Group 1: identifying various different elements
Mozart, Piano Concerto in C minor, K491
Activity 1
What is the meaning of the tempo indication Larghetto?
Answer
Largo means very slow, and the Italian term for ‘smoothly’ is legato.
Activity 2
What key is the melody in?
Answer
All the notes in the melody are contained within the scale of E flat major, and B naturals are absent, suggesting that C minor, the minor key with the same key signature as E flat major, is unlikely. A flat major is incorrect since it has a key signature of four flats, not three.
Activity 3
Which melodic interval (number only) occurs between the last note in bar 2 and the first note in bar 3?
Answer
The last note in the second bar is a B♭ and the first in bar 3, a G. If we count up the scale starting from the B flat (B♭–C–D–E♭–F–G) we find that the interval is a sixth.
Activity 4
What is the note name of the fourth note in bar 3?
Answer
On the treble staff the note sitting on the first ledger line above the staff is a B. However, the key signature of three flats signifies that all Bs in this extract (unless modified by accidentals) are B♭s.
Activity 5
Which degree of the scale is the D in the fourth bar?
Answer
Since the melody is in E flat major with E♭ as the tonic, D is the seventh note up from E♭ (E♭–F–G–A♭–B♭–C–D). It is therefore the leading note.
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