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Topic: Deconstruction of Moonlight Sonata (Read 6078 times)

mmatisoff

PS Silver Member
Newbie
Posts: 1

Deconstruction of Moonlight Sonata

on: July 17, 2020, 12:20:31 AM

I am trying to deconstruct Beethoven's Opus 27, No. 2 so that I can see how the harmony influences the melody. For example, in Bar 1, the the bass note is C#min. The first bar in the bass clef is the second inversion of C# E G# (G# C# E.)

In the second bar, bass notes is "B," yet the melody is the same as the first bar. The only difference is the added note B. Is this written as C#min7 or C#7/B.

Also, has any one dissected the sonata from a compositional viewpoint?

I hope that makes sense.

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brogers70

PS Silver Member
Sr. Member
Posts: 1758

Re: Deconstruction of Moonlight Sonata

Reply #1 on: July 17, 2020, 10:30:46 AM

https://www.beethovenpianoonline.com/an-interpretive-guide-to-moonlight-sonata/

It sounds like you are looking for a straightforward harmonic analysis. Above are links to a couple.

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jlmap

PS Silver Member
Jr. Member
Posts: 65

Re: Deconstruction of Moonlight Sonata

Reply #2 on: August 22, 2020, 12:23:37 PM

You are in a good path! But it seems that you are just starting to learn theory. I would recomend that you look at the bass notes, and sing them in a scale. For example, in the first phrase, the bass would be: la, si, sol, fa, fa, mi, which implies i, V, V/iv, iv, Aug 6th, V. Lá (and not C#) because lá is the name of the first degree of any minor scale. The harmony is implied by the movement of the bass. The second phrase modulates to G# minor, so the first note of the bass (C# again) is named ré, and the bass sings ré, ti, si, lá, and then enters the second theme. Sing these notes everytime you play!

If I'm right, and you are just starting music theory, there are very good courses of harmony on youtube. And don't forget to practice ear training. Get an app for this.

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