Nocturne

• How many notes are there to a beat at the moment of greatest passion?

  11 notes to a beat
• What happens to the hands during bars 374 - 381?

  They move in opposite directions
• What is the pattern of notes in bars 374 - 381?

  11 against 3
• What resumes at bar 39?

  The return of the opening phrase
• What type of cadence is extended over four bars at bar 39?

  Ic - V - I cadence
• In which key is the perfect cadence found?

  E major
• How many perfect cadences are in the tonic key throughout the piece?

  One perfect cadence
• What follows the long coda section?

  A 12 bar tonic pedal
• How does the melody change as the music winds down?

  It falls in pitch and lengthens in note values
• What substitutes for chord V in the last five bars?

  Diminished 7th chords
• What is the dynamic level as the music dies away?

  pp
• What is the texture of the melody in the passage described?

  Wholly conjunct in parallel 3rds
• What adds pathos to the passage at bar 244?

  Chromatic movement and false relation
• What happens in the four-bar phrase following bar 27?

  It is a varied repeat falling in shape
• What chord does the phrase end on in bar 30?

  Dominant minor 9th chord
• How does the second half of the Nocturne compare to the first half?

  It is more powerful emotionally
• What is Chopin’s fioritura style likened to?

  Singers’ ornamentation in bel canto
• What dynamic level is present at the start of bar 33?

  Forte dynamic
• What rhythmic pattern permeates the whole Nocturne?

  Triplet patterns in the accompaniment
• What does the sighing appoggiatura anticipate?

  The start of the melody
• What is the harmonic structure of the opening statement?

  Tonic at the start, dominant at the end
• What does the melody trace in its shape?

  A descending shape in contrary motion
• What enhances the effects of dissonance in the melody?

  Rhythmic flexibility (rubato)
• What characterizes the second phrase in bars 6 - 9?

  Abrupt change to G major
• What does the chord on the 2nd beat in bar 6 function as?

  Augmented 6th resolving to V in B minor
• What is notable about the tonic chord of the perfect cadence in bar 9?

  It is a bare fifth
• What do the twin melody lines in the second phrase do?

  Move closely together in parallel
• How does the harmonic rhythm change as the melody rises in bar 6?

  It becomes quicker
• What is repeated in bars 10 - 13?

  A repeat of the previous phrase
• What happens to the harmonic rhythm as the melodic line falls?

  It becomes slower
• In which key does the phrase cadence in bar 9 resolve?

  B minor
• What type of chord completes the dominant minor 9th chord in bar 9?

  Diminished 7th chord
• What is the significance of the tonic chord being a bare fifth in bar 9?

  It allows for a dominant minor 9th chord
• What happens to the melody in bars 10-13 compared to the opening phrase?

  It is a repeat with increased intensity
• What features contribute to the increased intensity in bars 10-13?

  • mf dynamic
  • Melody in octaves
  • More declamatory style
  • More consonant 3rd bar
  • Triplets in melody
  • Inversion of final parallel 3rds
• What chord does the music start on at bar 14?

  B minor chord
• What type of progressions occur every half-bar starting at bar 14?

  V7 - I progressions
• What are the chords and keys in bars 14-22?

  • Bar 14: Vc7, C major
  • Bar 15: V7, C major
  • Bar 16: Vb7, D minor
  • Bar 17: Vb7, E minor
  • Bar 18: Ic, B minor
  • Bar 19: V7, E minor
  • Bar 20: V, B minor
  • Bar 22: I (Tierce de Picardie), B minor
• How does Chopin extend the modulatory passage beyond six bars?

  With a sforzando interruption and dominant pedal
• What features characterize the 9-bar passage after bar 14?

  • Lower melodic voice independence
  • Thickening texture in bars 16-17
  • Ostinato triplet quavers entwined
  • False relations in the cadence