Phylicia Morris

MUS 520

Assignment #1 Analysis

In Chopin’s Mazurka no.6 in A minor, there is a feeling of movement towards a

tonal goal until you reach measures 17-24. The progressions here are chromatic in

nature and are not really anchored by a defined tonal key temporarily. If one were to

ask how these progressions in the measures mentioned above were directed towards a

goal, I would respond with that they are mot straight forward with the tonal direction. To

put it simply, the harmonic progression meanders for those eight measures. It’s only at

the end of measure 24 where we get the feeling of returning to tonality with the use of V

of iv. This then brings us back to the iv chord that we recognize from the beginning of

this piece.

In my analysis, I decided to say that this section is in the key of C minor but even

then, the chords didn’t exactly line up when it came to utilizing Roman numeral analysis.

Because there is no defined key within the measures mentioned and a considerable

amount of non-harmonic tones spread throughout, Roman numeral analysis proved to

be rather difficult; if not, damn near impossible to do. It would have been more

appropriate to do a Schenkerian analysis to get a better idea of the tonal shifting within

measures 17-24.
 If I were to do a Schenkerian analysis on these measures, I would highlight the

relationships between the top melody line and the unusual harmonic progressions that

proceeds them (excluding the passing tones marked in the analysis). The reason for

this is because the chords formed by the lower voices are all in inversions and the root

of those inversions are in the top melodic line. With that understanding of the voice

leading in this particular passage, it makes clear to the person analyzing that the section

in question is a large chromatic sequence instead of a large tonal sequence. I think a

Schenkerian analysis would properly show the chromatic sequence progressions in

measures 17-24 more accurately than trying to wrack your head around a Roman

numeral analysis.