The Tonal Style of Sergei Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet"

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T h e to n a l style o f Sergei P rokofiev’s “R o m eo a nd J u lie t”
Stephenson, Kenneth Dale, Ph.D.

The University of Iowa, 1989
C o p y rig h t © 1 9 8 9 b y S te p h e n so n , K e n n e th D a le . A ll rig h ts reserved .
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THE TONAL STYLE OF SERGEI PROKOFIEV'S
ROMEO AND JULIET
by
Kenneth Dale Stephenson
A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Music
in the Graduate College of
The University of Iowa
December 1989
Thesis supervisor: Professor W. T. Atcherson
Graduate College
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL
PH.D. THESIS
This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of
Kenneth Dale Stephenson
has been approved by the Examining Committee

for the thesis requirement for the Doctor of
Philosophy degree in Music at the December
1989 graduation.
Thesis committee
Thesis supervisor
/ (/ >
n
Membejr)
Member
Member
Cl
Member
Copyright by
KEN STEPHENSON
1989
All Rights Reserved
ABSTRACT
Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet is tonal despite the
obvious stylistic differences between it and traditional
tonal music. Tonality is a sense the listener has
concerning the metrical placement and the pitch of an
approaching cadence. A regularity of phrase length gives
the listener a sense of the metrical placement of cadences
in this style, normally on the downbeat of the fourth
measure of a phrase. Information concerning the pitch is
provided (1) by cadence formulas, which involve a preference
for highly chromatic dominant sonorities, the notes of which
usually resolve by step or, frequently, by major third, and
(2) by the expectation that the key established at the
beginning of a melody, usually through the use of a diatonic
scale, should return by the time of the final cadence.
Between the beginning of a phrase and the end, however,
Prokofiev often indulges in colorful shifts to other,
distant scale areas, normally through the use of one
strategically placed altered scale degree, or through the
reharmonization of a common tone.
Prokofiev's melodic structures, while at times very
traditional, are often not: ascents as well as simple
oscillations are found. Regarding local-level melodic
ii
tendencies, the major differences between this style and the
traditional tonal style are a higher level of chromaticism,
the resolution of many chromatic pitches in the non-
traditional direction, and a frequent use of perfect fifths
and perfect fourths between scale degrees other than 1 and
§. This style is suitable for accompaniment to a story both
because of the inherently rich possibilities for the
development of character and theme, and because of its goal-
directed nature.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES............................................vii
LIST OF EXAMPLES.........................................viii
P R E F A C E .................................................. Xiv
CHAPTER
I. TONALITY................................... 1
Definition ............................... i
Signals of Metrical Placement of
Approaching Endings................ 10
Signals of the Pitch of Approaching
Endings....................... . . . . 20
II. PHRASE L E N G T H ............................ 29
Establishment of Meter ................... 30

Articulation of Phrases................ 34
Standard Phrase Length ................... 44
III. CADENCES................................... 59
Final C h o r d s ..................... ... 60

Dominant as Penultimate Chord......... 62
Nondominant Penultimate Chords........ 74
Half-Cadences and OtherCadence Figures. . 78
Antepenultimate Chords ................... 80
IV. KEY, SCALE, AND MODULATION........... . 83
Methods of Establishing K e y s ......... 84

Successions of Scales.................. 90
Relationships between Successive Scales. . 103
Modulations............................. 117
V. MELODIC STRUCTURE ........................... 125
Melodies with Descending Structures.. . . 126

Melodies with Nondescending Structures . . 132
iv
VI. MELODIC TENDENCIES.......................... . 144
Individual Pitches ....................... 151

Consecutive-pair Patterns................... 158
Nonconsecutive Pairs ..................... 169
Intervals................................... 174
VII. D R A M A .......................................... 179
1. Introduction......................... 180
2. R o m e o ............................... 181
3. The Street Wakens, 4. MorningDance . . 183
5. The Q u a r r e l ......................... 186
6. The F i g h t ........................... 187
7. The Duke's Command, 8. Interlude. . . . 188
9.Preparations for the Ball (Juliet and
N u r s e ) ................................. 190
10. The Young J u l i e t ...................... 190
11. Arrival of the Guests.................. 193
12. Masks................................... 193
13. Dance of the Knights, 14. Juliet's
Variation............................... 195
15. M e r c u t i o ............................... 197
16. M a d r i g a l ............................... 197
17. Tybalt Recognizes Romeo, 18. Gavotte
(Departure of Guests.) .............. 199
19. Balcony Scene, 20. Romeo's Variation,
21. Love D a n c e ........................ 200
22. Folk D a n c e ............................. 205
23. Romeo and Mercutio, 24. Dance of the
Five Couples, 25.Dance withMandolins 206
26. Nurse, 27. The Nurse Delivers Romeo a
Note from J u l i e t ................... 207
28. Romeo at Friar Laurence's, 29. Juliet
at Friar Laurence's, 30. Public
Merrymaking, 31. Further Public
Festivities............................. 208
32. Meeting of Tybalt and Mercutio, 33.
Tybalt and Mercutio Fight, 34.
Mercutio Dies, 35. Romeo Decides to
Avenge the Death of Mercutio, 36.
Finale of the Second A c t ........... 209
37. Introduction, 38. Romeo and Juliet,
39. Romeo bids Juliet Farewell. . . . 212
40. Nurse, 41. JulietRefuses to Marry
Paris, 42. Juliet Alone,42.Interlude 213
44. At Friar Laurence's C e l l .............. 214
45. Interlude, 46. Juliet's Room, 47.
Juliet Alone ......................... 215
48. Morning Serenade, 49. Dance of the
Girls with Lilies................... 216
50. At Juliet's Bedside, 51. Juliet's
Funeral, 52. Juliet's Death.............217
CONCLUSION................................................220
APPENDIX A. LOCATION OF CADENCE FIGURES USED FOR

STUDY IN CHAPTER I I I ..................... 223
APPENDIX B. LOCATION OF MELODIES USED FOR STUDY IN

CHAPTER V I ............................... 225
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY................ 226
vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. Frequency distribution of pitch classes in

melodies 1-37.................................... 152
2. Frequency distribution of pitch-classes by mode 154
3. Comparison of pc-probability distributions for

Schubert and Prokofiev.............. .... 155
4. Relative frequency of each pitch in Prokofiev

as compared with use by Schubert................. 158
5. Frequencies of consecutive pairs in Schubert

and Prokofiev.....................................160
6. Frequencies consecutive-pair combinations in

melodies 1-37.................................... 162
7. Frequencies of pc pairs with one note

intervening...................................... 170
8. Frequencies of pc pairs with zero or one note

intervening.......................................170
9. Frequencies of intervals formed by consecutive

notes, melodies 1-37............................. 175
vii
LIST OF EXAMPLES
Example Page
1. Cadence formula common in third-mode chants. . 11
2. Cadence formula common in sixteenth-century

polyphony...................................... 12
3. Melodic direction leading toward cadence in

"America.” ................................... 13
4. Sixteenth-century passage in which no early

anticipation of cadenceis felt................. 15
5. Sixteenth-century hymn in which early

anticipation of cadenceis felt................. 16
6. Regular phrase length in Praetorius dance. . . 18
7. Root position tonic triad (marked with

asterisk) that is unstable..................... 19
8. Phrase in which the most dissonant chord is

also the most stable........................... 20
9. Passage in which tonic is sensed although no

tonic triad is present......................... 23
10. Chorale ending with sonority other than the

tonic triad.................................... 23
11. Sixteenth-century passage in which Ionian mode

is not sufficient for sensation of tonality. . 24
12. Eighteenth-century passage in which change of

scale brings about change of tonic. . . . . . . 25
13. Seventeenth-century passage in which dominant

is goal of first modulation.................... 27
14. Establishment of meter by dissonance pattern in

178:1-16....................................... 33
15. Establishment of meter by harmonic rhythm in

63:10-64:9..................................... 34
viii
16. Melody that presents no measure-counting
problems in 18:10-19:8......................... 36
17. Melody that presents some measure-counting

problems in 9:1-11:1.................. 37
18. Articulation of phrases by caesura in 1:2-12. . 39
19. Articulation of phrases by change of idea in

116:6-117:12.......................... 41
20. Articulation of phrases by combination of

features in 50:1-8............................. 43
21. Renotation of 142:5-12 in 307:7-10. (The latter

transposed.) ................................. 46
22. Special significance as a result of expectation

of cadence in 122:1-123:1........... 50
23. Two versions of "Gavotte" cadence.............. 52
24. Irregular four-measure phrase in 60:1-4. ... 53
25. Five-measure phrase in 276:1-277:1............. 56
26. Eleven-measure phrase in 174:7-19.............. 57
27. Delayed resolution of tonic in a) 6:9-7:1 and

b) 103:8-9..................................... 61
28. Triad with added fourth scale degree as last

sonority in cadence in 67:9-10................ 61
29. Prominent §-to-l melodic motion in a) 8:11-12

and b) 107:15-17............................... 63
30. Various sonorities used as dominant

penultimates................................... 64
31. Use of the leading tone in cadential dominants

in a) 50:4 and b) 176:7-8...................... 65
32. Cadential dominant with neither the subtonic

nor the leading tone in 25:12-14.............. 65
33. Parallel motion by step over tonic bass in

2:11-12........................................ 67
34. Use of 2. in cadential dominant in 48:4......... 67
ix
35. Use of 5 in cadential dominants in a) 60:3-4
and b) 58:8.................................... 68
36. Use of & and 9 in cadential dominants in a)

145:7-8, b) 83:12, and c) 67:12-13............ 69
37. Use of 3 and 6 in cadential dominants in a)

206:4, b) 85:7-8, and c) 2:15-16.............. 70
38. Use of 10 in cadential dominants in a) 306:9-10

and b) Beginning: 3-4........................... 72
39. Use of 4 in cadential dominants in a) 111:7-8,

b) 16:4, and c) 121:4-6....................... 73
40. Leaps in all voices at cadence in 206:10. . . . 74
41. Major-third skip at cadences in a) 106:7-8, b)

203:6, and c) 50:2............................. 75
42. Infrequent cadential root relationships in a)

55:8-9, b) 363:10-11, and c) 3:13............. 76
43. Cadences that may be interpreted as authentic

or nonauthentic in a) 5:6-7, and b) 75:7-8. . . 77
44. Half cadences in a) 207:4 and b) 210:8......... 78
45. Dominant sonorities leading to first harmony of

phrase in a) 140:18-141:1, b) 2:17-3:1, c)
27:12-28:1, and d) 84:8-85:1.................. 79
46. Resolution of a dominant seventh used to

establish tonic in 110:16-111:8............. 85
47. Triad repetition used to establish tonic in a)

9:1-4, b) 76:1, and c) 247:1................ 86
48. Pedal point used to establish tonic in 26:1-4. 87
49. Emphasis on perfect fifth used to establish

tonic in 97:1-5................................ 88
50. Diatonic scale used to establish tonic in

Beginning: 1-1:1.............................. 89
51. Highly chromatic melody in 2:5-12.............. 92
52. Multiple scale shifts in quick succession in

6:1-7:1........................................ 97
53. Scale shift accomplished with one note in 49:8-
9; a) score, b) diagram of implied changes...101
54. Scale shift accomplished with one note in 50:7-

8; a) score, b) diagram of implied changes...102
55. Root relationships at scale shifts in a)

122:13-123:1, b) 49:8-9, c) 50:8, and d) 152:8-
153:1.............................................104
56. Cadential shift from scale on 1 in 151:10-

153:1.............................................105
57. Scale shift before authentic-cadence figure at

beginning of a phrase in 26:7-27:2............ 106
58. Scale shift before authentic-cadence figure at

beginning of a phrase in 73:1-74:1............ 106
59. Scale shifts before authentic-cadence figures

in transitional passage, measures 144:3-9. . . 108
60. First-phrase scale shifts moving through a

triad on 8 in 71:1-72:8.......................... 110
61. Two successive shifts to chord on 8 in 290:11-

291:4............................................. 113
62. Scale shift to 8 starting second phrase of a

melody in 213:11-214:8........................... 114
63. Scale shift to £ during second phrase of a

melody in 201:1-4................................ 115
64. Chromatic modulation in 60:5-11.................. 119
65. Modulation with no change of scale in 207:1-4. 120
66. Dramatic use of modulation in 360:1-362:5. . . 123
67. Traditional descending structure in 1:5-8. . . 127
68. Traditional descending structure in 1:13-20. . 127
69. Traditional descending structure in 151:5-

152:1............................................. 128
70. Descent from Z in Beginning: 1-4.................. 129
71. Interruption on 3 in 3:1-13...................... 130
xi
72. Interruption on 3 in 18:5-19:8................131
73. Structural descent ending on § in 55:1-6. . . . 132
74. Structural descent in lowest line in 107:1-17. 133
75. Nontraditional structure in 6:3-7:1.......... 135
76. Nontraditional structure ii. 111:1-8.......... 136
77. Nontraditional structure in 87:10-89:10. . . . 138
78. Structure with reharmonized chord tones in

122:1-123:1................................. 140
79. Structure with reharmonized chord tones in

84:1-85:8................................... 142
80. Abundance of fourths and fifths in 151:1-152:1. 177
81. Ambiguous meter in 5:1-5...................... 182
82. Sunrise motive in 8:10-13..................... 183
83. Metrical comparison of 10:1-10 with 11:3-10. . 185
84. Modulating melody in 16:1-4...................186
85. Dissonances in 44:1-45:1..................... 189
86. Nurse's humorous character in 47:1-48:4. . . . 191
87. 93:1-7 as metrical transformation of 2:6-12.

(Latter transposed.) ......................... 196
88. Contrasting moods in 114:1-116:1. (Each three-

measure group corresponding to a single measure
at rehearsal 63 bracketed.)................. 201
89. Early shift and normal cadence in 133:5-8. . . 202
90. 139:1-7 as metrical transformation of 111:1-4.

(Latter transposed.) ......................... 203
91. Asymmetry within standard length in 142:4-12. . 204
92. Chromatic embellishment of vii°/V in 208:5-8. . 208
93. Minor mode as foreboding of death in 247:1-16. 210
xii
94. Juxtaposition of two minor triads a third apart
as signal of death in 263:4-8.................. 212
95. Death and poison motives in 313:10-314:6. . . . 215
xiii
PREFACE
The choice of Prokofiev's tonal style as the topic for
this thesis stems from my'first experience of this music:
although it was like nothing else I had ever heard, it still
seemed to make sense to me in some indescribable way< The
subjects of my research, then, were at first largely my own
mind and my own listening processes. During the course of
this study, I realized that the forces that made the style
tonal were what had prompted a degree of intuitive
understanding so many years ago. My description of the
style, therefore, centers on those aspects that interest me
the most, that is, those that seem to me to contribute to
its tonal nature.
I begin with a definition of tonality, a word I use to
refer to a phenomenon I experience, and have experienced for
as long as I can remember clearly, when listening to certain
pieces of music, and certain pieces only. I experience it
when listening to Haydn, but not Josquin; when listening to
eighteenth-century hymns, but not chant; when listening to
American folk music, but not Indonesian music; when
listening to some Prokofiev, but not to Bart6k. I do not
deny the possibility that medieval monks did or that
present-day Indonesians do experience a somewhat analogous
xiv
sensation, but it cannot be the same. The phenomenon I know
has at once to do with time and with pitch. It is a feeling
of knowing where in the progress of both those domains a
piece is at a given moment. It is the feeling that the
cadence of a period is the result of the key, not vice
versa, that the cadence is heard as resolution or not in
light of the key perceived possibly from the very start of
the period. I have evidence of two kinds that I am not
alone in having this experience. First, many people have
composed in such a way that their music not only elicits the
response, but toys with it in fascinating ways. Second,
other people have written or spoken of such a sensation,
although as a rule in terms that, in my opinion, emphasize
pitch over time to an excessive degree. I refer to the
sensation as tonality because I learned to do so at an early
point in my musical education. While many people use the
word in the same way, others have a broader use of the word,
applying it to all eight repertories listed above. I ask
readers of this latter group to bear with me as I use the
word in a way with which they may be uncomfortable.
After defining tonality, I give the reader an idea of a
form, the four-measure phrase, and then describe the
contents, filling the form first with broad strokes by
defining cadence patterns and the use of scales as pitch
sources, and then with more detail by means of a description
of melodic structure and pitch tendencies.
xv
I originally intended only to begin ray study with Romeo
and Juliet because of its many short, closed forms and the
ample opportunity they provided for the study of, for
instance, Prokofiev's cadences. It soon became clear,
however, that a thorough study of just the one piece would
be quite a large project. All examples after Chapter I are
taken from Romeo and Juliet, and the final chapter gives an
account of the way Prokofiev uses the features of this style
to contribute to the telling of that story.
I wish to express my thanks to my two successive thesis
advisors, Dr. Richard Hervig and Dr. W. T. Atcherson, for
their invaluable assistance and direction; to an unknown
teaching assistant from the University of Illinois who, in
the one presentation of his I was fortunate enough to
attend, explained the importance of the four-measure phrase
in the history of tonality; to Julie Sams who typed my
master's thesis without written acknowledgment only because
I was too embarrassed to have her type her own thanks; to my
Mom and Dad for the computers; and to my wife, Nancy, for
being patient and understanding, for working my way through
college, and for all that typing.
xvi
CHAPTER I
TONALITY
Many of the works of Prokofiev, Romeo and Juliet among
them, are commonly deemed to be tonal. Most pieces have key
signatures, and many pieces' titles carry the name of a key.
Despite features associated with other music from the post-
tonal era such as dissonant harmonies, highly chromatic
melodies, and odd root relationships, the music still seems
to have tonality, in the sense of the word that is opposed
to that of modality or even pitch centricity. In attempting
a stylistic account of a piece of music by Prokofiev such as
Romeo and Juliet, one needs a definition of tonality that
captures its essential nature, independent of the stylistic
features particular to the Common-Practice Period.
Tonality has been defined in various ways. Many
writers, including Apel in the Harvard Dictionary and
Crocker in A History of Musical Style, basically agree with
Schoenberg's definition of tonality as "the art of combining
tones in such successions and harmonies or successions of
harmonies, that the relation of all events to a fundamental
tone is made possible”1 While Apel and Crocker do not
explain exactly what this relationship is, it is probable
that they have in mind a hierarchical relationship such as
the one described elsewhere by Schoenberg in which each tone
is said to be more or less closely related to the tonic and
thus more or less powerful in supporting the preeminence of
that pitch. Schenker has explained that these relationships
may be expressed as both local-level and large-scale
structures, and that the large-scale structures are the most
essential to the state of tonality of a piece.
Many writers agree that tonality has to do with such
relationships. But stylistic variety among pieces said to
have tonality, even as opposed to mere pitch centricity,
makes it impossible to determine precisely what these rela
tionships are, giving reason to believe that the hierarchy
peculiar to the manifestation of tonality of the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries may not constitute a necessary part
of tonality per se. Hindemith, in his Series 1, attempts to
provide an acoustically justified series in which, using C
as a model tonic, each of the other eleven tones is given a
specific position relative to the others according to its
"Willi Apel, Harvard Dictionary of Music. 2nd ed.

(Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1969), s.v. "Tonality";
Richard L. Crocker, A History of Musical Style (New York;
McGraw-Hill, 1966), 356-57; Arnold Schoenberg et al,,
Schoenberg. ed. Merle Armitage (New York: G. Schirmer,
1937; reprint ed., Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977), p.
280.
3
distance, when used as a chord root, from the tonic pitch.2
But such a series does not represent necessary truths about
tonality since some of the orderings are contradicted by the
facts of actual pieces from the tonal literature. For
instance, in Series 1, the third degree of the major scale
is placed ahead of the second, whereas many pieces demon
strate that the second degree is in fact the closer of the
two to the tonic. There seems no reason that other pitches
as well might not occupy opposite positions in certain tonal
styles, in some Western popular music of the 1960's and
1970's, for instance, the fourth degree is consistently used
as a closer relative of the tonic than the fifth.
Vincent Persichetti's conception of tonality allows
room for variations on the Common-Practice-Period norms,
presumably so that the category "tonal music" might include
more twentieth-century music. He describes tonality as a
structural concern involving the support of a tonic by any
two other pitches equally or nearly equally distant above
and below it.3 Thus, pitches do not possess tonal strength
because of intrinsically better intervals formed by them and
the tonic, but acquire strength simply by repeated use.
Persichetti's notion has not been widely accepted perhaps
'Paul Hindemith, The Craft of Musical Composition,

book 1: Theoretical Part, trans. Arthur Mendel, 4th ed.
(Mainz: Schott, 1970), p. 56.
'Vincent Persichetti, Twentieth-Centurv Harmony (New

York: W. W. Norton, 1961), pp. 248-49.
4
because he gives up a priori acoustical justification for
the most closely related pitches, only to include structures
that have no empirical basis in the literature.
Concepts of tonality based on the architectural
structures of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century music are
inappropriate for a general definition because they exclude
many more recent pieces that are said to be tonal. A scheme
such as that of Persichetti, while broader, is not much
better. Perhaps the essence of tonality is not to be found
in architectural structures.
Architectural frameworks of this kind seem to me to be
based on a local-level phenomenon evoked by a familiarity
with relevant features of certain pieces of music. This
phenomenon involves the perception of individual sonorities
as filling certain roles in the temporal unfolding of the
music on the relatively local level of the phrase or the
period. When a succession of sonorities, be they single
notes or simultaneous combinations thereof, is perceived to
be part of a pattern considered standard, the listener
familiar with the pattern is able to project mentally its
continuation and completion. In traditional tonal music,
these patterns have at once to do with meter and with pitch,
so that the listener, near the beginning or middle of a
phrase, is able to project both the metrical placement and
the pitch of the supposedly approaching closing figure. As
an example, a hypothetical Western listener for some reason
5
unfamiliar with "Swanee River” will, by a familiarity with
scale forms, be able to determine quite early in the first
phrase the tonic pitch. Upon hearing the first phrase end
on the second scale degree and the second phrase begin the
same as the first, he can surmise that the second phrase
will cadence on the tonic pitch at the downbeat of the
fourth measure. While such a sense is usually referred to
in astronomical figures of speech, as Persichetti does when
he speaks of the "pull of the tonal center,"4 it is in fact
a subjective phenomenon, a factor in the listener's
interpretation of the rhythms and pitches, not a virtue of
the notes themselves.
Rather than imagining all the intervening steps between
the sonority heard at a given moment and the ultimate
resolution of the passage, the listener actually probably
only notes his familiarity with a possible, standard
continuation of the pattern. To say that a person listening
to a piece of tonal music is able to project the normal
continuation of a standard pattern is not to say that he
listens to the piece while making predictions about the
actual outcome of each passage. Rather, these projections,
normally unintentional and unnoticed, serve as references in
the context of which actual events are heard and by which
they are colored. Indeed, theorists such as Leonard B.
4Ibid., p. 248.
6
Meyer and Hans Keller have argued that the essence of art
music lies in the contradiction between expectations and
actual musical events.5 Because such projections are made,
the role of a perceived sonority may be interpreted either
as the conclusion of such a pattern, in which case it sounds
stable, or as one of several hierarchically arranged steps
leading to that conclusion, in which case it sounds
unstable. In this thesis, the term "tonality" refers to a
sense the listener has of the degree of stability of a
sonority and, in the case of an unstable sonority, of the
amr ; of musical time required to reach a stable sonority.
Such a definition is not without difficulties.
Inherent in the subjective nature of the definition is the
possibility that a statement concerning the tonality of any
particular passage may not be relevant to the experience of
any listener other than the one making the statement.
Differences in physical, mental, or emotional state may
affect a single listener's ideas about or ability to make
projections, as well as his judgment of a passage's level of
conformity to such a projection. How much more might the
differences be between two different listeners, people of
different preferences, mental capabilities, or levels of
experience with a given style?
"Leonard B. Meyer, Music. The Arts, and Ideas

