NEAPOLITAN-SIXTH CHORDS
II6 (or N6) = a major triad built on 2 functions as a dominant preparation chord moving to V, especially at cadences more common in minor, because the chord 5th is diatonic to minor (6 in minor, 6 in major) usually in 1st inversion, with 4 in bass, to avoid the tritone root motion from 2 to 5 usually the third of the chord (the bass) is doubled, since the root is chromatically altered it is often approached from the VI chord a perfect 5th away voice-leading:
2 (root of chord) usually moves down to 7 (3rd of V) 4 (3rd of chord) is normally doubled: one note moves up to 5 or remains (as root or 7th of V7), and the other moves down to 2 (5th of V) () 6 (5th of chord) moves down to 5 (root of V)
ff f jj f a j ff j f b
f jj
e jj
j j
jj
6
II
e jj j j
6
V
V7
II
passing chords between II6 and V: sometimes resolution to V is preceded by a cadential 64 or viiº7/V when this happens, 2 passes through 1 on its way to 7
ff f jj f a j j f f f b 6
II
jj jj
ej
i 64
V
f jj j j
jj
6
II
jj jj
e jj
i 64
V7
jj
iviv
ii6 ii6
iiº ii°66
6 iiii6 5
iiiiøø 656
V/V V/V
/V VV656/V
j j
ej
j dj
jj
II
i i i i i fi a ii f ii i f i ii f ii diii dii f i IV IV
ej
6
for comparison: examples of common dominant preparation chords
C:
f jj
IIN66
Note that these all contain scale degrees 4 and 6, the characteristic pre-dominant degrees that surround 5, and either 1 (a third above 6) or 2 (a 3rd below 4), or both 1 and 2. All of these chords usually function the same way: to prepare V.
vii°7/V V
EXAMPLES OF NEAPOLITAN-SIXTH CHORDS
Beethoven, Bagatelle op. 119 #9
II6
V7
II6
i
i 64
V
V7
II6
i
V7
i
i
i 64
V
V
II6
i
i
V7
i
Beethoven, Piano Sonata Op. 27 No. 2 (“Moonlight”), 1st mvt., mm. 49-51
a
dddd
j dj k k k k j z k k k k E jk k k k k k k k k k k k ee kj k k k k k dk k k k
dddd E dj b j dj c#c#m: :
3
3
VV6 6/V
3
3
jj j
3
j j
j j
b I I66
ii
5
3
3
3
VV77
II
ii
Mozart: Piano Concerto K. 488, 2nd mvt., mm. 7-12
e k k k dk k k
ddd 6 k k k k dk k a 8 kk dkk ddd 6 dkk b 8 t fm:
IV 65
V6
k t
k kk
dks e ks o o kk k k t e t
i
VI
e kz k k k e kk kk kk t
II6
jz jz
ks kk t
ze k kz kz e kz kz kz k z dk k k e kk o n o kk kk kk t V 64
8 6 4
-
s dkk k k kk k t 7 5 3
i
Beethoven, Symphony #7/i, mm. 364ff
reduction:
Schubert, “Erlkönig,” ending
gm:
iv
II
II6
[vii°7]
II
[vii°7]
V7
i
Chopin, Prelude in C minor, Op. 28/20, ending
i6
iv V6
i VI
II ( 53!)
