Group 1
Welcome to the latest TWO WEEK INTENSIVE on tonebase!
For the next two weeks we will be working through assignments given by Ben Laude to improve your playing and understanding of Schubert!
Pianists of all levels are welcome.
More Detailed instructions coming soon!
- Sign-Up : December 1st - 4th
- Course Period: December 4th -15th
- Class Size: ALL are welcome!
- Optional check-In via Zoom: December 12th at 11am PT
Click here to join the meeting!
Assignment #1
ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS (WEEK 1)
- Watch the ABOVE video, which will serve as a crash course in chromatic harmony in preparation for your assignment.
- If you have no idea what Iâm talking about in the video, check out these materials to get up to speed:
- Pre-requisite/review course:
- Course: Music Theory Basics
- Other helpful tonebase resources:
- Livestream: Harmonic Analysis Crash Course
- Forums thread: Improve Your Harmonic Analysis with Ben Laude
- Pre-requisite/review course:
- If you have no idea what Iâm talking about in the video, check out these materials to get up to speed:
- Perform a harmonic analysis on Schubertâs Moment Musical #6 (A Section only; you can stop at the Trio):
- Label chords with roman numerals
- Mark cadences (half cadence: ends on V; authentic cadence: V resolves to I)
- Identify the following chromatic devices:
- Secondary dominant
- Augmented 6th
- Modal mixture
- Chromatic mediant
- Common-tone modulation
- Optional: Perform a harmonic analysis on a Schubert piece of your choice (or target specific passages from pieces youâre curious about)
â Donât expect to get everything right! This is an advanced harmonic analysis. The whole point of the TWI is to dive into the deep end of Schubertâs harmony and formâŠ
â Ask questions in the forum! I will be replying to user questions, and weâll be going over the whole thing in next weekâs Zoom meeting.
â For more experienced users, I do recommend analyzing the recommended study piece (and helping your fellow TWIs); but you may want to spend your time on another Schubert piece youâre already working on.
Schubertâs piano music
The âeasiestâ of Schubertâs piano music are probably his collections of Waltzes, LĂ€ndler, and other dances. These capture the spirit of Schubert the dancer, although they arenât representative of his harmonic/compositional exploration, so I donât recommend them for this TWI. Instead, you should take a look through Schubert's core piano repertoire, most of which is listed here:
Level 6-8
- Moment musicals
- Two Scherzi, D. 593
- Impromptus op 90, op 142
- 3 Klavierstucke
Level 6-10
- Sonatas
Level 11
- Wanderer Fantasy
Feel free to venture beyond the solo piano music!
ZOOM CHECK- IN with Ben!
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Hi Ben and everyone!
Here is my video of second assignment. I've tried to point out the key moments in the video following the contractions (HC, CTM...). I'm sure I missed a lot of interesting details and made mistakes. But, I'm now aware of the complexity of Schubert chromatic harmony, the incredible flexibility of his writing of moving between "parallel universes". In this particular piece (the second KlavierstĂŒcke D 946), which I love, the harmony journey has almost an existential meaning in the always beautiful and emotional sense of Schubert music. Thank you so much for this insightful course (these videos are a real treasure to learn the secrets of Schubert harmony).
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Juan Carlos Olite Dear Juan Carlos, you never stop to amaze me! Congratulations on your playing, analyzing and video editing!! A true pleasure to follow! (And to find this lovely photo of Schubert in the end).
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Andrea Buckland Thank you so much, Andrea! You are very very kind
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Juan Carlos Olite Absolutely love your interpretation of this piece. Thank you for posting it with all the analysis too! You inspire my repertoire choices so much!
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Juan Carlos Olite Awesome work!!
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Marc M Thank you very much, Marc!
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Juan Carlos Olite You've got this music under total control here. Very beautiful.
And you are improving too!
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Richard Littlewood Thank you so much, Richard!
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Juan Carlos Olite Wow! Not only is your video analysis amazing, your interpretation gave me goosebumps (in a good way!). You always inspire me with EVERYTHING you do, dear friend.
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Juan Carlos Olite What a wonderful interpretation. I love the titles you added - they bring so much to my enjoyment!
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Gail Starr Monika Tusnady Thank you so much, you are always very kind!
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Enjoyable two weeks exploring a composer who is so special to me. As I still have much left to do with the Moment Musicaux, I decided to post a different piece that I have been working on recently- Der Leiermann. The last of the 24 songs in Schubertâs Winterreise. This version is the piano transcription by Liszt. It is interesting in its simplicity, repetition and lack of real cadences. Why did Schubert put it last in his set and why did Liszt not do that in his own collection (he has it at #8 out of 12)? The Leiermann is supposed to be a harbinger of death- maybe Schubert was again thinking about his own mortality.
Here is the English translation of the original lieder by Wilhelm MĂŒller:https://oxfordsong.org/song/der-leiermann-2
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Vidhya Bashyam What a beautiful choice, Vidhya! And your interpretation is so moving!
"Der Leiermann is one of those magical, totemic pieces of music which seem to have a power and a resonance beyond all rational explanation" (Ian Bostridge in his absolutely wonderful book Schubert's Winter Journey. Anatomy of an Obsession, by the way a book that bring us closer to the personality of Schubert, and his cultural references, like no other).
Thank you so much for sharing it!
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Juan Carlos Olite Thank you! That book sounds great. Will definitely read it.
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Very nice playing, Vidhya!
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Vidhya Bashyam Lovely phrasing and pastoral feeling, Vidhya! I love your final, mysterious tempo...like the piece never ends.
I sometimes feel like the LH motif sounds a bit like a bagpipe droning? What do you think?
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Gail Starr I was reading the book Juan Carlos suggested and guess what it says? â The hurdy-gurdy is the fiddlerâs version of the bagpipe.â You are spot on as always
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Vidhya Bashyam Wow! Maybe I have ESP? I have to get a copy of that book.
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Hi everyone. Iâm currently working on the G-major sonata D894 and want to share my analysis and playing of the 1st movement exposition with you. I was taking Ben Laude s study notes (thanks for that!) as a model. Any feedback is very welcome!
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Andrea Buckland Bravo for your playing and your AMAZING study notes! This section of the sonata was so sweet and lovely. I need more now!
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Andrea Buckland Beautiful and serene playing! Love it, Andrea! And the study notes are very detailed and accurate; and admirable job.
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Juan Carlos Olite Thank you very much, dear Vidhya Bashyam and Juan Carlos! So happy to be working on Schubert!
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Andrea Buckland So lovely, dear Andrea!
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Andrea Buckland Your playing truly gets to the heart of this piece. I admire the breath and phrasing you are able to achieve - peaceful yet moving!
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Gail Starr thank you so much, dear Gail!
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