Q. I am doing a harmonic analysis for Beethoven's Piano sonata no. 8 movement 2 op. 13, particularly with the first 22 measures. In measure 8 there is a cadence that I must identify. I'm pretty sure it's an authentic cadence, (V-I), but for some reason there is a tonic in the bass? To elucidate: the chord has a D flat, E flat, B flat, G in the upper three voices, and the key is A flat major. So this is a V7 chord, but there is also an added A flat (tonic) as the bass voice. So how do I write out a V7 chord with a tonic in the bass?
A. Beethoven: Piano sonata no. 8 movement 2 op. 13
"The famous Adagio cantabile: first eight bars":
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/Adagio_sonate_path%C3%A9tique.svg/400px-Adagio_sonate_path%C3%A9tique.svg.png
As you said, in measure 8 there is a A flat V7âI cadence,
where the added bass of the tonic is the lowest tone.
Cheers ebs
What key is a piece in if it has both an E flat and a B flat?
Q. I'm trying to figure out how to play a piece on the piano and so far I have figured out that it has both an E flat and a B flat. It would really help with the chords if I knew what key this piece is in! Also is it a major or minor key? Thanks!
A. With two flats only ,(Bb,Eb), the most likely key is Bb major. If it has frequent F#'s as accidentals and has a final chord which contains the note G then it is most likely in the relative key of G minor (still with the Bb and Eb).
Musician, composer, teacher.
How do chords and musical keys work?
Q. Like, let's say I establish a melody that uses...I don't know, F# and B flat. What would that mean? And how do I know what chords sound good with which notes?
Basically I'm looking for a lesson on musical theory for really, really dumb people. Like, you're going to need to dumb it down majorly.
Your help is very much appreciated!
A. 1) You first need to understand the chromatic scale. In other words, you need to realize that there are 12 unique notes that repeat every octave. You see how on the piano that there is a pattern after every 12 notes?
2) Next, you need to know the Major Scale. The major scale is the cornerstone of music theory - learn it, live it, love it. First we need to define Whole Steps and Half Steps. A whole step is when you start at a note, and make a jump of 2 notes (like from C to D, or A flat to Bflat). A half step is a jump of one note (like from B to C, or F# to G). The major scale is first formed by picking a random note, lets say, C. Then you follow the major scale pattern: whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step, half step. So if you start on C, the major scale would be C,D,E,F,G,A,B, and back to C. Another example: If you start on G, then the G Major scale would be G,A,B,C,D,E,F#,G.
3) The key of a song basically tells the band what major scale to play in and pick notes to play from. This is very important because if your song is in the key of G major, but if a band member plays A flat, then that note will sound "off-key" - it will sound wrong.
4) It is also important to realize that chords come from the individual notes of the major scales as well. Lets say we are in the key of C Major. The notes in our key are C,D,E,F,G,A,B, and C. The C major chord is formed by playing the 1st, 3rd, and 5th notes of the C major scale together. C-E-G played together will be a C Major chord. Notice that the chord is formed by stacking 3rds. By this I mean that to go from C to E, you go C - D - E. You had to go up 3 notes in the major scale to get to the E. So just realize that C-E is an interval of a third, and E-G is an interval of a third. Now, you will see that there are In fact more chords that exist in the key of C Major. There are a total of 7 chords that can be played in each key. Staying in the key of C Major, the other chords are: If you start on D, you can get the chord D minor by playing D-F-A at the same time, you can get E minor by playing E-G-B at the same time, F Major: F-A-C, G Major G-B-D, A minor: A-C-E, and B diminished: B-D-F. Each chord has its own charataristics. Major chords tend to sound happy, minor chords tend to sound sad or dark, and diminished chords have a lot of tension.
5) Chords themselves, each have a vital function and interact with the melody played at the same time, and previous chords played. It is worth pointing out that we assign the chords in each key a number. For example, in C Major, our 1 chord is C Major, because if we start on the first note, we get C Major. Starting on the 2nd note, we get D minor, so D minor is our 2 chord. 3 is E minor, 4 is F Major, 5 is G Major, 6 is A minor, and 7 is B diminished. The reason we number the chords in each major scale, is because each chord number has a function. Songs usually start and end on the 1 chord, sometimes the 6 chord if it is a sad song. The 5 chord has tension that wants to get resolved so the 5 chord likes to go to the 1 chord after it is played. It is common to play the 2 chord before the 5 chord, in fact, the 2-5-1 chord progression is the most important chord progression of all time. Other common chord progressions heard in pop/rock music include: 1-5-6-4, 6-4-1-5, and 1-6-4-5.
6) If you have a melody, you need to figure out what key it is in by finding out what major scale contains all (or most) of your notes. Your song has a melody with F# and B flat. This could be F# Major, B Major, or C# Major, depending on the rest of your melody or desired harmony. Once you decide on a key, you can find out what chords fit into this key, and play them under your melody.
I know it is a lot of information, don't get discouraged. It will take a while for it to all make sense, but don't give up. It will be totally worth it when you are making all kinds of music you like!!!
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