V7
i
TONICIZATIONS OF THE NEAPOLITAN (II) Schubert, “Arpeggione” Sonata, opening
[V2] II6
Gr+6 (= enh. V7/II6)
Chopin, Prelude Op. 28 No. 6, excerpt
[V2] II6
II
Beethoven, Sonata Op. 57 (“Appassionata”), 1st mvt., opening
V6
[vii° ]
V6
i
V6
II
[vii° ]
II
V6
V6
[vii° ]
V6
II6
NEAPOLITAN-SIXTH CHORDS: EXAMPLES FOR ANALYSIS Bach, “Ach, Gott, vom Himmel sieh’ darein,” opening
Verdi, Il Trovatore, Act II No. 8, “Stride la vampa” (Azucena), excerpt
Schubert, “Wehmut” D. 772, ending
AUGMENTED-SIXTH CHORDS construction: built on the note a semitone above the goal note, which is usually 5 (6 in major, 6 in minor) like Neapolitan 6ths, augmented 6ths are more diatonic to minor than major like Neapolitan 6ths, augmented 6ths usually act as pre-dominants (but can also be dominants) the chord is named for the interval of an augmented 6th above the bass note: ()6 to 4 resolution of aug. 6th to 8ve
i i
di a fi +
6
P8
assorted pre-dominants moving to V
a jj jj jj jj jj f jj b
iv6 V
IV V
jj j f f jj j dj j j j jj jj djj jj jj jj f jj jj jj j
jj jj
ii 65 V
6
V 65/V V
II
V
Fr+6 V
different types: all augmented 6th chords have, at minimum, a major 3rd (the tonic of the key) above the bass note and an augmented 6th above the bass note (4 of the key)
It.6 has only three notes: bass, major 3rd, and augmented 6th ( 63 ):
Fr.6 has those three notes plus an augmented 4th ( 4 ): ()6, 1, 2, 4
Ger.6 has those three notes plus a perfect 5th ( 65 ): ()6, 1, ()3, 4
6, 1, 4
()
6 3
the rhyme “I, F, G; 1, 2, 3” may help you remember which scale degrees are part of which chord
the “Swiss” 6th, or doubly aug. 4th chord, has the basic 3 notes plus (surprise!) a doubly aug. ++ 4th ( 43 ). Enharmonically it is the same as the Ger.6, but it is spelled like an altered Fr.6 because it resolves to a cadential 64 in major (3 is spelled as 2, because it moves to 3)
d f ii f ii dii d f f iii f f iii d f iii d f iii f iii d iii d d f iii a different augmented 6th types compared to closely related pre-dominants
It.6 6 3
iv6 vii˚6/V
Ger.6 6 5
iv 65
vii˚ 65 /V
Fr.6
iiø 43
V 43 / V
6 4 3
the Italian, German, and “Swiss” aug. 6th chords are enharmonically equivalent to dominant 7th chords built on ()6 (= V7/II) the French aug. 6th is enharmonically equivalent to a dominant 7th chord with flatted 5th
Sw.6 6 4
3
voice-leading:
the interval of the aug. 6 resolves outward by half step to an 8ve on 5 (6 goes down; 4 goes up) these notes are tendency tones that function as double leading tones in contrary motion
1 resolves down to the leading tone, and is doubled in the It.+6 (moving to 2 as well as 7)
be careful to avoid parallel P5s in resolving a Ger. +6 directly to the dominant common ways to avoid this problem are: - move first to a cadential 64 or other passing chord - leave the fifth out of the V chord - arpeggiate the chords - change the Ger. +6 to an It.+6 (i.e., leave out the 5th) before resolving it different augmented 6th types and their resolutions to V
djj a jj b It.6
djj jj
V
djj jj
djj jj Fr.6
V
djj jj
jj j j
Ger.6
6 4
djj jj
− −
ddd dj j ddd d e jj
jj j j
Sw.6
5 3
6 4
jj e jj 5 3
− −
other resolutions of aug. 6th chords: 6 4
(see above); more rarely, to V 43 /V or viiº 65 /V before resolving to V
commonly, to a cadential
to V7, with the notes of the augmented 6th moving down in parallel by semitone to a minor 7th the aug. 6th may be inverted to a dim. 3rd that resolves inward (rather than outward) to an 8ve one of the other notes of the chord might be in the bass (not shown, but you can imagine it) to a non-dominant chord (more on this later)
