Chapter 1

Example 1.1b. From A′ to trio (mm. 77–81).

A music example representing a single modulation in “What a Game” from B♭ major to C major.

“What a Game,” from trio to A′′

From Chapter 1

Example 1.1c. From trio to A′′ (mm. 102–105; m. 105 as written in score).

A music example representing two consecutive modulations in “The Wizard and I,” starting in E♭ major and ending in B major.

"The Wizard and I"

From Chapter 1

Example 1.2. “The Wizard and I”: “Unlimited” interlude into thematic return in B major.

A music example representing two modulations over several phrases in “’Til Him.” An intermediary passage is annotated with “Cut on OBCR.”

"'Til Him"

From Chapter 1

Example 1.3. “’Til Him”: modulations across choruses, via underscoring in D♭ major.

A music example representing a single modulation in “Unworthy of Your Love,” starting in A major and ending in B major.

"Unworthy of Your Love"

From Chapter 1

Example 1.4. “Unworthy of Your Love”: modulation up by whole step, from the end of the bridge to the duet chorus (home key marked with asterisks).

Two music examples representing a single modulation in “I Can Cook, Too,” starting in F major and ending in G major.

"I Can Cook, Too"

From Chapter 1

Example 1.5. “I Can Cook, Too,” verse: beginning (left); modulation up by whole step in second phrase (right).

A table with sections, keys, and lyrics for the opening number of Company, showing two large-­scale modulations across verses.

Form and Key Chart for "Company"

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.1a. Chart for “Company.”

A table with sections, keys, and lyrics for the opening number of A Strange Loop, showing one large-­scale modulation across verses.

Form and Key Chart for "Intermission Song"

From Chapter 1

Figure 1.1b. Chart for “A Strange Loop.”

A music example representing two consecutive modulations in “Too Many Mornings,” starting in F♯ major and ending in B♭ major.

"Too Many Mornings"

From Chapter 1

Example 1.6. “Too Many Mornings”: Stepwise modulations from Sally’s solo (F♯ major) to duet (B♭ major).

Annotated musical notation showing a chord progression of one-­six-­four-­two-­five with lyrics “Someone to hold you too close . . . ,” “Someone to sit in your chair . . . ,” and “to make you aware of being alive.”

"Being Alive"

From Chapter 2

Example 2.1. “Being Alive” (Company): chordal reduction of first vocal phrase (mm. 3–11).

Annotated musical notation showing a repeated bass line, an ascending octatonic scale in the top line, and whole-­tone clusters in the inner voices. Lyrics read “Smoke, smoke, sign of the devil . . .” At the end, the harmony gradually normalizes to A-­flat.

"Johanna" sequence

From Chapter 2

Example 2.2. “Johanna (Todd)” (Sweeney Todd, No. 20): chordal reduction of “City on Fire” section, mm. 57–86.

Annotated musical notation showing a melody with lyrics “In Buddy’s eyes, I’m young, I’m beautiful” over chords containing scale-­degrees 1-­2-­3-­5 and 1-­2-­4-­5.

"In Buddy's Eyes"

From Chapter 2

a) “In Buddy’s Eyes” (Follies), mm. 45–48.

Annotated musical notation showing a melody with lyrics “You’re always sorry, you’re always grateful” over chords containing scale-­degrees 1-­2-­3-­5-­6 and 1-­2-­4-­5.

"Sorry–Grateful"

From Chapter 2

b) “Sorry-Grateful” (Company), mm. 3–4.

Annotated musical notation showing a melody with lyrics “Did I abuse her or show her disdain? Why does she run from me?” over chords containing scale-­degrees 1-­2-­3-­5 and 1-­2-­4-­5, plus an inner-­voice line alternating scale-­degrees 7 and 6.

"Agony"

From Chapter 2

c) “Agony” (Into the Woods, No. 10), mm. 2–5.

Annotated musical notation showing a melody with lyrics “Yesterday is done” over chords containing scale-­degrees 1-­3-­5 and 1-­2-­4-­5.

"Merrily We Roll Along"

From Chapter 2

d) “Merrily We Roll Along” (Merrily We Roll Along, No. 2), mm. 6–7.

A list of ten shows and one song from each of them.

List of Mi-Fa oscillation examples in Sondheim

From Chapter 2

e) Some other examples of 3–4 oscillation from Company (1970) to Passion (1994).

Annotated musical notation showing two chords: the first is an E13 chord, a type of suspended dominant, labeled as spanning measures 1 through 7; the second is a 0-­1-­4-­8 chord beginning at the witch’s entrance in measure 8.

"Opening (Part III)"

From Chapter 2

a) “Opening (Part III)” (Into the Woods, No. 1C).

Annotated musical notation of one measure, with the first half labeled as a 0-­1-­4-­8 sonority.

"Your Fault"

From Chapter 2

b) “Your Fault” (Into the Woods, No. 22), opening vamp. Example 2.4. (0148) in Into the Woods.

Annotated musical notation showing a melody with lyrics “There’s another national anthem playing, not the one you hear at the ballpark” over a chord progression of three chords; the first chord is labeled as a 0-­1-­4-­8 sonority, and the top voice is shown as scale-­degrees 3-­4-­3.

"Another National Anthem"

From Chapter 2

Example 2.5. (0148) at the beginning of “Another National Anthem” (Assassins, No. 8, mm. 83–85).

  • « Previous
  • Next »
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
University of Michigan Press Contact Us

UMP EBC

  • Browse and Search
  • About UMP EBC
  • Impact and Usage

Follow Us

  • UMP EBC Newsletter
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Quicklinks

  • Help/FAQ
  • Title List
  • MARC Records
  • KBART Records
  • Usage Stats
© 2024, Regents of the University of Michigan · Accessibility · Preservation · Privacy · Terms of Service
Powered by Fulcrum logo · Log In
x This site requires cookies to function correctly.