Chopin Scherzo No. 2: Aural Exercises on Phrasing, Cadences and Harmony

Chopin Scherzo No. 2 – Part 2: Aural Training Exercises

Phrasing, Harmonic Rhythm, Note Rhythm, Cadences, Key Changes & Harmonic Analysis

Grade 5 Harmony & Aural – Worksheet, Answer Key, Score & Audio

These Grade 5 aural exercises use extracts from Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 to explore how phrasing, rhythm, harmony and structure work together in real music. The exercises focus particularly on bars 460–544 of the Trio section, helping you connect what you hear with what you see in the score.

Before you start, make sure to read the accompanying article:

Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2: From Simple Sequences to a Triumphant Musical Arrival

Before you begin

This is Part 2 of the aural training exercises. Before starting, complete Part 1, which is designed to help students recognize real and tonal intervals through extracts from Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2.

Part 1: Aural Training Exercises for Real and Tonal Intervals

You should also read the accompanying article:

Real and Tonal Sequences in Music Theory – Explained with Examples

What You Will Learn

This second set of exercises takes the exploration further, focusing on:

  • Harmonic rhythm and its effect
  • Real and tonal sequences
  • Note rhythm and repetition
  • Dominant tension and changes of key
  • The unexpected change to E major
  • Phrasing and structure at the climax
  • Delayed resolution and the final build-up
  • Harmonic analysis
  • The final cadence

Listen carefully to how these elements interact. How do Chopin’s choices in rhythm, harmony and phrasing shape the listener’s experience of the music?

 

Instructions 

Download the Student Worksheet

Chopin Scherzo No. 2 Cadences, Phrasing & Harmony Worksheet – 10 Questions

You can download and print the worksheet if you wish to complete the questions on paper. Alternatively, listen to the numbered audio extracts and record your answers elsewhere.

Download the Answer Key

Chopin Scherzo No. 2 Cadences, Phrasing & Harmony Answer Key – 10 Questions

The Answer Key is provided so that you can check your answers after completing the exercises. You do not need to print it unless you would prefer to.

Aural Clips

 

Audio Clip: Full passage — bars 460–544+, at performance tempo

Slightly slower for purposes of analysis:

Audio Clip: Bars 460–475

 

Audio Clip: Bars 476–491

Audio Clip: Bars 492–515

Audio Clip: Bars 516–523

Audio Clip: Bars 516–544

Listen carefully to each extract and follow the corresponding section of the score.

Download Score

Choose the version that best suits the way you want to work:

The plain score allows you to make your own observations.

The marked score can then be used to help you explore the musical features discussed in the exercises.

Continue Your Music Theory Learning

These aural exercises complement music theory study by helping you connect written theory with musical understanding.

The All-In-One Music Theory books provide a structured pathway through music theory, combining explanations, visual examples, patterns and graded exercises.

They are designed to help students understand how musical ideas connect, rather than simply memorise individual facts.

These aural exercises provide another way to explore those ideas — by hearing them in action.

Explore the All-In-One Music Theory Books

Related Articles & Topics

Why Does the Dominant 7th Chord Resolve to the Tonic?

What’s Next?

Further aural training exercises will be added over time, exploring musical ideas through the works of different composers and periods.

Future exercises may include:

  • Cadences in Mozart – hearing and identifying cadences in musical context
  • Suspensions in Bach – learning to hear suspensions in real music

These exercises will continue to explore the relationship between aural awareness, music theory and real musical repertoire.

← Return to Aural Training – Music Theory Aural Exercises

Key Takeaway

When listening to this passage, consider how Chopin’s choices shape the musical journey.

By exploring phrase structure, rhythm, harmony, sequences, key changes and cadences, you can begin to understand not only what happens in the music, but how composers create particular musical effects.

The aim of aural training is not simply to identify musical features. It is to develop the ability to hear, recognise and understand music more deeply.

And the deeper our understanding becomes, the more we can appreciate, interpret and enjoy the music itself — often on a whole new level.

FAQ: Do both ABRSM and Trinity students need to know about sequences?

Yes, but they approach the topic very differently. Trinity requires students to actively work with sequences, while ABRSM places greater emphasis on recognising musical features in context.

Trinity College London – Active & Detailed

  • Syllabus: Sequences are explicitly included as a core requirement.
  • Exam Task: Students may be required to actively compose and extend melodic patterns.
  • Technical Depth: From Grade 3 onwards, students learn the distinction between real sequences (where the intervals remain exact) and tonal sequences (where intervals may be adjusted to remain within the key).
  • Our Material: The All-In-One Music Theory Trinity College London Supplement features a dedicated section on sequences, followed by practical exercises.

ABRSM – Recognition & Analysis

  • Syllabus: The term sequence is not given the same explicit emphasis in the Grades 1–5 syllabus.
  • Exam Task: Students encounter questions requiring them to recognise and respond to features within a melody or musical extract.
  • Technical Depth: Students are not generally required to distinguish formally between real and tonal sequences at Grades 1–5.
  • In Practice: Recognising a repeated or sequential musical idea can nevertheless be useful when analysing a score and listening to music.

For more information, see our article featuring an ABRSM vs Trinity theory syllabus comparison.