Introducing myself and a question!

[NZpianist]

Hi everyone,

My name is Grace, I'm 17 and I live in New Zealand. I've been playing the piano since I was seven. I'm sitting grade eight in a few weeks and I need your help!

One section is identifying modulations (about four) from a short piece played by the examiner. This might seem easy to you guys, but I just can't grasp modulations and I'm freaking out! My teacher just can't get it through to me! I can't tell chord one from chord five!

Can anyone help me please?

Grace

P.S Hehe, I was reading the thread about performance techniques and strip Mozart sounds really um interesting!

[squinchy]

Hi Grace! Welcome to the forums-pull up a bench and get comfy-you'll be here for a while.

I'm not sure how specifically you have to identify the modulations. Do you just have to point out when it modulates, or do you have to identify the pivot chord, tell what key it's modulating into and everything else?

If it's just pointing out when it modulates, try experiencing the moods and feelings of the piece. Some pop music and disney songs have lots of modulation, usually when they repeat the same annoyingly catchy refrain for the n'th time.

As for obejctively identifying the specifics, I can't help you there. I haven't gotten to that lesson in my theory book yet.  

Hope you like it here, and good luck with your exams!

[NZpianist]

Sorry, I should have been a bit more specific

The examiner plays a short piece and I have to say what the last four cadences were, not really modulations, sorry! This exam is frying my brain!

I have to say, for example, the last chord is perfect, then say what two chords made that cadence. Then I have to go back to the three cadences beforehand and say what they were

If anyone can help me please please please do!

Grace

[squinchy]

Oo-Cadences. For me, the easiest way to accomplish what you need to do is to remember what each cadence feels like, learn the label to that feeling, and then learn the chords to that label.

I think authentic cadences are the easiest to pick out. They're like periods-very final, very definite. One example is the tune 8 5 5 6 5 7 8. or C (down) G-G-A-G, B-C. The B-C usually comes with a V (or V-7) chord, followed by a I chord with C (the keytone) as the top note.

If the bottomest note is also a C, then the cadence is a perfect cadence. Actually, I think any last chord in a cadence that has the keytone in the soprano and bass is considered perfect. [Not sure, though.]

Half-Cadences feel like a comma. The feeling I associate with them is one of dissatisfaction, of a comma, a pause that just cannot possibly be the end. It's made of a I-V chord progression. There are two half-cadences in the first part of Yankee Doodle (C-C-D-E-C-E-D, C-C-D-E-C-B). Try singing it-doesn't it just feel like you have to finish the song and have the satisfying authentic cadence? (B-G-A-B-C-C)

I'm not too sure about plagal cadences-I don't really understand them, except that they're supposed to sound like an "A-men!" at the end of a religious piece.

I hope I've helped somewhat (or at least not confuse you! )

Squinchy

[kaff]

Hi Grace

I'm working on this too, trying to revise what I learned 20-odd years ago!  If I have remembered this correctly, you have four types of cadence which you may have to identify:  perfect (V -I);plagal (IV - I); imperfect (I - V) (this must be what squinchy calls a half cadence); interrupted (V -VI).

The perfect and plagal ones will sound "finished", as Squinchy says.  I can't do better than Squinchy's description of the plagal one as sounding like "Amen".  

The imperfect and interrupted ones will sound "unfinished" - as if the tune needs to go on a bit further to reach a satisfactory conclusion.  The Yankee Doodle example for the imperfect cadence is a good one.

As for the interrupted cadence, it goes from V - VI.  If you're in a major key, the V-chord will be major, while the VI chord will be minor.   So if your tune changes modality, you're likely to be listening to an interrupted cadence.

That's the cadences bit taken care of, which is part of the question.  For the rest of the task, you have to identify  up to four chords in the progression (rather than cadences).  Best thing to do to get yourself used to the sounds, is to play a scale of C major, in triads rather than single notes.  So you'd play CEG, DFA, EGB etc.  You'll notice that some of these are major (I,IV,V, VIII) and some are minor (II,III, VI).    
You need to practice keeping the key chord in mind, and play the other triads randomly, to get used to the sounds.  

You only have to bother about I, II, IV, V (and V-7) and VI for the exam, I think - is this the same as UK Grade 8?  Okay, this makes it sound easy, and it's more difficult in an exam with an unfamiliar piece of music.  But at least if you're used to the sounds, you can make a decent stab at it.  If you're in a major key and the chord is a minor one, you'll know that it's more likely to be II or VI, so you've got a 50% percent chance of getting it right, which is better than a 20% chance.  

This is Kathryn's trial and error approach to harmony, strictly for use in times of urgent need.  If I manage to work out a better system before my own Grade 8 exam in a few weeks, I'll let you know.  If anyone else has a better, foolproof method, please post!

kathryn