(Chicago; University of Chicago Press, 1S67), pp. 5-41
passim; Hans Keller, "The Nature of Musical Understanding,"
Musical Newsletter 4 (October 1973)-.13-19.
7
A second difficulty has to do with human nature's
inclination to categorization. We are used to putting
labels such as "tonal," "modal," and "atonal" on pieces. A
subjective definition of tonality, however, makes the music
not the bearer of tonality, but a partial cause. Is a piece
of music tonal only when heard by the right person? In the
case of a rock song that seems to emphasize a certain pitch
as a tonal center but does not end with that pitch (or fades
out without ending on any pitch), is the piece tonal to a
person who expects a particular ending, even though that
ending is not an element of the style and indeed does not
occur in this particular case? Is it atonal because it does
not resolve?
A final area of difficulty, always present in
discussions about perceptions, is that of epistemological
skepticism. It is always possible to ask whether what one
perceives exists objectively, exists physically, or appears
the same to other observers, indeed whether other observers
exist. While the issues are certainly important to the
topic at hand, it is unnecessary and unfruitful to deal with
them every time one discusses something. In this thesis,
the objective existence of perceived objects and a basic
consistency of perception by separate observers is assumed.
Such a definition is not without difficulties. It
does, however, grant music its true nature, that of a
dynamic human activity, not a static artifact. Music is to
be heard. Musical composition, in the traditional sense of
the word, involves the conscious, intentional arrangement of
sounds, whether in advance or in real time, in such a way
that the result is interesting to the composer as a
listener. (And in most cases it is to be supposed that the
composer hopes the result might be interesting to other
listeners as well.) If music says nothing else, it says to
the listener, even if the listener is only the composer
himself, '‘The composer wanted this to sound this way.”6 The
listener may be pleased with the choices made, uninterested,
unable to understand them, or convinced the composer was in
some way wrong in making them. These intentions, state
ments, and responses are all part of the musical experience.
The truly subjective nature of tonality may be less
disturbing when viewed as an element of this communicative
process, as a part of the listener's response to a sound
composition, as a means of connecting various events in the
composition and of understanding, or attempting to
understand, the choice of events made by the composer. The
discussion of tonality necessarily risks difference of
‘Those who in recent times have composed in such a

fashion that the sounds produced in a performance are only
accidents of the process have not made music, in the strict
sense of the word. Such activity is indeed art, but the
art is of a mixed nature to which the term "music" does not
exactly apply. There is an element of poetry involved in
calling such art "music," and there is a strong element of
a possibly new art of which aesthetic arguments themselves
are the stuff.
9
opinion. But we need not avoid discussion because of
difference of opinion, the instigator and sustainer of many
of the most interesting and enlightening conversations.
Tonality, then, is a subjective phenomenon. There is
usually, however, a rather high level of agreement among
knowledgable listeners concerning any given passage or
piece. As indicated above, the state of tonality of a piece
is dependent on certain features present in the piece, and
the understanding a listener has of these features as
stylistic norms. The fact that it is a group of common
features that contributes to this sense means that they may
be known by most listeners, and that the range of
interpretation of these features in any particular case is
probably quite small. A certain passage by Brahms, for
instance, might be interpreted as being in, say, D-flat
major or B-flat minor, but the same passage could probably
not be interpreted by a knowledgeable student of the score
as being in, for instance, c major or F-sharp minor.
Because of this high level of agreement, we may continue the
convenient practice of ascribing the condition of tonality
to the music itself, with the understanding that we speak
figuratively when we label music in this way.
While it is impossible to know when listeners began to
add the subjective layer of tonality to their perception of
music, it is possible to point to some relatively early
examples of music that support a tonal interpretation today.
10
The features forming the basis of the tonal system of
western music begin occasionally to appear in combination in
the music of the middle ages, but gradually become standard
during the course of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. Let us examine some of these features, beginning
with those that contribute to an anticipatory sense about
the metrical placement of endings, continuing then with
those relevant to the pitch of these endings.
Sl.qna_ls_o.f Metrical Placement of Approaching Endings
In order to have ideas about an ending, the listener
must know what constitutes an ending in a given style. An
ending may for various reasons be perceived as such after
the fact. For instance, the end of a group of notes might
be perceived as such by virtue of a relatively long temporal
separation between two notes, leaving the previous,
relatively proximate notes to be perceived as a group.
Because this grouping by proximity is a natural part of the
human perceptual process, this principle of closure might
apply to practically any style of music. Indeed this
principle plays a part in the formal structure of the chant,
secular monophony, and polyphonic music of the West up to
the sixteenth century. However, rhythmic caesura alone can
only alert the listener to the presence of closure as the
caesura is occurring, that is, after the last note of the
formal group has been sounded. More is needed if events
11
during a passage are to be heard as anticipatory of the
approaching end.
Something more is in fact provided by cadence formulas,
present in most of the early repertory mentioned above, and
in most later Western music as well. The presence of new or
unexpected material even at the end of a passage could make
that ending appear abrupt and unresolved. Perhaps because
these characteristics are felt to be incompatible with the
belief, more common in the past, that music should or does
represent the innate order of the universe, human soul, or
natural world, endings in many styles in the history of our
culture have been standardized. These common patterns at
endings, known to be endings by virtue of the rhythmic
caesura, are quickly recognized as signals of the imminence
of a degree of rhythmic closure. Thus, a listener, upon
hearing the initiation of one of these patterns, can
mentally project the continuation of the pattern and sense
the time of the approaching cadence. When the figure in
example l, a common cadential figure in third-mode chants,
Example 1. Cadence formula common in third-mode chants.
begins, the listener familiar with the function of the
12
figure senses the approach of the final note. Similarly, as
soon as the dissonance of the 7-6 suspension in example 2
Example 2. Cadence formula common in sixteenth-century

polyphony.
is heard, the listener familiar with this style can sense
that the seventh will resolve to a sixth on the next beat,
and that the sixth will in turn resolve to an octave one
beat after that.
Again, these resolutions may not necessarily occur in
the expected fashion. But the deceptive, evasive treatment
of a cadence formula will be heard in the context of the
expectations. Zarlino, for instance, speaks of such
evasions as modifications of cadences, although no cadence
occurs, because "the voices give the impression of leading
to a perfect cadence."7 This interpretation would apply
even though the evasions, were Zarlino/s advice to be
followed, might actually occur more frequently than what is
considered the normal consequence. The concern here is with
patterns that seem at the time to be leading toward certain
7Gioseffo Zarlino, The Art of Counterpoint, trans. Guy

A. Marco and Claude V. Palisca (New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 1968; reprint ed., New York: Da Cape,
1983), p. 151.
13
goals, whether or not those goals actually arrive in any
particular case.
In both the cadence formulas described above, of
course, the pitch of the final note as well as its metrical
placement is anticipated, a matter to be discussed below.
Also present in both examples is a text, which might aid the
listener familiar with the text, or at least the language,
in sensing the approaching cadence. The increasing
acceptance of instrumental music during the sixteenth,
seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries, and its gradual
divorce from the voice and vocal models in part necessi
tated, or at least accelerated, the emergence of tonality as
a purely musical means of giving music temporal direction.
Another factor often present when the approaching end
of a phrase can be anticipated is melodic direction. In the
second phrase of "America" ("God save the Queen"), a pattern
of descent toward the tonic pitch is established by the
series of pitches on successive alternate downbeats. (See
example 3.) Beginning on the fifth scale degree, the
Example 3. Melodic direction leading toward cadence in

"America."
f------------- J .'" T " — ------- 1 H ' l
14
pattern is broken after the third degree is reached. When
the return to the third degree is followed immediately by
the second, the metrical placement of the tonic pitch on the
next downbeat is sensed as almost inevitable.
While cadential formulas and melodic direction add some
degree of separation between the time an ending is first
sensed and the actual occurrence of the ending, the length
of this separation is still relatively small. The kind of
anticipation intended by the use of the term "tonality" in
this thesis is of a slightly larger scale. The key musical
feature to a response of this type is regularity of phrase
length. This regularity can be found in a least two kinds
of music in the sixteenth century: dances and strophic
chorale-texture hymns or songs.
In the Gombert passage given in example 4,6 not likely
to be considered tonal, no expectation of a cadence is
experienced until the dissonance of the suspension occurs,
in the eighth notated measure. The lack of metrical
regularity at any level higher than the tactus makes it
impossible to anticipate which tactus will bear the cadence.
And without a sense concerning the metrical placement of the
approaching cadence, the listener cannot anticipate its
pitch either. The sonority at the beginning of the seventh
“Nikolaus Gombert, "Super Flumina," measures 1-26, in

Historical Anthology of Music, revised ed., edited by
Archibald T. Davison and Willi Apel, vol. i (Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press, 1949), p. 118.
15
Example 4. Sixteenth-century passage in which no early

anticipation of cadence is felt.
____________ Sm- y*rflumina B.-ln- l

a-nit, Bt- K- lo-m » ______ It-tic ft.
9u- ptr LLL~ * at p J *r

«ti«, a*. tV tt
h'h’£-1^, 4^
flumi-
[
44-A-- •w r w ^ r
i £lt-«{. mui, tiir— tedr rri
imut,
" rp
u-
A f "P-A. - I. iJ—■■J. iip
iJ .
1 M &i-bi-t#- nit, B*-bi L«mut £Uvimut,
<U- nt- «r, Z-
te-i-----r
t z : rt.ar-it- 1L l l L t" t. 1 LJ..f
dum.**
f LFl f / H
j*... i i A
1J J 4-J.J-J =j— h-=d = — ■
■1«d
umr€-arr-<u- «*- w , aCm. IrLl If
notated measure is not heard as a ii chord of some kind in a
G-Dorian tonality. Calling a harmony a "ii chord" means (1)
that the tonic pitch is known and (2) that what happens
after that harmony is heard in light of what normally
happens after a ii chord. The sonority here is heard only
as the result of lines that happen to sound an a-c-e
sonority at that point.
The hymn given in example 5, however, a hymn from the
Bohemian Brethren's KirchengesSnge of 1566/ is tonal: e-
flat is sensed as the pitch of ultimate stability at every
s,*Mit Freuden z-art," arr. Ruth E. Weyforight, English

text by W. Russell Bowie, printed in The Brethren Hymnal
(Elgin, IL: House of the Church of Brethren, 1951), no. 366.
16
Example 5. Sixteenth-century hymn in which early

anticipation of cadence is felt.
W.RumU Bowie; b. 1M1 t. by Ruth E. W«ybd*hci>. 1900
j-j IjJj
1. Lord Christ, when first Thou cam’st to men,
"T
Up - on
1
■ cron they
2. O awe-ful love, which found no room i_
... e. . j .____ _j_
u_________________
3. New ad-vent of the love of Christ, Shall we a-g a in re -
UO wound-edhands of Je-sus,build In us Thy new ere-
r r 1
bound Thee, And mocked Thy sav - ing king-ship then

nied Thee. And, doomed to death, must bring to doom power which
fuse Thee. Till in the night of hate and war per- ish
war. Thy
J -I I j - I I
they crowned Thee: And still our wrongs may weave Thee
d - fed Thee, Till not a stone was left on s
- ver loss. We
thorns to pierce that stead-y brow. And robe of sor - row round Thee,
all a na-don s pride, o'er-thrown. Went down to dust be - side Thee1 ,
seek theking-dom of Thy peace, By which a - lone we choose Thee,
bring our hearts be-fore Thy cross. To fin-ish Thy sal - va - ticn. A - men.
J - a k U U .J. Jr-l Jr-Vi
17
moment in the piece, and the regularity of the groups of two
and of four measures enables anticipation of the metrical
placement of the cadences. Here the harmony on the first
beat of measure 3 is heard as a ii chord: it operates func
tionally by preparing the V that in turn leads to the tonic
of the cadence. The pitch and time of the first cadence are
felt from the moment this harmony is sounded.
Similarly, many dances of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries appear tonal largely as a result of their regular
phrase lengths. In the Praetorius dance given in example
6,10 the unvarying use of four-measure phrases keeps the
approaching end of each phrase (or at least the point of
departure of a new phrase, as at measure 5) within the
listener's awareness at all times. And g-natural is the
expected and actual ultimate note of resolution. This is
true even in the second line, where f-naturals "spoil" the
Ionian-mode tone system.
These examples suggest that tonality is primarily a
metrical phenomenon. It is the presence of metrical
regularity— not a specific scale type, not the V-I cadence,
not the "suavity of the harmonic progressions" suggested by
10Michael Praetorius, Bransle, excerpts, in

Geaamta.us.g.abe..der-Husikalischen -Werke vQn.Michael
Praetorius. ed. Friedrich Blume, vol. 15 (Wolfenbiittel:
Georg Kallmeyer, 1929), pp. 22-23.
18
Example 6. Regular phrase length in Praetorius dance.
Crocker11— that makes certain members of a group of pieces of
an otherwise somewhat similar style appear tonal. Caesura
is sufficient to create the sense of cadence, and regular
phrase length is sufficient to allow anticipation of the
cadence, the foundation of tonality.
The anticipation from early in a phrase of that
phrase's cadence colors all intervening sonorities with a
degree of imperfection, that word being used in the sense of
“Crocker, HistQgy Qf Musical style, p. 277.
19
"incompleteness." Thus, while major triads on the fourth
and fifth degrees may be as consonant as the tonic triad,
they nevertheless sound secondary to it by virtue of their
function not as final harmonies, but as sonorities which
lead to that final harmony. (It is a hierarchical
relationship such as this, perhaps, that Crocker and Apel
have in mind in their epithets about tonality.) Two cases
are sufficient to illustrate the point. First, even the
tonic chord in root position can be heard as unstable if it
is perceived to occur in the middle of a phrase. (See
example 7.1J) Second, in some contemporary popular styles, a
Example 7. Root position tonic triad (marked with asterisk)

that is unstable.
chord will sound stable when its placement in the metrical
context is that of a cadential sonority, even when the chord
is as dissonant or more dissonant than other harmonies in
the phrase. (See example 8.) While music such as these
dances and the hymn loses a degree of subtlety as a result
“J. S. Bach, "Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern,"

measures 1-6, in 371 Harmonized Chorales, ed. Albert
Riemenschneider (New York: G.Schirmer, 1941), no. 86.
20
Example 8. Phrase in which the most dissonant chord is also

the most stable.
of its abandonment of metrical irregularity, it gains a
level of richness not present in other music of the period.
Signals of the Pitch of Approaching Endings
Although I have described tonality as a fundamentally
metrical phenomenon, it is the domain of pitch that receives
most of the attention in most definitions and discussions of
the concept. (The use of the word "tonic" for the most
stable pitch in a key indicates the consensus that tonality
is primarily a matter of pitch.) While the importance of
pitch to tonality has been exaggerated to the point of
excluding meter altogether in most of these discussions,
pitch does play an important role. In the Western music of
the sixteenth through the early nineteenth centuries, scale
types and melodic and harmonic patterns were limited to the
point that tonality was able to develop as a sense
concerning the pitch as well as the metrical position of a
passage's approaching close.
21
Here it is well to stress again the difference between
the projection of standard patterns to what would be their
normal conclusions and the prediction of actual musical
events. It is clear that the actual ending of a passage
need not correspond to what is anticipated. The ending
itself, a future event to someone listening to a passage,
has no power whatsoever over the listener's perceptions of
the passage. Suppose a man walking down a hall passes a
room and hears a voice from the room reciting at a steady
pace, ::P, Q, R, S, T," after which the man has passed far
enough that he cannot hear whether the voice is continuing.
He can nevertheless sense with some accuracy how much time
would pass until the letter "Z" would be said should the
pattern continue, whether or not that letter is actually
said. One need not hear the entire alphabet recited in
order to recognize a sequence of letters as a part of the
alphabet. After the possibility of the perception of
tonality is historically or personally established, all that
is essential to the listener's interpretation of a passage
as being tonal is that the passage conform, to some degree,
to a style that is considered standard tonal style. When
this is true, a passage is heard as tonal, no matter what
the ending.
This principle accepted, it can be seen that when
standard patterns of a tonal style (in classical tonality,
these are outlines of triads, emphasis on two pitches a
fifth apart, etc.) are used, the tonic pitch, or standard
final pitch of resolution, of a piece may be known at almost
any moment. In fact, in order for a piece to be truly
tonal, this pitch must be known at an early point, and
sensed rather often during the piece. As Carl Dahlhaus
says, "It is not enough to settle on a final note: it must
be the centre of reference of the whole piece, so that, for
instance, the note A receives its 'colouring' or 'character'
in the mode on E primarily through its association with E."13
In the Brahms Intermezzo partially reproduced in example 9,14
b-flat is perceived as the tonic from the very first
measure, even though a B-flat harmony is not present until
the very end of the piece. In some instances, the identity
of the tonic pitch is quite clear throughout the piece, and
yet it is not the root of the final sonority. The very fact
that the ending of the chorale in example 10“ is heard as an
incomplete tonal ending and not a complete modal ending,
that it is heard as an exception to or comment on the
standards of a style, points to the nature of tonality as a
subjective sense concerning the standard direction suggested
by sonorities regardless of actual outcomes.
“Ihe-New -Grove Pi ct ionarvLofMusic and Musicians, ed.

Stanley Sadie, s.v. "Tonality," by Carl Dahlhaus.
14Johannes Brahms, Intermezzo, Op. 76, no. 4, measures

1=7, ed. Eugen D'Albert (Berlin: Uiistein, 1928), p. 16.
“Bach, "Komm, Gott Schdpfer," Choralesf no. 187.
Example 9. Passage in which tonic is sensed although no
tonic triad is present.
ft'
P ^ |R T ^ | p p |n7]r^
Example 10. Chorale ending with sonority other than the

tonic triad.
IH7. j
*
35 LLf— r ••r—
*
tr i
*
JLljj- n A A J . ^
=
p. pi
/ u a jt “u
u r
lr r ' l l~rxr
j .j. jO-A-
e/r f■r='T'r r
That the use of diatonic scales is not sufficient for
the establishment of a tonal style is made evident by the
vast number of diatonic chants and polyphonic pieces
considered modal. Not even the use of the so-called Ionian
24
mode, recognized by Glarean and Zarlino, is sufficient, as
is made evident by the Encina villancico reproduced in
example 11.16 Here one cannot sense the approach of the
Example 11. Sixteenth-century passage in which Ionian mode

is not sufficient for sensation of tonality.
rr 'ra*-—.r
U ' afciarfimndi-ifar.amntnartu- 1
ti pttur.M mrifc-Uttimj-tu.
cadence in measure 9 until the suspension in the previous
measure begins. However, in music from after the time
stylistic patterns associated with classical tonality have
been established, the presence of a particular diatonic
scale is enough to establish a single pitch as tonic. In a
piece in a major key, for instance, the change of scale
achieved by the raising of the fourth scale degree or the
lowering of the seventh is sufficient to suggest a new key
area. In the passage from the G-minor fugue of book one of
“Juan Encina, nPues que jamds," in

vol. 1, p. 100.
25
Das Wohltemperierte Klavier found in example 12,17 the key of
Example 12. Eighteenth-century passage in which change of

scale brings about change of tonic.
^ ; . , * _
r i** *
: . T— r T .. . J
©
— ‘|- 3 u— r--- --- <*■*-=
— 1
1 2
f r 7crCv r 1 k'zJs
B-flat having been established in measures 11 and 12, the
introduction of e-natural in measures 13 and 14 is
sufficient to suggest f-natural as a new tonic, even though
a cadence is not expected at any particular time in this
continuous style, and even though no strong cadence on f
actually occurs. In a somewhat similar fashion, the
sounding of a single dominant-seventh chord can suggest the
presence of a key simply because each dominant-seventh
harmony can be found in only one diatonic pitch collection.
It is a curious situation that the very scales and
harmonies that provide one listening to music of an earlier
17J = s = Bach, Fugue no. 16, measures 10-15, Das

Wohltemperierte Klavier. book l, ed. Otto von Irmer
(Munich: Henle, 1950), p. 80.
26
time only a local sense of direction, are able, in music
written after the establishment of tonality through metrical
regularity, to suggest to the listener at every moment what
part that moment might play in the unfolding of the piece.
As a result, in the eighteenth century, with means of
establishing tonality by pitch patterns alone within their
grasp, composers were able to once again add interest in the
metrical domain, with results such as the apparently
seamless preludes of J. S. Bach or the irregularity in many
of the first movements of Mozart. Metrical regularity,
then, acted as a catalyst, imbuing sonorities and
progressions with hierarchical coloring and a sense of
direction and then retiring for a time, leaving tonality,
for the most part, in the care of pitch relationships.
The patterns and structures of classical tonality are
based on a local-level sense of direction. Structures on a
larger scale based on these patterns come after the
establishment through metrical regularity of standard tonal
patterns and hierarchy. It is only in the late seventeenth
century, with pieces such as the Cazzati Sonata in example
13,18 that the dominant becomes the standard goal for
modulation and thus normally the second most important
structural component of a piece. The "large-scale
18Maurizio Cazzati, "Sonata prima La Pellicana,"

measures 1-15, in Historical Anthology, vol. 2 (Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press, 1950), p. 67.
Example 13. Seventeenth-century passage in which dominant
is goal of first modulation.
m i i
aanr-pgprpi
| r]h> M ten* J
if » T ( >v >
ft
yfr ~ • - f r f i1 cjjU t f fir 1
rfr rf~P m f~
ipbfrrp-U U-l v
=*
: Jy .j- m 1t •prrpf' pFTpf
E.iigr p u p
J’rf l
1^1-Ph.. 1 r i i i y j 3 p .j p p.r p.r

W ' C g J p - E i p M ir <]1
J _ J
fyr n- f y"'r T ~ 3*— f rr/tir
'trcirr PttT
M ^f-F. 4 = vri'JTip > .
^ h
o i.j*T3 fflrrr * Ti r f .f,P . . a . ... ..acctfPTi-
'EErEtf'w
^ f fT= f = j■f M pu ^ v -
Ikl*.. V K m — r-l r i^rtr Pr~ffr p.p r.r P'J 1 ii P H f e -1

«■1 ; J,r > r [ I’1 i
6 6 6 6 6 #r 1 fv\ v\T* 7 Jj
p
dissonance" spoken of by Charles Rosen in his Sonata Forms.19
while an essential feature of the tonal repertoire with
which he deals, is a later development of a much humbler
notion. What concerns us here is the more basic notion of
tonality, that is, the sense from early in a phrase or
period concerning both the time and the pitch of approaching
cadences, and the means by which the establishment of a
19See Charles Rosen, Sonata Forms, revised ed. (New

