Group 3
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]
Fellow Participants in Group 3:
Group 3
priscillayam
Cheryl
Chi Tong
StacyA
Taylor Ma
Don Allen
Chris Griffin
Harriet Kaplan
karin
Amy Reichel
John Mowry
Robert
Randi
Lily Li
Midori
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I want to start easy and do a Czerny exercise: Op 599, number 85, attached. Next, I'd like to do Chopin's Waltz in E minor, also attached. I have only dabbled in theory (despite the years playing clarinet in school - don't know why they didn't teach it!) so these things are relatively new to me. Thanks!
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Hi Ben- I'd like to work on Chopin's Op 9 No 2 Nocturne. I'm playing the accompaniment of Sarasate's violin/piano transcription (i.e. I'm essentially just responsible for the harmony) so I think a harmonic analysis of this piece would be very beneficial to my performance. Never tried a formal harmonic analysis before, but I'm excited to give this a try!
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Harmonic Analysis Group 3
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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Hi Ben, thank you for today's Zoom It is very informative having 3 experts on the subject. Harmony is the most difficult topic for m I doubt I can ever read it fast in my lifetime. I had a message that you responded to my Chopin op 27 Db submission for approval, but I cannot locate it for the moment. Here is my rough analysis when I first started learning this (in earnest for the first time)! Sorry if I did not keep it to the way you required. may not submit my playing- too shy to play in front of everyone. I am sure we all appreciate your effort. Priscilla
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I'm learning Janacek's In the Mists movement 3 and 4 and here's my attempt at analyzing the piece.
There are several points in the score where I was confused about whether I should interpret a chord as a key change or try to stick with the original key.
I would love to learn how you think the Schenkerian Analysis applies to this piece!