Tuesday, October 18, 2005

more adventures in form analysis

Just a quick recap, because I've got to go warm up/cram for a lesson at 11 (get it? Recap? Form Analysis? aHAHAHAHA oh nevermind).

We're working on Mozart's Piano Sonata in Bb major. Mvts 1 and 2 were to have been studied and graphed for today in class, and of course I had done almost none of that because < insert excuses about musical involvement, lack of interest, bullshit etc >. Anyway. Brief discussion on the finer points of analyzing sonata form in general, which was pretty exciting since that's the first time we've had any sort of tip or trick, much less total outline, given to us for such a thing. I almost didn't fall asleep in class for it, too!

Somewhere inbetween this point and about twenty minutes later, probably right after he gave us the tips on analysis, he made note that we would be working on the second movement in class today. I completely missed this fact.

This all went fairly well (in so much as it usually does) for about ten minutes, because I was getting some of the same measure numbers and ideas as the rest of the class, and keep in mind that no mention of key was given. So up until he was playing excerpts from it on the piano (please see below post) I was in my normal state of semi-enlightened fog.

And then he starts playing bits of it. First of all, wrong key. Second of all, Alberti bass? Where the fuck is he getting alberti bass from? And what's that dude talking about, the development starts in 32? The repeat sign's at 54! What the hell is he playing?!?!

So about this point I'm thinking I might be on the wrong piece, but every time I look over to double check my neighbor's score, it's the same title. Mozart Piano Sonata in Bb Major K. 333 etc etc. The music looks totally different. I'm starting to get paranoid. I look through the book for another Bb sonata. No luck. I consider the possibility of my edition, being older and less wise than the one required for our class, also being completely fucked up.

So finally I lean over and ask.

And spend the rest of the class head down, buried in my notes, sobbing uncontrollably at the unjustices of the world. For example, how sweet a world this would be without war, poverty, racism, and form analysis.