York: W. W. Norton, 1988), pp. 25, 129, and passim.
28
tonal style can be achieved. When pitch patterns unfamiliar
to the listener are involved, it is metrical regularity that
is most able to bring about a new tonal style. It will be
seen that Prokofiev imposes metrical regularity on both
traditional and nontraditional patterns, creating a new
tonality and using the old at the same time.
29
CHAPTER II
PHRASE LENGTH
While the subject of phrase length may be an important
part of the definition of any particular style, it is
especially important in the case of a tonal style. Tonality
has been defined partially as a sense concerning the
temporal distance of an approaching goal. This sense is
such that we need not think about an approaching goal in
terms as imprecise as "near" or "far." Rather, we are often
able to sense with great exactitude the amount of time
between a present moment and the arrival of a phrase ending.
A temporal sense as precise as this is dependent on a
measured perception of time. In tonal music, this measure
ment is not conceived of in terms of units of clock time,
but rather in terms of units of the music itself. A point
of arrival might be anticipated, for instance, on the third
beat of the second measure of a phrase. "Beat," "measure,"
and "phrase" are all terms used to denote both musical and
temporal units.
While it is clearly convenient to think of time in a
piece of tonal music in terms of musical units, it is
important to note that it is in fact necessary to do so
30
since these units need not correspond to constant
measurements of clock time, being perceived only in
relationship to one another. The length of a measure is
defined as a certain multiple of the length of a pulse or
beat. Thus, in a passage in which the tempo is increasing,
any given measure will be shorter in clock time than the
last. However, in such a passage, the otherwise exact
repetition of a group of measures will be heard to have the
same musical length as the original statement. Time in
tonal music, then is conceived of in terms of these relative
units: a measure is commonly thought of as a certain number
of beats, and a phrase as a certain number of measures.
Therefore, in order to discuss the length of a phrase in a
piece, it is necessary to understand how that piece's meter
is established.
Establishment of Meter
For the purposes of this discussion, the term "meter"
refers to a regularly recurring pattern of strong and weak
beats. Such regularity is essential in a style in which
expectation of the precision described above is to play a
role. Meter, in this regular sense, may be established in
several ways. A regular series of dynamic accents is
perhaps the least subtle method, and is a primary way in
which meter is established in much dance music and popular
music of this era. A regularity of tonic or agogic accents
31
produced by the repetitions of a motive, or even by the
succession of similar figures, may also establish a meter.
Such was the case with music based on the rhythmic modes.
In the late fourteenth century and during the fifteenth
century, as the rhythms of each voice become less
repetitive, meter come to be more of a contrapuntal
phenomenon. An accented beat at the end of the fifteenth
century is one on which a suspension may occur, and in much
of the literature of the time, this possibility occurs
regularly every two or every three beats. In music of a
later time, harmonic rhythm is able to play a role in the
establishment of a meter. The C-major prelude from book I
of Das Wohltemoerierte Klavier and Chopin's E-flat-major
Prelude are clear examples.
Once a meter is established in any of these ways, the
listener projects the continuation of the pattern into the
immediate future of the music. Grosvenor Cooper and Leonard
B. Meyer seem to agree. Concerning rhythm, they explain,
Once a rhythm becomes established, it tends, if

possible, to be continued in the mind of the
listener— it tends, that is, to organize later
patterns in its own image. This is true even
where the natural grouping would seem to be
otherwise.1
Later, they imply that the same is true in the case of
Grosvenor Cooper and Leonard B. Meyer, The Rhythmic

Structure of Music (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1960), p. 13.
32
morphological lengths and, presumably therefore, meter.2
This is not to say that an established meter is in fact
fixed for the entirety of a piece. But any hemiola, for
instance, or syncopation or outright change of meter will be
heard in comparison with, and will bear significance in
light of, the listener's projection of the originally
established meter.
If meter is not aurally established in the music of
Prokofiev in ways such as those described above, that is, if
the notated meter is only a means of reference or an aid to
performance, as it is in much of the music of Prokofiev's
contemporary Webern, for instance, then any discussion of
phrase length as a certain number of measures is irrelevant,
and the type of tonality discussed in the previous chapter
is not present here. However, all these means are in fact
employed by Prokofiev to the extent that most of the music
in question is clearly perceived as metrical. In Romeo and
Juliet, the use of dynamic accents as a basis for meter is
found, appropriately, in many of the scenes in which the
common folk are dancing. Excellent examples of this use are
found in number 3, "The Street Wakens," and the first eight
measures of number 4, "Morning Dance.11 Agogic accents and
the repetition of motives also contribute to the establish
ment of meter in both examples. In the dance first heard at
2Ibid., p. 145.
33
rehearsal 178, a pattern of dissonances somewhat similar to
that of Renaissance suspensions is found. (See example
14. )3 For the most part, however, the idea of dissonance
Example 14. Establishment of meter by dissonance pattern in

178:1-16.
M ,.i-
f f * #O d r r 4 *!
si n - M . --FU- 4 4
^ ^ 'I u hl J i 1
a*— *—-
3 ' *r ‘•Lir
LplpJ M> l
1 hrxr1
and its resolution as a determinant of meter is represented
3All examples are taken from Sergei Prokofiev, Romeo

and Juliet: Piano Score, Op. 64 (Melville, NY: Belwin Mills,
n.d.). Measures will be identified by numbers counted from
the appropriate rehearsal number, or from the beginning, as
indicated.
34
in this music by the normal placement of harmonic reso
lutions on downbeats. The minor triad on the first beat of
measure 178:14, for instance, acts as a resolution of the
dominant-seventh on the previous beat. This resolution is,
in part, what makes this beat a strong beat. This two-beat
pattern of dissonance and resolution is repeated twice
immediately afterward, confirming the duple meter estab
lished by other means earlier. Harmonic rhythm is an impor
tant factor in the establishment of meter in the melody at
rehearsal 64. (See example 15.)
Example 15. Establishment of meter by harmonic rhythm in

63:10-64:9.
ft t«apo
^ 'f ¥
Articulation of Phrases
The necessary conditions for tonality as defined in
35
this treatise include not only regular meter but also a
standard phrase length. Therefore, in order to demonstrate
that the music of Romeo and Juliet is tonal, it is necessary
to show that phrases are indeed articulated in the style
and, then, that they usually consist of the same number of
measures. While it is generally agreed that the term
"phrase" designates a number of consecutive measures
perceived as a distinct unit on some hierarchical level, it
is not always easy to define the level for which the use of
the word is appropriate. I hope that any difference between
the reader's conception of the word "phrase" and mine will
be only a matter of the level on which the use of that term
is appropriate and will not hinder the following discussion.
Since the length of several phrases is to be
determined, an explanation of the method used in this
treatise to count measures is in order. A melody such as
the one in measures 19:1-8 presents no problems in this
regard. (See example 16.) Beginning on the downbeat of its
first measure and continuing to the very end of its last
measure, the melody is clearly 8 measures long. An
anacrusis, on the other hand, can slightly complicate the
situation. The bassoon melody at the beginning of number 3,
"The Street Wakens," begins on the second half of measure
9:4, after what most listeners would likely call a four-
measure introduction, and continues, past the entrance of
the violin, to the end of measure 9:12. (See example 17.)
Example 16. Melody that presents no measure-counting
problems in 18:10-19:8.
■J"- J jt!Th
(I * r n ]j
-f ^ ^ T¥ ’P»f'f
I L .-’ . - p j ’. L -
' X... 1
i ’I ' T T P
n l.r* *■
A t ----- V'-tT =1- T — rT I l"n=r= p| = —
^ i i
i ri t I r 1173 i
f-'-t--r=T~i
/ __
Calling the length of the phrase eight-and-a-half measures
might imply that the introduction should be called three-
and-a-half. The total length of the passage is, after all,
37
Example 17. Melody that presents some measure-counting

problems in 9:1-11:1.
i A lleg retto J
ED
ft * i
,tjtt
■jp * ■ rr^ h —
Bjn
J
* J Cor.
mf F
i s m s Hpi
20
38
twelve measures. But doing so goes against the natural way
of stating the length of the introduction. A similar
problem results from the overlapping, mentioned above, at
the juncture of the first and second phrases. In order to
avoid any possible confusion of this nature, in this
treatise the number of measures in a passage will be
determined by counting only downbeats. Thus, the intro
duction is said to be four measures long, and the first
phrase eight measures long. This method greatly simplifies
matters in all cases except those in which irregular meter
or an elision is involved.
A sequence of consecutive musical events will be
perceived as a temporal unit most commonly as a negative
result of some separation from other events immediately
before and after. The separation between two units may be
perceived to mark the end of the first unit, the beginning
of the second, or both. Perhaps the most easily understood
method of achieving the sense of separation is by rhythmic
caesura. A relatively long interval between attack points
in a melody, whether the result of a long note or of a rest,
can cause this sense both by serving as an end of previous
motion and by separating a melody into two groups of
respectively proximate notes.
This principle is at work in the melody shown in
example 18. The first measure of the melody proper, measure
1:5, consists of sixteenth notes and sixteenth rests. The
39
Example 18. Articulation of phrases by caesura in 1:2-12.
rests break the regular motion and cause the notes between
them to be perceived as groups, groups of three notes each.
A group this short may be called a motive. The eighth-note
motion of the next measure, although slower than that of the
previous measure, is consistent, and the four notes are
perceived as a group, not as four successive breaks in the
sixteenth-note motion. On the second beat of measure 1:8,
the lone dotted eighth represents a more significant point
of separation. (The two eighth notes on b-natural on the
40
downbeat may be heard by some as the resting point since the
pitch-class remains the same for a quarter note's time; on
the other hand, the notes are placed in separate octaves.)
The four measures, measures 1:5-8, may be called a phrase, a
somewhat complete musical unit, the end of which is caused
by rhythmic caesura. The following four measures constitute
a second phrase, a quarter note on b (or more time if the
octave equivalence is accepted), on the downbeat of measure
1:12 halting the motion.
Prokofiev often achieves closure by taking advantage of
the traditional acceptance of certain melodic and harmonic
formulas and processes as cadential. In measures 1:7 and
1:8, for instance, the descending-fifth relationship between
the roots of two consecutive major triads, together with the
resolution of a major sixth to an octave by contrary motion,
contributes to the sense that one phrase is ending and, by
implication, that another is beginning.
Whenever closure of a phrase is perceived, any further
musical activity— assuming the phrase is not the last of a
piece— can only be interpreted as a new phrase. It is
possible, however, for a new phrase to begin without the
first having achieved closure. In this case, the first
phrase would sound incomplete if played alone. This notion
is incompatible with the somewhat common doctrine that a
phrase must end with a cadence, but is necessary if the term
"phrase" is to be used in the discussion of music other than
41
chorales and pieces in simple "song" forms. Number 17 in
Romeo and Juliet. "Tybalt recognizes Romeo," is a pastiche
of previously heard melodies, in which this type of
delineation occurs several times. At rehearsal 117, for
instance, although the eighth-note motion is not interrupted
and there is no resolution of harmony or melody, a division
is heard simply because a new idea begins. (See example
19.) A similar instance occurs eight measures later.
Example 19. Articulation of phrases by change of idea in

116:6-117:12.
ru n
ml
— , ru n
Anu
* j~
irrii ?
W- j1^
hj-(I
^ in ft
***• C-k' * * ItH lil
'L.OK.C l., Tl-W
;r\> —|fr-g-- -J - . m
m i m ^
|U
b m p
A change in almost any aspect of a piece may be heard
as the beginning of a new phrase even if the melodic idea is
not new. Prokofiev, as well as other composers, regularly
uses changes of instrumentation, changes of dynamics, or
changes of harmony (where the harmonic rhythm is slow) to
42
delineate phrases. Repetition of an idea may also mark a
division in music, it may seem that two statements of an
idea would be grouped by similarity. But in fact, if the
first occurence of the idea represents a beginning point,
the second will as well.
Normally, these principles do not operate in isolation.
It is clear that a new phrase does not begin with every
harmonic change or motivic repetition. Thus, measure 50:4
is heard as the end of a phrase because of the combined
presence of the descending-fifth motion in the bass on beats
2 and 3, the concurrent resolution of dissonance, and the
relative temporal distance between the last note of the
melody in this measure and the first note in the next;
measure 5 begins a new phrase by virtue of the immediate
change in the dynamics level and the repetition of the
opening rhythm. (See example 20.)
All these means of division seem to appeal to the
natural human proclivity for hierarchically organizing
phenomena, and, perhaps in part because of their
naturalness, were used long before Prokofiev took advantage
of them. Thus, while Prokofiev/s music is in many ways
different from that of previous centuries, in this aspect it
is quite traditional, and Stravinsky has argued that only by
continuing a tradition can an artist create something truly
new. Tradition, he says, "appears as an heirloom, a
43
heritage that one receives on condition of making it bear
fruit before passing it on to one's descendants."4
Example 20. Articulation of phrases by combination of

features in 50:1-8.
V iva ce J:
4Ig°r Stravinsky, Poetics of Music in the Form of Six

Lessons, trans. Arthur Knodel and Ingolf Dahl (Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press, 1947), p. 59.
44
Standard Phrase Length
It has been argued in the previous chapter that a
regularity of phrase length is a necessary condition of the
emergence of a tonal style, and it was suggested that this
regularity may contribute to a sense of tonality even if the
pitch language is different from that of traditional Western
tonality. If Prokofiev's music can be said to exhibit a new
kind of tonality, it must be demonstrated that there is a
standard of phrase length at operation in the music.
In Romeo and Juliet. Prokofiev does indeed make use of
a standard phrase length. That standard, again a
representative of tradition, is four measures. The standard
is set at the very beginning of the ballet, the
"Introduction" beginning with two variations of a four-
measure phrase. The next melody, eight measures long, is
divided into two similar, four-measure phrases. The
following melody, in measures 1:13-20, exhibits a similar
form. This pattern having been established, the four-
measure phrase continues to predominate in most of the
numbers of the ballet. If a phrase closes itself, the
cadence is most likely to occur on the downbeat of the
fourth measure. If the phrase ends only because a change of
some kind suggests the beginning of a new phrase, that
change is most likely to occur on the downbeat of what would
have been the fifth measure.
In some cases, a phrase that on hearing seems to fit
45
the standard, actually lasts eight measures as notated, as
is the case with the first phrase of number 3, "The Street
Awakens," or only two, as is the case with the first four
phrases in number 10, "The Young Juliet." (Please refer
again to examples 17 and 20.) In the first case, were every
other bar line left out and the meter changed to 4/4, it is
doubtful that the metrical effect of the phrase would be
much different, since beats 1 and 3 in quadruple meter are
usually considered strong beats. Conversely, a two-measure
phrase, if not in triple meter, would not sound much
different if notated with a new barline added halfway
through each measure. The fact that renotating these two
phrases in this way would place the cadence of each on the
downbeat of the fourth measure explains the aural connection
between these phrases and those of the standard four
measures. Prokofiev himself confirms this connection by
renotating with a different number of barlines some of the
melodies in Romeo and Juliet when they return later in the
ballet. For instance, the eight-measure melody first found
in measures 142:5-12 is notated in measures 307:7-10 with
halved note values and lasts only half the original number
of measures. (See example 21.) The "andante" marking of
the first and the "adagio" marking of the second give the
two versions approximately the same apparent tempo.
There is some evidence to lead one to believe that a
phrase length of four measures, by virtue of its
46
Example 21. Renotation of 142:5-12 in 307:7-10. (The latter

transposed.)
hierarchically binary structure as two groups of two
measures each, seems more "normal,” to use the word selected
by Cooper and Meyer,5 than other lengths because it takes
advantage of a natural human tendency to perceive a uniform
series of pulses as grouped in twos. Carl Seashore
explains,
There are two fundamental factors in the

perception of rhythm: an instinctive tendency to
group impressions in hearing and a capacity for
doing this with precision in time and stress. The
subjective tendency is so deeply ingrained,
because of its biological service, that we irre
sistibly group uniform successions of sound, such
as the tick of a clock, into rhythmic measure.
The supposed limping of a clock is often purely
subjective . . . . If a long series of quarter
notes were played with absolute uniformity in time
and stress, the listener would inevitably hear
them divided into measures and would actually hear
"Cooper and Meyer, Bh£tfamjg_Structur e , p. 155.
47
the appropriate notes accented. Such is one of

nature's beneficent illusions.6
He explains the binary nature of this imposed grouping thus:
Our attention is periodic. All our mental life

works rhythmically, that is, by periodic pulsation
of effort or achievement with unnoticed
intermittence of blanks.7
The rhythmic measure, then, is simply taking

advantage of nature's supply of pulsating effort
of attention. And when the measure fits the
attention wave, it gives us a restful feeling of
satisfaction and ease.0
The point to be made is not that four measures is the
right length for a phrase regardless of style and that
phrases of other lengths are less satisfactory than those of
four (let us set aside Seashore's use of the word
"satisfaction" for the moment) or that they are only
modifications of them. Rather, it is that phrases of four
measures seem to appeal to this natural perceptual pattern,
appear regular, and promote the listener's projection of the
pattern into the future of the piece. That is, the
appearance of even a single two- or four-measure phrase can
promote the perception and expectation of metrical
regularity. Phrases which do not fit this hierarchical
6Carl E. Seashore, Psychology of Music (New York: McGraw-

Hill, 1938), p. 138. The reader may try a personal experiment
as a demonstration of the point concerning the "limping" of
a clock by trying to mentally switch the positions of "tick"
and "tock." Success would show that the apparent difference
in tone is subjectively imposed.
7Ibid., p. 140.
“Ibid., p. 141.
48
binary pattern, far from being inferior, are indeed often
much more interesting precisely because of their
irregularity. Stravinsky's summary of the ideas of a
"philosopher-friend," Pierre Souvtchinsky, about musical
time supports this thought. It is interestingly reminiscent
of the last passage of Seashore quoted above. Stravinsky
explains,
Mr. Souvtchinsky . . . presents us with two kinds

of music: one which evolves parallel to the
process of ontological time, embracing and
penetrating it, inducing in the mind of the
listener a feeling of euphoria and, so to speak,
of "dynamic calm." The other kind runs ahead of,
or counter to, this process. It is not self-
contained in each momentary tonal unit. It
dislocates the centers of attraction and gravity
and sets itself up in the unstable; and this fact
makes it particularly adaptable to the translation
of the composer's emotive impulses. All music in
which the will to expression is dominant belongs
to the second type.9
Even if there were no inherent psychological reason for
the four-measure's phrase being natural, it would seem so to
members of our culture because of conditioning. Everyday
contact with nursery songs, folk songs, hymns, popular and
dance music, and the commonly familiar tunes of Mendelssohn,
Tchaikovsky and others, accustoms one to the statistical
standard of the four-measure phrase.10 A composer making use
Stravinsky, Poetics. p. 32.
10Of course, it is possible that this standard would never

have existed without the inherent psychological reason.
49
of this standard length in a piece can take advantage of the
expectations and connotations it carries.
Because four measures is the most common length for a
phrase in the ballet, because such organization appeals to a
natural human mode of perception, and because of condition
ing, expectation of four-measure phrases becomes an
important factor in the perception of much of the music in
this ballet. This is not to say that it is important in the
perception of all this music. If a passage begins with a
five-measure phrase, for instance, expectation of this kind
may simply be irrelevant. But if a listener hears evidence
of hierarchically binary rhythmic organization early in a
piece, he may expect it to continue. That is, a listener
may expect either a cadence on the fourth downbeat of a
phrase, or a change on what would be the fifth. Whatever
else happens may bear musical significance precisely because
it is a deviation.
Even when cadences do occur at the expected time, the
expectation may lend special significance to the pitches
used. The classical deceptive cadence provides a good
example. An example of another kind, one very representa
tive of Prokofiev's style, is found in the opening melody of
the ’'Gavotte," number 18. (See example 22.) The contrast
in character, dynamics, melodic shape, etc. between the
first two phrases of the melody, measures 3-6 and 7-10,
causes the second phrase, from its first few notes, to be
50
Example 22. Special significance as a result of expectation

