# Analysing some music



## brianshima

Hello to all Talk Classical community!

First of all, I'm not sure whether this thread can be here or I should have placed it in another category. Sorry if it is, my mistake. I will be glad to change it.

Well. Let's go to the issue.

I was analysing the period I attached under these lines when I really got stuck trying to justifying some musical functions in the music.

Looking closer to the sheet music, you can see there is a period which is split in two 8-bars-phrases, following the classical typical "call and response" pattern. The key is D Major, and there is no modulation.

My problem came with the bars number 6 and 7. What is happening there? I would say the number 6 looks like just a secondary dominant for A, with the fifth augmented just as and chromatic ornament to make stronger the resolution to D note (C-C#-D). Though if that's true, what is doing that G# note in the melody then?

About the number 7 bar, I just have no idea what is doing B diminished chord there, and how it is leading to the tonic again.

Can someone take a look and give me his/her opinion?









Thank you very much and I'm sorry if I have a typo or something. Unfortunately english is not my native.


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## Gaspard de la Nuit

I don't have a piano to play it on, but.....bar 6 , the harmony uses chromatic voice leading with the 5th of the dominant harmony....it probably sounds tense and in need of resolution, and the diminished chord that follows seems unexpected to me, even among deceptive resolutions.....the g# is an appogiatura since it leans against the harmonic tone A.


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## Vasks

The bass explains the actual chords. Mss. 5 & 6 are dominant and 7 & 8 are tonic.

So that means all of your "strange" notes must be explained as non-chord tones,

The E# of the A7#5 chord, the retained in m.7 (as an enharmonic F natural) which resolves up to F# in m.8. So the F natural is a retardation.

The B of m. 7 is a melodic passing tone (C# of mss. 5 &6) steps to B (m.7) and down to A in ms. 8.

So indeed m.7 is not a functional "B dim chord" but a tonic chord with several big non-chord tones.


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## brianshima

Wow thank you very much! I can see it now!


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## brianshima

Indeed it seems so. And about the diminished chord, Vasks finally explained. Thank you very much for replying too


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## Vasks

BTW, traditional chord analysis can explain m.7 as a borrowed chord (vi dim) from the parallel melodic minor but as a progression it wouldn't make a whole lot of sense


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## Che2007

Hi brianshima,

Nice piece! Just a couple of notes. The chord in m. 2 is a V+ of IV. I would label it by writing V+ and then having an arrow leading to the next chord, showing that it leads to that chord. (You see the A# intensifies the function of the chord by adding an extra leading tone in a way, a common use of augmented chords). As for Vasks comments on mm. 6-8, they are pretty much correct as far as I can see. Honestly, I wouldn't label m.6 as it's own harmony. Instead, I would write V7 under m.5 and use figured bass to indicate the sharpened 5th. As for m. 7, I agree it is a I harmony. If you wanted a label you could show a linear diminished but here again I would write I and then use figured bass to show the resolution of the various dissonances.


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