As a Creator - Schumann's Carnaval Op.9
Experimenting with Music
This page offers you a series of lessons on Schumann's Carnaval, Op.9. These works are perfect for experimenting, as they provide short, intimate musical moments, but are ripe with elements ready for experimentation. The focus here is on pieces 10 - 14, but they can certainly be adapted for larger classes.
Listen to this interpretation of Chiarina from Schumann's famous work and attempt to make some observations about the important musical features:
Teacher only boxGuide students in their musical observations to maximize the depth of inquiry. You may wish to get them to comment on the following: melodic line, harmony, structure, phrase lengths, interplay between the hands, expressive techniques, variation, inner lines, rhythmic motifs, character/mood of the work, etc.
They can work in their music journals on this.
1. What comments can you make about the melodic line:
There seems to be an expansive quality to the music. The open motif only spans a 3rd (Ab-C), then it becomes a fifth (G-D), then a 7th (F-Eb), and finally a 9th (Eb-F). The subsequent phrase (bb. 5-8) is descending in nature, providing a balance to the opening (bb.1-4). This forms an antecedent and consequent pairing of phrases. This intervallic expansion idea reaches its pinnacle in the middle section (bb.21-24) when the melodic intervals stretch from a minor 10th (F-Ab) to a major 10th (Fb-Ab), to finally a perfect 11th (Eb-Ab). Repeated passages are presented in octaves (bb.9-16 and the closing portion as well.
2. How would you describe the harmony?
There is a distinctive descending bass line to open (F-Eb-D-C) that contributes to alternating vii-i series, specifically:
vii°⁴₃ - i⁶ - vii°⁶⁵₃ - i
bdim/f - cm/e♭ - bdim/d – cm
(bb.1-4)
The oddity of this is beginning the piece with a diminished chord.
The answering phrase is more traditional in nature, which adopts a typical cadential ⁶₄ pattern resulting in an imperfect cadence. The resolution to I does not appear here as the passage repeats.
ii⁶ - i⁶₄ - V - V⁷ (-vii°⁴₃)
dm/f - cm/g - G - G⁷
(bb.5-8)
One needs to wait until the end of the next phrase to experience that resolution and later, the end of the section.
The closing portion of Chiarina (bb.12-16)
The descending bass line idea appears in the middle section again, but now in a chromatically compressed version (D-D♭-C-B). Here it contributes to the following harmonic progression:
ii⁴₂ - ♭VII⁷ - ♭ii - i⁴₃
fm7/e♭ - B♭7/D - D♭m - Cm⁴-³
The ♭ii is also known as a Neapolitan chord (here D♭m), which provides a chromatic pull towards the tonic.
The Middle Portion of Chiarina Shows the Descending Bass Line (in blue) but in a Chromatically Compressed Form