Questions tagged [analysis]
For questions about studying the intricacies of a piece of music. Questions should also be tagged with a more specific form of analysis if applicable.
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Where to find Analysis of a track/piece? [closed]
I am looking for content (Vlog, journal, magazine or any other) that analyzes the music (for example, Yanni and A. R. Rahman). The parameters are influence/similarities, samples or phrases used by ...
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unexplained sus4 progress in bach's choral
score is measure 2 in Bach 371 Chorales No.5 'An Wasserflüssen Babylon' in G major
i think beat 2 is v7sus4 but if G in DDGC is suspension note,
G in previous chord(AEGB) is must be Harmonic Tone in ...
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Is there a music-theoretical language for directly expressing voice leading?
The question
Does music theory provide a language for directly expressing voice leading? Roman numeral analysis (RNA) encapsulates voice-leading expectations, but these are built in by implication (...
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To what key does Dvorak Humoresque #7 modulate at the Piu Lento? [closed]
The melodic part of Humoresque number 7, beginning at m. 25, changes to another key. What key is it. The main body is G flat major.
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Harmonic analysis of J.S. Bach's Prelude in Cm (BWV 847)
I sometimes try to analyze the harmony of a Bach prelude to understand how chords change, and how he manages to shift from one key to another. Here is the prelude in Cm BWV 847 (source image, MP3 here)...
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Can a melodic minor chord be a pivot chord?
The image above shows, from Bach 371 Chorales, No. 3 "Ach Gott vom
Himmel sieh darein" in E Minor.
I think my analysis is totally wrong, but I just wrote it down on the image to try it out.
...
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Ambiguous chords in Bach's "Ich dank dir lieber Herre" setting (BWV 347)
The image above shows, from Bach 371 Chorales, No. 2 "Ich dank dir lieber Herre" in A major, measures 11 and 12.
I'm very confused by this part.
1. first red square, Is that chord I or vi56?
...
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What makes "Oh Hanukkah" sound Jewish?
Recently, I've been studying the effect of scale choice on the mood and feel of music. Songs using the major scale tend to sound happy. Songs using the minor scale tend to sound sad. Songs using less ...
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Is the 2nd movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata nº 7 in C, K.309, a "large rounded binary"?
My analysis of the form of the movement is, currently, that it is a large ternary with written out repeats of the main theme and the subordinate theme complex + return of the main theme together, ...
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How to analyze a composition? [closed]
How does one analyze a composition? I am trying to work through Czerny 599
(The "Czerny Czallenge") but I think if I knew "why" the pieces were structured the way they are, it ...
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Seems to fit all 3 PAC criteria and yet I'm told it's a root position IAC?
So, as I have been looking for examples of the 3 different types of IAC(Imperfect Authentic Cadence), I run into this:
A cadence that looks like a PAC(Perfect Authentic Cadence) on paper, but which I'...
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What is the theoretical explanation of D/F# chord in this turnaround?
Here is the sequence in harmonic Am. What is the function of D/F# in terms of tonal harmony. Borrowed chord from parallel major? Chromatic inflection?
Am-D/F#-F-E-A
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Harmonic Analysis: How would you interpret these 4 bars? Var. 18 Rhapsody by Rach
Great community I've stumbled upon. It's been some time since I've done harmonic analysis and I'd appreciate some thoughts about these four bars towards the end of the 18th Variation.
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Rachmaninoff Prelude G minor progression involves V chord instead of v chord
Why does Rachmaninoff seem to use a major V chord instead of a minor v chord in the attached measure (7th from the end) of his Prelude in G minor?
The progression seems to be
i-VI7-idim7-v-V-(in next ...
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Is Mozart - Concerto for Flute & Harp K.299 Rondeau in Sonata-Rondo form?
As a listening exercise I'm trying to see how the 3rd movement of Mozart's Concerto K.299 fits into the sonata-rondo form.
I don't know how many times I've listened to this piece, I don't seem to be ...
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Is the first theme missing from the Recapitulation of Mozart Violin Concerto No. 4 - K. 218 - Alegro?
I have just learnt about the Concerto Sonata Form and was trying to practice by listening to Mozart's 4th Violin Concerto K. 218. The teacher got us started, and I just want to see if I can finish ...
