What is this chord?

[neueliteratur]

Hi folks,

I know the 3 other ones are Ebmaj7, but I can't figure out what the second chord could be...



Thanks for any help,

[SWTrex]

Firstly, I don't see the major 7th in the first chord - its a straight Eb.

I think the first note of the triplet you've circled stays with the Eb chord - the chord change occurs on the second note of the triplet. So that leaves Ab, D, Cb (=B) which is Ab diminished.

SWTrex

[geroyannis]

I would call it an F half-diminished chord, interpreting it as a ii half-diminished, borrowed from the parallel Eb minor scale. Rather common I would say...

[Ogg Vorbis]

Hey I've played that Chopin Nocturne before!

Okay you've got an Eb pedal tone. So the circled harmony is a fully diminished vii07 with the Eb pedal tone continuing.

See how it resolves back to the tonic? D resolves up a half-step to Eb, Ab resolves down a half-step to G. Cb (where's Dexter? ) resolves a half-step down to Bb and F in the top resolves to Eb.

vii0 functions as a dominant function many times in Romantic era music.

[psenior]

That is a great example of the methodology that Barry Harris teaches. I encourage everyone to start thinking about music like the great masters of the past did.

[neueliteratur]

Thanks people for the replies.

Now I'm more familiar with the vii0.

I didn't know it was also common in jazz.



Now I'm trying to figure out the 2nd bar.

My best guess is: C-7, C-7, Bbmaj(#11)/F, F

but that Bbmaj(#11)/F doesn't look very convincing (I don't know why though lol).

Anybody know?

[Ogg Vorbis]

There's a little mistake in the music you're looking at. In my edition, it's not a D natural in the left hand on beat 9. The Db continues to the next beat in my edition (Schirmer).

The harmony there analyzed as vii07 of ii with a F pedal tone in the bass resolving to ii.

But I feel terribly guilty even saying that...Chopin didn't think of "chord progressions."

It's so much more instructive to look at the left hand as a rhythmically broken series of connected voices and watch how he sets up the resolution to F-Ab-C to establish a temporary key of F minor. E resolves up to F, Bb down to Ab and C goes to Db and down to C (F in the bass sustains to F). In the melody, Bb resolves down to Ab.

This is the principles of counterpoint in action!

[Liero]

I think you're overthinking this. Just play it through and listen, the section you've underlined is part of a cadential chord progression, a dominant embellishment. Although the final F chord is in minor instead of major, the functional harmony before it is very basic. The last bunch of eighth notes in the "triplet" you've underlined are embellishments that lead to the very last eighth note chord of the bar. The melody line of the left hand goes from D flat to E flat and finally from there to F.

[psenior]

Right, instead of thinking chord changes, think of playing chord movements through the scale. In this instance, I believe Chopin is playing through what Barry Harris would call Eb7-diminished, which is easily thought of as an Eb7 chord overlapping a Ddim7 chord (Eb F G Ab Bb B Db D).

I don't care what harmonies or melodies you play within this group of notes, trust your ears and fingers to guide the sounds the way they want to move and you can't go wrong. It's very easy to get the romantic classical sound or bebop jazz with this scale. Also very easy to modulate to several other keys using the diminished or dominant side, since both have dominant function. Another musical secret exposed by the inquisitive Mr. Halfstep!

[resonanceaudio]

You gotta love LilyPond!