Reduction
Stripping a passage to its structural voices to hear what carries the line.
- Category
- Form and analysis
- First taught in
- 8.8 Shape the bass and inner voices
- Theory cards
- Following a voice exchange (Level 8)
- Reducing counterpoint (Diploma)
- The long-range line (Diploma)
In the lessons
12 lessons and 12 pieces where the Method teaches or uses it, in teaching order.
| Lesson | Lesson and piece |
|---|---|
| 8.8 | Shape the bass and inner voicesSinfonia No. 11 in G minor, BWV 797, Johann Sebastian Bach |
| D.1 | Connect a complete prelude and fuguePrelude and Fugue in F minor, BWV 857 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach |
| D.3 | Keep figuration below a singing lineÉtude in B-flat minor, Op. 8 No. 11, Alexander Scriabin |
| D.4 | Let ornament and sequence direct the phrasePrelude and Fugue in F-sharp minor, BWV 859 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach |
| D.7 | Keep a dense fugue intelligiblePrelude and Fugue in B-flat minor, BWV 867 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach |
| D.8 | Keep dance metre through displaced accentsImpromptu in F minor, D. 935 No. 4 (Op. 142 No. 4) — complete, Franz Schubert |
| D.9 | Give each rondo return a purposePiano Sonata No. 27 in E minor, Op. 90: II. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen, in E major, Ludwig van Beethoven |
| D.10 | Carry a barcarolle pulse through chromatic colourMallorca (Barcarola), Op. 202, Isaac Albéniz |
| D.12 | Carry inner connections into a complete performanceIntermezzo in A major, Op. 118 No. 2, Johannes Brahms |
| L.1 | Build a five-voice argument across a complete pairPrelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach |
| L.7 | Sustain direction through a long contrapuntal spanPrelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 869 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach |
| C.2 | Give a late-sonata movement structural weightPiano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111: I. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato, Ludwig van Beethoven |
In Musicianship
The units whose theory questions ask about it.
| Unit | Title |
|---|---|
| 8.8 | Through V of V |
| D.1 | Chromatic neighbours |
Related ideas
In the app, the Theory library has the whole cards, with their questions, and a deep dive into this idea. The glossary from A to Z
Practise all 157 lessons at your piano
In Musalea each lesson runs step by step, and after every run the app tells you what to fix: the bar, the hand and how to practise it.
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