Hi everyone! First of all, it looks a little bit like I'm starring in Runaways. Anybody?
Eighties reference? Back in the day? Work! So today I'm gonna discuss not
specifically buttons, but the end the ends of songs, like the last eight bars
you know like the beginnings of songs like have amazing vamps you know like
What about the actual ends? I'm gonna discuss this kind of further when I get
more into it, but first I want to just discuss bizarre endings
so this is Guys and Dolls, by the way this is an amazing show, but the lack of a button
I find fascinating. If I were a bell, you know 'ding-don'
'da da da da do do da bum' give me a button, it doesn't, it sort of ends and
then there's this weird like the strings just hold a cord and the audience is
like is it over? OK, so this is the bizarre ending of a song I want to
discuss, here we go
Is it over? So that makes me cray cray. Here's another one
this is the Chess concept album which I totally love, this is Elaine Paige and it was a
pop album so they had a fade-out so the first time I played what it was, you know it was a
concept album, meaning it hadn't been staged yet they were just kind of
introducing these songs to the world and the song fades out because you notice by
the people from ABBA or ABBA, and it's a natural pop beta so first
listen to this and then we'll discuss this so this is the original version of
Nobody's on Nobody's Side
So then it came to Broadway and I was like oh my god
I cannot wait to hear what amazing ending they came up with for Nobody's on Nobody's Side
because like a it's fade-out but I cannot wait to hear the amazing
sassafras Broadway ending. And then they came up with this they slowed it down.
So remember I thought it's gonna be this crazy incredible ending they just
took the last four bars like let's just kind of ritard it, rit-ard and then just
sort of like hold the last note. OK, so this is the amazing ending
I'm hoping when it comes back to Broadway we're gonna revisit this.
Anybody listening? Bjorn, Benny? Anybody three ears? Here we go
So when I did the Chess concert, on a side note, of course I couldn't think of
a better ending so I just slowed it down too, but at least I told Julia Murney
I'm like just rip the hell out of it, sort of disguise the fact
there's no actual amazing ending, so this is from the Chess concert with Julia
for the actress fund with Josh Groban. Here we go.
OK, so that's just bizarre endings
Now I'm gonna show you sassy brassy
Now what I'm trying to describe is this, when a composer writes it cuz here's the thing
a composer, let's say writes the song, and it could just end like this, this is
Bells are Ringing
it could have been anything so I don't know if the composer
thinks of these endings, it depends on the piece, if the composer thinks of it,
or if the orchestrator or the arranger but my point is I'm not talking
about the melody and the lyrics I'm talking about the actual ending of the
song so like the the the orchestral part of the last eight bars of a song
once the melody is over, so like I said it could have been
Instead it's this really cool brass, sassy brassy ending which is used a couple throughout
Broadway so this is the first time you hear it
So this is the first sassy brassy ending so there are kind of three in a row that are similar
I love this, here we go
Sassy brassy! Now second sassy brassy I'm going to play you is from
Broadway Baby, which weirdly is like the same key
It's the same thing on
The only difference is it ends on the four
instead of 'bells are ringing'
Sondheim goes
but it's the same
it's the same sassy brassy ending as Bells are Ringing, here we go, so is is the next sassy brassy
OK so what I'm trying to get across is like the melody is over, show the the
ending the last eight bars really helps increase or decrease the applause that's
why I was thinking like with I Were A Bell, it's just
sort of like do I applaud? Is it a secret am I intruding on a private conversation?
whereas like 'Bom Bom Bom Bom Bom' that's amazing
the next thing which is so similar, the sassy brassy, is on
Broadway right now it's the amazing ending of 'Dolly will never go away again' it's the same thing
it's such a perfect Broadway ending, here we go, but like I said it's
they're all so similar, it gets so amazing
so they decided to use a blue note and you know a blue note is
a blue note is a flatted third 'one two three' so instead of going
they go to a blue note, they go to the flatted third, so it goes
so you hear it one more time, it's so effective
OK, so that's a sassy brassy ending, weirdly all three of the same and I love it
so now the other kind ending I love, well they are a couple of them, but this thing called sassy
syncopation, so it's amazing offbeats, like I said
you can end it any way you want this is the end of 'Tonight Quintet'
but instead, it's this really amazing sassy syncopation
syncopation music you're on the offbeat, so instead of going you know 'bum bum bum bum'
it's going 'one and two and bum bum'
and these amazing endings totally
increase the applause you're going to get because it's so exciting to listen to
listen how thrilling this ending is, sassy syncopation I call it
OK same sassy syncopation, by the way finally this move comes in handy, and the
end of 'The Music and the Mirror' it's the same
listen it's "The Music and the Mirror' mirror the original Donna McKechnie, same sassy syncopation, here we go
same thing as 'Tonight'
now I want to talk about the terrifying half, I call it the terrifying half step
it's actually it's very similar to, Stephen Schwartz does it a lot
and let's say your piece in this key, you do a weird half step
right before and he does it in Pippin in 'Extraordinary'
but it's not really terrifying so I'm not gonna actually play it, but just you know it's
like this
but it's not a scary piece so I'm not gonna play it
the most amazing half step right now on Broadway I'm obsessed with is the end of 'Face to Face'
from War Paint, first of all they sound crazy, but I actually got the music
yet again, it's impossible to play, but I'm just dying to sort of deconstruct
how amazing it is, so they're going
they could have just gone 'standing face to face' as you're holding what's so cool
what's so cool is you're holding this last note but what the orchestra is doing underneath it
is upping what the applause is gonna be because it's so exciting
so I'm dying to play this for you
and then half-step up
it is such a crazily, thrilling ending I'm obsessed with it
OK listen to it and then I'm gonna deconstruct it one more time
but how much more boring would it have been if 'standing face to face' and just
some kind of 'da da da bum' instead they're holding it and you have you have
to look like seven measures of crazy music, listen to this
I'm obsessed with it and FYI
the best way to listen to this is to do the quote on quote
choreography it's not really choreography, but if the two of them are
standing, you have to watch the Tony's, so they're rivals they're
standing opposite each other and they're singing 'only we could stand face to face'
but they're not in the same, it's very Danny and Sandy in 'Summer Nights'
but it's a much scarier version, so it's Danny and Sandy like we don't see each other
and then at the very very end they actually look at each other
are they looking at each other? Is it all imaginary? And then they look out like
was that a dream? it so goes perfectly the music so every time you listen to
this you have to do the staging that I saw the Tony Awards, I also saw it live on Broadway
but it is riveting, OK here we go yes listen to it and do the staging
you're standing face out, you look at your rival
is she really there? Sandy, I thought you went back to Australia! and
then look straight out here we go
Oh my god, I love it! Thank you, namaste