Tonality’s The Key

stamping (2)Some score-reading, and analysis activities to help investigate the tonality in the 3rd Movement of Spring.

  • There are several ways of determining the tonality or pitch structure of a piece of music.
  • They mostly involve listening carefully, and studying the score closely.

spring 3

  • Things to listen and look for are:

 

  1. Key signatures
  2. The actual pitches used in a certain passage, including extra accidentals which are not present in the key signaturespring3 (13)
  3. Pedal notes (can also be misleading as they are sometimes used to build tension before a cadence point (such a dominant pedal), and sometimes to provide a sense of “home” (tonic pedal))
  4. Important cadence points
  5. Tonal centres or tonic notes or a feeling of a “home” key or note

 

  • So…let’s look at the 3rd movement of Spring together and deduce what we can about the tonality. Follow these steps through with me.

il ploggia (2)

 

  • First look at the key signature. What does it tell us?

Good. It could be in E major or C# minor.

spring3 (12)

  • Now look at the first chord: in the bass? …. in the violas? … in Vln 2? … in Vln 1? … and solo?

E, B, E G# = E major chord, so the chances are it’s in E major.

 

  • spring3 (11)Further clues are the E pedal in the bass part during most of the first five bars interrupted only by a brief B major chord (the dominant of E major) in bar 3, and the cadence at the end of the movement – a perfect cadence onto a chord of E major.

So, it’s in E major!

Spring3 (6)

 

  • At bar 61 there is a change of time signature which lasts until the end of bar 78. The new key signature has one sharp only. What does this mean?

Good. It could be G major or E minor.

  • Spring3 (9)Now look at the first chord. in the bass, in the violas, in Vln 2, in Vln 1 and solo.

B, B, E G# = E major chord.

  • Hmm. This doesn’t fit our list of choices. It’s a bit more complicated this time, so we’ll need to look for further clues.
  • Do you think the G# in upper violin part is part of the phrase coming from the previous bar, or part of a phrase starting in this bar (b.61)? Sing or play it to yourself as this will help you decide.

 

  • spring 3I think it belongs to the previous bar’s phrase. And if we look at the harmony, the G# forms part of a chord (E, 2nd inversion) moving to a chord (B, root position) then to E minor. This is a perfect cadence into E minor, and this E minor chord is also where the next phrase of the melody begins in the upper part.

 So, we’re in E minor – the tonic minor

 slow movts (14)

 

  • When the key signature changes back to four sharps at the beginning of bar 79, a similar “delay” in the actual key change takes place – the E major proper doesn’t return until the 3rd beat of that bar. Key signature changes tend not to happen in the middle of a bar.

spring3 (13)

  • This is all the information we can get from the key signatures in this movement, but the movement by no means remains in E major and E minor throughout.

 

  •  Let’s investigate some of the modulations (or changes of key) and the clues which lead us to them.

slow movts (13)

 

spring3 (12)

  • First of all look at bars 1-12. Which notes are used?
  • Which of these musical things are also there?
  1. stamping (2)tonic pedal dominant pedal leading to a perfect cadence in E major in bar 12
  2. spring3 (11)no extra accidentals
  3. and another tonic pedal

 

Yes – the notes of E major and all three of these things.

This implies that it stays in the tonic.

spring 3

  • The next passage (bar 12-21) has these four musical things. Find them!
  1. several extra accidentals including a chromatic scale in the continuo part
  2. a sequence of perfect cadences, each in a new key
  3. a perfect cadence at the end into a new key
  4. a brief pedal near the end on the soon-to-be new tonic

 

  • In a sequence like this, where there are so many quick-fire perfect cadences we can’t really say the music has gone into those keys, even though the last one does bring us for the first time to our new key (it is immediately followed by a chromatic scale in the bass which confuses things again). These keys are hinted at, and may return more permanently later, but for now they are just a way of getting to the new key.

 

  • So, what is the new key?

Right – C# minor, the relative minor.

 Spring3 (5)

 

  • spring3 (12)Spring3 (9)Well I’ve been quite kind to you so far, giving you the answers as soon as I’ve asked the question, but this where that kindness ends. Now you’ve got the hang of this, you can work the rest out for yourself. Just print off this chart, then fill it in to get the full picture!

 

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