Group 4

Aline Valade I will respond more in the morning! You've made a lot of good observations, but many of them actually won't be necessary for doing the work of labeling harmonies. Maybe take the first 8 bars and see what roman numerals from the C major chord scale would apply to each measure.

Aline Valade I'm glad to see you're thinking of the C major scale in terms of its two tetrachords. However, I'm not sure that will be very useful here, so much as my last two lessons in Music Theory Basics would be - on triads and seventh chords, and diatonic harmony.

Also, in your observations, you sometimes specify C4 or C5, for example. I think you're referring to the octave the C falls in.

For our purposes, register actually doesn't matter so much. 

What I want you to look at is:

1. For each measure of the piece, can you identify what harmony Clementi is using.  Then, label that harmony according to its function in the key you're in, starting in C major.
2. So, when you write "c major chord second reversal" (you mean "inversion") about bar 1, I think you're only looking at the right hand. But the left hand has a C in the bass, so it's not in an inversion. It's in root position.
3. Can you write your analysis into the score, labeling the harmonies you see in each measure, and post it here?

Ben Laude Thank You Ben, Yes I will. I watched yesterday the last two lessons in Music Theory Basics, on the triads and seventh chords, and diatonic harmony! It help me more to understand what you want me to do. I will try it and send it to you ! 

Ben Laude Ok, I did this! I am sorry for the quality of the writing, I used my computer to do it. 

Derrick Wu Great. Looking forward to seeing your work! Do you want to start with the first few phrases, before it modulates?

Serene Wonderful! Looking forward.

Ben Laude 

I should have checked the key signature before hand! 
 

Anyways, I’ve chorded the first part of the 2nd movt. It modulates between Ab major and Db major throughout. So do I write the Roman numerals according to the modulated key or its original key (ie Db major). 
 

Thank you, Ben. Looking forward to your response. 

Serene sorry for the delay! Some feedback:

Bars 1-8

• In the first section, it looks like you labeled most of the harmonies accurately. SomeBut the next step is the most important! You have to know how these harmonies are functioning. Since you can identify triads, the next step is to apply roman numerals, which will already tell you something about how things are functioning.
• You wrote "Ab?" at the beginning, because Beethoven fooled you with his G-natural. You're definitely in D-flat, as indicated by the key signature, and the fact that the phrases in this movement always cadence in D-flat. He's just teasing our ears by reinforcing the dominant in the "antecedent" phrase (bars 1-4) but then echoes it in the "consequent" phrase (bars 5-8) securely in D-flat major (see, the G-flat is back). "Antecedent/consequent" is music theory lingo for basically a kind of musical question and answer.
• But it is unusual for him to start on a first-inversion tonic chord, especially on a weak "pick-up" beat, and immediately tonicize the dominant. By "tonicize the dominant," I mean he pretends that the V chord (A-flat major) is the tonic by using its dominant (Eb dominant 7th). Hence the G-natural, which is the leading tone to A-flat. This is called a "secondary dominant."
• So, you can think of 1-8 as dividing into two blocks, the first emphasizes the dominant (Ab), the second emphasizes the tonic (Db), and the overall effect is to reinforce that tonic (since it comes second and feels like the resolution to the first 4 bars).
• This teasing us with the dominant is part of the charm of the piece, coupled with the rhythm and melody. Knowing now that bar 8 resolves the question mark posed in bar 4, how does this influence they way you might play it?
• Can you construct a chord scale in D-flat major, with roman numerals I ii iii IV V VI and viiº, and label the harmonies below the staff? When you get to the E-flat dominant chord, call it a "V7/V." Do you see why? It's the dominant of our dominant, the "Five of five," so to speak. But every other harmony is diatonic to C major, meaning it uses chords straight from the chord scale.
• The other thing you're not yet identifying is inversion. Not every triad has its root in the bass. In fact, most of them don't. Just look at the first measure: V is in first inversion (C is the third above the root Ab), V7/V is in third inversion (D-flat is the seventh above the root E-flat), and so on. There are ways to label inversions with arabic numerals, but for now, I just want you to start taking note of them, and seeing if you can identify if it's 1st or 2nd inversion for triads, or 1st, 2nd, or 3rd inversion for 7th chords.

Bars 9-16

• First of all, what do you notice about this phrase, compared to 1-8? Listen carefully, or play it. Is it not the same music, just decorated with suspensions (notes held over from one harmony to the next, then resolved)?
• Analyze it again, this time with roman numerals, and keep 1-8 in mind while you're doing it. This will help you correct some harmonies. For example, bar 10 is the equivalent of bar 2, so "C minor" is not correct. I know this sounds funny, but you have to imagine that B-flat in the chord resolves to A-flat. It actually jumps to E-flat, but if you compare it to the other suspensions like it, you'll realize that it's implying A-flat even though it jumps up. That's a pretty advanced thing to identify, I realize, but if you noticed the parallel with the first 8 bars, it would help you understand this.

