Group 2
ENHANCE YOUR INTERPRETATIONS THROUGH HARMONIC ANALYSIS WITH BEN LAUDE
Led by tonebase Head of Piano Ben Laude, youâll also be receiving direct feedback from two special guests: Curtis/Juilliard music theory professor and new tonebase artist Eric Wen and pianist/composer/Indiana University music faculty member and tonebase blogger Nicole DiPaolo!
This Intensive is meant for pianists of different skill levels and music theory backgrounds. If youâre new to music analysis, youâll find all the prerequisite knowledge youâll need and more in Ben Laudeâs âMusic Theory Basicsâ course.
Whether youâre just getting your feet wet with Roman numeral analysis, want a better grasp of figured bass, or youâre ready to ascend to the high art of Schenkerian analysis, you WILL improve your skills in music theory and analysis.
Assignments
Follow these steps:
- Submit a piece/passage for approval! Choose a piece of tonal music whose harmony youâd like to understand better. It can be a piece youâre working on, or just one youâd enjoy. For longer works, choose a section that youâd like to focus on.
- Attempt a roman numeral analysis! Begin identifying harmonies and labeling them with roman numerals, either directly to your printed score or digitally using a PDF annotation app. See below for more details (1a, 1b)
- Post your analyses to the thread for feedback! Either take a picture of your handwritten analyses or save a digitally-annotated analyses and upload into the thread below, along with any questions you might have for me, Eric, or Nicole.
- Recommended: Let's hear how your interpretation evolves with your analysis! Post videos to show how your harmonic understanding is influencing your performance.
- Optional: Try out formal analysis, chordal reduction, and more! If you've completed a harmonic analysis and are satisfied with it, move on to analyzing the form of your piece, attempt a chordal reduction, or explore other analytic techniques. See below for more details (2, 3, 4)
For printable staff paper, click here!
More instructions:
- Depending on your music theory background, consider starting at either 1a or 1b and consider how far you'd like to progress beyond harmonic analysis. There's not shame in staying at 1a the whole time!! It can take a while to get the hang of this:
1a. Roman numeral analysis - Diatonic. If youâre new to music analysis, this is a good place to start. Pick a work from the classical period (Mozart, Haydn, Clementi, or Beethoven), identify the key, determine the chord scale, and begin labeling your score with Roman numerals under each distinct harmony. Look out for ânon-chord tones,â notes that donât belong to the given triad or extended chord, but live in between or next door to chord members. When you see accidentals, look for clues in the harmonic progression to help you determine if it's a passing tone/embellishment or if you're entering chromatic harmonic terrain (see 1b). Your piece might modulate, but still remain diatonic to the new key (as in simpler classical works).
1b. Roman numeral analysis - Chromatic. If youâre comfortable analyzing mostly diatonic works from the classical era, consider choosing a romantic piece that features more chromatic progressions (late Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Grieg, Tchaikovsky). Label your score with Roman numerals, indicating modal mixture, applied chords (secondary dominants/leading tone chords), and modulations. Identify what keys you visit and keep track of how you get there.
2. (Optional) Formal analysis. If you've grasped the harmonic content of your piece/passage, you can then move on to analyzing its larger form â how phrases connect to larger sections, what key areas you visit along the way, and how the composer journeys from the tonic to the dominant and back to tonic over the course of the work. Most 18th-19th century music is in one of the following forms: binary form (A/B), ternary form (A/B/A), and sonata form (exposition/development/recapitulation). Romantic works might have more varied forms.
3. (Optional) Chordal reduction. Using voice leading principles, try constructing a chordal reduction of your piece/passage and be able to play it musically.
4. (Optional) Explore other analytic techniques. If you feel confident in your harmonic and formal analysis, consider strengthening your understanding of figured bass (thoroughbass), species counterpoint, schemas (voice leading patterns), and Schenkerian analysis.
