Mozart 'Minuet in G' Update #3 Harmonic Analysis

So practice continues on this. last nights practice was an incremental improvement. Still making coordination mistakes with hands together. must resist the urge to go faster. Also trying to remember to keep hands loose. It feels like it is much more fluid and sounds nicer with less anxiety. I think that will be key to improving speed.

So onto the analysis. This is just from things I noticed while playing like chord shapes and cadences.

It starts on a major 3rd to G  so you instantly know what key you are in.  Then there are the two a and b 5 note patterns that are just stepwise sequences in the scale.

Then there are some 3 note falling patterns (noted 1 and 2) that make it feel like it is 2/4 time. The fall is mirrored in the bass (3). Also there is a C# added. This should instantly tell you that it is changing key for three reasons. a) C# is not in the key of G. b) It is not being used just as a passing note. c) It occurs twice more in the next bar in more than one voice.

When a note like this occurs, it is usually a 'leading note' to the key it is modulating to. In this case D. this is confirmed by a V-I cadence in bar 6 of A D repeated again accross bar 7 and 8 (noted at points 5 and 6 in my notes)

Then onto the second section.  It starts of strange with a G# and E in the bass followed by an F natural. So it's definitely not G or D anymore. The G# makes me think A (because it is the leading note of A) but the following scale pattern has all natural notes which might make it A minor. Not sure, might need some help on that.

From there, it goes back into standard G with the return of F# and D natural. Actually the next falling scale pattern accross bar 11 and 12 finished on a G major.

The C in the bass at bar 13 is a IV into another double cadence (noted 7 and 8) which this time is a V-I. It repeats the pattern of the previous double cadence at the end of the first section. The first cadence is contained within a bar and the second happens across two. The appearance of the leading note of G (f#) in the cadence solidifies the end and resolves itself nicely.

There you go! I will try and find out about that strange harmony at the start of section two.

It goes to show that even with a small grade 1 piece, there can be a lot going on within it. I suppose that's Mozart for you.