Group 3
ENHANCE YOUR INTERPRETATIONS THROUGH HARMONIC ANALYSIS WITH BEN LAUDE
Led by tonebase Head of Piano Ben Laude, you’ll 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 you’re new to music analysis, you’ll find all the prerequisite knowledge you’ll need and more in Ben Laude’s “Music Theory Basics” course.
Whether you’re just getting your feet wet with Roman numeral analysis, want a better grasp of figured bass, or you’re 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 you’d like to understand better. It can be a piece you’re working on, or just one you’d enjoy. For longer works, choose a section that you’d 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 you’re 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 “non-chord tones,” notes that don’t 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 you’re 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 – 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. Bach’s 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 – 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
55 replies
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Hi Ben and all,
I am looking at Mozart's Sonata No.5 in G major K.283. I'd like to start by trying to get through the exposition, then if I can complete the analysis of the complete first movement. I played this piece some time ago referring to Sara Davis Buechner's Tonebase lesson. I think it would be worth revisiting through an analysis.
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Hello Ben, I'm happy to be here! I would like to look at Schubert's Moments Musicaux 6th movement. I have tonal music theory background. In addition to roman numeral analysis, I plan to understand the function of each chord and section (without getting too much into details) in relation to the overall structure. I love Schubert's harmonic progression (not to mention his beautiful melodies!)
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Hi Ben,
Can you please help me decide a piece to work on? I am thinking either:
1) Haydn Sonata Hob. XVI:20 in C minor 1st movement exposition, or first half or 2nd movement
2) Liszt's Liebestraum No. 3.
I have a few years of experiences doing harmonic analysis and would like to learn more about modulations and chromatic harmony. Thank you.
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I would like to work on Chopin's Mazurka Op. 24 No. 4. I have a pretty deep music theory background (a DMA in cello performance), but I'm sure I can learn something from this.
Should we be working this out by writing on the score and then upload a scan? Or is there some other way to do this?
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I just started learning the piece of mozart's sonata in C major K545 and you mentioned it is a good piece to start. I am a beginner and theory is my weakest part. I am watching your music theory basic now and totally new to music analysis. Thank you for doing this.