F.Chopin Prelude op.28 no.4, how to create tension with melody and harmony

[Monday Notes No. 183] Fryderyk Chopin’s Prelude Op. 28 No. 4 in E minor is one of the most played pieces by the Polish composer, not least because it is one of the few that does not require an advanced piano technique.

Chopin did not write music specifically for didactics, this not too difficult piece allows even early years students to approach his music. I tried to analyse the Prelude Op. 28 No. 4 in E minor from a melodic and harmonic point of view, to better understand how it was composed.

Chopin, Prelude Op. 28 No. 4 in E minor. Melodic analysis

To begin with, let us analyse how the melody of Chopin’s Prelude No. 4 in E minor develops. The piece begins on the note B, and at first the melody moves little, almost nothing. For example, in the first two lines it almost always moves by a semitone and in a very small interval, remaining between C and A.

Only in the third and fourth lines do we observe a greater movement of the melody. In the third line, the start and end note are still close: the phrase starts on G sharp, and ends on F sharp.

In the first measure of the fourth line, the melody moves decisively more, during the first perfect cadence of the piece. In this passage, the left hand does not play the chord, so the melody is absolutely protagonist: it goes down, up, and down again.

In the fifth line, the melody moves further, first ascending from A-sharp to G, then rising again to C, and then descending again first to B and then to E.

This is the most intense point in F. Chopin’s Prelude op.28 No.4. This passage is even more effective precisely because in the rest of the piece the melody had moved very little. In fact, even the finale is again static, with the melody remaining on two or three notes: F sharp, E, D sharp.

Prelude Op. 28 No. 4 in E minor, harmonic analysis

The melody therefore only becomes inflamed on three occasions, remaining almost still for the rest of the piece. The harmony, on the other hand, is much denser, with many dissonant and surprising chords.

In general, the chords create great tension, without resolving it. Only on two occasions do we find a perfect V I cadence, which is B7 Em. The first time in the middle of the piece, the second time at the end.

All other dominant chords, and there are many, never resolve! So let’s see what the chords are in F. Chopin’s Prelude op.28 no.4 in E minor. For simplicity’s sake, in writing the harmony I have neglected to indicate the bass notes. I have preferred not to use ‘slash chords’ but have limited myself to indicating the chords’ acronyms, regardless of the lowest note.

In the following examples, I have indicated in green the two perfect cadences with a regular V I resolution, and in yellow all the dominant chords that do not resolve at all. You can see that the majority of those that do NOT resolve is overwhelming!

In the first four lines, the perfect cadence is preceded by no less than six dominant chords that do not resolve. Chopin does not even employ the classical alternative cadences, the imperfect cadence or the deceptive cadence. Instead, he prefers to ‘degrade’ the dominant chords by changing their quality, thus leaving them completely unresolved.

For example, the F7 chord at the end of the first line is changed to F6 and then to Fm6. The next chord, E7, becomes Em7 and then Edim7. A little further on we find a D7 chord that changes to Dm7, Dm6 and finally Ddim7.

By changing the quality of the dominant chords, it is as if Chopin postpones their resolution, leaving all their charge intact and preparing to let it ‘explode’ only in the grand finale, when we can finally hear a perfect cadence.

In the second part of the piece, the mechanism repeats itself: before the final cadence, there are no less than nine dominant chords that do not resolve.

In addition to this device, Chopin also builds up tension by employing particularly tense chords: the B7sus chord appears several times, as do many dim7 chords. In Chopin’s Prelude Op. 28 No.4 in E minor we even find two maj7(#5) chords, very rare in the music of his era. We find one in the second line, Cmaj7(#5), and one in the fourth line, Gmaj7(#5).

Another technique employed by Chopin in his Prelude Op. 28 No. 4 is the tritone substitution, well known to jazz musicians but decidedly daring in Chopin’s time. Repeatedly in the piece, the B7 chord changes to F7. The two chords are three tones apart, i.e. a tritone. Even the C7 chord, which introduces the final dominant B7, resolves by descending a semitone as happens in the tritone substitution typical of jazz and bossa nova.

Trying to explain a masterpiece is often difficult. In a work of art of this level, the end result is much more than a simple sum of well-matched elements. However, in Chopin’s Prelude Op. 28 No. 4 in E minor, we can recognise some very definite elements:

• The melody is mostly static, only moving on a few occasions
• Harmony, on the other hand, is never quiet, with constantly changing chords, not resolving the tension
• There are only two perfect cadences in the song, while we find many dominant chords that do not resolve

I hope this analysis of F. Chopin’s Prelude in E minor will help you appreciate it even more, or make you want to study it too, if you play the piano. If you wish, you can download my harmonic analysis by clicking on this link.

Download the score with all my notes on F.Chopin’s Prelude op.28 no.4

As usual, I would be happy to hear your opinion on Chopin’s Prelude Op. 28 No. 4 in E minor, and on my lesson. You can write a comment or a question in the comment section below. Otherwise write to me privately, if you prefer.

Until next Monday!