f dj f a j ff jj b Ger.6
djj e jj [V 43 ]
j dj jj V
djj jj Ger.6
djj e jj
j dj jj
djj jj
[vii° 65 ]
V
Fr.6
j j 6 jj m7 j dj
e djj +
V7
°3
j dj jj V 6
(Ger. )
Summary: • Notes of augmented 6th typically resolve in contrary motion by ½ step to 8ve (or in parallel motion down by ½ step to dominant 7th) • In pre-dominant augmented 6th, 6 and #4 resolve to 5 • Other possible chord tones: major 3rd; augmented 4th OR perfect 5th
EXAMPLES OF AUGMENTED SIXTH CHORDS
Grieg, Lyric Piece, op. 12 no. 7, mm. 21-24: Italian 6th
em:
V7
It.6
ii° 64
i
V4
-
3
Beethoven, Symphony No. 5/i, mm. 1-22 (piano reduction): Italian 6th
c:
i
It.6
V
Beethoven, Piano Sonata Op. 13/iii (“Pathétique”), mm. 44-47: French 6th moving to V
Beethoven, Piano Sonata Op. 13/iii (“Pathétique”), mm. 5-8: German 6th moving to 64 , then V
Schumann, “Am leuchtenden Sommermorgen,” mm. 1-7: “Swiss” 6th as opening sonority
8
B:
Sw.6
V6 4
7 5 3
I
Mendelssohn, Song Without Words, Op. 102/3, mm. 22-28: Italian 6th as neighbor to dominant
Beethoven, Sonata Op. 57 (“Appassionata”)/ii, mm. 1-8: “Swiss” 6th resolving to V7
D:
I IV
I
Sw.6
7
V4 -3
I
Mozart, Piano Sonata in F major, K. 280/ii, ending: interpolated vii°7/V
fm:
vii°7/V
V
Ger.6
vii° 43
Ger.6
vii° 65 /V
V7
Chopin, Prelude in G minor, Op. 28/22, mm. 4-7: diminished-3rd chords (inverted aug. 6ths)
gm:
vii° 43
i 64
°3 (Ger.6)
V
°3/VII
V/VII
Brahms, Symphony #1/ii, mm. 11-17 (piano reduction): 1 (chord “third”) in bass
E:
Ger.6
V4-3
DOMINANT-FUNCTION AUGMENTED-6TH CHORDS Through the 18th and early 19th centuries, most aug.-6th chords functioned as pre-dominants, with 4 and ()6 resolving to 5 as part of a dominant harmony. In later 19th-century music, dominantfunction aug. 6th chords aree increasingly common, with 2 and 7 resolving to 1 as part of a tonic triad.
d
d iii e
pre-dominant augmented 6th
i diii
a d iii Ger.6
e:
ii i
V
ii i
dominant augmented 6th
Ger.6
i
i
assorted dominant chords resolving to the tonic
a jj j b
jj
f jj
f jj
j
( )
V 43
jj
fj
fj
( )
i ii kk k i k k k i i kk k k k kk k k k kk f NP f i i N f N k kz kz kz
ai sfz i b ii
Fr.6
I
kkz knm
iv6
ii°6
iv6
i
V7/V
i6
Fauré, “Au bord de l’eau,” Op. 8/1, ending
c:
vø7/1
V7/1
I
It.6
I
Ger.6 It.6
y nm P fN i kz nm nm P fN i kz kz
I
Brahms, Symphony #4/iv, opening
e:
f jk k jj f j ( f)jj
3
3
3
f jj
( )
V 4 (Fr.6) I (i)
I (i)
Schubert, String Quintet in C, ending 3
jj
6
viiº 65
I (i)
jj
Fr.6
I
I (i)
AUGMENTED-SIXTH CHORDS: EXAMPLES FOR ANALYSIS
Mozart, Requiem, Lacrimosa, mm. 4-9
Mozart, Fantasia in D minor, K. 397, mm. 12-24
Beethoven, Sonata op. 10 #1, 1st mvt., mm. 27-51
Brahms, Variations on a Theme of Paganini, end of theme
Schumann, Novelette op. 21 #4, mm. 9-16 and 184-189
Chopin, Prelude in G minor, op. 28 #22, ending
Chopin, E-minor Prelude, mm. 20-25
d
k kz k jz a jz d kkk kkk kkk kkk dkkk kk kk kk kk kk kk kk f kk kk kk kk b
k j m j dj jz kk kk dkk kk e kk kk kk kk jj m jjj djjj k k k k k k k k f j e j jj ej j
i ii i i
Bach, Mass in B Minor, Crucifixus, ending
d k a kk k djjj kj k d b kk kkkk kk kkkk
jj j jj kkkk kkkkkk kk
jj jj e j dj dk k e k k k k dk k e k k k k
djjj jj f fjjj dk k e k k dk k dk k e k k dk k
jii k k jj k k k kkkkk kkkk
Brahms, Variations on a Theme of Haydn, var. 4 (piano reduction), excerpt
Schubert, Schwanengesang, “Der Doppelgänger,” mm. 29-35
iz iz iz iz