of cadence in 122:1-123:1.
A llegro J--i«
^ Cor., Areki
m
/-
* « M *
#1 P T F sp p p
T T j r fffl
heard as a departure from, rather than as a conclusive
response to, the first phrase. At the beginning of the
third phrase, measures 11-14, the return of the accents, the
increased dynamics, the similarity of the turn in measure 11
to the one in measure 2, the return of the rhythm of measure
5, and the occurrence of a second-inversion triad in the
51
second measure of both the first and third phrases, cause
the third phrase to be heard as a return. Thus, the final
cadence of the melody is expected at the end of this phrase,
on the downbeat of the fourth measure, measure 123:1.
What is the expected pitch of this cadence? The
melody, despite all the brief encounters with other keys, is
clearly in D major. The descending fifth formed by the a-
naturals of the opening and the d on the downbeat of measure
122:3 establish the key. Plagal motion to d in measures 6
and 7, melodic arrival on d on the downbeat of measure 8,
harmonic arrival on d on the downbeat of measure 10, and the
ascending-fourth motion to d at the beginning of the third
phrase, confirm the priority of d. In order to bring full
closure to the melody, the cadence expected at the end of
this phrase should be on d.
Between the establishment of D-major at the beginning
of the phrase and the anticipated cadence, however, the
music takes a turn into C-sharp major. At this point the
phrase is ambivalent. It might return to D-major for the
closing cadence or it might not. In the second case there
are several possibilities. The cadence might occur at the
expected time in C-sharp or even some third key, or the
phrase night not cadence on the downbeat of the fourth
measure at all. The issue is pressed through the first half
of measure 13. On beat 4, it is finally clear that the
phrase will cadence in D-major. The projection of meter and
52
the expectation that the cadence will be four measures long
are essential to the perception of this cadence. The c-
sharp in the melody on the penultimate beat resolves the
local melodic tendencies; only its metrical position causes
it to be heard as a penultimate note and not as the last
note in a deceptive cadence. (Compare the two versions
found in example 23.) The harmonization of the pitch with
Example 23. Two versions of "Gavotte" cadence.
AJ
r II S -t FT m
r*w[ I rT
an A-dominant-seventh only strengthens the fundamentally
metrical phenomenon.
A similar example is found in the melody at rehearsal
111. (Please refer to example 76, page 136.) Beginning in
measure 5 or 6, the listener begins to be aware of the
approach of the cadence on the downbeat of measure 8. The
melody having started in C major, the listener expects
closure in that key as well. Part of the interest of this
music is the conflict resulting from the distant
relationship of the anticipated pitch of resolution, c-
natural, and the current key, B-flat minor, and from the
53
relatively short amount of time left to bridge this gap.
The anticipation of resolution on a particular beat, then,
is a significant factor in the effect of this melody, and is
the result of the acceptance of a particular standard of
phrase length.
Four measures is such a standard in this music that
even many metrically irregular phrases last four or eight
notated measures. Such a phrase is found at the beginning
of number 11, "The Arrival of the Guests," in measures 60:1-
4. (See example 24.) A clear authentic cadence occurs on
Example 24. Irregular four-measure phrase in 60:1-4.
ES E!*\l !
n rJTlrH °r 4
:r = * =
f to* tfjtlt o
what is notated as the downbeat of measure 4. What comes
before, however, does not sound like three measures of
triple meter. The first beat, because of the accent and
high dynamic level, presents itself as a downbeat. An
accent resulting from the beginning of melodic motion
possibly is heard on beat 3 of measure 1. The next apparent
downbeat occurs not on beat 1 of the next measure, but,
because of dynamic and tonic accents in both the melody and
54
bass lines, on beat 2. This pattern of accents lends itself
to interpretation as duple or quadruple meter, but not the
notated triple meter. A dynamic accent in the melody on
beat 1 of measure 3 favors the duple-meter interpretation
On the very next beat, however, a dynamic accent in the bass
instruments and the tonic accent of an ascending tenth in
the melody break the pattern, so that the music leading to
the cadence is not clearly in any meter. Each of the next
two times the phrase appears, however, it follows a passage
clearly in triple meter, and is heard in light of the
projection of that meter.
To say that a standard phrase length exists in this
music is not to say that all phrases are of equal length.
There are a significant number of three-, five-, six-, and
seven-measure phrases, for instance. Some of these appear
to be modifications of four-measure phrases through elision
or extension. An example of an extension is found in the
opening melody of "Masks," number 12. (Please refer to
example 60, page 110.) The melody begins, in the key of B-
flat, in measure 71:5, after a four-measure introduction.
The first phrase, also four measures long, ends in measure
71:8 with a dotted-half-note a-natural in the melody. The
second phrase, after a brief excursion through D major,
returns to B-flat for a cadence on the fourth downbeat of
the phrase, in measure 71:12. The next melodic phrase does
not begin until two measures later, however, measure 71:13
55
consisting only of repetitions of a B-flat harmony of some
kind. Because the cadence occurs on the downbeat of the
fourth measure, this five-measure passage can be interpreted
as a four-measure phrase with a one-measure extension.
While many phrases of nonstandard length may be
regarded as modifications of four-measure phrases, some are
simply different from the standard. At rehearsal number
276, for instance, after nine consecutive four-measure
segments comes a five-measure phrase. (See example 25.)
There is no cadence on the fourth measure; in fact there is
no cadence at all. The musical idea simply continues for
five measures before the running sixteenth notes of the
previous passage return. After four more measures of
sixteenth notes, a three-measure phrase is heard.
A further example, the opening melody in the "Dance of
Five Couples," begins with an eleven-measure phrase,
measures 174:9-19. (See example 26.) Here there is a clear
cadence on the downbeat of measure 11, as the upper voices
resolve to an F-major triad above the f-natural pedal point.
When phrases of irregular lengths occur, they do not estab
lish a temporary standard. Instead they are surrounded
either by phrases of four measures or by phrases of differ
ent irregular lengths. An extreme example is provided by
number 47, "Juliet alone." Here the sequence of the number
of measures in each respective phrase is 3, 5, 4, 2 1/2, l,
2, 2, 1 1/2, 2, 3, 4, 3, 2, 4, 2, 2 3/4, 3 and 4.
56
Example 25. Five-measure phrase in 276:1-277:1.
* I5Z2J Tr-W
' = ( % ■ * frb -
, - i — i------- .— A s - _ J ------
bi (bi r 'ir »....
T"i , r*ft‘tiQ
lJxJ- 't- tJ *u ?*ZJ LJ
s . ilii
As Souvtchinsky, through Stravinsky, suggests, it is
the metrically irregular passage which is most capable of
bearing an emotional interpretation. This is especially so
when heard in the context of a reinforced notion of the
standard of regularity, in Romeo and Juliet. Prokofiev
takes full advantage of the principle in order to express
the highly-charged emotional context of the last scenes of
the story. Much more than in the first three acts of the
57
Example 26. Eleven-measure phrase in 174:7-19.
ballet, irregular phrase length is quite common in the last
act and epilogue, where it is used in all the passages that
accompany Juliet's contemplation of the dreadful acts she is
deciding to commit: risking death by taking the sleeping
potion, leaving and frightening her family, being buried
alive, and, eventually, killing herself. (See especially
rehearsal numbers 314 and 315, where Friar Laurence first
58
gives Juliet the sleeping potion; number 47, "Juliet Alone,"
discussed above; and number 52, "Juliet's Death.") By
comparison, number 39, "Romeo Bids Juliet Farewell";
Juliet's last meeting with Paris, in number 41; and the
funeral, in the first half of number 51, all take place to
music consisting mostly of regular four-measure phrases.
A standard phrase length is a necessary condition of
the establishment of a tonal style. By establishing the
presence of such a standard early in the piece, Prokofiev is
able to play with the expectations that accompany it, both
in the tension created by last-minute tonicizations and in
the expressive use late in the piece of patterns perceived
to be irregular in the context of the established standard.
Prokofiev uses a length of four measures for this standard.
His preference for this length and his fascination with
submitting tonality to wild contortions within this regular
span may be reflected in his early preference of Schumann
over Mozart, a composer for whom he had little admiration
until quite late in his musical training.11
Having established the existence of phrases and some
facts concerning the rhythmic and metrical aspects of
phrases in this music, we may now turn to a study of matters
relating to pitch, beginning with cadences.
“Israel V. Nestyev, Prokofiev, trans. Florence Jonas,

foreword by Nicolas Slonimsky (Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press, 1960), pp. 22-23.
59
CHAPTER III
CADENCES
At the end of the previous chapter, it was shown that,
in Romeo and Juliet, there is a basic difference of purpose
between phrases of four measures' length and those of other
lengths. This difference is normally corroborated by at
least one other technical difference: the irregular-length
phrases normally do not have cadences. In this chapter, we
will examine the cadences in Romeo and Juliet with the
intention of discovering whether there is a frequent
occurrence of such features as certain chord types, root
movement by certain intervals, or melodic function of
certain pitches.
Despite the great variety of chord types to be found in
these cadences, a variety which might suggest that the
harmonies here are merely the accidents of linear processes,
it is appropriate to speak of "chord types" and "root
movements" in this music. That Prokofiev thought of most of
his music as consisting primarily of a melody and
accompanying harmony is likely. When he speaks in his
various writings and lectures of inventiveness and
experimentation, he nearly always speaks of it in terms of
60
melody and harmony. Novelty in the latter field was
especially important to him partly because of remarks, made
to him early in his life by Taneyev, that his harmonic
progressions were too simple.1
The following discussion is based on a study in which
seventy-nine distinct cadence types from the work were
identified. (Some cadence figures not found at the end of a
phrase were included in the study. See below, page 79.)
Statements of quantity such as "most of the cadences" or
"about 40 percent of the cadences" refer to the set of
cadences that includes one representative of each cadence
type. The location of each of these cadences is listed in
appendix A. Should one prefer to account for the multiple
instances of certain cadences, those repeated within a
section or in a reprise of a melody in a later section, some
of the figures could be significantly different.
Final Chords
The final sonority of each cadence is nearly always a
triad, normally complete but at times not. The triad is
usually a major triad: of the cadences examined, only twelve
end with a minor triad. In a few cases, the fifth is
missing from the final triad. In five instances, only one
note is present. In each of these five cadences, previous
Sergei Prokofiev et al., Autobiography. Articles.

Reminiscences. ed. Semyon Shlifstein, trans. R. Prokofieva,
(Moscow: Foreign Language Publishing House, n.d.), p. 20.
61
material prompts a major-mode interpretation. In five other
cases, the triad is not fully resolved until one beat or one
half beat after the entrance of the root in the bass. (See
example 27 for two instances.) Only one cadence resolves to
Example 27. Delayed resolution of tonic in a) 6:9-7:1 and

b) 103:8-9.
a. b.
a sonority other than a triad. However, this sonority can
be interpreted as a major triad with an added fourth scale
degree (See example 28.) In any event, the cadence of which
Example 28. Triad with added fourth scale degree as last

sonority in cadence in 67:9-10.
it is a part is used motivically within a loosely
62
constructed phrase and does not serve to close any formal
unit. (On the other hand, a major triad with an added major
seventh serves as a one-measure codetta to number 3, "The
Street Wakens.”) In all the cadences, the root of the last
chord is found as the lowest sounding pitch. Thus, it is
seen that the familiar consonance of the root-position
triad, especially the major triad, is the fundamental
sonority in the style of the ballet, fundamental in the
sense, not that it is the most common sonority, but that,
because it is used as the final harmony in so many phrases,
it is the sonority that provides resolution for all others.
Dominant_as Penultimate Chord
Prokofiev is less traditional, and more varied, in his
choices for the penultimate sonorities in these cadences. A
kaleidoscopic array of chord types is found. However, in
about two-thirds of the cases, the sonority is likely to be
interpreted as a species of dominant harmony because of
emphasis on the dominant pitch in that harmony and on its
melodic resolution to the tonic pitch in the final chord.
(For now, let us assume that the final sonority is a tonic
harmony, if only for a point of reference through which to
designate other harmonies and pitches.) The dominant pitch
and its resolution are usually found in the bass, as shown
in example 29a. This placement in the lowest voice
strengthens the perceived tie between these cadences and
63
Example 29. Prominent §-to-l melodic motion in a) 8:11-12

and b) 107:15-17.
a b,
traditional tonal cadences. At times, however, §-to-l
motion is so clearly present in the top voice that
interpretation of the penultimate chord as a V is still
quite natural. (See example 29b.) Of course, the metrical
placement of these chords, usually on the beat just prior to
an expected cadential downbeat, is also a factor in the
interpretation of their function, which is actually clear at
the moment of occurrence of the dominant harmony, before the
§ to 1 melodic motion is heard. This fact can be
illustrated by the passage in example 14, page 33, in which,
of three successive dominant-seventh chords, only the one on
beat 2 of the seventh measure will be heard filling a
dominant function.
Prokofiev, aware that metrical placement and melodic
motion from the dominant to the tonic are more than enough
to guarantee a successful cadence, makes use of many
64
colorful sonorities for the dominant harmony. A few are
given in example 30. since in this case there is no
Example 30. Various sonorities used as dominant

penultimates.
standard chord type, these sonorities are best considered
through a study of the properties of individual tones.
Of the eleven pitches that might possibly accompany the
dominant pitch, the leading tone is the most common, present
in nearly every case. It is normally approached from below
by half- or whole-steps, or from the tonic pitch above.
Rarely is it preceded by itself. As might be expected, when
found in the melody, the leading tone normally resolves to
the tonic pitch, while when in an inner line it is sometimes
followed by motion down to the fifth of the tonic harmony.
In both cases, the resolution is at times delayed by a chord
skip or passing tone. (See example 31.)
There are some cases where the leading tone is not
present. In measure 103:8, the leading tone is replaced by
65
Example 31. Use of the leading tone in cadential dominants

in a) 50:4 and b) 176:7-8.
a. b.
the subtonic, but is heard one beat later, over the tonic
bass, before finally resolving. (See example 27b.) In
measure 3 of the "Introduction," first it is the leading
tone that is heard above the dominant bass, then the
subtonic. Finally, on the second half of the third beat,
neither pitch is present. In measure 25:12, the seventh
scale degree is missing altogether. (See example 32.)
Example 32. Cadential dominant with neither the subtonic

nor the leading tone in 25:12-14.
Olloil
\p> fern
fr4 Bf fff-ftUft1
ffCor. ~ J0r= -- r f
f
66
Each other pitch of the chromatic scale is found as
part of a dominant harmony at some time in the score, the
second scale degree being the second most common pitch and
the fourth scale degree being the third most common. In
general, pitches from the diatonic major scale are preferred
slightly to the chromatic pitches, although the latter are
present in about 40 percent of the cadences involving a
dominant penultimate harmony. (From this point on, pitches
will be referred to by an underlined number corresponding to
the number of half-steps the given pitch lies above the
appropriate tonic pitch. In some cases, they will be
referred to by their position in a harmony.) As is the case
with the leading tone, il, these pitches are most often
approached by step (either half-step or whole-step) or by
the same note2. With one notable exception, to be explained
below, these pitches are also normally followed by step
(occasionally by the same note). Several times this scalar
continuation produces a tone dissonant to the final triad.
Normally in this situation, the motion by step continues
over the tonic bass, often more than one voice moving in
2In this thesis, in order for resolution by step to be

recognized, the two pitches must actually be a step apart
and not a seventh or a ninth. Otherwise, since each of the
twelve pitch-classes contains one member that lies no more
than a major second from one pitch or another in any given
major or minor triad, one would have to say that voice-
leading is always involved when the chord of resolution is a
triad. The point thus becomes moot.
67
parallel motion, until the dissonance is resolved. (See
example 33. See also examples 27a and 29b.)
Example 33. Parallel motion by step over tonic bass in

2 :11-12.
The fifth of the dominant chord, or 2, is present in
about half the cadences in which that chord is involved. It
is normally approached by step, from above or below, or by
the same pitch. (See example 34.) It is occasionally
Example 34. Use of 2 in cadential dominant in 48:4.
m f FaS.
introduced freely. In nearly every instance, it is resolved
by step, in most cases moving down to the root of the tonic
triad. Occasionally it rises to the third of the triad. In
68
the most common pattern, 2. is found as part of descending
scalar pattern, A.-2-Q,.

The seventh of the chord, or 2, is also common. It is
usually preceded by the same pitch, that is, as a suspen
sion, or by a leap, as an appoggiatura. (See example 35.)
Example 35. Use of 2 in cadential dominants in a) 60:3-4

and b) 58:8.
a. b.
It is at times approached from a half-step above or below.
Normally resolving down to the third of the tonic triad, it
sometimes rises to the fifth. Once, when in the lowest
part, it skips down to the tonic. (See example 35b.) In no
other instance is it resolved by skip or left unresolved.
Pitches £ and 2, somewhat rare in the penultimate
dominant harmony, both normally resolve down by step to 7,
the fifth of the tonic triad. (See example 36.) 2 is
followed in one case by a chromatic ascent to the tonic
pitch. (See example 36c.) In one instance, shown in
example 32, both 2 and 2 are present in the very dissonant
69
Example 36. Use of a and £ in cadential dominants in a)

145:7-8, b) 83:12, and c) 67:12-13.
*siy*
...
# ¥ f
dominant harmony and do not resolve directly by step. Each
of these two pitches is normally prepared either by step or
as a suspension.
1 occurs in a penultimate dominant harmony only two
times in the ballet. Since it resolves differently each
time, it is impossible to say what is its normal resolution.
(See examples 35b and 27b.) In each case, 2 is missing from
the dominant harmony. 1 may therefore be thought of as a
substitute for 2, as a lowered fifth.
Similarly, 1, occurring rather frequently, is usually
70
found as an upper substitute for 2• (See example 37.)
Example 37. Use of 2 and £ in cadential dominants in a)

206:4, b) 85:7-8, and c) 2:15-16.
a. b.
ftjjLjfcJB
Unlike most of the other pitches, 2 is often freely
introduced. It normally resolves up by half-step to 4, the
third of the tonic triad, although occasionally it remains,
as the third of a minor triad. (See example 37b.)
Pitch 2 also is present quite often in the dominant
chord in cadences. It resolves up to 7 in nearly every
instance, rather than resolving downward in the manner of
the seventh of a chord, as 2, with which it is sometimes
found, does. (Please refer again to examples 37a and c.)
71
It is usually prepared in standard fashion. Interestingly,
about two-thirds of the dominant chords that contain 6 also
contain 3. Similarly, both pitches being found with near
equal frequency, about two-thirds of those with 3 also have
6. Since both pitches normally resolve up by half-step,
when present together at a cadence, they tend to move
together in parallel minor thirds. In fact, there is in the
work only one cadence involving the two pitches in which
they do not ascend together, a cadence in which the
penultimate chord is very dense and dissonant, obfuscating
the function of individual pitches. (Please refer again to
example 32. This cadence is repeated with only rhythmic
differences in measures 261:8-9.) With this same exception,
all instances but one involve the leading tone as well, so
that a complete major triad on the leading tone is heard
resolving upward in parallel motion to the tonic chord while
the bass moves from dominant to tonic. The close position
ing of the members of the leading-tone triad at the top of
the entire sonority may suggest the interpretation of these
sonorities as bi-chordal combinations.
As might be expected, 0, when present in penultimate
dominants, remains as the root of the tonic triad. (Please
refer again to examples 32 and 36b.) It is present in only
two cases, however, so it is not possible to state that a
principle of normal resolution has been established.
Found four times, 10. is never present at the same time
72
with H , and may therefore be considered a substitute for
it. (See example 38.) It normally resolves up to the
Example 38. Use of IQ. in cadential dominants in a) 306:9-10

and b) Beginning:3-4.
a. b.
tonic, confirming its role as a substitute for the leading
tone. In example 27b, however, the leading tone occurs over
the tonic bass as a passing tone between 10 and Q. In one
case, shown as example 38b, 10 simply disappears before the
arrival of the tonic chord.
The remaining pitch, 4, serves as the only exception to
the normal rule that pitches in the dominant harmony resolve
by step or do not move at all.In all but one of its
several occurrences, it resolves down by major third to the
tonic pitch. (See example 39.) In measures 121:4-6, shown
as example 39c, it is found resolving down to the third of a
minor triad.
The prominent practices involved in the dominant-to-
tonic cadences are the following: 1) use of major or minor
Example 39. Use of 1 in cadential dominants in a) 111:7-8,
b) 16:4, and c) 121:4-6.
b.
triads, or parts thereof, as final sonorities, 2) occasional
delay of the resolution of these final sonorities, 3) use of
a wide variety of penultimate sonorities, 4) very frequent
use of the leading tone in the penultimate sonorities, 5)
use of voice-leading for the resolution of tones, 6) rather
frequent occurrence of chromatic pitches in the penultimate
chord, 7) occasional use of structures that may be
interpreted as bi-chords, and 8) the resolution of pitch 4
by major third to the tonic pitch.
74
Nondominant_Penultimate Chords
The practices listed above are found in somewhat
modified form in those cadences with nondominant penultimate
harmonies. For instance, the leading tone, while common in
the nondominant, appears in only about two-thirds of the
cases. Chromatic pitches are, on the other hand, present in
nearly every case. These pitches generally resolve by half
step in the expected manner. The other possible half-step
resolution, from £ to £, occurs very infrequently.
Resolution by step, is the rule in these cadences. In only
a handful of instances do all the notes of a chord leap to
the notes of the final chord of the cadence. One case is
shown in example 40. (Passing tones in the bass fill in the
leap in that part.)
Example 40. Leaps in all voices at cadence in 206:10.
In many of the cadences with nondominant penultimates,
especially in those in which no resolution by step is
present, the major third as a skip of resolution is very
75
important. This skip may be a descent, as it is in the
authentic cadences, or an ascent. In most of these non-
authentic cadences, it is found in the bass of root-position
chords. (See example 41.) All involve harmonies on two of
Example 41. Major-third skip at cadences in a) 106:7-8, b)

203:6, and c) 50:2.
a. b.
the following: e-natural, a-flat, and c. The other root
movements occurring more than once are the traditional minor
second from 11 to 0, and the less traditional tritone. (See
examples 42a and b.) There is one case of a nondominant
structure likely to be interpreted as a bi-chord, in this
76
case a combination of two minor triads, one each on 2. and

11. (See example 42c.)
Example 42. Infrequent cadential root relationships in a)

55:8-9, b) 363:10-11, and c) 3:13.
Two cadences deserve special notice because of the
potential of interpreting them as either authentic or non-
authentic cadences. (See example 43.) In the first of
these, the sonority on the last eighth-note of measure 5:6
shares no notes with the previous sonority and, therefore,
may be heard as a separate harmony, a nondominant. On the
other hand, if the leap in the bass from c-natural to g-
natural is accepted as a chord skip in a dominant harmony, a
pattern occurring elsewhere in the ballet (please refer
77
Example 43. Cadences that may be interpreted as authentic

or nonauthentic in a) 5:6-7, and b) 75:7-8.
a. b.
again to example 39b), and the e-natural and g-sharp as a
passing tone and cambiata respectively, the whole beat may
be interpreted as supporting a dominant harmony. In the
second cadence, the tonic chord is expected on the downbeat,
where it occurs in an earlier parallel passage. (Please
refer again to example 27.) The diminished chord on 11
would, of course, work perfectly as a penultimate harmony.
However, the chromatic passing tones of the inner voices,
which occurred together with the tonic pitch in both melody
and bass on the cadential downbeat in the earlier passage,
are joined here by the dominant in the bass and a suspension
of the leading tone in the melody. Thus, while the pitches
of the last two sonorities form an authentic cadence typical
of Prokofiev, it is clear that the cadence is a variation on
a nonauthentic cadence.
78
Half-Cader.c'ss and Other Cadence Figures
It was assumed above that the final chord of each
cadence was a tonic harmony. Actually there are a few half
cadences in the ballet, as well as a few cadence figures
that do not so much close a phrase as they lead, by means of
a dominant chord, to a new phrase that begins with a tonic
chord. In addition, there are cases in which the first
phrase of a period ends on a harmony from a foreign key or
scale. The practices involved in these last passages will
be dealt with in chapter IV.
All the half cadences but one occur in Friar Laurence's
theme, heard for the first time in number 28, "Romeo at
Friar Laurence's." In example 44a, the dissonance of the
Example 44. Half cadences in a) 207:4 and b) 210:8.
a. b.
final chord, especially the minor seventh, helps lead to the
interpretation of it as a dominant harmony. On the other
hand, the pure F-major triad of example 44b is heard as a V
and not as a I simply because the key of B-flat has been
firmly established previously. Curiously, the 11th chords
79
found as the final sonority in example 44a and as
penultimates in both cadences are not present in any other
cadences in the entire work.
In nearly all the cases in which a harmony leads to the
initial tonic harmony of the next phrase, the leading
harmony is either a chord traditionally accepted as a
dominant or such a chord with one change. (See example 45.)
Example 45. Dominant sonorities leading to first harmony of