Bars 17-24 

• These bars are tricky, and use some surprising chromatic harmonies. First order of business is correcting some of the harmonies you labeled. In m17, that's not an A-flat chord, and in m18-19 that's not a G-flat minor chord.
• See if you can label the roman numerals here. They should be mostly straightforward, except the harmony from m18-19. For that, just remember that in your chord scale you could in principle change any major chord to a minor chord, and vice-versa. Use lowercase roman numerals to express minor, and uppercase to express major.
• Bar 24 ends on A-flat, our dominant, but we can feel the tug back to D-flat. That's called a "half-cadence," a momentary pause on V.

Bars 25-36

• Sounds like the beginning again, right? Except, this phrase is 12 bars instead of 8 bars. Where does Beethoven add more bars, and what effect does this have on the music?

Ben Laude 

wow! Thank you, Ben. Appreciate the detailed explanation and things to look out for and to work on. Will work on it today! 
 

Thank you for enriching my learning and appreciation of this music! 

Massimo maj First of all, I recommend you watch the video I just posted at the bottom of this thread. Eric Wen and I discuss K397 in depth, and go beyond just labeling harmonies. You might not understand everything we're talking about, but it should still be enlightening.

For now, let me help you with your harmonic analysis. I like seeing you think through some of the trickier harmonies. It's a long piece, so forgive me: I will only look at the opening fantasy and the first theme. The video goes further, and when I do my wrap-up video, I might have a chance to look at more.

• Bars 1-2: First of all, for minor harmonies, it is conventional to use lowercase roman numerals. The minor chord scale is different than the major, and this helps us remember that. Write "Dm:" at the beginning of your analysis, just to make it clear you know what key we're in, and then you can write lowercase "i" under the first bar.
• It's worth drawing a horizontal line to show that the tonic chord is prolonged through 2 bars.
• Bars 3-4: You're absolutely right to draw attention to the E. Otherwise, it would be a iv chord (lowercase) in 2nd inversion (because the D would be in the bass of a G minor chord). But that E changes the harmony, and it is a chord tone. One of your "alternatives" is exactly right: iiø4/2 (lowercase though). This is an Eø7 chord, which is iiø7 in D minor.
  • There's another way to think of it, though. Notice that D is in the bass of bars 1-4, even as the harmonies change. This is functioning as a "pedal tone," and you could argue that bars 3-4 are just plain old iiº over a D (since there is no other D in the bars besides the bass octave). But, I think iiø4/2 is best.
• Bars 5-7: Yes! Very good.
• Bar 8: Interesting! If "IV of VI" were a thing, you'd be right. But "secondary" chords are usually limited to secondary dominants or dominant function chords (V or viiº, both of which have the leading tone and like to resolve to a tonic). You're straying a bit too far from home to label this E-flat triad as borrowed from our VI chord, since B-flat major is simply not operating here. We're firmly in D minor and approaching a half-cadence (on V). So, what is E-flat major doing in D minor? Well, this is the famous and beloved "Neapolitan 6 chord," which, in roman numeral land, is bII6 (the major triad built on scale degree flat-2, and inverted). Eric Wen points out that it's actually borrowed from the parallel "Phrygian" mode (see my lesson on modes in Music Theory Basics). D Phrygian would begin "D-Eb-F...", and the II chord in D phrygian would be E-flat major. But what matters most is that you understand that the Neapolitan is a very effective "predominant" chord, meaning it moves strongly to V. In this case, he gets to V by way of a bridge chord that moves the bass up chromatically by half step: you call it V6/V, which is the right function, but it's not actually a dominant chord. It's a fully-diminished chord, sepcifically viiº7/V, and the E is actually a non chord-tone/appoggiatura. (Or, if you really want to call it a V chord, you'd need to account for the prominent F, which would be the 9th above the root - but, easier to just call it viiº7/V and circle the E as an NCT).
• Bar 9 (and 13): Good job pointing out harmonic minor. I don't want you to think that Mozart is doing anything special here, or even that he's some special version of the minor mode. You're marking exactly the functional harmony that gives harmonic minor its name. Namely, the fact that to have a proper dominant in a minor key, you need to raise the 7th scale degree. Rather than labeling "harmonic minor," I would just label it V, and make sure it's capital-V. That tells us everything we need to know: we're on the dominant.
• Bar 10: "Liquidated" is a nice idea. Just so you know, Mozart is playing with chromatic lower-neighbor tones. What's a bit misleading about your markings is that you circle the C-sharps as well as the non chord tones, because they're all technically "chromatic." But, as I just mentioned, C-sharp is not chromatic to the harmonic minor. In fact, it's an essential note in D minor. You could not cadency V-i without it. So, you should not circle it. (Same goes in bar 13 - you make C-sharp and D-sharp seem comparable. They're not, one is an important chord tone, the other is a decorative chromatic passing tone.)
• Bars 12-13: Again, it looks odd to see D minor labeled with a capital roman numeral, and A major labeled with a lowercase roman numeral. It should be the other way around.
• Bar 13: V6/4 isn't quite right. That would mean it's just a triad, but this is a dominant 7th chord? Do you know how to express a V7 in second inversion? Look at the intervals it creates above the bass.
• The rest of the analysis of this theme is pretty good! You're just missing the viiº7/V at the end of bar 18.

