I haven’t done a music theory puzzle in a while. Here’s one to keep everyone’s brain sharp over the weekend, taken from Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6 (Pastoral). This work is noted for its rustic feeling. One way Beethoven got this sound was to intentionally utilize parallel 5ths and 8vs, normally avoided at the time. The following excerpt from the 1st movement of this symphony contains one example of parallel 8vs and 2 examples of parallel 5ths.
Until the 20th century, most European composers (and composers highly influenced by “classical” music) avoided writing separate parts that moved in parallel octaves or 5ths. They were heard as destroying the independence of each part. Listening with our ears today it’s not so obvious, but at the time that Beethoven lived these sounds would be noticeable to many listeners.
Can you spot them all? Answer after the break.
Here they are. The parallel octaves are marked in red and the parallel 5ths in blue.
The first two are a little tricky to spot, since they’re disguised with some octave displacement. In the parallel octaves the violin II ascends from F to Bb where the cello descends. The parallel 5ths between the viola and cello are similar.
Did you spot all three? How many just got one or two of them? How long did it take you?
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