Group 4
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 4:
Group 4
Alice Lin
Serene
Michaëlle
Ashley
Brett Miller
Luminita
Tina Ellul
Aline Valade
Enrique Rosano
Juan Carlos Olite
Roy
Ignazio
Massimo maj
Agnes moscrip
Derrick Wu
-
Hello Ben!
I would like to analyze a piece I am learning: Scarlatti Sonata K466 in F minor. I think I understand its basic harmonic structure, but I would like to go deeper in the many interesting harmonic details here and there... I find these kind of Scarlatti Sonatas absolutely fascinating to know and appreciate his mastery as a keyboard composer.
-
Hello Ben Laude , I will choose Clementi Sonatina like you suggest, first movement, did not choose the phrase wet that I will analyse, and this choice will be easyer for me. to do this analyse. I start listening last sunday the music theory basics that you did on tonebass. It help me a lot to understand the music I play. Thank You for this. Actully I chanllenge myself since last march to play the prelude from the second english suite, Jean Sebastien Bach. I don't have question about it for now but I probably will, later on. I will start by this two weeks to help me to analyse music. I am nervous about it, lol! But I think I will be able to understand more and more about music. Thank you fro this two weeks, I really appreciate it.