Chopin Scherzo No. 2 — Dominant 7th–Tonic

Excerpt performed by Rachel Billings — Bars 65–130

This performance accompanies Rachel's article, Why Does the Dominant 7th Chord Resolve to the Tonic?

It provides an example of the universal tendency for the 7th of a dominant 7th chord to resolve downwards by step to the third of the tonic chord. Likewise, the third of the dominant chord — the leading note of the key — resolves upwards by step to the tonic.

Suspensions and sequences are also covered, demonstrating how these different concepts work together to achieve a beautiful musical result.

Although advanced music can sound incredibly complex, it is often built from relatively simple musical ideas.

Learning to recognise these ideas when they occur in the music we listen to and perform can make music easier to understand, learn, memorise and perform.

This bite-sized tutorial is part of the expanding Theory, Musicianship and Performance series, in which Rachel highlights simple music theory concepts as they occur naturally within the music she loves to play and perform.

In this excerpt from Chopin's Scherzo No. 2, Rachel explores:

• dominant 7th–tonic resolution

• suspensions

• sequences

Want to understand the theory behind passages like this?

📚All-In-One Music Theory books explain these concepts in a clear, practical way, with resources covering Grades 1–5.

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