Breaking Barlines

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By Aron Bernstein 1 Comment

Weekly Music Challenge: 7/11/22

Test your theory chops with the weekly challenge from Breaking Barlines! You’ll find a new question here every Monday. Please comment to post your reply.

This Week’s Challenge:

The meter is running! This is one of my favorite gems from my favorite composer. As always, I’ll reveal the source on Friday, so so spoilers please if you already know it! I’ve blacked out the time signature, so that’s your challenge this week. What meter is this in?

Listen to Audio

Post your reply and come back Friday, July 15th for the answer!

ANSWER for 7/11/22

Believe it or not, this week’s challenge was brought to you by Johannes Brahms! This is variation 7 from Book 2 of Brahms’s Variations on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 35. He chose to give this one two time signatures, 2/4 for the right hand and 3/8 for the left. To further complicate things, each left hand beat is carved into a triplet, making for a nice and simple NINE AGAINST FOUR between the hands! Even worse, Brahms actually starts each left hand triplet on a pickup before the first measure, so all the sixteenth note triplets are displaced backward, with beams crossing the barlines. However, the ultimate effect between the hands is 4 against 3, so it would have been more accurate to make the entire passage in 2/4 and have triplet quarter notes on the left, rather than triplet eighths. But don’t despair: if you’re interested in playing this, The next measures after these turn the right hand eighths into broken octave sixteenths. Who doesn’t need a little 8 AGAINST 9 in their lives? Brahms, you’re killing us.

Learn More Here!

With Breaking Barlines, fun music theory is no contradiction in terms! Have a look at the complete Breaking Barlines Course! 44 lessons and counting, each one grounded in the music you want to hear. Then sign up for a monthly subscription for full access to all video lessons, worksheets, and answer keys. New videos are always added, so stay tuned!

By Aron Bernstein 3 Comments

Weekly Music Theory Challenge 11/8/21

Show off your theory chops with my weekly challenge! You’ll find a new question here every Monday. Please comment to post your reply.

This week’s challenge:

This is the end of the Rhapsody in G minor, Op. 79, No. 2, by Johannes Brahms. What starts happening to the rhythms halfway through the third measure, and what’s the effect? Listen to the audio too:

Rhapsody in G minor, Op. 79, No. 2 by Johannes Brahms
Listen to Audio

Reply to post your answer, and check back on Friday, November 12th to see if you’re right!

ANSWER for 11/8/21

Why simply write “ritardando” when you can build it into the music?! Starting halfway through the third measure, Brahms begins augmenting the rhythms, stretching things out from triplet eighths to normal eighths, then to triplet quarters in measure 5, and and finally to normal quarters in measure 6. This creates the effect of slowing down even though the tempo remains the same. A neat little trick if simple isn’t your cup of tea.

Want to Learn More?

With Breaking Barlines you learn music theory the right way: fun, holistic, and with a personal touch! Have a look at the complete Breaking Barlines Course! Then sign up for a monthly subscription for full access to all video lessons, worksheets, and answer keys. New lessons are always added, so stay tuned!

By Aron Bernstein 5 Comments

Weekly Music Theory Challenge 7/26/21

Show off your theory chops with my weekly challenge! You’ll find a new question here every Monday. Please comment to post your reply.

This week’s challenge:

Here’s one of my favorite pieces by Johannes Brahms (I won’t tell you the title just yet!). Listen carefully while you watch the score:

Audio

What is the time signature for this music?

Reply to post your answer, and check back on Friday, July 30th to see if you’re right!

ANSWER for 7/26/21

6.4: Yep, that’s right! This is the first movement of Brahms’s Violin Sonata in G Major, Op. 78. The meter is actually 6/4, compound duple, but you wouldn’t know it by just listening to either the violin part or the piano right hand! Both parts make use of the hemiola, a cross-rhythm that gives the impression of 3/2 (simple triple). But notice how the piano’s melody is completely offset from the violin’s, sounding like its downbeat is in a different place altogether. This puts the piano melody totally at odds with the barline. To make matters even more complex, both parts are rhythmically differentiated: their notes never coincide, making them interlock. All this plays out against the actual beat, marked down at the bottom of the music:

This kind of rhythmic sophistication and metric fluidity are typical of Brahms, who had extensive knowledge of 16th Century Renaissance music. He had scores from Palestrina, Lassus, Josquin, and Isaac, whose music had no barlines, and a complexity that made each part sound like it had a different meter and downbeat.

For more Brahms banditry, CLICK HERE for a fun bonus Youtube video: totally FREE!

Want to Learn More?

Check out my whole series of videos on rhythm and meter in the Rhythm Module! Sign up for a monthly subscription for full access to all video lessons, worksheets, and answer keys. Also, stay tuned for new lessons in advanced rhythms. I created Breaking Barlines with one thing in mind: making music theory effective and FUN!

By Aron Bernstein Leave a Comment

Weekly Music Theory Challenge 5/31/21

Show off your theory chops with my weekly challenge! You’ll find a new question here every Monday. Please comment to post your reply.

This week’s challenge:

In this music, what rhythmic device is being used in the measure with the red brackets?

Listen to Audio

Brahms, Scherzo in C minor (from the F-A-E Violin Sonata)

ANSWER for 5/31/21

This is a HEMIOLA, a cross-rhythm that creates the effect of changing meter. The first three measures have a conventional 6/8 feel (two accents, on 1 and on 4). But in the fourth measure, we have three accents (on 1, 3, and 5). This makes the measure feel like 3/4, even though the time signature remains unchanged.

For a more modern example, check out “America” from Leonard Bernstein’s Westside Story. He constantly shifts back and forth between the 6/8 and 3/4 feel.

Want to Learn More?

Make your rhythm skills ironclad with a whole series of lessons in the Rhythm Module!  Sign up for a monthly subscription for full access to all video lessons, worksheets, and answer keys. Also, this year I’ll be adding new lessons on modes. I created Breaking Barlines with one thing in mind: making music theory effective and FUN!