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Is the Prelude of Bach's Cello Suite No. 3 (BWV 1009) in the form of A-B-A-C?
As an (elementary listening) exercise I am going through the 3rd Cello Suite and trying to recognize repetitions and phrases, etc.
I managed to get through all the movements, except the Prelude. I ...
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What is the function of this diminished 7th chord in KV 332? [duplicate]
Consider the following cadence from the 3rd movement of Mozart's piano sonata KV 332:
What is the function of the diminished 7th chord B D F Ab?
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How to write a chord analysis when tonicizing vi
I wanted to write a short harmony exercise in 4 parts where there is a brief tonicization or modulation to the relative minor and then back to the original major key. I am not sure if I have labelled ...
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Is there an analysis of Bach, Violin Concerto in A minor (BWV 1041) - 2nd Movement?
I was trying to recognize various sections in the second movement.
Is there an analysis of this movement?
I recognize the Ostinato in the bass line.
(not sure if I am right) but I think the 2nd & ...
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What's going on in this passage?
I've been practising triad pair exercises and I really like the sound. I was noodling and came up with the attached pattern. It consists of alternating minor and major triads, implying a sequence of ...
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Harmonic Analysis of "An Eagle In Your Mind" by Boards of Canada [closed]
Introduction
After having fully transcribed the song An Eagle In Your Mind by Boards of Canada, I've been trying to figure out how to interpret some of the harmonies in it in order to understand how ...
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VImaj7-V7-i What is the role of the VIth?
I'm analyzing the first movement of "Suite del Plata Nº1" by Máximo Diego Pujol called "Preludio" that it's on D minor, I have encountered the following progression i-VImaj7-V7, I'...
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What is acceptable grammar for musical analysis and appreciation. How to talk about music? [closed]
When I talk or write about written or performed music I very consciously avoid using terms like "good" and "bad".
I will say whether I like something or not, and then try to say ...
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Analysis of a jazz chord progression
Can you please explain the role of that Em7b5 in the following jazz progression in terms of functional harmony?
| Cm7 | Em7b5 | Bbmaj7 | G7 |
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What do these up arrows/chevrons over numbers mean?
I've occasionaly seen these arrows over numbers, but I don't know what they're called or exactly what they mean.
I'm assuming they have something to do with the motion, but I'm not sure.
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Beethoven Piano Sonata no. 1 in F minor: What are the first 2 chords of the transition?
So, I'm in the middle of orchestrating Beethoven's Piano Sonata no. 1 in F minor and I'm at the transition in the recapitulation of the first movement. In order to fill in that bass register that ...
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How to determine whether song is 16 bar blues or 32 bar form?
I'm analyzing blues in the Mississippi Delta tradition and the hardest/most subjective aspect I am running into has to do with songs with measure numbers divisible by 8. For example, we can use "...
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How to analyze mm. 5-8 in the first movement of Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 8
Everything makes sense until mm. 5. It looks like it moves from c minor to Eb major.
Suppose we're in Eb major starting at mm. 5
From the end of mm. 5 to the very beginning of mm. 6, it's a vii°7/vi ...
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Is this chord from Bach's C major Prelude G+ or Cm?
So I'm analyzing the harmony in Bach's C major Prelude from the Well Tempered Clavier, and it all goes smoothly until I reach this chord:
Now, most editions I see of this Prelude don't have this ...
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What type of fugue occurs in Glazunov's saxophone concerto?
From Glazunov's saxophone concerto (op. 109) at 9:10 in this recording
there is a fugue and I want to know what type it is. I've just started this sort of music theory ...
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What is going on in Beethoven Sonata No. 5, II, mm 14
Here’s an excerpt from Beethoven’s piano sonata no. 5, second movement, measures 13-16, with my analysis in blue (key of Ab major, 2/4 time):
My question is about the notes and chords in the blue box....
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Understanding the chords of "Paradise" by Daniel Caesar?
The song is based on this 4-chord loop:
Abmaj7-Db9-Gmin7-Gbmaj7
I've liked this song for a while and its chords have always mystified me. Why does this progression work? Any help would be appreciated.
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How to tell the beginning and ends of phrases when there is no significant rest in the music?
