Quick-Scan Ways to Analyze Choral Scores

Key Structure
A. Determine the key from the opening key signature, opening harmonies, and first cadence,
whether major or relative minor.
B. Scan for accidental. How many are there in a single location? How much do they change
over the entire work? Do they make sense with other keys?
1. Once or few instances of the same accidentals = either melodic embellishment,
temporary mode alteration, or brief secondary tonicization (example: V/V – V)
2. Several instances of same accidentals, especially a leading tone in a different key
a. No cadence in the key = temporary modulation, an “area” in different key
b. Cadence in the key = full modulation, “in a new key”
3. How far away from the original key?
a. Classical
• relative minor or major
• closely related keys = 1 or 2 # or b added or subtracted, such as IV
or V of original key, or V/IV or V/V of the original key
b. Classical (some) or Romantic (common)
• parallel minor or major
• distantly related keys (several # or b away from original key)
• chromaticism (series of half steps, bs going down, #s going up)
c. Romantic
• relative minor in a major key or relative major in a minor key
• extremely distant keys (several b or # cancelled to natural, b
changed to #, or # changed to b)
• enharmonically related (foreshadows a later distant key?)
• unrelated key (for color or extreme emotion)

Form
A. Motive—small number of notes that together make up an identifiable shape or idea
B. Phrase – ends in a cadence of some type.
C. Sectional forms—end in a PAC (find PACs and you find the end of a section)
1. Material is repeated
a. Strophic: repeats the same section of music, with repeat signs or written
out, with different words, as in verse-refrain-verse-refrain.
b. Binary AB
c. Ternary ABA, AB da capo to A
d. Rondo ABACA etc., rounded rondo ABACABA
e. Sonata form with development (B) and recapitulation (A’)
f. Cyclical – section is different but earlier melodic material returns
g. Theme and Variation – contrasts built around core melodic material
2. No repeated material
a. A – one PAC in the entire piece, at the end (rare)
b. ABCD etc. = “through composed”