Breaking Barlines

Online Music Theory Lessons: Turn Sound Into Skill

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By Aron Bernstein 6 Comments

Weekly Music Theory Challenge: 12/13/21

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 common practice harmony, why does a 3rd-inversion V7 chord resolve to i6, not root-position tonic?

The Orphan, Op. 64, No. 4 by Jean-Louis Streabbog

Reply to post your answer, and check back on Friday, December 17th to see if you’re right!

ANSWER for 12/13/21

The V7 chord has two tendency tones: its 3rd (TI) and its 7th (FA). The natural resolution of TI is up to DO, and FA resolves down to MI (or ME if we’re in minor). These resolutions occur regardless of what inversion the V7 chord is in. So in a third inversion V7 chord (V4/2), the chord’s 7th is in the bass, and must resolve down to the 3rd of the tonic chord. Watch these two excerpts from the Breaking Barlines diatonic harmony video for more detail:

The V7 Chord
Resolving Tendency Tones

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 11 Comments

Weekly Music Theory Challenge 10/18/21

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 Chopin’s powerful Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 The excerpt begins with him shaping up to have a typical authentic cadence, but it’s shattered when we get to the red rectangle. What is the harmony there, and where does it lead us? Hint: think about how this chord should be spelled, and notice how it’s actually spelled!

Listen to Audio: Chopin Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1

Reply to post your answer, and check back on Friday, October 22 to see if you’re right!

ANSWER for 10/18/21

Chopin has taken the German augmented sixth chord in C minor and reinterpreted it as the dominant of the Neapolitan key (bII). Below at left is a typical authentic cadence preceded by a German 6th; the F sharp in the bass resolves up to G (FI up to SO in solfege) as it should. But at right Chopin has respelled that F sharp in the bass as G flat. Now the chord is no longer a German 6th, but a plain old Ab dominant seventh in third inversion, resolving to D flat Major in first inversion (N6 or bII6).

Listen to Audio

This reinterpretation is possible because a German 6th is enharmonic with a dominant seventh chord. Until you see how they’re spelled–or hear how they resolve differently–they both sound the same! Chopin’s reinterpretation of the German 6th creates a wonderfully jarring deceptive cadence, taking us to the remote world of the Neapolitan before heading back home.

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 being added, so stay tuned!

By Aron Bernstein 20 Comments

Weekly Music Theory Challenge 9/20/21

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 from Mozart’s Minuet in C Major, K. 6. What type of non-harmonic tone is the circled note?

Listen to Audio

Reply to post your answer, and check back on Friday, September 24 to see if you’re right!

ANSWER for 9/20/21

This is called a retardation, a delayed resolution of a tone that results in temporary dissonance. The circled note is the leading tone in the key of G major, F-sharp. But rather than resolving up to G when it should, at the beginning of the final measure, its resolution is delayed until the last beat. This is the opposite of an anticipation, which is an early resolution of a tendency tone.

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 being added, so stay tuned!

By Aron Bernstein 3 Comments

Weekly Music Theory Challenge 9/7/21

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:

When writing in four voices, what’s the best note of an Italian augmented sixth chord to double?

  • A) The Root
  • B) The Third
  • C) The Sixth

Hint: choose the option that avoids parallel octaves.

Reply to post your answer, and check back on Friday, September 10th to see if you’re right!

ANSWER for 9/7/21

B) The Third. The Italian sixth is the only augmented sixth chord with only three notes, so in a four-voice texture one of them has to be doubled. If you double either the root or the sixth, you get parallel octaves. The only note in the chord that can resolve either up or down is the third, so this is the best note to double. On the staff below, we have an Ab Italian sixth resolving to the V chord in the key of C minor. The third of the Italian sixth, C, can either resolve up to D or down to B. So the alto and tenor double this third, avoiding the parallel octaves you’d get by doubling either the root or the 6th.

Want to Learn More?

With Breaking Barlines you learn music theory the right way: fun, useful, 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 being added, so stay tuned!

By Aron Bernstein 4 Comments

Weekly Music Theory Challenge 8/16/21

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:

Below is a German Augmented Sixth Chord resolving to V in the key of C or C minor. Can you spot the voice-leading problem? What is it, and what’s the best way, in classical music, to avoid it?

Reply to post your answer, and check back on Friday, August 20th to see if you’re right!

ANSWER for 8/16/21

Go to Cadential 6/4 First!

The German 6th is the only augmented 6th chord that contains a perfect 5th (seen here in the bass and tenor voices). Going straight to the V chord results in a nasty case of parallel 5ths. For this reason, the German 6th typically does not resolve directly to V.

The most common solution, in classical music, is to resolve the German 6th to I 6/4 (the cadential 6/4). As seen above, this ensures that the perfect fifth in the bass and tenor is broken up before finally resolving to the V chord. This eliminates the parallel 5ths seen at left.

Parallel Fifths
Parallel Fifths Avoided

Want to Learn More?

With Breaking Barlines you learn music theory the right way: fun, useful, 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 being added, so stay tuned!