phrase in a) 140:18-141:1, b) 2:17-3:1, c) 27:12-28:1,
and d) 84:8-85:1.
a. b.
c. d.
The minor changes involved include use of a major seventh
instead of a minor seventh, of a raised or lowered fifth,
80
and of a minor third, it is because of the recognizability
of these figures as cadence figures that they were included
in the study.
Antepenultimate Chords
The antepenultimate harmonies of the cadences in Romeo
and Juliet are both more consistent and more varied than are
the penultimate harmonies. They are more consistent in that
the number of chord types is much lower. A vast majority of
these harmonies are the triads and seventh chords common to
traditional Western tonality. They are more varied in that
there is no one note of the chromatic scale which regularly
serves as the root of these harmonies. While 2 and 5,
common roots for antepenultimate harmony in traditional
tonal music, are sometimes found, 1, 6, 8, 10, and 11 also
occur quite frequently. The tonic chord, also common in
earlier music, is quite rare here.
One of the most recognizable traits of Prokofiev's
music is the sudden shift of keys, especially at the
dominant harmony in an authentic cadence. This technique is
associated with Prokofiev for good reason. A change of key
(or let us say scale) occurs at the penultimate harmony of a
phrase about half the time in this ballet. Of those
instances, only two involve penultimate chords other than a
dominant. Thus, a jump to a different key before a V-I
cadence is common in this ballet at least. It is the fact
81
that the antepenultimate chord is so often part of a key
different from that of the final two harmonies that accounts
for most of the variety in the roots used. Of the shifts to
a dominant, about four-fifths involve rather simple dominant
harmonies: triads or seventh chords, possibly with a raised
or lowered fifth. The normal simplicity of the two chords
involved in the shift makes the sudden change of scale quite
clear. The surprising-yet-expected touch created by the
normal metrical placement of these shifts— near the end of
the measure just before tonic arrival is anticipated— makes
these sudden jumps truly Prokofiev's.
Voice-leading is important in the motion to the penul
timate harmony, as it is in the motion to the final harmony,
although possibly to a slightly lesser degree. Chromatic
voice leading, that is, half-step motion other than that
between notes of the diatonic scale of the prevailing key,
is present a little over half the time. As might be
expected, it is much more common when a change of key is
involved. Because the immediate goal is different, the
tendencies of the various tones in motion to the second-to-
last chord are slightly different from what they are in
motion to the last chord. 0. , quite common, normally goes
down to the leading tone, which in turn normally returns to
the tonic. 1 stays the same or moves up, never going down
to the leading tone, as it does traditionally in this
situation. 2.usually stays the same or moves up by step.
82
2, 7, and H are rather rare and, hardly resolving the same
way twice, indicate no particular tendencies. 4, also
rather rare, usually goes up to 5. 2, one of the most
common pitches in the antepenultimate sonorities, does not
normally come down to Z or remain stationary, as it often
would in tonal music of previous times. Rather, it most
often moves up, more likely than not to 6. 6 and 8 both
normally move by half-step to 7. 9, very common, has no
particular tendency, moving up by whole- or half-step in one
case, staying in the next, and moving down in another. The
remaining pitch, 10, on the other hand, displays the
strictest tendency of all the tones, moving to H in every
instance but one.
In summary, cadences, and therefore formal units,
normally end with complete or implied root-position tonic
triads, usually major triads. Half cadences and other types
occur at times, but usually at the end of the first phrase
of a period. Most of the cadences ending on a tonic triad
have as penultimates harmonies with a dominant root. A wide
variety of structures is found among these dominant
sonorities, the members of which normally resolve by step.
The one notable exception to this rule is 4, which normally
resolves down by major third. Other roots are found,
notably pitches a major third above or below the tonic. We
now turn our attention from the end of the phrase to the
beginning and middle.
83
CHAPTER IV
KEY, SCALE, AND MODULATION
The music of Romeo and Juliet features a metrical
regularity that invites anticipation of cadences at
particular points in time. Just before the anticipated
occurrence of such a cadence the root of the cadential
sonority may also be projected by the listener according to
his knowledge of cadence formulas. We now turn our
attention to ways in which Prokofiev establishes a key,
providing a tonal context that makes possible the even
earlier anticipation of the pitch of the final sonority.
The essence of tonality demands that the tonic pitch be
apparent early in a piece; if a tonic is not known until the
final sonority, the piece is not really tonal. We therefore
begin our discussion with methods of establishing a key at
the beginning of a melody or number. The early establish
ment of a key has other consequences as well. For instance,
it invokes the perception of the tonal "colouring" of
sonorities throughout a given section in the manner de
scribed by Dahlhaus. (See page 22.) In addition, it makes
possible the perception of certain events as modulations.
84
Methods of Establishing Kevs
The course of music history has provided the western
composer with means for suggesting a key with just a few
sonorities, or even one. For instance, even the briefest
audiation of a dominant-seventh sonority can, under most
circumstances, suggest a key, as it does in the usual
introduction to "Happy Birthday." Prokofiev does not use
the dominant seventh to establish a key at the beginning of
any number in the ballet. However, there are a number of
instances in which a dominant seventh followed by the
standard resolution establishes the key of a new section in
the middle of a number. The chord of resolution normally
occurs on what is perceived as the first measure of a
group— the strong measure in a hypermeasure, to use Edward
T. Cone's terminology— and is perceived as a tonic, as is
the case at rehearsal 111. (See example 46.)
With less persuasiveness, a major or minor triad heard
as a first sonority can present itself as a tonic triad.
The argument becomes more convincing if the triad is
repeated or sustained. This method Prokofiev takes
advantage of several times in the work. (See example 47.)
For instance, the D-major triad outlined and repeated at the
beginning of number 3, "The Street Wakens," is heard as a
tonic triad (example 47a). Similarly, the E-minor triad
repeated at the beginning of number 13, "The Dance of the
Knights," is heard as a tonic (example 47b). As a third
Example 46. Resolution of a dominant seventh used to
establish tonic in 110:16-111:8.
iîi r -E— * | n uf |
m f ' Sf rtss. t
/ r H f o -T 3 «* J>-J-=
r r *«f t
___ _________
Oh. _______
L 1*I' r—
i,l 1i | 7 |
L O T 'y ^
. Iwt
f C .i^ l ___ T il 1
„ ----------------- ________ Cor., V-.i
« .jn -rn .rm

s: t ....
example, the repeated D-minor triad at the beginning of
number 32, "The Meeting of Tybalt and Mercutio," is heard as
a tonic sonority (example 47c). The term "tonic" may be
used here despite the presence of b-naturals, which suggest
a modal system, since tonality is not dependent on the
presence of any particular scale. Any of these triads, or
86
Example 47. Triad repetition used to establish tonic in a)

9:1-4, b ) 76:1, and c) 247:1.
a
g i A lle g re tto J :t>«
b c
Mode ra to
others like them, might, during the course of a number,
prove to have served some tonal function other than that of
a tonic triad, or even to have been merely the first in a
succession of tonally unrelated triads. That Prokofiev
consistently uses such triads as tonic harmonies, however,
is accepted by the listener early in the piece and
reinforces his natural inclination to interpret them as
tonic harmonies.
In such a style as this, even a single repeated pitch
can suggest a key. In Romeo and Juliet, a repeated opening
87
pitch may prove to be the tonic, as at the beginning of
number 4, "Morning Dance," but more often it turns out to be
the dominant, as in number 18, "Gavotte," and number 49,
"Dance of the Girls with Lilies." In any case, the listener
can expect one of two closely related keys when he hears a
single, repeated pitch at the beginning of a number.
When a piece does not begin with a simple repeated
triad or pitch, other factors that point to one pitch as
tonic are usually present. For instance, at the beginning
of number 6, "The Fight," it is a pedal point on c and the
consistent presence of C-major harmony on downbeats that
establish the tonic, even though the alternation of C-major
and D-major harmonies which takes place above it is not a
pattern traditionally found in C-major tonality. (See
example 48.) At the beginning of number 15, "Mercutio,"
Example 48. Pedal point used to establish tonic in 26:1-4.
[2i$]Presto J - . i m
shown in example 49, it is the outlining of a perfect fifth
that establishes the tonic. Emphasis is placed on a-flat as
the first and most often heard pitch, and on e-flat as the
Example 49. Emphasis on perfect fifth used to establish
tonic in 97:1-5.
resolution of both the f-flat cambiata in measure 1 and the
appoggiatura in measure 2. (The g-natural on the downbeat
has the rhythmic effect of an appoggiatura, even though it
is a major third away from its resolution.) The perfect
fifth formed by these two pitches prompts the interpretation
of a-flat as the tonic.
The opening of the ballet is unique in its means of
establishing a tonality. (See example 50.) By the third
harmony, that is, the downbeat of the first measure, c-
natural is clearly perceived to be tonic, although neither a
C-major harmony nor a G-dominant-7 has been sounded. The
main cause of the phenomenon is the use in these three
harmonies of every note of a diatonic scale, in this case
the C-major scale. While the pitch sequence in the upper
line, a-b-c, is not sufficient in itself to prompt the
interpretation of c as the tonic, its melodic stress on c
confirms the suggestion made by the use of the scale.
89
Example 50. Diatonic scale used to establish tonic in

Beginning:l-l:l .
A n d a n te a s s a i
The first three harmonies of the ballet make to the
listener many suggestions concerning the style of the music
that is to follow, among them the following two notions.
First, they suggest that the diatonic scale is the primary
pitch source of the piece. This is not to say that most
melodies in the ballet consist of only diatonic pitches.
There are melodies with many chromatic pitches, melodies
with occasional modal inflections, and melodies of nearly
equal numbers of diatonic and chromatic pitches. But then
most of this is true of Mozart as well, and each of Mozart's
pieces includes at the beginning of each line a key
signature indicating, among other things, the seven pitch
90
classes (in the case of major-mode pieces, in any case)
which constitute the main pitch source for the piece. The
diatonic scale is the primary pitch source in Romeo and
Juliet in the sense that by occasional use of a pure
diatonic scale and by invoking traditional listening
patterns, a single diatonic scale seems to predominate at
almost every particular moment, chromatic pitches serving as
embellishments of the diatonic pitches. Second, these three
harmonies suggest that the diatonic scale can by its
presence alone establish a key. While at the beginning of a
number, a key is usually established by one of the methods
described above, the perception is usually corroborated by
the use of a diatonic scale, in most cases, a major scale.
In the middle of a number, on the other hand, the presence
of a diatonic scale, complete or implied, plays the primary
role in the establishment of a new key.
Successjpns of Scales
There are several examples of purely diatonic melodies
in Romeo and Juliet. Among these are the opening melody of
number 22, "Folk Dance," and the contemplative melody first
heard at rehearsal 55. There are also melodies that contain
only occasional chromatic notes, these functioning clearly
as embellishments of diatonic scale degrees. In the melody
beginning four measures after rehearsal 1, for example, the
one chromatic pitch, e-sharp, clearly serves as a neighbor
91
to f-sharp. (See example 18, page 39.) Others, such as the
melody in measures 2:6-13, have several chromatic pitches,
their relationship to the diatonic pitches always evident.
(See example 51.) Still other melodies seem to use several
diatonic scales, one after the other. In this type, most
pitches with accidentals are heard not as chromatic pitches
in relation to the original scale, but as diatonic pitches
of a secondary scale. The "Gavotte" melody, for instance,
uses pitches of the D-major scale for about two measures, B-
major for about one-and-a-half, D-major again, C-sharp-major
(with one chromatic embellishment: f-double-sharp), and D-
major one last time. (Please refer again to example 22,
page 50.) While an examination of the function of each
pitch, both diatonic and chromatic, will be taken up in a
later chapter, here we will examine the methods and patterns
used in scale succession.
A scale having been established at the beginning of a
number, a new scale can become predominant at two different
times: at the beginning of a period or in the middle of one.
The first instance is not at all unlike the situation with
changes of key that occur between strains of a Chopin waltz
or a Sousa march. This type of change may be properly
termed a modulation. The second instance represents the
single most recognizable feature of Prokofiev's tonal style.
Because of the small temporal scope of the changes of the
second type, they will be termed scale shifts, not
92
Example 51. Highly chromatic melody in 2:5-12.
timiU
■t-'prr*! x -i i i
— rni ii.
<J f l . T T ^J-id1vJ id-
waJL .F^l 1 m > n i 1 — p"i 1i ■!— r* i i i
j------ ------
vJT7 i J i Ji
modulations. It may be said that a little under half the
tonally closed melodies in the ballet contain scale shifts,
although it is impossible to arrive at an exact figure since
93
it is difficult at times to distinguish a scale shift from a
brief use of chromaticism.
The first change of scale in the piece, at the
beginning of measure 7, is a scale shift rather than a
modulation. (Please refer again to example 50.) Here, the
C-major scale is suddenly replaced by the B-major scale.
The method Prokofiev uses is a model for many of the scale
shifts and modulations in the rest of the piece. The first
clarinet, which is playing an ascending scale in measure 6,
plays, on the downbeat of measure 7, a d-sharp, one half-
step lower than the diatonic e-natural that might have been
expected. It is this half-step adjustment of a note in an
ascending scale that so often features in the scale shifts
in the work. The particular intervallic pattern of this
scale segment— beginning with the g-sharp in measure 6, the
pattern alternates half-step, whole-step, half-step,
whole-step, half-step— is often but not always found in
later instances.
A similar adjustment to a descending scale is also
present in this first scale shift. In measure 6, the second
clarinet descends through the C-major scale from f-natural
to b-natural. The a-natural that would follow on the
downbeat of measure 7 as the next pitch in the scale is
replaced by an a-sharp. Where the line is descending, the
downbeat presents a note higher than anticipated; where
ascending, a note lower than anticipated. The listener
94
quickly becomes accustomed to the practice so that, later in
the ballet, when this half-step adjustment is heard, he can
immediately assume that a shift of scales has taken place.
At the same time tnat the d—sharp and the a—sharp are
introduced, an f-sharp appears in the bass. Interestingly,
these very notes, all three foreign to the C-major scale,
are briefly heard simultaneously above the short g-natural
pedal in measure 3. Aside from the fact of the presence of
the g-natural, these notes are not heard in measure 3 as
representing a scale shift, the reason being that two of
them immediately resolve to pitches in the C-major scale
(the a-sharp somewhat mysteriously disappearing, as
described on page 65.) In measure 7, on the other hand,
these pitches are quickly perceived as diatonic pitches from
a new predominating scale both because the d-sharp and the
f-sharp do not resolve to notes in the C-major scale, and
because the melody that follows proves to be a transposition
of that heard in measure 3.1
Another method Prokofiev uses in the ballet to shift
scales is the harmonization of a diatonic melodic pitch with
a chord, usually a simple triad, foreign to the scale that
predominates up to that point. In the "Gavotte,” for
*A d-sharp in the cellos in measure 7 does happen to move

to e-natural, which is, incidentally, in the C-major scale.
Also, the a-sharp does resolve to b-natural here. Is it a
matter of subtle foreshadowing that prompted Prokofiev to
refrain from resolving the a-sharp in measure 3 to the very
pitch that would prove to be tonic five measures later?
95
instance, the a-g-f-sharp of the melody in measures 3 and 4
and the d-e-f-sharp of the bass in the same place are both
segments of the diatonic D-major scale, this key having been
established on the downbeat of measure 3. (Please refer
again to example 22, page 50.) This diatonic contrapuntal
frame, however, is harmonized by D-major, C-major, and B-
major triads, the last two foreign to the key of D-major.
The B-major triad might be heard as a V/ii, although the
parallel fifths leading to it and the fact that it is in
second inversion may be exceptional enough to cloud
traditional expectations. However, it soon becomes apparent
that the B-major harmony is not a chromatic chord in a
passage using the D-major scale, but rather the first
diatonic harmony in a brief passage, measures 4 and 5, using
the B-major scale. Similarly, at the downbeat of measure 6,
the b-natural in the melody, which is the expected
culmination of the rising B-major scale in measure 5, is
harmonized, not with a chord from B-major, but with the
subdominant harmony from the original scale, D-major. In
each of the cases described here, a single melodic pitch
acts as a pivot tone, much as it does in the common-tone
modulation of the previous century, being diatonic to both
the preceding and following predominant scales.
These two shifts actually combine both the methods
described: altered scale segments appear in inner voices in
each case. In the first shift, a-g-f-sharp in the upper
96
line is accompanied in parallel thirds by f-sharp-e-d-sharp
in the second line from the top. The d-natural that would
have served as the diatonic completion of this descending
scale segment is replaced by a note one half-step higher.
In the second shift, while the b-natural in the first
violins serves as a common-tone to the two scales in
question, the second violins play an ascending line in
parallel sixths to the melody, reaching a d-natural at the
downbeat, one half-step lower than the d-sharp that would
have occurred had no shift taken place. The last five notes
of the second violins' scale constitute, because of the
half-step adjustment, a sequence of alternating whole-steps
and half-steps.
Should it be possible for a few notes to represent and
establish the priority of a new scale without all the
pitches of that scale necessarily explicitly sounding, that
is, if a few pitches can be made to sound as stable elements
of a new scale rather than as foreign, unstable elements of
a previous scale, a quick succession of scale shifts would
in turn be possible. This in fact proves to be easily
accomplished. The final harmony of a phrase, for instance,
is heard as having a certain degree of stability, at the
local level at least, even if the chord is foreign to the
scale of the passage leading to it. Knowing scale shifts
occur in this music, a listener might interpret such a chord
as the representative of a new scale. The beginning of the
97
next phrase might then use the pitches of yet a third scale.
In this manner, two scale shifts will have been accomplished
in as many measures.
Multiple scale shifts in quick succession can be seen
in the melody at rehearsal 6. (See example 52.) The
Example 52. Multiple scale shifts in quick succession in

6:1-7:1.
n.,Arr«, rino
t 1H '1
t fj ir ,r
br hjf »rt t ~ ^ f.,^r
.j, m r r i
primary key and scale are established in the following way.
The first downbeat of the melody proper occurs two measures
after rehearsal 6. The ascending fourth motion in the bass
98
establishes e-natural as the tonic. The dominant harmony on
the pick-up beat differs in one detail from the traditional
dominant-seventh chord, as do so many of the dominant
harmonies in this ballet; the chord possesses not the
traditional minor seventh, but a major seventh, the raised
fourth degree of the E-major scale. This degree continues
to be raised in the measures following. Thus the
predominating diatonic scale at the beginning of this melody
is the E-Lydian scale.
This scale continues with no chromatic embellishments
until the fourth measure, the cadential measure of the first
phrase. Here the seventh degree of the scale, found in both
melody and bass, is harmonized with a C-minor triad. This
chord is foreign to the Lydian scale of the first three
measures. However, because it occurs on a cadential
downbeat, it possesses local-level stability. That is,
while the harmony does not provide tonal closure for the
period— this will come with the tonic chord at the end of
the second phrase— it is not heard as an embellishing chord
that is expected to resolve immediately. The d-natural and
the a-flat in the next beat are enough to define exactly
which diatonic scale is being represented; the scale with
three flats. The next measure brings another change of
scale; there are now four sharps. Although the scale of
three flats is firmly established, it is heard for the
duration of only one measure. Because it predominates for
99
such a short period of time, it is both unnecessary and
impossible to determine which note of the scale should be
called the tonic. The C-minor harmony could be analyzed as
the tonic chord in C-minor, for instance, or as the
submediant in E-flat major, or even as the mediant harmony
in A-flat Lydian. But it is none of these. The key does
not change, only the scale. In this style then, a C-minor
harmony can function as a part of the key of E. This
function, which will be defined more fully below, we may now
say is that of completing a half cadence.
An abrupt shift at the end of a melody is perhaps the
most familiar characteristic of the music of Prokofiev.
Such scale shifts can, in a manner similar to that described
above, be established very quickly. When a shift occurs on
the beat just before what is perceived to be a cadential
downbeat, the effect is almost instantaneous. The listener
practically immediately hears the sonority in question as a
penultimate to the projected cadential chord rather than as
a chromatic embellishing chord in relation to the previous
material. In the cadence to the famous "Gavotte11 melody
(please refer again to example 22), for instance, the A-
dorainant-seventh penultimate harmony is heard, even before
the D-major triad is sounded, as a diatonic member, in this
case the dominant, in the new scale rather than as a
chromatic embellishment in the C-sharp-major scale heard
just before. The listener's probable expectation of a
100
return to the key established at the beginning of a period
makes a shift at this metrical position very convincing.
Because scale shifts are so easily perceived at this
metrical position, such a shift can be achieved with even a
single note. Thus, while it might at first seem that it
would be necessary to play all the notes of a scale, some
more than once, to establish its predominance in a passage
of music, it is in actuality possible for a single note to
imply all the other notes of a scale. Prokofiev often takes
advantage of the phenomenon, using one or more common tones
in the penultimate chord, so that one new note actually
seems to be doing all the work in accomplishing a scale
shift. In example 53a, for instance, the f-sharp does not
fit the E-flat triad preceding it. It is not heard as an
embellishment of E-flat, however. Because of its metrical
position, on the beat just before the fourth downbeat of the
phrase, it is perceived as a penultimate to, and by
implication as a dominant of, the sonority following. (It
is necessary to note that the melody preceding this codetta
is perceived as proceeding by two-beat measures, four per
phrase, and is notated thus when it first appears, at
rehearsal 9.) This projection turns out to be correct: b-
natural is indeed the next pitch. The f-sharp, then, while
being the only change explicitly sounded, bears by
implication other changes. When it is sounded, the listener
may imagine the b-natural, the e-natural, and the c-sharp as
101
Example 53. Scale shift accomplished with one note in 49:8-

9; a) score, b) diagram of implied changes.
a tempo
well, all notes foreign to the E-flat scale but diatonic
members of the B-major scale. (The other notes are common
to both scales if enharmonic equivalence is assumed.)
Example 53b, in which B-major has been enharmonically
respelled as C-flat-major, shows one possible interpretation
of the change, as an addition of four flats, the four
appropriate scale degrees being lowered by a half step.
Again, all of this is accomplished by a single note.
In example 54, several notes make up the penultimate
sonority. One note, b-natural, is held in common by both
Example 54. Scale shift accomplished with one note in 50:7-
8; a) score, b) diagram of implied changes.
that chord and the one preceding. A second tone, e-natural,
while not a member of the preceding chord, does fit the B-
major scale of the preceding passage. Only the g-natural is
foreign to the B-major scale. However, Western ears are
familiar with the lowered sixth scale degree, as g-natural
would be in the key of B-major, as a common chromatic
embellishment. Why then is the penultimate harmony, e-g-b,
not heard as a minor iv chord in B major? Or why is the B-
major triad not heard as V of the next chord, an E-minor in
first inversion? It is the metrical position of the e-g-b
103
sonority that causes it to be heard as a penultimate
sonority, as a dominant. The emphasis placed on g-natural
because of its position as the bass note causes it to be
heard as the root of the chord, the dominant of C. Thus the
presence of a single pitch accomplishes a scale shift that
involves a change of no fewer than five pitches. (See
example 54b.)
Relationships between Successive Scales
The most common place for a scale shift is just prior
to an authentic cadence. A wide variety of root
relationships is found between the chords at these cadential
shifts. At times the root moves up a half-step to the
dominant as at measure 122:13. (See example 55a.) At other
times there is a third relationship— ascending as at measure
49:9, or descending as at measure 50:8— or even a tritone
relationship as at measure 152:8. (See examples 55b, 55c,
and 55d.) In fact, all eight of the roots possible in the
ante-penultimate position are used, one about as often as
another. (0, 2, and 5, are traditional choices and would
not constitute a shift. Excluding these pitches and 7, the
dominant, leaves eight possibilities.)
On the other hand, an examination of the tonics of the
two scales at each cadential shift reveals a preference for
certain "scale relationships," as they can be called. (We
use the term "tonic" here for lack of a better term, even
104
Example 55. Root relationships at scale shifts in a)

122:13-123:1, b) 49:8-9, c) 50:8, and d) 152:8-153:1.
rtlrl **"! h
m (
JBT J """ P
■
though we have said that a scale shift does not constitute a
change of key.) The secondary scale most often used just
prior to a cadential shift is that built on 1. The shift at
measure 152:8 provides the clearest example. (See example
56.) Here a V-I cadence in G-major is preceded by a passage
using the A-flat-major scale. The melodies at rehearsals
206 and 48 provide further examples. The next example of
the use of the scale on 1 just before a cadential shift, in
measures 178:14-15, is complicated slightly by the fact that
the scale on 1 is represented by a deceptive cadence
105
Example 56. Cadential shift from scale on l in 151:10-

