A Study in the Style of a Chopin Nocturne (Original Experimental Composition)

Hello everyone! When I first started playing the Nocturne (op. 9 no. 2 in E-flat Major) by Chopin towards the beginning of July, I began to experiment with writing in his style. I also have written or will probably write pieces in the styles of other composers, so I thought this might be a fun little series to start. Anyway, let's get into the piece:

The Piece

Form

I utilized a similar form to that of the nocturne that I have been playing. That style is balanced binary. This piece contains an A section which repeats (with variations) followed by a B section which contains a variant of the A section in it. This B section also repeats and then is followed by a very small coda (much smaller than Chopin's coda in the E-flat nocturne. The A section is 3 measures long and the B section is technically 6 (three measures of new material and three of the A section).

Music

I modeled the key (D-flat Major) and left hand figuration after the Chopin D-flat nocturne opus 27 no. 2, which I analyzed for theory several months ago. However, I later changed the time signature from 12/8 to 24/16 in order to properly express the subdivision of the beat. It is clearly emphasizing the dotted eight which only makes sense in 24/16. So, after my piano teacher pointed that out, I changed the key signature.

Harmonic Structure

In the A section, I utilized a German sixth as a predominant (first appearing) in measure three. I decided to just consider the C natural in the first beat's chord to be some kind of appoggiatura that resolves in the second beat rather than considering the chord (on beat 1) as having a separate harmonic function or meaning. It's sole job is to lead to the German Augmented sixth's D-flat whilst resolving the seventh of the ii4/3 which precedes it.

I will note that I am not sure how to express the harmonic idea (first) presented in measure 9 in roman numerals. At first, I thought it was functioning as a neopolitan 6th of G-flat. I later realized that that is not how a neopolitan 6th would function at all (especially because of the F natural). So, I just decided to describe it as a V4/2 of vii° (I'd already rendered the video when I realized that vii° in a major key is diminished not Major. I was thinking in b-flat minor when I labeled that).

In measure 17, I included an appoggiatura in the alto (on beat 1) in order to create a little pattern. This pattern is that the alto's notes (F Db C) create parallel sixths with the melody making it seem richer.

Finally, I would like to make it clear that I am unsure of any dynamics or articulations which are currently written out (or that I played). The slurring in measure 18 only made sense before I made a change to the music. Now I would not lift before playing the E-flat Octave. I would also like to add that this recording/performance is not the best. Towards the end, I had to read through the music because I had not played it like that yet which is why the performance is not the best quality (let's make something clear though, I might have made those mistakes anyway, even if I'd been prepared). Either way, I thought that my "hesitant" performance would better illustrate my thoughts than the "arrogant" performance presented by the computer. As we all know, something in the style of Chopin needs to have more feeling than a computer can provide. Anyway, here is my Nocturne in the Style of Chopin:

Previous Posts

• A Study in the Style of a Chopin Nocturne (7/28/18)

Schedule (Hopefully)

Friday - Tuesday: "The Wealth of Nations" review
Wednesday: Break/Free write day
Thursday: Weekly7

Closing

Thanks for reading this! Please remember that feedback is always appreciated. I should have the next piece (which is as far as I have written) up tomorrow along with another post. Anyway, see you later!

Also remember to check for: My weekly 7 post, As well as my composer birthday posts (Note) In order to encourage meaningful feedback on the platform, I will check comment trails of users who leave superficial comments (ie "Awesome post," or "Upvoted.") and will mute any users who exhibit a pattern of leaving "spammy" comments.