I can't figure out where the phrases are in this piece of music and I am expected to draw brackets over them. There is no real rest or pause so I looked at where there is an end on the tonic note and ...
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formal and harmonic analysis : Bortkiewicz op.40 n.4
I am trying to analyze a Bortkiewicz prelude, op. 40 n.4 in F# major, but I have some doubts.
I divided the prelude into three parts:
part A (bars 1-11)
part B (bars 12-20)
part A' (bar 21-29)
coda (...
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Can you tonicize to a chord that's not on the original key?
I had a discussion with a few people on Chopin's Nocturne in B-flat minor. We couldn't reach an agreement and I'm curious how people would analyze it.
In the middle section of the piece (which is in ...
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Changes by David Bowie chord analysis [closed]
I am trying to find out what is going on in David Bowie’s “Changes” song in terms of the chords are used. I have made a couple observations but I want to make sure they're right.
Firstly,the second ...
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Doubts about some harmonic passages in Bortkiewicz's prelude op. 40 n.3
I am trying to analyze the harmony in Bortkiewicz prelude, op. 40 n.3 in E major, but I have some doubts.
I put under the arpeggios the romanic numbers of the harmonies.
In the first part, even if ...
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Doubts about a diminished fourth - op. 40 Bortkiewicz
I have a doubt about a musical analysis that I found on an italian book. The author wrote that in the final part of the Prelude n.2 op. 40 by Sergej Bortkiewicz, there is a repetition of the tonic ...
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When She Loved Me: Decorative Chords alternatives on (Add2)
This is the middle part of "When She Loved Me," in Toy Story 2 sung by Sarah McLachlan.
P.S. See this for example for the piano.
The chord progression goes twice as:
Em7b5 -> A/C# - > ...
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When She Loved Me: Opening Chord progression - replace the 3rd chord from G7/B to Bdim or Bb?
This is the opening chord progression of "When She Loved Me," in Toy Story 2, sung by Sarah McLachlan. See a related question.
The chord progression goes like:
Dm -> AmC -> G7/B -> ...
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How could these chords in Debussy's "Reverie" be analyzed?
I am working on a harmonic analysis of "Reverie" by Debussy, and I am trying to find ways to analyze two things.
In the first image (mm. 24–35), the first few measures are in the key of B-...
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Schumann posthumous variation V's choice on descending the semitone or whole tone
Here is the starting part of Schumann posthumous variation V,
I am interested in knowing the "logic" or the "reasoning" why and how Schumann chose the descending tones of the ...
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What harmonic idea is being used in Measures 9-12 and 17-19 in "Recuerdos De La Alhambra? "
I have done some harmonic analysis on Francisco Tárrega's “Recuerdos De La Alhambra”, as you can see below. Most of it makes sense to me, but there are sections in measures 9-12 and 17-19 that the ...
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How to differentiate interpretively similar sections in Satie's Gnossienne #1
I’m learning Gnossienne #1 by Erik Satie. Earlier the composer instructs ‘Du bout de la pensée’ which I have no problem performing. The problem occurs when I reach the end of the piece with the ...
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Should I use uppercase or lowercase roman numerals in Jazz harmonic analysis?
I know that there is not a fully defined specification for the language used in jazz harmonic analysis, as it has grown slowly and organically and has many variations. I have seen some textbooks use ...
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Help me figure out the mode of this Howard Shore piece
I have been trying to harmonically analyse this piece by Howard Shore called “Beyond the Forest”, an Elvish song from the Hobbit. I have included the sheet music below (page two is linked) and you can ...
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Strange out-of-key chords in Blow by Beyonce?
Can someone explain to me what is going on tonally in Beyonce's song Blow? The bass notes deceptively seem to suggest the chords in the verse are G major and F major. But these chords do not sound ...
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On Schumann posthumous variation V's note on a natural G or a flat G
This shows the first two bars of Schumann posthumous variations V.
Look at this music note (red-squared), I am curious to know why Schumann chose a natural G instead of the original flat G in this ...
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Naming a chord in the first movement of Mozart's K. 331?
How could one name the first chord in measure three in Mozart's A-major piano sonata K.331, first movement?
It looks like a F#-minor-7th-chord without the fifth, i.e. something like a substitution of ...
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