Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [sonata]

For questions related to sonata form. Questions will also likely require the musical-forms tag.

34 questions
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What makes a piece sound like Beethoven?

I can't seem to find non-harmonic analyses of Beethoven's sonatas. And I'm not a classical music analyzer. That makes it hard to write a sonata in the style of Beethoven when I don't know what Beethoven's style is. I've been told that I don't have…
Caters
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Why is there a key signature change in Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata (2nd movement)?

I have listened to the Hammerklavier Sonata many times, sometimes while following the score, and I have noticed that, in the second movement, there is a change in the key signature for just a little. This has baffled me for quite some time. I…
George
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How to make the dominant preparation less boring?

This is one thing that I have always noticed when I compose a sonata. Even if I can get through most of the development section in sonata form, the dominant preparation sort of grinds my gears. I'm like "I need to stay on the dominant and add…
Caters
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Developments in musical form in mid-nineteenth - early-twentieth century music

I am now studying new approaches to harmony in the Romantic and Impressionistic eras, but I haven't seen anything about formal functions. It seems like even if they were still using Sonata form (which based on my basic study of Debussy, doesn't…
lightning
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What's going on in measures 11 - 16 of Beethoven's Sonata Appasionata?

I'm studying the Neapolitan Chord and the textbook includes the following excerpt to analyze. Up until measure 10 I understand what's happening, but I have no clue how to interpret measure 11 and onwards. What I have so far: Measure 1 to 4 is the…
Ars
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Are there any sonatas with only two sections?

In a classical sense, the Sonata is a structure composed of three sections: exposition, development, and recapitulation. Are there any examples of a Sonata with only two sections?
Klangen
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Form in Mozart's Trio in B-flat Major K.502 I. Allegro

I cannot for the life of me figure out what the form is in Mozart's Trio in B-flat Major K.502, in the first movement. The continuously repeated theme leads me to believe that it would be some type of rondo form (whether it be rondo/sonata-rondo,…
ConstantCertino
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Why is alberti bass so tiring?

I am practicing the second movement of Mozart's K 545 sonata. I notice that Alberti Bass is very tiring. More so than other 16th note rhythms. So much so that I feel the burn in my left hand because the left hand is almost all Alberti bass. I also…
Caters
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Classical Guitar: Can someone reference this piece of music allegedly by Carulli

In my classical guitar book "Klassiker der Gitarre", edited by Martin Rätz, there is a piece which is attributed to Fernando Carulli. It has the title "Sonate" (Sonata) and the tempo Largo. No other information is given. The first few measures are…
DosCoder
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Beethoven “Appassionata” measure 42

I’m trying to figure out the chord progression in the highlighted measure. I know the key shifts from A flat major to minor, but what do the #c minor and A major chords do here? How can I write them in terms of Roman numerals? Thanks
Skorpion
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Arranging K 545 for a string quartet, how to write the harmony part

So, I am trying a second time to arrange K 545 for a string quartet. I think my second draft is better harmonically speaking than my previous attempt to arrange the same sonata. But there is a whole movement that makes it a tad difficult to arrange…
Caters
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How to make my piece feel like a Presto

Intro I am writing a piece in D major that I intend to be at a Presto tempo. This piece that I am writing, at first I intended for it to be a Scherzo. But it would be so short as a Scherzo and I didn't really notice much development. So after…
Caters
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Is the divertimento a freeform sonata?

So, I once looked up divertimento and what it means and I was told that it can have anywhere from 2 to 10 movements. The fact that it mentioned movements made me think: Okay, so it is a sonata without a defined form, right? So here is the typical…
Caters
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Tablature notation meaning

What is that tablature symbol in the second bar of Alfred Schnittke's piano sonata no.3 ?
Sanjai S
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Piano - Triplets turn into sixteenths

I am having trouble with playing triplets at higher speeds (such as at the end of the Pathetique Sonata, 3rd movement). I find that when I speed things up to tempo that the triplets always turn into 16th notes in sets of 4 rather than remaining as…
Saemund
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