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February 14, 2022 By Aron Bernstein 4 Comments

Weekly Music Theory Challenge: 2/14/22

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

Valentine’s Day Challenge:

Scintillating Scarlatti! Here’s a passage from Domenico Scarlatti’s Keyboard Sonata in E minor, K. 198. What is the harmony inside the red circles, and what harmony does it resolve to on the notes with the red asterisks?

Scarlatti, Keyboard Sonata in E minor, K. 198
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Post your reply and come back Friday, February 18th for the answer!

ANSWER for 2/14/22

Ninth chords don’t just appear in pop and jazz…you’ll find them in early 18th-Century Baroque music too! The harmony inside the red circle is F#7, which is V7 of V in E minor. However, the F#7 is decorated with a ninth, G natural, making it an F# dominant minor ninth chord. But unlike in jazz, the ninth here is really just a suspension, which resolves to the root of the F#7 at the asterisk. Jazz music typically treats ninth chords as a more permanent sonority, rather than a temporary decoration.

F# Dominant Minor 9th resolving to F#7

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Filed Under: music theory challenge Tagged With: breakingbarlines, classicalmusic, harmony, music, musiceducation, musiclessons, musictheory, musicvideo, popmusic, scarlatti, sonata

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Comments

  1. John says

    February 14, 2022 at 8:36 am

    F#7(b9) resolves to B minor.

    Reply
  2. Brian Monroe says

    February 14, 2022 at 5:44 pm

    V to i. But actually V/V to v in e minor

    Reply
  3. Mike Hudson says

    February 15, 2022 at 8:27 pm

    These are borrowed chords. V7/V going to v second inversion.

    Reply
  4. Jerry Ballard says

    February 17, 2022 at 12:55 pm

    b7 half dim ->iii

    Reply

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