153:1.
formula. (Please refer again to example 14, page 33.)
Incidentally, this example happens to represent one of the
few times a harmonic-minor scale, a scale which is not
diatonic in the sense that the major scale and all the modal
scales are, is used as a secondary scale in this work. Less
clear are two examples that each involve a V-I progression,
not as a cadence, but as a key-establishing figure at the
beginning of a phrase. These are found in measures 26:8 and
73:8. (See examples 57 and 58.) In each case, while the
predominance of the scale on 1 may or may not be established
in any given listener's mind, the dominant harmony of that
scale is heard briefly just before the dominant harmony of
the succeeding scale. In such a case, the ante-penultimate
chord might be construed as a chord built on the lowered
106
Example 57. Scale shift before authentic-cadence figure at

beginning of a phrase in 26:7-27:2.
-if iT . > > f = = / ^ t >« >e

1 1, 1,
1 ^ ^ ^ ifcj u 1
Example 58. Scale shift before authentic-cadence figure at

beginning of a phrase in 73:1-74:1.
GUcot-H# --- s• I—
r - 1 ^
j ij ij j
&r9
C-k. >
• \9 •f?
>
■ \=i»
> > ^ ^ ^ ^
Ok.
/ifi* r-iri ri n *i T ^ f ' ~ r ~ ? . r r » M rr r l.j j . j . j^1

\ ° - f i\iU ■J ----------. r - r„ w J
« *. . • ^ ^ ^ .**
rM'TfTf ■ r^ i* = a ^ .f— n-
T T T T ^ iBL^Jrd
jigi n i flurimPi1'?1P ^ n ft
'
‘tie. __ "1
sixth scale degree or as a German-sixth chord. In measure
107
26:8, however, the E-major triad, with the melodic
embellishments that accompany it, is part of a sequence of
dominant harmonies, and will be heard as such, thus implying
the presence of the A-minor scale just prior to a V-I
progression in A-flat. Interestingly, this is another of
the handful of cases in the work in which a harmonic-minor
scale is used as a secondary scale.
The second most common scale used in this position is
that built on H . The final shift in the "Gavotte" provides
an example that should be familiar to the reader by this
time: the C-sharp-major scale of measures 122:12-13 is
followed by V7-I in D-major. Other examples of a shift from
this scale are found at measures 48:6-7 and at measure 50:8.
Two other scales are used in this situation. The
harmonic-minor scale on 10 is found in the melody at
rehearsal 111, and the major scale on 4 just before the end
of rehearsal 49. (Please refer again to example 46, page 85,
and example 53, page 101.)
Two remaining examples may be considered, both
occurring in the passage in measures 144:5-7. (See example
59.) The passage is transitional rather than cadential, but
involves two authentic-cadence figures. The first one
establishes b-flat as the tonic momentarily; e-natural, the
tonic of the previously prevailing scale, is 6 in relation
to b-flat. One measure later, the b-flat is replaced as
tonic by g-natural. B-flat serves as 3 in relation to g.
108
Example 59. Scale shifts before authentic-cadence figures

in transitional passage, measures 144:3-9.
t>\ Idale* T"

n a iA 4- xj— L .
i
♦ Pff S £L Ot '. .
The second most common place in a melody for a scale
shift is at the end of the first phrase in a period. As
described above, the new scale here is usually represented
by a single chord, on the downbeat, instead of by two
chords, as at a final cadence. There is a remarkable
consistency of relationships found among the scale shifts in
this metrical position. Nearly all the shifts involve at
some point a chord whose root is the lowered sixth scale
degree, or &, of the first scale. The third of the chord,
11 or 0 depending on the quality of the chord, is usually in
the melody. In this way the reharmonization of a diatonic
scale degree— as noted above, a key feature of many scale
shifts— is achieved.
In several melodies, the shift and the chord built on 2.
both occur right on the fourth downbeat. For instance, the
E-Lydian melody at rehearsal 6, discussed above, consists of
two phrases, the first of which ends with a C-minor triad,
109
c-natural being a in E. (Please refer again to example 52.)
On the downbeat, H is in the melody as well as in the bass.
The period at rehearsal 152 also consists of two four-
measure phrases. (Please refer again to example 56.) The
first of these ends on an implied E-flat-major triad, e-flat
being £ in the original key of the period, G-major. E-flat
is in the bass while g-natural, £, is in the melody. As
a third example, the harmony in the fourth measure of the
"Gavotte" melody, while serving as IV in the original key of
D major, is built on £ of the immediately preceding scale,
B-major. (Please refer again to example 22.) B-natural, £,
is in the melody.
Whereas the three periods just described use triads on
£ for the cadence of the first phrase, other periods move
through a triad on £ to reach the cadential sonority. One
example is the opening B-flat melody in number 12, "Masks."
(See example 60.) This melody, which consists of two four-
measure phrases, is repeated immediately in a slightly
altered version. The first phrase of the first version
cadences on a rather dense chord that is likely to be
interpreted as a D-minor chord with added notes, while that
of the second version cadences on a similarly dense chord
which can be interpreted as a D-flat-major with additions.
The note in the melody is in the first case H , in the
second case, l£. But while the cadential sonorities of
these two statements differ, the chord on beat 3 of the
Example 60. First-phrase scale shifts moving through a
triad on S in 71:1-72:8.
Example 60— continued.
CvTiV t ( i t ' H \t it1

.SfTtii,. f i i —
-L't4J It I
----
r^-
""{*£7I
iJ
T^"TUFiTifo
]i{J v v I— 1
■a*/~TTfn.^n~~'1~~7ii
iay *if ? 7 T »T =y * r.j^j .*
T,
#f- * '
^ f 3 1
— "■ fbr rfJ

i^lip Lf =t§^tSri § =@ r
»k T. » a. i r r r t ^
112
third measure of each, when the shift really begins to take
place, is essentially the same— a minor triad on f-sharp, 8,
with added tones. In each instance, the chord that follows,
on the beat just prior to the cadential downbeat, is the
dominant harmony of the cadential pitch.
The passage at rehearsal 111 similarly moves through a
triad on 8 just before the end of the first phrase. (Please
refer again to example 46, page 85.) This phrase, which
begins in C-major, cadences on a sonority which is most
likely heard as a G-flat-major triad in second inversion,
with a long appoggiatura on e-flat. It is the only phrase
in the ballet that cadences on a chord a tritone away from
the main tonic pitch. Just prior to this chord, however, is
the sonority that makes the passage like so many others, an
A-flat-major triad, a-flat being 8 in relation to c.
The passage at rehearsal 291 involves two shiftsto8
in a row. (See example 61.) When the melody begins to veer
away from B-flat major, in measure 291:3, the first move is
to a sonority with g-flat, 8, in the bass. At this point,
the e-flat in the melody is interpreted as an appoggiatura,
the implied harmony being a G-flat-major triad. However, as
this e-flat is resolved down by step, another e-flat appears
in the accompanying string parts. By the end of the
measure, the sonority is clearly an E-flat minor chord. The
subsequent move to a B-minor-seventh harmony in measure 4,
then, is heard as a move to 8 of E-flat minor.
113
Example 61. Two successive shifts to chord on £ in 290:11-

291:4.
12911 Poco pin animato
4 . =
y 9 ^ ’
^ OJB
J^ , 1
if-i ____ ^ * cl ,n.
-f - 7 5 -si* d
* UA
...
ijisL t' ....... - le t
Not all scale shifts happen at or just prior to
cadences. In the tune at rehearsal 73, the first phrase
ends on an E-flat major chord, still heard as IV of the
original key of B-flat. (Please refer again to example 58.)
The second phrase, however, begins immediately with F-sharp-
minor harmony. The sonority is heard as a new beginning and
not as an embellishment of the harmonies immediately
preceding and following. While this harmony does not
exhibit a local-level embellishing function, however, as the
listener becomes familiar with the importance of chords
built on £, such harmonies begin to take on a structural
function. This melody's first shift of scale is
114
accomplished through means of a chord built on a, just as
those of all the melodies described above were. The only
difference is that in this melody the shift takes place at
the beginning of the second phrase instead of at the end of
the first phrase, £'s function in this style as the basis
of the first scale shift in a period is very similar to the
structural function ascribed in traditional tonality to the
dominant and, in the minor mode, the third scale degree.
In a similar fashion, the melody at 214, actually the
second part of a longer melody, begins its second half with
a chord built on 8. (See example 62.) At measure 5, the
Example 62. Scale shift to £ starting second phrase of a

melody in 213:11-214:8.
cello arpeggiates a C-major harmony, c-natural being £ in
115
the key of E. While in this case the chord may be heard
fulfilling a traditional function, that of VI borrowed from
minor resolving to V through V/V, it is significant that, as
the most chromatic chord in the passage, the root is j£ in
the key. fi is in the melody on the downbeat.
The melody at rehearsal 201 provides a final example of
a scale shift involving a chord on £. (See example 63.)
Example 63. Scale shift to £ during second phrase of a

melody in 201:1-4.
The metrical placement of this shift is slightly unusual.
If the passage is viewed as consisting not of four measures
of 4/4 but of two four-measure phrases in 2/4, the shift is
seen to occur on the second beat of measure 6, the second
measure of the second phrase. The E-flat-dominant-seventh
chord leads directly to the A-flat-major triad on the next
downbeat, a-flat being a in relation to the tonic, c-
116
natural. The return to the original scale one beat later is
remarkable. The c-sharp on beat 2 of measure 3 in the first
phrase is heard as an appoggiatura to d-natural, and the f-
natural in the bass is heard as the third of a D-minor
triad, the ii chord in C-major. C-sharp occurs at the same
metrical position in the second phrase. However, it is
heard there as the fourth scale degree of the preceding A-
flat-major scale, and the f in the bass as the third of a D-
flat-major triad, IV in A-flat. These pitches then are
resolved in C major exactly as they were in the first phrase
so that the shift back to the original scale is perceived
only retrospectively. Scale shifts in Prokofiev's music are
not usually characterized by such a degree of subtlety.
The relationship between a tonic and the pitch a major
third lower has been the object of attention twice so far.
First, it was seen as a somewhat common root relationship
between the two final chords at cadences. Second, it has
been seen as a very common root relationship at scale
shifts, especially when the main scale of a period first
gives way to a new scale. Whereas traditionally the chord
most often used as a penultimate at cadences, that is, the
dominant, is also the tonic chord of the most common
secondary key and the chord most often found at half
cadences, in Romeo and Juliet the dominant is rarely found
at half cadences or at scale shifts, either as the root of a
triad or as the tonic of a scale. Instead, it is the less
117
common penultimate, the lowered sixth scale degree in
traditional terms, or 8 in the terminology used in this
treatise, that normally fulfills these functions.
Other relationships are found, however. For instance,
at rehearsal 88, a melody in E-minor shifts up a minor
third, to G-minor at its fifth measure. (Please refer to
example 77, page 138.) At rehearsal 84 the shift, which
occurs at measure 6, slightly later than the usual time, is
from E-minor up four half-steps to A-flat-minor. (Please
refer to example 79, page 142.) While only something over
half the modulating melodies move to or through £, by
generalizing and saying third relationships are the most
common, nearly every melody can be said to fit the norm.
Modulations
Earlier a distinction was made between scale shifts and
modulations. Two aspects featured in the distinction:
whether the change occurs at the beginning of a melody or in
the middle, and for how long the change is effective. The
latter is actually dependent on the former. When a change
of scale occurs in the middle of a period, the listener may
expect the original scale of the period to return, as indeed
it does in nearly every case. However, when a change occurs
at the beginning of a new period in a collage of melodies
such as is often heard in this ballet, there need be no
expectation concerning further changes. Indeed, twenty-four
118
of the fifty-two numbers in the work start in one key and
end in another. Because of the need for a return in the
case of a scale shift, the change is usually not effective
for very long. A change at the beginning of a melody or
section, on the other hand, can normally be effective for a
much longer period of time. In such a case, the lack of a
need for return and the longer duration of the presence of
the scale lends independence to the scale. It thus
represents its own key, and any such change is heard as a
true modulation.
Often the modulations in Romeo and Juliet are much more
direct than the scale shifts, and therefore somewhat less
interesting. Three times in number 11, "Arrival of the
Guests," for instance, there is simply an ending in one key
and a beginning in another. This occurs at rehearsals 65,
66, and 67. Where a dominant-seventh chord precedes the
downbeat of a chromatic modulation as at measure 60:8, the
sound is similar to that of a scale shift, but the effect is
not the same? a new key really seems to be established, not
just a secondary scale area within a tonally closed melody.
(See example 64.)
What is of some interest, however, is the array of key
relationships exhibited by modulations. While the perfect
fourth is an uncommon relationship between scale areas
within a period, it is quite commonly found as the interval
between successive keys. On the other hand, the major third
119
Example 64. Chromatic modulation in 60:5-11.
and minor second, one or the other of which lies at the base
of most scale shifts, are found about as often as the
fourth. All other intervals are found, but much less often.
A typical scheme is that of number 10, "Young Juliet."
The opening eight bars, in C-major, are followed by a
somewhat transitional passage that begins in C and modulates
to F, motion of a perfect fourth. The next statement of the
main melody is in E-major, a minor second lower. At
rehearsal 53, a contrasting melody whose tonic, a-flat, is a
major third away from the previous tonic, intervenes. It is
followed by a third statement of the opening melody, this
time in A-major, representing a modulation up by half step.
A new contrasting melody, in C, enters at rehearsal 55. The
120
minor third between its tonic and that of the previous
passage is the only minor third between tonics in this
number. The passage goes through transitional material
around rehearsal 56, but ends in E-major, a major third
higher. The next melody, in F, is followed by the opening
melody, in C. It is interesting to note that a striking
number of the major-third relationships occur between the
pitches c, e, and a-flat. This was shown earlier to be so
in the case of cadences. Now it is evident that the
relationship is comnon in key relationships as well.
The case of Friar Laurence's first theme is unique in
the work in two respects. (See example 65.) First, it
Example 65. Modulation with no change of scale in 207:1-4.
And a n t e e s p r e s s iv o J:
2
[ OT] Ci.,
contains the only phrase in the ballet that moves to and
cadences on the dominant. Second, it achieves this
tonicization with no explicit change of scale. Thus,
although it is a brief move and happens in the middle of a
period, it cannot be called a scale shift. Even without a
121
change of scale, however, the tonic seems to change
temporarily. How is a modulation achieved in such a brief
passage with no change of scale? The answer lies in the
counterpoint. The repetition of the B-flat harmony over the
course of three-and-a-half measures, far from making the
passage tonally static, rather removes from the harmony any
role in the tonal motion, much as a pedal point is normally
not considered partof the harmonies occurring above it.
All tonal motion is therefore a product of the motion of the
two lines.
The modulation begins on the downbeat of measure 3.
The major sixth heard here, c and a, is not perceived as the
second and seventh scale degrees in the main key of B-flat.
This is partly because no harmonic interpretation of these
two tones makes sense: neither the dominant harmony nor the
leading-tone harmony normally follows the mediant. Also
important, however, is the metrical placement. Unembel
lished dominant-function harmonies do not normally occur on
downbeats in a passage in which harmonies change every beat.
Tonic chords in second inversion, however, do. The Western
listener then may interpret the c-natural in the bass as a
dominant, in F-major. One measure later, the interval
recurs, is resolved in t;he expected fashion to a fifth, and
followed by an octave on the new tonic. The harmony that
enters one half beat later contains the first e of any kind
in the passage. The fact that it is an e-flat and not an e-
122
natural immediately returns to f its role as a dominant and
to b-flat its role as tonic.
The most dramatic use of modulation occurs in the last
number. (See example 66.) Here the beautiful melody first
heard at rehearsal 55, in "Young Juliet," is played four
times, alternately in the keys of C-major and A-flat-major.
A coda in C-major follows. Each phrase, beginning firmly in
a new key, sounds fresh and full of promise. In the C-major
statements, however, the melody cadences imperfectly, on the
third scale degree. And the A-flat statements do not end
with any cadence at all,but with a short, rather dissonant
extension that leads back to C major. The contrast between
the brave, sure beginning and the inconclusive end of each
phrase, paralleling the failure of Friar Laurence's plan to
bring resolution to the young couple's bold desires, is, in
part, what makes this final number so moving.
In summary, each period in Romeo and Juliet begins with
a firmly established key and uses, at almost every point, a
diatonic scale, usually a major scale, as its primary pitch
source. These predominating scales often change suddenly
within a period, most commonly at the cadential sonority in
the first phrase ofa period and at the penultimate sonority
in the last phrase. Thefirst type almost always involves a
chord built on £, while the second commonly involves scales
built on 1 or li. When a change of scales happens at the
beginning of a period, it has the effect of a true
123
Example 66. Dramatic use of modulation in 360:1-362:5.
13601
/li f. ' | M 3 = | ff-f y f-f :j F f ^ P $ j F-'f F

tS 1 r i ■ r
F "-T'1 t *— r— I f J
' m f cspress.
) J U l l ^ L i J ___ L u —
L*.. ... ,{. a . . . ----------£ —
m *
nkTTi f%\ a_.^Lr7* f E.,.. i =
g r X-rij= r f 1-f r m = ■f
/-■ j j i i-O f '*"/■' J' T ^-C.J■j-H- ■
t = ¥ T \ ki ’ bi-* r
j: 1 »r r ”
124
modulation. Major thirds, xainor seconds, and perfect
fourths are the most common scale relationships found at
these points. In the following chapter, we will add more
detail to our model of the construction of Prokofiev's
melodies by examining their structures.
125
CHAPTER V
MELODIC STRUCTURE
Having discussed the way in which melodies are normally
constructed from a diatonic set of pitches or from a
sequence of such sets, we now turn our attention to the ways
individual pitches within a set are used, dealing first with
the short-range structural use of these pitches. While any
discussion of melodic structure depends on a reductive
analytical method of some kind, it is important to stress
that the reductions performed here are not necessarily
Schenkerian. Some of the melodies in Romeo and Juliet are
based on a scalar descent from 3 or §, just as Schenker
found to be true of most of the music of which he approved.
(Schenker's other possibility, a descent from § to i is not
found in Romeo and Juliet .) Others, however, have
fundamental lines that descend only to 3. or prolong 3 for
nearly the length of the period while a 3-2-1 descent occurs
at the very end in the lowest part. Still others have step
progressions that ascend rather than descend, or merely
oscillate between 8 and *1, while others yet cannot be
reduced to a step progression at all. In order to do
reductive analysis on such melodies, it is necessary to
126
begin with the assumption that a pitch is made important by
having a strong metrical position, by being relatively
consonant, by receiving tonic or agogic accentuation, or by
occupying a position analogous to that of a note previously
deemed important. These pitches may form a step
progression, a structural phenomenon with a history longer
than even Schenker attested to. But often they do not.
With metrical regularity directing the music toward a goal,
traditional fundamental lines are unnecessary. Thus, while
the methods and symbology used in the following analyses may
be Schenkerian, the results are not always so.
Melodies with Descending Structures
Some of the melodies descend in one of the traditional
ways canonized by Schenker. These are generally the more
diatonic melodies and usually accompany the less emotionally
complex scenes. To illustrate, most of the melodies of the
"Introduction," in which the innocence and passion of youth
is depicted, have simple scalar descents as structures. The
second melody, for instance, is almost purely diatonic, and
is based on a repeated fundamental line. (See example
67.) The next melody, with only two chromatic pitches, is
built on a descent from the fifth scale degree. (See
example 68.) The melody at rehearsal 151, one of the folk
dances, is entirely diatonic and has as a structural line a
S-3-3-2-1 descent. (See example 69.) The opening melody of
127
Example 67. Traditional descending structure in 1:5-8.
Example 68. Traditional descending structure in 1:13-20.
Example 69. Traditional descending structure in 151:5-
152:1.
i'f m u i n
(5) 4 3 2 1
J J
the ballet begins with a prolongation of 4 and continues
with a 3-2-1 descent. (See example 70.) This melody is
used later in the ballet, as at rehearsal 289, as a
consequent phrase in a two-phrase period, completing a
descent begun on §, but Prokofiev chooses to let it stand on
its own at the beginning of the work, opening the
"Introduction" with a prolongation of an unstable pitch.
129
Example 70. Descent from 4 in Beginning:1-4
Many of the two-phrase periods in this work possess a
structure that deviates slightly from traditional schemes.
The most common pattern for periods in previous times
involves a phrase with a half cadence followed by a phrase
with a perfect authentic cadence. The fundamental line of
such periods often comprises a descent that is interrupted
at the second scale degree and then starts over. Because
Prokofiev rarely ends an antecedent phrase on the dominant,
he does not usually have even the opportunity to use such a
structure. His melodies may indeed exhibit an interrupted
descent as a structure, but the interruption is most likely
at the third scale degree. For instance, the fundamental
line of the last melody of the "Introduction," one of the
more chromatic of the descending-structure melodies,
descends to the third degree by the end of the first phrase
130
and then starts over to descend to the tonic at the cadence.
(See example 71.)
Example 71. Interruption on 3 in 3:1-13.
» 0 >
f if-*f -
§ 4 3 2 ^
— j .1 - ^ 4 --------
4 --:-
A second melody with an interruption on 3 is found at
rehearsal 18. (See example 72.) While the first phrase
actually ends on the tonic, the step-progression itself
stops at 3, the second phrase resolving the structural
dissonance by including 3 before 1.
In the case of the melody in example 71, the antecedent
131
Example 72. Interruption on 3 in 18:5-19:8.
(§» 4 2
phrase's isolated appearance starting in measure 2:6 and the
elision in measure 3:7 that clouds the beginning of the
consequent phrase leave the listener with the initial
impression that the first phrase is the complete melody,
that 3 is the goal of the melody. The melody first heard at
rehearsal 55 also ends on 3, at measure 55:6. (See example
73.) Unlike the melody from the "Introduction," however,
132
Example 73. Structural descent ending on 3 in 55:1-6.
8 § 3
r±
this phrase never proves, in all its appearances, to be an
antecedent in a period. It acts as though it were a
complete melody, although it is tonally unresolved, much as
the early stirring of love it depicts seems to Juliet to be
in need of resolution. Whether the resolution of Juliet's
desires ever comes is reflected by the development of this
phrase through the course of the ballet.
êlodl,e.s_with_N9iid.esc.eMi.ag Structures
Many of the melodies in Romeo and Juliet are not built
on a scalar descent. Of these, some are accompanied by a
descent to the tonic in lower lines, thus acting as a link
between the traditional and nontraditional types. Such a
melody is found at rehearsal 107 in the number titled
"Madrigal." Much of the melody emphasizes the third scale
degree, b-natural. (See example 74.) For instance, the
133
Example 74. Structural descent in lowest line in 107:1-17.
A ndante tenero J =»* - ________ ^
n ^ f f T r T j U -.Iit F T
l ~i r r m r r
W . : t — P-
\ "
\ m p ttpreti.____ r
f
\
f ~ ~ it e s !
A —t------ f r " ~ — r f p-
T i. i i - J J J— — Lt H —
jd T T ij i
lim .
'^trliKr rr = = = — i
h u f p r *
10 Jl
first consonant sonority, on the second beat of the first
measure, doubles the third scale degree in the top (violin)
and middle (viola) lines. The middle line ends its
sequential ascent in the first phrase with a chromatic
embellishment of b-natural. In the second phrase, when the
top line finishes its motion, it is the middle line that
continues moving in eighth notes, at first turning around fa-
natural. Although the violas end the phrase with a descent
to the tonic, g-natural, the cellos, playing the lower line,
ascend at the same time, ending the phrase on the third
scale degree. In the chromatic third phrase, b-natural once
134
again acts as the goal of a sequence of interlocking thirds
in the viola line. When the fourth phrase begins much as
the first did, the listener begins to suspect the period is
to come to a close in the fourth measure; a scalar descent
from 5 to 1 in the upper line would be the traditional
method of bringing about this tonal closure. The cadential
figure in the melody, however, looks more like a bass line;
3-S-l. The bass line, in turn, contains the melodic
descent; b, a, and g are the last notes in the cello part.
A somewhat similar example is the period starting in
measure 6:3. (See example 75.) The descending step
progression is in the bass while the upper line, played by
the clarinet, unfolds a completely nontraditional structure.
The first long range step movement is from § to 5 at the
fourth downbeat. The step progression continues down a
third to the fifth scale degree, after which the seventh
degree returns as the penultimate note, leading back to the
tonic. This structure may be thought of as a scalar descent
from § to § followed by a return to 8, or as a simple lower
neighbor figure, with the seventh scale degree prolonged by
the descent down a third. Because of the emphasis placed on
as both the cadential pitch of the first phrase and the
penultimate note of the second phrase, the second
interpretation is preferable.
Of passages such as those just described in which a
traditional structural descent is found in the bass, it may
135
Example 75. Nontraditional structure in 6:3-7:1.
136
be said that the upper line merely provides an accompaniment
to the true melodic structure. In passages in which there
is no scalar descent, even in the lowest line, the unusual
step progression of the melody must be considered the
primary melodic framework. A good example of this type is
the period first heard at rehearsal 111. (See example 76.)
Example 76. Nontraditional structure in 111:1-8.
137
Here, although a step progression indeed serves as the
structural basis for the melody, the progression is not the
traditional descent, but rather an ascent. Much as the
previous example exhibited a structural progression
beginning on and moving away from the tonic, this melody
starts its ascent on 1, moving up through the lowered second
and third scale degrees to the fourth and, eventually, the
fifth degree, whereupon the melody descends through an
arpeggio, not a scale, to the tonic pitch. Such a structure
supposes the importance of the perfect fifth and of long-
range movement by step that underlies traditional
structures, but it utilizes these elements in a way not seen
in earlier times.
A further example of an unusual step progression is
found at rehearsal 88. (See example 77.) Once again, the
progression begins on and moves away from the tonic, jumping
back quickly once it reaches the dominant. The first step
of the progression is represented by the change in the top
note of the arpeggio figure, from e to d. The d-natural,
prolonged through reharmonization as the fifth of a g-minor
triad, is followed by a c-sharp and, at the end of the first
half of the period, a b-natural. At this point the
progression is interrupted in an almost classical sense:
after arrival on a nontonic pitch, the melody begins over
again, the b-natural serving both as the final structural
pitch of the first half and as an inner voice in the ensuing
138
Example 77. Nontraditional structure in 87:10-89:10.
----- ------ :v puaaoici tempo i;
* » ! # & =
f n i f f - i t f p
r
i ij'jlj'J W * 1
n < n ■■ P f f i. ----f --------- ^ T > . f a --- m ----
1 , f f = # = ■? .. r - g = = ■ 1 8 i f
1 .. t r i - - r |J 1 3 1 - q - p - y -1
^-iii ___ _ >_ => S3 C1.,V-«1 1.11
*
<1 mp
L x , V . - y i = =
j f |-f -r r ± = r £ 4 =
130 *fl - *6
ryjl=j
u r r jb . ■~ r..i_p. .
- ^ r fg Pi
*— *-- .---AJi: M - ' h a ,_::: ♦, -
A. £ £ £
fiitj-ff'liHiS’
. f r fi fit.............
1 M
rNfif^M==N#fJ
Example 77— continued.
m. » :3 VS « :/ |* :| n .i M3 « :5 M/0
arpeggiation, which again places e-natural in the prominent
position. The classical scheme would dictate that the
melody begin its descent again, moving more quickly perhaps
the second time around so as to end on the tonic in the end.
The second half of this melody starts as though it would do
this, descending from 8 to i again. After the d-natural
arrives, however, f-sharp is prolonged through several
reharmonizations, and then the period simply returns to e-
natural. The second phrase thus seems to be a prolongation
of a neighbor-group figure, not of a scalar progression.
While many of Prokofiev's melodies are based on step
progressions, it is clear from examples such as the one just
described that the characteristic method of chromatically
shifting scales by reharmonizing chord tones does not always
support the possibility of step progressions. In the
"Gavotte" melody, for instance, perhaps the only step pro
gression to be found is the motion from § to 5 and back to §
140
at the end. In a melody such as this, each section that
makes use of a single scale normally fills in or otherwise
prolongs a skip or skips between the root, third, and fifth
of a chord (usually tonic or dominant) representing that
scale. The final note is usually not heard in conjunction
with the chord in question, but reharmonized by a chord in
the scale of the next section. The "Gavotte” melody begins
by joining § and § in D-major with a passing tone. Then
when f-sharp arrives, it is reharmonized as § in B major.
(See example 78. For the original passage, please refer to
example 22, page 50.) The short passage using the B-major
Example 78. Structure with reharmonized chord tones in

