Defying Gravity

Mindmap put into revision cards possiblt with some different info. Edexcel 9-1 GCSE

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  • Created by: LouiseB12
  • Created on: 11-04-17 18:02

Melody

  • Most of the song is syllabic
  • Some parts pf the choruses are disjunct 
  • Variation in the verses
  • Use of leitmotifs as a vital feature
  • Use of perfect intervals (4ths and 5ths)
  • Bars 71-79 is hexatonic
  • Scalic descent in bar 101
  • Long notes and wide leaps illustrate her confidence growing
  • "Defying gravity" is the title hook
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Rhythm

  • Recitative sections are in free time
  • Many changes of tempo
  • The time signature changes a lot at the beginning (between 3/2 and 2/2)
  • Settles into 4/4
  • Use of syncopated rhythms
  • Triplets used - bar 59
  • Ostinato features - eg bars 80-87 and 152-159 
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Texture

  • After some brief monophonic passages, the texture is mainly melody and accompaniment 
  • Becomes mainly homophonic 
  • The two characters mainly either sing alternatively or in unison
    • They sing in 3rds in a couple of passages
  • There is a brief contrapuntal (polyphonic) section in the final bars 
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Instrumentation

  • Band of 23 musicians
  • Reed players have to double instruments
  • Various features used include:
    • String tremolo - bars 34-36
    • Guitar overdrive - bar 11
    • Chordal writing for low brass - bars 20-23
    • Drum fill - bar 54
    • Tutti (full band) - bar 135
    • High melody on synth - bars 152-160
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Genre

  • Wicked, is a musical written by Stephen Schwartz and was released in 2003. It is based on the film The Wizard of Oz and the book Wicked.
  • The story is based around two witches; Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.
  • Defying Gravity ends the first act and is sung by both Elphaba and Glinda.
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Harmony

  • Use of root position triads and sus chords
  • Use of various cadences to progress to different parts of the song
    • Intro ends with a perfect cadence
    • Chorus starts with an interrupted cadence
    • Plagal cadence leads to the end (the most dramatic part)
  • Circle of 5ths progressions at 69-70
  • Use of pedals
    • Inner pedal - bars 162-167
    • Inverted pedal - bar 168 
  • In bars 125-128 they are in parallel thirds
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Tonality

  • Ambigous tonality at the beginning (moves chromatically) 
  • Each witch has an initial key:
    • Glinda - D major
    • Elphaba - D ♭ major
  • The main parts of the song (verses and chorusus) are in D major
  • Bars 88 - 100 are in G major
  • Bars 115-131 also have an ambiguous tonality 
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Structure

  • Mainly verse-chorus structure
    • Intro and a varied reprise of intro
    • 3 verses
    • Chorus is sung 4 times
    • Bridge
    • Coda
  • Instead of a verse, 2 chorusues are split up by the bridge before  the varied reprise of the intro. Verse 3 is then after that. 
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