Prelude in E minor, Op. 28 No. 4: chords and analysis
Twenty-five bars, one melody note at a time, and a left hand that slides down by half steps.
The Prelude in E minor is 25 bars, Largo, and its first four bars are Em | B⁷sus, B⁷ | B⁷♭5, Bø⁷, G♯°⁷ | E⁷, Em⁷, A♯°⁷: the tonic, then the dominant losing a note at a time until it belongs to A minor. The left-hand chords sink by half steps, usually one note at a time, under a melody that barely moves. The tables give every chord and numeral of our study edition, then the reading we use for the spots an analysis has to decide.
How to read the table
Chords are lead-sheet symbols, as printed above the staff in the edition: B7 is a dominant seventh on B, B7sus the same with no third, F♯ø7 a half-diminished seventh (a diminished triad with a minor seventh on top), G♯°7 a diminished seventh. Numerals count from E minor: uppercase is major, lowercase minor or diminished, ⁷ a seventh, and the slash means “of”, so V⁷/iv is the dominant of iv. A bold a: or e: means the numerals now count from that key: A minor in bars 3–4 and 8–9, E minor everywhere else. Chords are listed in the order they sound, a chord in parentheses is held over from the bar before, and the PDF shows each one’s length.
A (1–12): chords sink by half steps, to a half cadence
| Bar | Chords | Numerals | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Em | i | |
| 2 | B7sus · B7 | V⁷(sus) · V⁷ | B⁷ with no third: E stands where D♯ would be. On beat 3 it falls to D♯ (written E♭) |
| 3 | B7♭5 · Bø7 · G♯°7 | V⁷♭5 · a: iiø⁷ · vii°⁷ | B⁷ with its fifth lowered: B D♯ F A. Its D♯ falls to D on beat 3, giving A minor’s iiø⁷, and the numerals count from A minor. G♯°⁷ goes to E⁷ |
| 4 | E7 · Em7 · A♯°7 | V⁷ · e: i⁷ · vii°⁷/V | E⁷ is A minor’s dominant; the numerals return to E minor on beat 3. A♯°⁷ (Chopin spells it C♯ E G B♭) slips into iv⁷, not V |
| 5 | Am7 · F♯ø7 | iv⁷ · iiø⁷ | From here to bar 8, beat 2, A and C hold while the other notes sink |
| 6 | (F♯ø7) · D♯°7 | (iiø⁷) · vii°⁷ | F♯ø⁷ is tied over from bar 5 and carries no new label |
| 7 | D7 | V⁷/III | The dominant of G (III). It never reaches G and slides to Dm7 |
| 8 | Dm7 · Bø7 · G♯°7 | a: iv⁷ · iiø⁷ · vii°⁷ | Numerals from A minor again: a cadence in A minor follows |
| 9 | Am | i | Chopin’s left hand holds B and the melody G♯ until both settle on A |
| 10 | B7sus · B7 · F♯ø7 | e: V⁷(sus) · V⁷ · iiø⁷ | Back in E minor. Bars 10–12 swing between B⁷ and F♯ø⁷ |
| 11 | B7 · F♯ø7 | V⁷ · iiø⁷ | |
| 12 | B7 | V⁷ | A half cadence: the phrase stops on V⁷, held the whole bar |
Bars 1–4 sink from E minor to A minor’s V⁷. Bars 5 to 8, beat 2, hold A and C while the other notes sink. Bar 9 lands on A minor; Chopin’s left hand holds B and the melody G♯ until both settle on A. Bars 10–12 swing between B⁷ and F♯ø⁷ and stop on B⁷, a half cadence.