122:1-123:1.
a * a
scale then ends on 1 of that scale. This note, b-natural,
is reharmonized as 6 in D major, an exception to the gener
alization stated above concerning common-tone links. A
simple scalar melody using the D-major scale ensues,
followed by a transposition of the same melodic fragment
141
using the F-sharp-minor scale. The f-sharp that starts the
transposed appearance serves as the link between the two
scales, being 3 in the preceding scale and i in the new
scale. Similarly, a-natural serves as the link in the
return to the D-major scale. The method employed in the
final two shifts, from D-major to C-sharp-major and back
again, is not the use of a reharmonized common tone but the
half-step alteration of the concluding pitch of a scale
fragment, a method described in the previous chapter.
A melody with a similar type of structure is found at
rehearsal 84. (See example 79.) While there is a
descending step-progression in the inner voices, this
progression does not resolve to the tonic, e, and in fact
gets lost near the end of the second phrase, not
contributing to the closure of the period at all. The
structure of the melodic line is based on reharmonization of
pitches, not on step progressions. The opening b-natural is
reinterpreted in measures 6 and 7 as the third of an A-flat-
major triad and then as the root of a B-minor at the end of
measure 8. At the end of the second phrase, it is the fifth
of the A-flat-minor triad, e-flat, that is reinterpreted.
The metrical position of its reharmonization as the third of
a B-major triad, on the last beat of what is perceived as
the penultimate measure, imparts dominant function to the
sonority, an impression that is, of course, strengthened by
the fact that the harmony is the dominant in the original
Example 79. Structure with reharmonized chord tones in
84:1-85:8.
Poco piu tranqulllo
j i j
* fTT V V7
W T Kp
dg
m* ^hi.J J ,*£ S H s!
5=^ tT T r*F T W f
W*l» *r
IS '
5
143
key. The structure of this melody, then, can be viewed as a
series of elaborated skips between b-natural and the pitch
four half-steps above it, followed by an e-natural. Each of
the first two times the upper note in the skip appears, it
occurs on a downbeat as the relatively stable fifth of an A-
flat-minor harmony. The last time, it occurs on the
penultimate beat as a leading tone, the third ofthe
dominant harmony in the main key of E-minor, andresolves to
the tonic pitch.
Having discussed the main categories of structure
employed by Prokofiev in Romeo and Juliet, we will now
examine immediate, local-level tendencies of scale degrees.
144
CHAPTER VI
MELODIC TENDENCIES
The following discussion is based on a study in which
the notes of most of the melodies in Romeo and Juliet were
counted in various ways in order to identify normal patterns
in this style. It is at this point in the treatise, where a
large number of examples exist, that statistical methods
become appropriate and useful. This is not to say that they
will be precisely meaningful; at best, statistical
statements are only statements of probability. Here an
extra degree of uncertainty is added by the impossibility of
devising a truly random sample, or, in fact, of even
determining the exact contents of the entire population.
The difficulty is that the ultimate concern is not with
discovering patterns that occur more often in actuality, but
rather with those that seem to occur more often. If a given
melody is repeated ten times over the course of a work, each
pattern within that melody is itself heard ten times. Does
any such pattern indeed seem ten times as normal as one
found in a melody heard only once? Should the pattern occur
in other melodies as well, the repetition of the first
melody would seem in fact to confirm the notion that the
145
pattern is in fact an integral part of the whole style. But
what of the comparison of a pattern that is found only in
the ten-times-repeated melody with another that is found in
five different melodies, each melody heard only once? The
recurrence of the second pattern in five different contexts
is likely to make it seem more normal than the pattern heard
in only one context, despite the fact that the latter is
heard twice as often. There can be no true resolution of
this problem since any two listeners may approach it in
different ways. Using V-I cadences and Tristan und Isolde
as examples, Leonard Meyer has pointed out that it is even
possible, to a listener familiar with the norms of a
particular body of literature, for a given pattern to seem
an integral part of the style of a certain work even if no
instances of it are heard in the work at all.
Despite these difficulties, people who analyze music
generally find satisfaction in discovering what normally
happens in a style. Thus the study is justified. Still,
there are arguments against using statistics in such a
study: such methods may seem at one moment cold and at
another inexact. As to the first criticism, any form of
note counting can only be a first step in meaningful
analysis. Subjective sense is always available, and indeed
necessary, for interpreting findings. As to the second
criticism, since the resolution of our subjective sense of
what seems more or less normal is not nearly so refined as
that suggested by the multi-decimal-place figures
statistical computations produce, inexact figures should be
enough for laying a basic foundation. Out of a total of
forty-four different melodies in Romeo and Juliet, thirty-
seven, those that begin and end in the same key, were
included in the reckoning for this study, each of them
counted only once. In a few cases, only major-mode melodies
were counted. The location of each of these melodies is
given in appendix B. Individual pitches (classification of
pitch determined by its intervallic relationship to the
prevailing tonic, hence the necessity for melodies that
begin and end in the same key), contiguous two-note
patterns, patterns of two notes separated by a third note,
and melodic intervals were counted. Distributions of the
tendencies were then subjected to chi-square tests to study
deviation from randomness, from other distributions provided
by the same study, and from distributions provided by a
similar study conducted by Joseph Youngblood on certain
nineteenth century art songs.1 In addition, Youngblood's
method of information-theory computation was applied to
these same distributions for further comparison with the
nineteenth-century style he examines.
The statistical test used in this study is known as the
chi-square test. This test is used to judge whether the
\Joseph E. Youngblood, "Style as Information," Journal

of Music Theory 2 (April 1958):24-35.
147
difference between two nonnormal distributions is
significant or not. In other words, given a nonnormally
distributed set of probabilities (i.e., a set that does not
fit a bell curve) as a basis for expectation, the chi-square
test will determine, within a certain level of confidence,
whether a set of observed frequencies could have resulted
from those given probabilities. If not, a "significant"
difference exists, and a factor other than chance can be
assumed to have influenced the observed results.
The first step in this test is to subtract the observed
frequency of each possible outcome from its expected
frequency (the probability of that outcome multiplied by the
total number of events). The square of each difference is
taken and divided by the corresponding expected frequency.
The results are then totaled. This final figure is compared
with figures in a chi-square table, which can be found in
any statistics text. The table gives the minimum result
needed to assume significance of deviation with confidence
of a certain degree: 99%, 98%, 95%, etc. 99% confidence,
for instance, means that the difference could have arisen by
chance only one time in 100; the observer can be 99% sure
that other factors, not chance, caused the difference. The
table also gives different figures for varying degrees of
freedom (df). For our purpose, the degrees of freedom is a
number equal to the number of possible outcomes minus one.
The notion of degrees of freedom reflects the interdepend
148
ence of the frequencies of the various outcomes when the
total frequency is given. If there are only two possible
outcomes in a certain system and the total frequency is
given, any result for one outcome determines the frequency
of the other; there is only one degree of freedom in the
system. If three outcomes are possible, the frequencies of
any two outcomes are independent of each other, but the
third is determined by the other two; there are two degrees
of freedom. Higher chi-square figures are needed with
higher degrees of freedom. Because the test involves
dividing the square of each difference by the expected
frequency, the fact that significance of deviation rises as
the total frequency rises is taken into account. (Anything
can happen once; probabilities take effect over multiple
occurrences.) In the same feature, however, lies the one
weakness of the test; any expected frequency less than about
2% of the total frequency may, since it is used as a
denominator, possibly lead to an overly large result.
As an example, let us imagine that for a given
location, two-thirds of the days are sunny, one-third
cloudy. The probability that any given day will be sunny is
thus .67, that it will be cloudy, .33. Over a 30-day
period, 20 sunny days would be expected, 10 cloudy days. An
observation of 19 sunny days and 11 cloudy days would not
seem unusual, and the chi-square test confirms that it is
not so. The difference between the expected frequency of
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sunny days and the observed frequency is 1. The square of
this difference is 1, and this divided by the expected
frequency is .05. The difference for cloudy days is also 1.
The square, 1 again, is divided by the expected number of
cloudy days, for a result of .1. The sum of the results is
.15. With one degree of freedom, a result of at least 3.841
is needed for even 95% confidence; the chi-square test
indicates that only chance was involved in the deviation.
Suppose, however, that 10 sunny days and 20 cloudy days were
observed. This would be quite an unusual weather pattern
for the location, as the chi-square test would affirm. The
difference squared is, in each case, 100. Dividing 100 by
the expected number of sunny days yields 5; dividing by the
expected number of cloudy days gives a result of 10.
Totalling these results yields a final chi-square figure of
15. Only 6.635 is needed for 99% confidence that a
significant difference exists.
The information-theory calculation is also a summation
of figures. For each outcome, the proportion of the
observed frequency to the total number of events is
multiplied by the log2 of that same proportion. (The log2 of
a number is that power to which 2 must be raised to yield
that number. 8 is 2 to the third power. Therefore the log2
of 8 is 3. 0.25 is 2 to the power of negative 2. There
fore, the log2 of 0.25 is -2.) The absolute value of the
sum of these products yields the number of bits of
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information expressed by the system and is known as the
entropy of the system, represented by the letter H. (A bit
is the smallest amount of information, a binary choice, an
indication of the state of a situation where only two
possibilities exist. One bit of information is needed to
indicate one of two objects. Two bits are needed to
indicate one of four objects? thefirst bit narrows the
field in half, and the second canthen identify one ofthe
two remaining possibilities. Three bits are needed to
identify one of eight objects, etc.) Where the observed
frequencies are the same for every outcome, the entropy will
be the log2 of the number of outcomes. With four possible
outcomes, for instance, the result would be 2. Where the
frequencies are not equal, the theory states that less
information is expressed by each event. Another way
Youngblood explains it is that if a composition displays
more instances of one possibility than another, the composer
was less free to choose the rarer of the two. A lower
entropy figure indicates less freedom of choice, more
restrictions due to peculiarities of style. The entropy
figure of a nonequally distributed system may be divided by
the figure for an equally distributed system with the same
total number of events to yield the figure known as relative
entropy (Hr).
To demonstrate the information-theory or entropy test,
I will relay Youngblood's example: a composer is writing a
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piece for four drums in which he uses drum A 12.5% of the
time, drum B 12.5%, drum C 25%, and drum D 50%. The log2 of
.125 is -3; of .25, -2; and of .5, -1. (.125 * -3) + (.125
* -3) + (.25 * -2) + (.5 * -1) = -.375 + -.375 + -.5 + -.5 =
-1.75. The absolute value is taken just for the convenience
of having positive numbers as results. Thus H = 1.75.
Since H would equal 2 in a system with four equally probable
possibilities, Hr =1.75/2 = 87.5%.
This method has two main weaknesses. First, there is no
absolute standard for making judgments based on the results
of this test, as there is in the case of chi-square.
However, relative judgments may be made by comparing results
and deciding which of two systems, for instance, displays
more freedom of choice, i.e., which deviates from randomness
less. Second, since only relative frequency and not
absolute frequency is taken into account, the difference in
significance that accompanies greater frequencies is not
factored in. Getting "heads" only twenty-five times in one-
hundred coin tosses is viewed by this theory as no less a
product of chance than getting "heads" once in four tosses.
Still, the method may be useful in corroborating findings
from other tests.
Before any multi-note patterns can be examined, the
relative frequencies of pitches must be established. The
distribution of frequencies of each pitch class as occurring
in melodies 1-37 is shown in table 1.
Table l. Frequency distribution of pitch classes

in melodies 1-37.
PC Freq. Prob.
0 256 17.52%
i 30 2.05%
2 135 9.24%
3 56 3.83%
4 188 12.87%
5 103 7.05%
6 58 8.97%
7 263 18.00%
8 44 3.01%
9 144 9.86%
10 52 3.56%
11 132 9.03%
Total: 1461
The "PC” designation refers to the number of half steps
a given note lies above the tonic pitch of the melody in
which it occurs. Thus, there are 256 instances of the tonic
pitch in these melodies, 30 instances of the pitch one half
step above the tonic, etc. (These pitch-classes will be
indicated in the text by the same nomenclature used in
chapter 3: an underlined integer, e.g. 3.) "Prob." refers
to the proportion of a given pc's frequency to the total
number of pitches, in this case 1461. A pitch chosen at
random from the melodies of this ballet then has an 18%
chance of being the dominant pitch, but is only about half
as likely to be the leading tone. The distribution is
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clearly not random; the chi-square test yields a result of
584.86, where for 99% confidence with 11 degrees of freedom,
a result of only 24.725 is required. Thus, these frequen
cies are significant aspects of the style. The dominant and
tonic, in that order, are the most common scale degrees,
followed by the third, the sixth, the second, the seventh,
and the fourth degrees of the major scale. As might be
expected, the chromatic pitches are less common. The
entropy of this distribution is 3.300. Since the H for
twelve classifications with equal probabilities is 3.585,
the Hr for this distribution is .921. Meaningless now, this
figure will prove somewhat useful when comparing other
distributions to this overall distribution.
Youngblood's study dealt only with melodies in major
keys. For this reason a division by mode of the melodies in
Romeo and Juliet is desired. Distributions for each mode
are given separately in table 2.
Not surprisingly, since it is the relative frequency of
4 and 3. which more than any other factor determines whether
a melody is in the major or minor mode, in each mode here
the appropriate third scale degree is found approximately
six times as often as its counterpart. What is surprising
is that the minor mode employs the leading tone less often
than does the major mode and employs the sub-tonic much more
often. Also interesting is the much higher frequency of
dominant pitches in the minor mode and the much lower
154
Table 2. Frequency distribution of pitch-classes by mode.
Major mode Minor mode

PC Freq. Prob. Freq. Prob.
0 211 18.19% 45 14.95%
1 26 2.24% 4 1.33%
2 107 9.22% 28 9.30%
3 31 2.67% 25 8.31%
4 184 15.86% 4 1.33%
5 92 7.93% 11 3.65%
6 46 3.97% 12 3.99%
7 185 15.95% 78 25.91%
8 23 1.98% 21 6.98%
9 126 10.86% 18 5.98%
10 17 1.47% 35 11.63%
11 112 9.66% 20 6.64%
Total: 1160 Total: 301
frequency of the subdominant. The use of 6 just under 4% of
the time in each mode is striking. As might be expected,
the entropy figures for these distributions, 3.220 for the
major mode (Hr =.898) and 3.189 for the minor mode (Hr =
.890), are lower than those for all the melodies together.
This is true because the strictures associated with each
mode are isolated in the dual breakdown. In other words,
the extra freedom indicated by the higher H value of the
combined distribution represents the freedom to choose one
of two modes.
We may now begin to compare the Prokofiev figures with
those obtained in Youngblood's study. The H values for the
three composers studied by Youngblood are as follows:
Schubert, 3.127 (Hr = .87); Mendelssohn, 3.03 (Hr = .846);
and Schumann, 3.05 (Hr = .85). Obviously, Prokofiev is more
155
free in his choice of pitches than is any one of the three
nineteenth-century composers. Schubert comes the closest,
probably because he is the most chromatic of the three. An
examination of differences between Prokoviev's choice of
pitches and Schubert's may disclose specific ways in which
the style of Prokofiev's music differs from an earlier tonal
style. In table 3, Schubert's frequency distribution, taken
from Youngblood, is given alongside Prokofiev's.
Table 3. Comparison of pc-probability distributions

for Schubert and Prokofiev.
Schubert Prokofiev (major)

