# Help me identify this piece of piano music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 13, 2007, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918 "2007-05-13T10:09:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/1 "2007-05-13T10:09:42Z")
Well, I’m stumped. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about music, classical music in particular, but there’s this one piece I can’t id and I feel it’s something I ought to know. I seem to hear it most often playing in bookstores alongside famous pieces of classical piano music. I’m pretty sure that when I find out what it is, I’m going to slap my forehead, but here goes: [ul] [li]The style is romantic.[/li][li]It’s in a minor key, I’m tempted to say D minor.[/li][li]The single most obvious feature of this piece is an ostinato which consists of nothing but the tonic repeated as eight-notes in the right hand. (D above middle C?) About halfway through it changes to the dominant, and then goes back to the tonic.[/li][li]Whilst the right hand obstinates, the left hand plays a simple and ominous tune, an octave below. If we are to assume it’s really in D minor, it goes something like Bb A Bb A F D… [/li][/ul] Does that ring a bell for anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/2 "2007-05-13T10:20:14Z")
[QUOTE=jovan] Well, I’m stumped. I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about music, classical music in particular, but there’s this one piece I can’t id and I feel it’s something I ought to know. I seem to hear it most often playing in bookstores alongside famous pieces of classical piano music. I’m pretty sure that when I find out what it is, I’m going to slap my forehead, but here goes: [ul] [li]The style is romantic.[/li][li]It’s in a minor key, I’m tempted to say D minor.[/li][li]The single most obvious feature of this piece is an ostinato which consists of nothing but the tonic repeated as eight-notes in the right hand. (D above middle C?) About halfway through it changes to the dominant, and then goes back to the tonic.[/li][li]Whilst the right hand obstinates, the left hand plays a simple and ominous tune, an octave below. If we are to assume it’s really in D minor, it goes something like Bb A Bb A F D… [/li][/ul] Does that ring a bell for anyone? [/QUOTE] How long are the notes you listed for the left hand? Also, by “halfway through” do you mean halfway through the piece, or halfway through a phrase? If the second, how long’s the phrase? And when does it return to the tonic? None of this is ringing a bell for me yet. -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/3 "2007-05-13T10:30:56Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] How long are the notes you listed for the left hand? [/quote] Counting in numbers of notes played by the right hand: 2 - 6 - 2 - 3 - 1 - 4 > [@](#): > > Also, by “halfway through” do you mean halfway through the piece, or halfway through a phrase? If the second, how long’s the phrase? I meant the piece, it’s a really simple structure: A A’ A, where A’ is just A played a fifth higher. ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/4 "2007-05-13T11:27:42Z")
If my description of the piece above sounds too arcane, you can listen to me trying to hammer it out here: > **[Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos](https://www.yahoo.com/)** > > Latest news coverage, email, free stock quotes, live scores and video are just the beginning. Discover more every day at Yahoo! It’s only a short excerpt, but I think anyone familiar with the piece should be able to recognize it. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/5 "2007-05-13T13:21:54Z")
I know exactly the piece you mean. Give me a few, it will come to me. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/6 "2007-05-13T13:24:12Z")
That’s better than the ‘fucking hell’ you told me, Elly. It’s right on the tip of my tongue, too. Goes up a bit in the next phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/7 "2007-05-13T13:26:08Z")
Alright – what I was thinking of was a Chopin Prelude (Op. 28 No. 6), which may or may not be right. Give that a shot. 🙂 It could also be the middle section of the Raindrop Prelude. ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/8 "2007-05-13T14:47:32Z")
[QUOTE=Elenfair] Alright – what I was thinking of was a Chopin Prelude (Op. 28 No. 6), which may or may not be right. Give that a shot. 🙂 It could also be the middle section of the Raindrop Prelude. [/QUOTE] It’s not the Raindrop, but that sound is reminiscent. ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/9 "2007-05-13T15:35:49Z")
Sounds like Chopin to me too. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/10 "2007-05-13T16:14:55Z")
Is it Mozart’s Fantasy in d minor? The repeating note section certainly sounds close to what you recorded. There is a sample of the sheet music on [this page](http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Fantasy-K-397-Piano-Instantly/dp/B000JIDN70/ref=sr_1_2/002-5874887-4098443?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179072662&sr=8-2), click “See larger image”. The repeating note section starts at the bottom of the page. Later on it repeats in d minor (I think). ---
**Author:** ![athelas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@athelas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/athelas)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/11 "2007-05-13T17:10:59Z")
Yeah, that’s what the fragment sounds like to me. ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2007, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/12 "2007-05-13T23:16:43Z")
I’m going with one of the Chopin preludes still. I suppose it COULD be the Mozart Fantasy, but that would be a really odd part of it to have stick in one’s memory. A good place to go dig is the Classical Music Archives ([http://www.classicalarchives.com/](http://www.classicalarchives.com/)), online, where you can find thousands of midi and live recordings of the classics. A non-member can dig through 5 a day, while a member has unlimited access to the files. Nifty place for music lovers and educators alike (says the person who falls into both categories.) ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/13 "2007-05-14T01:08:10Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn] It’s not the Raindrop, but that sound is reminiscent. [/QUOTE] Actually, it is. Thanks to all. As is turns out, I need to work on my ear training. It’s not in D minor, but in C# minor, and the repeated note is not the tonic, but the dominant: G#. However, the version I heard yesterday is somewhat different from the original: the opening and closing sections in D-flat major were removed, which lead me to believe the structure of the piece was different from what it actually is. I was right about one thing, though, it’s really, really, something I should have known: I have it on CD somewhere. For anyone who wants to hear the actual thing, here’s a pretty decent version: ![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/c7RqeF6BsAk/maxresdefault.jpg)https://www.youtube.com/embed/c7RqeF6BsAk?feature=oembed&wmode=opaque ---
**Author:** ![Elenfair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/cc9497/32.png) [@Elenfair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elenfair)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/14 "2007-05-14T12:19:09Z")
::: bows ::: Go me! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![jovan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/0ea827/32.png) [@jovan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jovan)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-identify-this-piece-of-piano-music/403918/15 "2007-05-14T13:32:40Z")
I got the score as soon as I found out what the piece was. I played it through as soon as I got home: _now_ I’m not forgetting what you are!