Earlier this year, I watched a musical that grew to be one of my favorites – something I believe was caused not only by its impactful storyline, but also by its use of one of my favorite sound techniques: polyphony. Polyphony is the use of overlapping melodies within a work. It differs from harmonies due to being made up of a blend of individual melodies, rather than one shared melody. In this blog post, I will be looking at how the use of polyphony within “Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling” from the Original London Cast Recording of Next to Normal built a soundscape through the production team’s sound mixing techniques of volume and timing.
Next to Normal depicts the story of the Goodman family as they try to achieve a sense of normal. The family is made up of a mother coping with bipolar disorder (Diana), a husband trying to keep his family together (Dan), a teenage daughter who feels invisible (Natalie), and a son who died when he was a baby but continues to live through his mother’s grief and mental struggles in the form of a teenager (Gabe). “Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling” plays around 1/2-3/4 of the way through Act One. It begins with a conversation between Diana and her doctor, Dr. Madden, before gradually extending its storytelling reach to the other members of Diana’s family. Polyphony is the strongest in this song at 4:40, where it reaches its climax by mixing the voices of each family member, as well as Dr. Madden, together. I will analyze this part of the song verse-by-verse according to the lyrics on Genius found here: https://genius.com/Next-to-normal-2024-original-london-company-make-up-your-mind-catch-me-im-falling-lyrics.
Looking first at the opening of this polyphonic moment, it begins with Diana declaring that she is falling and Gabe quietly announcing that he’s alive. This allows for the audience to understand that Diana is the center of this entire moment, even with all of the well coordinated chaos that follows her in terms of vocals. The less noticeable voice of Gabe gives a declaration that is just as strong as Diana’s, yet the decision of the production team to have his voice be drowned out when others join is highly symbolic of his existence throughout the entire musical. Gabe’s presence in the Goodman family following his death is only possible due to Diana’s mental struggles. He can only be heard when she is – even if it is at a lower volume than her – so when the other members of the family begin to sing, Gabe’s presence is no longer as pronounced. Gabe’s parts of this polyphonic moment can go unnoticed without paying close attention, but he continuously repeats lyrics that involve being alive for the rest of the song’s polyphony section.
The next verse comes in quickly, as Dr. Madden, Natalie, and Dan become participants in this messy musical conversation. Dr. Madden’s part is very noticeable, as much of the build-up for this song comes from the conversation between him and Diana in his office. He is the voice of medical reason, telling Diana that she needs to make a choice that allows her to live. Essentially, he is saying that she needs to move on from grieving Gabe and focus on what she has now. This is supported by the voice of Natalie overlapping with Dr. Madden’s, as she begs her mother to look around and realize that Gabe is not with them anymore and hasn’t been in a long time. Her voice is far more noticeable as she says “Take a look” than it is when she tells Diana “He’s not here.” This strategic sound mixing plays into the storyline of how Natalie finds herself invisible and yells to be seen, but her pleas to her mother get ignored – in terms of actual volume and recognition. Additionally, while Dan also begs Diana to “Take a look,” his voice is almost completely drowned out by those around him – in fact, I did not know that he spoke at this moment until reading through the lyrics. I believe that this was an intentional choice made by the production team, as Dan faces a silent struggle with his grief throughout the musical, yet tries to present himself as a happy, strong front for his family. It is not until the end of the musical that the audience sees Dan truly confront his grief for Gabe and the situation around him.
The following verse continues to highlight the voices of Dr. Madden and Diana, with Natalie’s vocals playing subtly in the background. The lack of vocals from Gabe at this moment is the most interesting aspect of this verse to me, as he is no longer singing any lyrics that are about being alive like he has been during this whole section. This choice was well made, as Dr. Madden’s part of this verse is him telling Diana that she has to choose to be “fully alive.” Similar to the previous verse, in being fully alive, she needs to fully move beyond Gabe. Gabe’s presence needs to be entirely absent for Diana to be completely alive. This aspect of lyrical storytelling is identical to the sound mixing that elevates it by varying the volumes and timings of voices.
The final verse of this section of polyphony features the overlapping voices of the Goodman family and Dr. Madden. Many of the lyrics in this section seem to act as responses to what Dr. Madden is telling Diana. Expanding upon this, Dr. Madden continues to tell Diana she needs to move on and finally live. As he says to “Embrace what’s inside,” Gabe’s voice comes back into play. Once again, this is a feature of this section that I was not aware of until reading over the lyrics, but the timing of Gabe’s re-introduction is highly interesting. It implies that Gabe is what is inside of Diana, so for her to be embracing what’s inside, she would be embracing him, as indicated by him singing “Alive.” In another lyric that has gone unnoticed by me, Dan sings the word “Love,” in response to Dr. Madden saying that Diana needs to “Replace what has died,” further expressing to the audience that their marriage is not as stable as it once was, but Dan’s attempts to hold it together have been ignored (as indicated by the production team choosing to make his lyrics low volume).
Overall, the use of polyphony within “Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I’m Falling,” is very well done. It allows for the song to make an impression on the audience that goes beyond straightforward lyrics, as it instead focuses on delivering a message through sound mixing – specifically by adjusting volume and timing. The production team’s use of polyphony allows for the song to create an overwhelming environment with multiple desires to be heard and various perspectives present. This song, as well as many musicals in general, would not be what it is without the soundscape being created by skillful mixing. As for the recording of this song, the audio for the cast album was pulled directly from the pro-shot of the musical. This created some moments throughout the album where there are awkward cut-offs and abrupt intros, but it allowed for the songs to stay as raw as they are on stage rather than risking them becoming cleaner in a professionally-recorded setting.
Sources: https://www.classical-music.com/features/musical-terms/polyphony-music-definition, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polyphony, https://genius.com/36871152