How the Gershwin\'s create mood in their songs
The four Gershwin songs I have studied are 'Someone to Watch Over Me', 'Let's Call the Whole Thing Off', 'Fascinating Rhythm' and 'Foggy Day'. In each song the Gershwin's have managed to create mood easily through various compositional Techniques. Fascinating Rhythm was written in 1924 for Fred and Adele Astaire. The mood of the song is upbeat, but frustrated. The melody is highly syncopated which along with breathless lyrics makes the song sound agitated and it adds to the effect that this rhythm is causing them disturbance. In the verse of the song it is explaining the situation which is the first thing that sets the mood. The use of a three note droning motif in the main melody creates a rather lost feel to the song, the rhythm is taking over them and they are becoming powerless towards it. The blues notes creates a major/minor ambivalence which adds to the confusion of the singers about the rhythm. The blues notes also emphasises the word rhythm, which emphasises its importance and annoyance in the song. The use of a hard 'p' in 'pit-a-pats' reinforces the constant beat, which in turn reinforces the rhythm and how it is constant and won't let leave them alone. The refrain in FR has 4 sections to it, which are all 8 bar
It descends on the beat to the tonic note, D, to resolve the verse, but it doesn't actually resolve for another two bars because the melody carries on, to change key. A rising 6th represents a plea which links to another song, 'They all Laughed'. The verse describes the situation in a musical question and answer debate. The interval of a 5th between the words "eether, eyether, neether, nyether" is a subliminal message, in another song 'Beginner's Luck' a 5th means love, so we associate it with love now in other songs. The beginning of theme B "each morning. This changes the mood of the song, it isn't so much of a nuisance anymore, it is actually quite intriguing. Oh how I need, someone to watch over me. The lyrics in the first A section describes the wanting to end the relationship because they are too different. The song is actually quite contradicting, the lyrics dictate that the song overwhelms the characters, but the fact that they are able to sing and dance suggest that they control the rhythm?Someone to Watch Over Me was written for a show called Oh, Kay! The overall mood of the piece is one of despair and wanting.
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