That's all I can do for now! If you have any specific questions from the rest of your analysis, let me know in this thread and I'll try to address them in my wrap-up video.

Ben Laude Eric Wen Thank you for the feedback and the video. Your passionate teachings and reflections are truly precious and inspiring.

Ben Laude Eric Wen Nicole

I am not an expert of roman epigraphy, but I am from Italy, I never saw lowercase roman numeral (:)) nor in Piston Harmony Exercises (figured bass). I think that the choice to write the chords/function this way is very convenient as you said, because avoid problems of misunderstanding: 
 

major : I ii iii IV V vi viiº
natural minor : i ii° III iv v VI VII
harmonic minor : i ii° III iv V VI vii°
 

It's Music Language. And precision is important. 

Do you know who started to notate chords/functions this way?

Massimo maj Gottfried Weber is popularly credited with spreading the Roman Numeral system, although others were doing it too (I want to say Abbe Vogler, but it's been a while since my History of Theory sequence at IU...)

Nicole Thank you

Juan Carlos Olite I've owed you a response for more than a week now! My sincere apologies. I had a busy week with productions and traveling, and it became impossible for me to continue replying to these threads in as much depth as I would have liked. Here is my feedback, finally!

I unfortunately cannot go through your entire analysis, but I believe you'll be able to apply much of my feedback of your first 2 pages to the whole piece

• You're generally very good at recognizing harmonic function in the form of roman numerals. May I suggest that you follow the convention of capitalizing major roman numerals and using lowercase for minor roman numerals? So, for a minor key like this Scarlatti, your chord scale should be labeled (harmonic minor, with the raised 7):  i iiº III  IV  V  VI  viiº
• Bar 1: Last beat is brief enough that the D-flat harmony doesn't really have a function as a VI chord. I'd recommend putting VI in parentheses. You could even label the D-flat as an anticipation tone to the next bar. What you wrote is technically correct, though!
• Bar 2: use lowercase and indicate the half-diminished 7th chord (iiø7). Do you see what makes it half diminished?
• Bar 4: The E-natural needs to be accounted for, so the first beat does not function as a IV. It's actually a viiº7 chord without the 3rd (G), resolving to i6. Then, in beat 3, the C is suspended and is still part of the harmony. This can't be a ii chord, but is actually an implied dominant without the leading tone (E). But, since the leading tone was just played two beats earlier, you can still hear this as functioning as a dominant 7th (V4/3). It's most musically correct to label the last half of the bar (beats 3 and 4) as V7, and indicate the "cadential 6/4" passing tones.
• Bars 5-6: There's no C in the second half of either bar, but you have all the notes of a viiº7. I would label all of beats 3 and 4 as a single harmony: viiº6/5 (since the 3rd is the lowest note). Can you hear it that way? Half the bar is tonic, half the bar is a leading tone diminished 7th chord.
• Bar 7: Good for you to notice the modulation. The best way to label it is to write "Cm:" under the 3rd beat to indicate the new key, and then write V7. You should not think of it as a II in F minor.
• Bars 8-9: The last beat you can think of as an incomplete dominant chord, or an incomplete viiº6 chord. I hear the diminished quality, so I would call it viiº6.
• Bar 10: Good, it's a ii chord, but note its quality: half-diminished. iiø6/5
• Bars 11-12: Second half of the bar is actually the same function/harmony as the previous bar (but with a new voicing/texture). It's a iiø7 chord, this time in 2nd inversion (4/3). This functions as a predominant, moving to the dominant in the next bar.
• Bar 14: I don't hear a new harmony in the last beat. Just passing tones (D natural - E-flat).
• Bar 17: Call it V4/3
• Bar 19: Given the prominent D-naturals, I hear this as another iiø6/5 chord.
• Bar 21: That incredible moment on beat 3 is actually an "applied chord", or secondary leading-tone chord. In other words, you get the notes of viiº7 of G, so basically you emphasize the G dominant 7th chord by borrowing from the G harmonic minor chord scale and using it to create tension and resolution back to V in C minor.
• Bars 25-31: You don't spend enough time back in F minor for this to count as a modulation. Listen to it and play it: does it really sound like you've moved somewhere new? To my ears, it just sounds like you're "tonicizing" the F minor chord as the iv in C minor, but you never leave C minor. So, call the harmony in 25 "V7 / iv", then continue labeling in C minor. (Same thing in bar 28).
• Looking ahead to the second half of the piece, I just wanted to comment and say that the passage from bar 64 is similar to the one at 25. The answer to your question in blue is "tonicization." To my ears, it's very clearly reinforcing iv without ever leaving i.

Ben Laude Thank you so much, Ben, for your complete answer. I have studied each one of your remarks carefully and they are very clarifying and insightful. Now, I understand how to indicate the different moments of the piece. Also, I have clear now the concept of "tonicization" and "passing tones". Thank you for all your work in Tonebase, it absolutely brilliant.