A′ (13–20): the descent again, faster, to the climax
| Bar | Chords | Numerals | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Em | i | |
| 14 | B7sus · B7♭5 | V⁷(sus) · V⁷♭5 | The same road, cut short: bar 2’s V⁷ drops out |
| 15 | G♯°7 · E7 | vii°⁷/iv · V⁷/iv | Bar 3’s iiø⁷ drops out too, and Chopin’s left hand holds D♯ for a beat. Both chords are labelled in E minor |
| 16 | Em7 · A♯°7 · F♯ø7 | i⁷ · vii°⁷/V · iiø⁷ | Skips bars 5–9. A♯°⁷ leads through iiø⁷ to bar 17’s V⁷♭9 |
| 17 | B7♭9 · Em | V⁷♭9 · i | The climax: B⁷ with C above it. Chopin’s bass is B; this edition plays B D♯ A C |
| 18 | Am · F♯ø7 · Bsus · F♯ø7 | iv · iiø⁷ · V(sus) · iiø⁷ | V(sus) is V⁷(sus) without the seventh |
| 19 | Bsus · F♯ø7 | V(sus) · iiø⁷ | |
| 20 | Bsus · B · B7 | V(sus) · V · V⁷ | Stops on B⁷ again |
Bars 14–16 take the same road, cut short: bar 2’s V⁷ and bar 3’s iiø⁷ drop out, Chopin’s left hand holds D♯ for a beat in bar 15, and bar 16 skips bars 5–9 to reach the climax, bar 17’s V⁷♭9. Bars 18–20 swing between V(sus) and iiø⁷ and stop on B⁷ again.
Coda (21–25): why the ending takes five bars
| Bar | Chords | Numerals | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | C · C7 · F♯ø7 | VI · VI⁷ · iiø⁷ | C major cancels the cadence: a deceptive cadence |
| 22 | B7sus · B | V⁷(sus) · V | E major and E minor over the bass B, a cadential six-four, written here as V |
| 23 | C7 | Ger⁺⁶ | A German sixth: C E G A♯. C falls and A♯ rises by half step, both onto B in bar 24. Chopin writes A♯ as B♭ and puts it in the bass; this edition puts C at the bottom. Then silence |
| 24 | Bsus · B | V(sus) · V | |
| 25 | Em | i | Closes on i |
Bar 21’s C major (VI) cancels the cadence: a deceptive cadence. Bars 22–24 bring the dominant back: E major and E minor over the bass B (a cadential six-four, written here as V), the German sixth and a silence, then V(sus) and V. Bar 25 closes on i.
What to write in a harmonic analysis
The chromatic descent
Label a chord when its identity changes, not when a note moves. Bars 2–3 are one chord losing a note at a time: B⁷ with no third, B⁷, B⁷ with its fifth lowered (B D♯ F A), then D♯ falls to D and the chord is A minor’s iiø⁷. The numerals switch to A minor there because the next three chords, iiø⁷, vii°⁷ and V⁷, would each need a slash otherwise. B⁷♭5 is also read as a French sixth in A minor; we label by where a chord goes, and this one slides on, so it stays V⁷♭5. Bar 1 is Chopin’s bass on G, the third of the chord: the label is i, and this edition prints E at the bottom.
The passing chords
A passing chord gets a label when it lasts a beat or more; under a beat it is a voice moving. Bar 4’s A♯°⁷ lasts a beat and slips into iv⁷ instead of V, so it is vii°⁷/V with the resolution evaded. Bar 7’s D⁷ never reaches G: V⁷/III, and say so. Bar 17’s eighth-note G B D♯ F♯ before E minor is V’s notes leaning onto i, under a beat, so no label. Bar 15’s G♯°⁷ and E⁷ lean toward A minor, but two chords and no cadence do not make a key, so they stay in E minor as vii°⁷/iv and V⁷/iv; bars 3–4 and 8–9 get the a: prefix because a cadence in A minor follows.
The cadence
Bars 12 and 20 both stop on V⁷, a half cadence; bar 13 answers with i and bar 21 with VI, a deceptive cadence. Bar 21’s C⁷ has the same four sounds as bar 23’s German sixth, but its B♭ falls to A into iiø⁷ instead of rising onto V, so it is VI⁷. Bar 22’s E major and E minor over B is a cadential six-four, labelled V. Bar 23’s German sixth, C E G A♯, sends C down and A♯ up onto B in bar 24, and bar 25 is i, a perfect authentic cadence.
Play it from the chords
The tables are the harmony. The study edition of the prelude is the playable version: Chopin’s right hand as he wrote it, one root-position chord under it per harmony with its symbol and numeral, and the analysis page these notes come from. Two pages, $9, Level 3 of 8, the lowest of the pieces we have released. Learn the melody over these chords first, then Chopin’s own left hand.