RECOMMENDED TONEBASE COURSES
Primary resource
- Ben Laude: Music Theory Basics [Elementary concepts, Roman numerals]
Further resources for more advanced analysis
- Derek Remes: Harmony and Composition in J.S. Bachâs Circle [Intermediate-advanced concepts, figured bass vs roman numeral analysis]
- Derek Remes: Reverse Engineering Bach[Chordal reductions]
- Eric Wen: Music Theory for Pianists through the lens of Schenkerian Analysis [Intermediate-advanced concepts, Schenkerian Analysis]
Recommended reading
- Nicole DiPaolo: Composing for piano â 3 ways to get started [featuring overviews of schemas, scale degrees, and other theory concepts applied to composition]
Group 2
Jesus Reyes
Natalie Peh
Kar
khashayar amri
Ali Bolourian
Kari
Michael
Kirsten Rielly
Jason
Annie
Michael Palmer
David Moore
Terry
Jacqueline
Kerstin
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Hi Ben,
Sorry I am late! I have not analysed anything in such a long time I forgot everything! So I chose 1A right now, but as I went on I thought it might be a bit easy. Beethoven Piano Sonata Op 26 first movement was the one that I chose. And for 1b can I analyze Prokofiev Piano sonata No. 3? I have not ever analyzed any chromatic piece. Thanks
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Harmonic Analysis Group 2
Dear all! Just a reminder about the Zoom check-in with Nicole and Eric today. Here's the meeting info:
Topic: Two Week Intensive Check-In with Ben, Nicole, and Eric!
Time: Aug 5, 2022 11:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88205704167I will kick things off, then turn it over to Eric and Nicole who will each discuss some topics that bear directly on all of your work, before opening up questions to the whole group!
See you there!
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My apologies for getting to this so late, I have had a busy week and little time to focus. Right now, I have Chopin's Nocturne in Eb Major (Op. 9 #2) up on my wall, so that seems like it would be a good place for me to dive back into analysis. There are some spots particularly in the middle section of that piece where I have a hard time hearing the progression. I will try to have something to upload by tonight.
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Sorry for joining late. I spent some time leaning from other people's analysis and nervously started my very first analysis. I have really learned a lot and am very grateful for this exercise.
I'm still puzzled about how to analyze modulation. For example, it seems the piece changed from to G major in the 3rd beat of measure 13. Is that where I should mark it as G major? Before that, it seems the piece went briefly to D major between measure 10 and 12. Should I analyze them based on D major? Many thanks!
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Dear all! Just a few words on how I'm approaching closing out this Two Week Intensive:
- If you haven't received direct written feedback from me, you will. I've just been juggling a few commitments at the moment and it will probably take me through tomorrow (Wednesday) evening to get to everybody. Nicole will be making her last round as well!
- If I've already responded to you, I likely will not have time to follow up with another written response. However, on Thursday I'm planning to record a video commentary in which I follow up with each participant one final time. This will be much more efficient for me, and also allow me to show you a few things at the piano that I take away from your analyses. I encourage you to watch the whole video, not just the part responding to your analysis, as there is much to learn from everyone's submissions.
- I am recording a Zoom call with Eric Wen tomorrow morning in which he'll discuss 6 pieces, 2 by Bach, 2 by Beethoven, and 2 by Chopin, each of which is among the submissions across the four groups. I encourage you to watch this video too, as his perspective is very rich and filled with implications for performance.
- As we wrap up our analyses and start thinking about implications for performance, I once again encourage you to post videos of yourself playing the passage we studied to together, and offering a word or two about how your newfound harmonic understanding has influenced how you approach the piece. It needn't be profound! And, if you're not sure exactly how your analysis should translate to performance, that's okay. But I'll try to offer some ideas in the video I create.
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Harmonic Analysis Group 2 Dear all - as promised, here is the analysis session I recorded with Eric Wen, especially for this Two Week Intensive!
Wen and I break down passages from Mozart's Sonata K. 545 and Fantasy K 397 before turning to the first page of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata to discuss what's so enchanting and tragic about the harmonic motion. We finish with a peek at the opening of Chopin's E-flat Nocturne, Op. 9 No. 2.
I believe you will all find it helpful to watch us analyze and play this music. I chose the pieces and topics directly from this Intensive. Even if the piece you analyzed isn't present here, you'll likely find many insights that do apply to your piece.
It's a long, unedited video, so there will be some down time as we transition between pieces. Apologies in advance for my clumsy use of the editor in my PDF Preview. Not ideal. But I eventually get the hang of it!See the description for chapter timecodes!