How does Bernstein create a sense of excitement and expectancy in somethings coming?

Answer 1

'Something's

Coming' sets the breathy and excited mood in the repeated figure of the accompaniment through the bright D major key and the fast tempo, in the next few bars that follow, section A begins and an insistent opening riff is played by the orchestra, its driving rhythms create a sense of urgency and adds to the excitement in the piece. At bar 21, we see added notes to spice up the harmony and again increase the excitement through the appearance of a G major seventh chord.

Further along in the piece in section B, the on-beat

crotchets add to the strength and conviction of the belief that something is going to happen

at the dance that evening. There are also snappy, one-bar

phrases of 'could it be...yes

it could' which thus form feverish excitement. Throughout the section the bass plays on-beat

quavers outlining chords of D major, A major and G major. However the middle parts of the harmony are chromatic throughout the section, often moving in parallel fourths. The effect of this is one of suspense and mystery, maybe even a foreshadowing or foreboding of future events.

A juxta

position of crochet triple time feel with a syncopated melody creates a mood of excitement along with the rhythm ambiguity creating restlessness.