🎵 JJ's Piano Playing 🎹

Documenting the journey rediscovering my piano hobby.

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🗣 Frédéric Chopin - Mazurka Op. 24, No. 2

JJ van Zon, 2021

Phrase Structure

Phrasing and repetition structure.

There is a melody, base notes, unbroken chords/intervals, subtle contretemps.


prefix	1a
verse - chorus	2 - 3a
intermezzo 1	4
verse - chorus	2 - 3a - 3b
intermezzos 2 & 3	5a - 5b - 6
verse - chorus	2 - 3a
suffix	1b

Fragment 1: Prefix & Suffix

In the beginning, fragment 1a is shorter.
In the end fragment 1b is more elaborate, longer.

It is mostly alternating intervals: 3rd - 6th - 3rd - 6th.

Fragment 2: Verse

Repeated 3 times in the song.
Has 2 similar halves.
Structure:
a - b - a’ - b’
The 2 halves differ by a trill like structure near the start.
b is a transposed version of a, with different chords. Basically the minor counterpart chords.
The 2nd time it repeats, the first chord is sustained slightly longer:
a’’ - b - a’ - b’

Fragment 3: Chorus

The verse (fragment 2) is always followed by a chorus (fragment 3).
Repeated 3 times in the song.
Structure:
a - a - b - c
a - a’- b - c
The 2nd time with an extension (called fragment 3b):
d

Fragment 3b

A suffix of the chorus (fragment 3).
Just a C note and G note, but different combinations of different octaves at different times.
Bit hard to remember. The first 2 measures increase in numbers of tones at the same time. The 2nd 2 measures go from little to many to less notes at the same time.

Fragment 4: Intermezzo 1

Repeating the same chord progression 4 times.
Structure:
a1 - a2 - a3 - a4
The melody is a playfully different variation each time.

Trying to capture the structure of each melody variation:

Taking 1st melody variation as base,
The 2nd melody variation throws itself a chord inversion further up in the 2nd measure, works itself down to a slightly different 3th and 4th measure.
The 3rd melody variation is quite similar to the 1st with a slight ornamentation at the beginning of the 3rd measure.
The 4th melody variation seems based on equally timed 8th notes, then the ending is same as 3rd melody variation.

There are slight variations even still, not mentioned, but the above may help memorize things.

Fragment 5: Intermezzo 2

Moves from C major to Dᵇ major (5 flats).
It is structured rather regularly:
a - b - a - c
a - b - a a’ - c’
The a’ and c’ at the melody goes to the left hand (called fragment 5b).

Fragment 6: Intermezzo 3

Intermezzo fragment 5 is directly followed by intermezzo fragment 6.
It goes to minor.
Melody in left hand.
It basically repeats a theme 4 times.
2nd time melody moves an octave lower.
Structure:
a - a - b - c
a - a - b - c’
(melody octave lower)
a - a - b - c
a - a - a’ - a’’

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