PC Freq. Prob. Freq. Prob.
0 182 17.76% 211 18.19%
1 7 0.68% 26 2.24%
2 168 16.39% 107 9.22%
3 23 2.24% 31 2.67%
4 124 12.10% 184 15.86%
5 83 8.10% 92 7.93%
6 16 1.56% 46 3.97%
7 203 19.80% 185 15.95%
8 30 2.93% 23 1.98%
9 78 7.61% 126 10.86%
10 29 2.83% 17 1.47%
11 __82 8.00% -11.2. 9.66%
Total: 1025 Total: 1160
Although it is clear which pitches Prokofiev uses more
often than Schubert and which pitches less, the question at
hand is whether any of the differences are significant.
Assuming the proportions displayed for Schubert are typical,
that they can be expected, are the discrepancies between the
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two composers possibly a matter of chance, or do they
indicate significant differences in style? The chi-square
figure obtained by a comparison of the full distributions is
170.895. With only 24.725 or greater needed for 99% confi
dence, it is clear that significant differences exist.
What, specifically, are they?
The first issue is the matter of chromaticism. Of the
1025 notes examined in the Schubert study, 920 (89.8%) are
diatonic, 105 (10.2%) chromatic. Of the 1160 notes in the
major-mode Prokofiev melodies, 1017 (87.7%) are diatonic,
while 143 (12.3%) are chromatic. The Prokofiev melodies
thus display more chromaticism. Is the difference signif
icant? The chi-square test suggests that it is. Given the
Schubert percentages as the normal probabilities, the
Prokofiev figures yield a chi-square value of 5.733. Since
at 1 degree of freedom 5.412 is needed for 98% confidence
and 6.6535 for 99% confidence, we may say with a little more
than 98% confidence that the greater chromaticism in
Prokofiev is in fact a significant difference of style.
The chi-square test can also give an indication of
whether the difference in the frequency of any single pitch
is significant. When the distributions are regrouped into
two categories each, tonic pitches and nontonic pitches, the
chi-square test yields a result of .120. Since 3.841 is
needed for even 95% confidence, the difference is trivial.
Testing for a difference in the use of 1, however, yields a
157
chi-square value of 39.649. Although chi-square figures are
suspect any time the expected frequency is under 2.0%, this
figure is so much higher than the 6.635 needed for 99%
confidence that it is still safe to say that Prokofiev uses
significantly more l's than does Schubert. Even compared to
Schumann, whose use of the pitch 1.5% of the time— a
proportion closer to Prokofiev's— makes the chi-square test
more sure, Prokofiev's use of 1 proves significantly higher.
The test yields a result of 4.25, over the 95% mark.
Of the twelve pitches, Prokofiev's low use of 2 yields
the greatest chi-square figure: 43.567. On the other hand,
the test for 3 yields one of the lowest: 1.203. Prokofiev
makes significantly more use of the third scale degree, 4.;
the chi-square value is 15.436. The smallest difference
between the two styles is in the use of 5; the chi-square
value is only .044. An abundant use of the raised fourth
scale degree, 6, appears to be one of the most significant
features of the style of Romeo and Juliet, as attested to by
the chi-square result of 41.228. A chi-square value of
10.837 shows that Prokofiev's use of the dominant, 7, is
significantly lower than Schubert's. His use of 8 is
somewhat lower, but a chi-square result of 3.466 suggests
the difference may not be significant. The use of 9 is
significantly greater in Prokofiev; the chi-square value is
17.578. A result of 7.590 reveals, surprisingly, that
Prokofiev's use of 10, a chromatic pitch, is significantly
158
lower. A result of 4.318 suggests that we may say with
something over 95% confidence that Prokofiev makes signif
icantly more use of the leading tone. In short, the greater
use of chromatic pitches is accounted for by significantly
higher numbers in Prokofiev of pitches 1 and 6 (although use
of 10 is significantly lower), while the lower overall
percentage of diatonic pitches is accounted for by the
significantly less frequent use of pitches 2 and 7 (although
use of 4 and 9 is significantly higher). These tendencies
are summarized in table 4.
Relative frequency of each pitch in Prokofiev

as compared with use by Schubert.
(higher) 6 significantly higher

significantly higher 7 significantly lower
significantly lower 8 somewhat lower
(higher) 9 significantly higher
significantly higher 10 significantly lower
(lower) 11 somewhat higher
Consecutive-pair Patterns
Having examined the distribution of the frequency of
each pitch, we may now turn our attention to more specific
syntactical uses for each pitch. In order to do so we will
use another type of frequency table. This type of table
will indicate the number of times each of the 144 possible
pitch-class combinations occurs as a consecutive pair of
notes. These tables will be arranged in twelve-by-twelve
159
arrays, each line a distribution showing the number of times
a given pitch is followed by the tonic pitch, by a
representative of pc 1, by a representative of pc 2, etc.
Each of these distributions may be analyzed in the ways the
distribution of overall frequencies was analyzed, and they
may be compared to it and to each other.
Table 5 shows Youngblood's table of frequencies of
consecutive pairs in Schubert as well as entropy figures.
These figures have been recalculated and, in most cases,
differ slightly from the figures, calculated before even
pocket calculators were available, given by Youngblood. In
addition, the table gives the frequencies and entropy
measurements for melodies 1-37 in Romeo and Juliet.
In a comparison of the entropy measurements, it is
quickly observed that Prokofiev's style is freer than
Schubert's. In other words, more variety of patterns in
consecutive pairs exists in Prokofiev's music, as indicated
by the higher overall entropy level, 88.32% as opposed to
79.6% for Schubert. In fact, the level of freedom for each
of the twelve separate distributions is higher in the music
of Prokofiev. That is, after any given note, Prokofiev is
less likely than Schubert to defer to typical tendencies.
This is due in part to the general tendency to use more
chromatic pitches, but must be mostly attributed simply to a
general willingness to use almost any pitch after any other
pitch. This difference is most obvious in the case of 1, in
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Table 5. Frequencies of consecutive pairs

in Schubert and Prokofiev.
1st Followed by:

PC 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 H Hr
0 Schub 29 0 27 5 33 3 1 26 1 7 10 40 2.89 80.7%

Prok 34 14 23 14 43 8 1 33 7 13 4 37 3.19 89.1%
1 Schub 5 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.15 32.1%

Prok 6 0 5 1 2 5 0 3 0 5 0 2 2.82 78.7%
2 Schub 57 1 38 4 15 13 2 13 0 7 0 18 2.65 74.8%

Prok 38 2 3 13 26 7 4 14 0 7 2 18 2.93 81.8%
3 Schub 3 2 11 2 0 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 2.28 63.6%

Prok 7 2 7 7 12 4 2 11 1 0 1 2 3.06 85.3%
4 Schub 24 0 41 0 13 4 1 36 0 5 0 0 2.25 62.7%

Prok 15 1 47 4 23 19 6 29 6 22 0 11 3.03 84.6%
5 Schub 1 0 24 8 36 2 0 6 1 5 0 0 2.17 60.4%

Prok 7 2 6 3 36 7 12 14 3 10 2 1 2.96 82.5%
6 Schub 1 0 0 0 1 0 7 7 0 0 0 0 1.54 43.1%

Prok 2 0 2 1 2 12 8 20 3 3 2 3 2.83 78.9%
7 Schub 33 2 12 3 22 39 6 58 7 5 2 14 2.92 81.6%

Prok 57 1 14 5 25 28 20 44 13 27 14 11 3.22 89.8%
8 Schub 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 10 5 4 6 0 2.47 68.9%

Prok 5 1 0 4 1 4 1 8 1 12 5 2 3.00 83.7%
9 Schub 3 0 6 0 0 18 0 19 4 25 0 3 2.38 66.3%

Prok 18 2 12 2 9 5 0 43 5 13 12 23 2.99 83.3%
10 Schub 2 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 10 3 9 1 2.50 69.6%

Prok 4 3 8 2 1 2 0 4 3 7 1 17 2.96 82.5%
11 Schub 28 0 9 0 1 2 0 20 0 15 2 5 2.41 67.2%

Prok 55 2 7 0 5 1 3 19 2 23 9 5 2.58 72.1%
Entropy for total. distribution: Schub 5.71 79.6%

Prok 6.33 88.3%
161
which Schubert limits himself to three possibilities, while
Prokofiev is free to follow with one of eight different
pitches. The striking difference between the 32.1% relative
entropy in Schubert's case and the 78.67% in Prokofiev's
bears this out. The least difference seen is in the case of
pitches following 11.. In this situation, Prokofiev is
content to follow the traditional tendencies to continue
with the tonic pitch or with the sixth scale degree, a
judgment which will be corroborated later in the chapter by
chi-square tests.
Now that it has been established that Prokofiev is
freer in the use of each pitch than Schubert is, we wish to
know details concerning the use of each pitch. In partic
ular, we wish to know whether tendency tones exist. That
is, are there tones that resolve in particular ways a
significant amount of the time? In order to answer this
question, it is necessary to do more than just determine
which notes follow a given pitch more often than others do.
The higher frequencies may merely be a result of the
generally high frequencies of those pitches. For instance,
although pitch 7 is followed most often by 7's and 0's, this
fact may be the result of the general abundance of 0's and
7's. We might also say that, while motion to 7 and motion
to 0 are tendencies of 7, this tendency is a general one and
not peculiar to the dominant pitch. For ease of reference,
a distribution for the Prokofiev melodies alone, with
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entropy and chi-square figures as well, is given in table 6.
Table 6. Frequencies consecutive-pair combinations

in melodies 1-37.
1st Followed by:

PC 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 H Hr chi2
0 34 14 23 14 43 8 1 33 7 13 4 37 3.19 89.1% 60.239

1 6 0 5 1 2 5 0 3 0 5 0 2 2.82 78.7% 13.611
2 38 2 3 13 26 7 4 14 0 7 2 18 2.93 81.8% 49.419
3 7 2 7 7 12 4 2 11 1 0 1 2 3.06 85.3% 24.493
4 15 1 47 4 23 19 6 29 6 22 0 11 3.03 84.6% 78.814
5 7 2 6 3 36 7 12 14 3 10 2 1 2.96 82.5% 71.936
6 2 0 2 1 2 12 8 20 3 3 2 3 2.83 78.9% 55.831
7 57 1 14 5 25 28 20 44 13 27 14 11 3.22 89.8% 42.261
8 5 1 0 4 1 4 1 8 1 12 5 2 3.00 83.7% 34.753
9 18 2 12 2 9 5 0 43 5 13 12 23 2.99 83.3% 46.332
10 4 3 8 2 1 2 0 4 3 7 1 17 2.96 82.5% 53.823
11 55 2 7 0 5 1 3 19 2 23 9 5 2.58 72.1% 86.419
Entropy for total distribution: 6.33 88.3%
In general terms, the information-theory calculations
indicate that Prokofiev is least free in his use of pitches
11, 1, and 6. These tones are therefore probably tendency
tones. He is the most free in his use of 0 and 7. These
tones are probably not tendency tones. With this imprecise
tool we can be no more specific.
In order to determine more definitely the tendency
tones and their respective tendencies we must use the chi-
square test and compare each line in the consecutive-pair
table with the distribution of overall probabilities. Since
17.52% of the pitches are tonic, 17.52% of the total
163
frequency for each line is considered the expected frequency
for the tonic pitch in that line, etc. Surprisingly, given
the results of the entropy calculations, the only pitch we
may not say with confidence is a tendency tone is 1. With
11 degrees of freedom, 19.675 is needed for even 95%
confidence of significant difference. The figure of 13.622
calculated for pc 1 is not enough. The calculation for
every other pitch except 3 exceeds the 24.725 needed for 99%
confidence, and the result for 3. is very close. The reason
the two tests give contradictory results for 1 is its low
total frequency. Information theory indicates that the
distribution is not close to random, but it does not take
into account the fact that some very skewed distributions
can occur by chance when only a few cases are observed. The
sampling base is simply not large enough for us to come to a
definite conclusion in the matter.
We will now examine each line in detail to see what
specifically is peculiar about each distribution. Regroup
ing each distribution twelve different ways— 0's and non-
O's, l's and non-l's, etc.— and comparing each result by
means of a chi-square test with a similar regrouping of the
proportions of table 1 will reveal just which differences,
whether higher or lower, are truly significant, thus showing
the specific tendencies of each pitch.
Pitch 0 is rather eccentric. The chi-square test for
its entire distribution yields a very high 60.239, and
164
indeed, upon examining the distribution of pitches following
it, one sees 4 following it as many as 43 times while 6
follows only once. Of course one expects a high number or
4/s and a low number of 6/s simply because of their relative
frequencies overall. Are these figures unusually exagger
ated? 4 accounts for 12.87% of the pitches overall in the
37 melodies. The expected frequency of 4 in a distribution
whose total frequency is 231 is therefore just under 30
(theoretically, 29.7297). In a comparison of this figure
and the observed 43, the chi-square test yields a result of
6.804, over the 6.635 needed for 99% confidence; the
frequency is significantly high. The tonic pitch has a
tendency, then, to be followed by 4 an inordinate amount of
the time. 6 represents 3.97% of all the pitches in melodies
1 to 37. 3.97% of 231 is 9.1707. Thus, nine 6's are
expected, although only one is observed. The chi-square
test's result of 7.580 affirms that the number of 6's
actually observed is significantly low. The tonic has a
definite tendency not to be followed by the note a tritone
away. The most significant differences in the distribution
are the high number of l's (chi-square: 18.443) and of 11's
(chi-square: 13.703). These differences can be explained
perhaps by a preference in the style for conjunct motion.
Curiously, however, the number of 2's is not significantly
higher than the number expected (chi-square: .141). Other
significant differences are the low number of 5's (chi-
165
square: 4.535) and of 9's (chi-square: 4.649). The chi-
square tests indicate that the high number of 0's and 7's
following the tonic pitch is the result of their relatively
high overall frequencies. Thus, movement following 0 shows
three definite positive tendencies and three definite
negative tendencies. The term "tendency tone" should,
however, be reserved for tones that show a single very-
strong positive tendency in resolution.
The distribution of notes following 1 shows only one
significant tendency, to move to j>. The chi-square result
of 4.597 allows us to say with something under 98%
confidence that this surprising finding cannot be purely a
product of chance. The high numbers of l's, 2/s, and £'s
can be attributed to overall frequency and, in the first two
cases, perhaps to a proclivity toward conjunct motion. But
the chi-square test cannot support the claim that anything
more than chance is necessarily involved.
The distribution for pitches following 2 contains three
significantly high numbers and three significantly low
numbers. Neighbors 0, 2, and 4 are inordinately high,
revealing a tendency for 2 to move by conjunct motion. The
pitch demonstrates a significant reluctance to repeat
itself, to move by tritone to 2, or, surprisingly, to move
to the dominant.
Pc 2 demonstrates three significant tendencies. The
most significant tendency (chi-square: 11.412) is for the
166
pitch to repeat itself. Motion to 4, the pitch that most
frequently follows 3., can be said with just under 95%
confidence to represent a significant tendency. Like other
pitches, 3 has a tendency not to be followed by the pitch
six half-steps away, in this case, 9.
4 is the first candidate for the term "tendency tone."
Not thought of as such traditionally, in this style the
pitch shows a single, strong, positive tendency (chi-square:
58.997), namely, to move to 2. It has two negative tenden
cies: it never moves by tritone to 10, and, surprisingly
considering its role in cadences, it moves to the tonic
pitch relatively rarely (32 cases expected, 15 observed).
5, which tends in traditional music to resolve down by
step, shows the same tendency here. Over one-third of the
notes that follow 5 in these melodies are 4/s (chi-square:
44.801). In this style, however, another tendency is
present. A chi-square figure of 15.938 demonstrates that
the number of 6's following 5's is significantly high. This
succession of 5 by the even more unstable 6 is truly non-
traditional. The low figures for the tonic pitch and for
11, a tritone away, mark significant negative tendencies.
The situation with 6 is very similar to that of 5; the
traditional resolution, up to 7, is present in this style,
as well as a second, nontraditional tendency, motion down to
5. Tie latter is 6's most significant tendency (chi-square:
16.466). Both tendencies involve conjunct motion. The
167
pitch also shows a significant tendency to repeat itself and
significant negative tendencies with regard to 4. and 0, the
latter being a tritone away.
Chi-square tests reveal seven tendencies for the
dominant pitch, 7, four significant with at least 95%
confidence, three nearly so. The positive tendencies are
motion to 5, 6, 7, and— the first nonconjunct positive
tendency— 0. The negative tendencies include motion by
tritone to 1, and motion to 2. Also among the negative
tendencies is movement to 11. In fact, the dominant pitch
moves to the chromatic 10 more often than to the generally
more frequent 11.
8 demonstrates two positive tendencies, motion to 9 and
motion to 10, and two negative tendencies, motion to 2 and
motion to 4. Traditionally the pitch may serve as either a
raised fifth, leading to 9, or a lowered sixth, leading to
7. While the first traditional tendency is represented in
this work, the second, probably traditionally the more
common, is not; the high number of 7's cannot be said with
confidence to be a result of anything more than the
generally high number of 7's. This discontinuation of a
traditional tendency is balanced by the new tendency to move
to 10.
The three positive tendencies demonstrated by 9, motion
to 7, 10, and JL1, all represent the general preference for
conjunct motion. The negative tendencies are motion to 4
168
and to 2. The chi-square test does not support the
statement that motion by tritone to 2 is significantly low.
10 may be added to the list of tendency tones. Its one
significant tendency is motion to H (chi-square: 35.411).
This tendency is directly opposed to the traditional
tendency for 12 to resolve down. Although this traditional
resolution is found, the number of 9's in this distribution
is apparently attributable only to their overall frequency,
not to any special tendency of 10. It shows significant
reluctance toward motion to 4.
11, the strongest of the traditional tendency tones,
like several others displays the traditional tendency plus
other nontraditional tendencies. The chi-square figure of
54.243 for the traditional motion to 2 is high, but
interestingly not as high as the figure for motion from 4 to
2. The nontraditional tendencies present are conjunct
motions to 9 and to 12- The pitch shows a negative tendency
to move to 3 or 4.
The study of consecutive pairs has revealed three
general principles concerning the style of Romeo and Juliet:
(1) that any pitch may be followed by practically any other
pitch, although (2) conjunct motion is preferred and (3)
motion by tritone is avoided. The first of these tendencies
represents a deviation from traditional tonal styles. With
regard to more specific matters, traditional tendency tones
2 and H preserve their traditional roles, although they
169
assume new secondary roles as well. This is also true of
the chromatic pitches 6 and, to some extent, 9. Chromatic
pitches 1 and 10, on the other hand, fill completely new
roles in this style.
Nonconsecutive Pairs
In traditional tonal music, a tendency tone need not
resolve immediately. Melodic embellishment may delay the
resolution by one or more notes. It is important then to
see if the immediate tendencies of any of the twelve pitches
continue to have strength at a distance of two notes. In
addition, other tendencies may be discovered. While it may
be desirable to examine pairs with two, three, or even more
intervening notes, this study is limited to pairs with only
one note intervening. A table giving the frequencies of
every combination is found in table 7. Table 8 combines
tables 6 and 7 by representing the number of instances in
which a pitch is found either directly after a given pitch
or two notes later. (If both notes following are of the
same pitch class, the tally is increased only by one.)
It might be expected that the information-theory
figures be higher when examining nonconsecutive pairs,
representing more freedom, and the chi-square figures lower,
representing less deviation from overall proportions. With
J2, this is certainly the case. The change in the chi-square
figure is especially dramatic. 13.625 is far below the
170
Table 7. Frequencies of pc pairs with

one note intervening.
1st Followed by:

PC 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 H Hr chi2
0 39 5 20 13 33 18 10 33 8 29 3 12 3.29 91.7% 13.625
1 1 1 6 9 2 1 0 3 3 1 0 2 2.87 80.2% 74.647
2 24 3 7 0 16 10 4 26 2 11 6 18 3.11 86.8% 13.000
3 13 4 1 2 5 3 6 11 2 0 1 6 3.06 85.4% 25.985
4 41 3 15 2 24 7 7 33 2 20 0 26 2.98 83.2% 23=886
5 15 1 21 4 10 5 4 13 3 18 4 4 3.19 88.9% 27.501
6 8 1 3 1 7 3 7 9 3 9 3 4 3.32 92.5% 15.806
7 38 5 25 17 41 20 4 47 6 17 11 20 3.27 91.1% 16.443
8 5 3 1 2 2 3 2 5 5 1 10 5 3.30 92.0% 70.116
9 32 0 16 2 19 21 7 12 2 12 4 16 3.11 86.9% 29.662
10 8 0 5 2 2 3 0 12 3 4 9 4 3.07 85.7% 36.710
11 16 4 12 0 17 5 4 31 4 17 1 13 3.06 85.3% 17.151
Entropy for total. distribution: 6.48 90.4%
Table 8 Frequencies of pc pairs with zero

or one note intervening.
1st Followed by:

PC 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 H Hr chi2
0 58 18 43 25 68 24 10 62 14 39 7 47 3.32 92.7% 35.692

1 7 1 11 10 4 6 0 5 3 6 0 4 3.13 87.2% 45.839
2 52 5 9 13 41 17 7 38 2 17 8 36 3.14 87.7% 30.760
3 19 6 8 7 13 7 7 19 3 0 2 7 3.20 89.3% 24.307
4 51 4 61 6 42 26 12 56 8 39 0 35 3.11 86.8% 49.096
5 21 3 27 7 41 11 15 26 6 27 6 5 3.22 90.0% 41.951
6 9 1 5 2 8 15 13 25 6 12 5 7 3.25 90.8% 42.045
7 86 6 37 21 63 46 23 80 19 43 25 31 3.33 92.9% 17.840
8 10 4 1 4 3 6 3 11 6 13 15 7 3.31 92.4% 74.007
9 47 2 28 4 28 26 7 51 7 23 15 38 3.21 89.4% 22.429
10 12 3 13 4 2 5 0 16 6 10 10 21 3.21 89.5% 45.095
11 59 6 19 0 22 6 7 46 6 39 10 18 3.02 84.2% 38.512
Entropy for total distribution: 6.54 91.2%
171
19.675 needed for 95% confidence that significant overall
deviation from relative randomness exists. None of 0's
significant immediate tendencies are evident in the non-
consecutive chart. For instance, the chi-square test allows
confidence of close to 95% that the number of ll's is
significantly low in this situation, although motion to H
is one of the very strong tendencies displayed by the tonic
in direct motion.
The case of pc 1 is very interesting. Both the
information theory and the chi-square numbers are higher,
the latter dramatically so. The reason for this
contradictory situation is again the low total frequency.
It is difficult to make definite conclusions based on this
low number of total observations. The indications given by
chi-square tests, however, are that the number of fi/s is
low, the number of £'s high, and the number of 3/s
tremendously high (chi-square: 58.213).
Calculations show the nonconsecutive-pair distribution
for 2. both more free than the consecutive-pair distribution
and less deviant from general tendencies. Specific tests
reveal only one significant tendency: to move to 11. This
is probably a result of 2's tendency to move directly to 0
and 0's to move directly to 11.
3. shows little change in either deviation from overall
probabilities or freedom. The strong tendencies are
slightly different, however. 1 shows an unusual tendency to
172
move, in the course of two notes, to 1 or to 6. The
tendency to avoid £ is still present.
4,'s strong tendency to move to 2. is replaced in this
situation with a tendency (the chi-square figure of 3.440
approaches the 95% confidence mark) to move to 0— possibly a
further indication of a preference for three-note, descend
ing, diatonic scales— and to 11. The tendency to avoid the
tritone, 12, is still present.
2's tendency to move to 1 and l's tendency to move to 2
result in a significantly high number of 2's in the non-
consecutive-pair distribution for 2. 5 also exhibits a
strong tendency to move to 9.
In the nonconsecutive-pair study, £ shows a drastic
increase in freedom and decrease in deviation from overall
proportions. The only tendency significantly different from
overall tendencies is for the note to remain stationary.
Only the 0 line contains more 6's, and there are four times
as many 0's to begin with. It seems that once this rela
tively rare pitch occurs, it wishes to remain.
The number of 3's found two notes after occurrences of
7 is significantly high, perhaps representing a preference
for a three-note descending figure in the minor mode. The
number of 6's can be said with almost 95% confidence to be
significantly low. Otherwise, the distribution represents
very nearly the proportions found generally in the melodies.
Information theory suggests that fi has less control
173
over pitches that follow two notes later than it has over
those immediately following. However, the chi-square test
shows that the distribution is drastically less like the
general distribution than is the consecutive-pair distri
bution. What appears random to information theory appears
abnormal to the chi-square test since "randomness" should be
biased in this situation toward the tendencies of overall
proportions of the pitches. Especially unusual are the high
numbers of 10's and 8's. It seems that while scalar motion
leads away from a starting pitch in many cases, it does not
do so in the case of 8. The high number of 10's is probably
due to the chromatic tendency of 8 to move to 9 and for 9 to
move to 10. The chi-square test also indicates that the
number of l's is significantly high.
9 displays two strong tendencies in the non-
consecutive-pair chart: the number of 5's is significantly
high and the number of 7's is significantly low. The first
fact is probably a further instance of a preference for
descending diatonic scales. The pitch class represented
most often two notes after occurrences of 9 is 0. The
number is higher than expected, but the chi-square test does
not allow us to say with great confidence that the
difference is significant. It probably represents, however,
the product of the tendency of 9 to go to 11 and of 11. to go
to 0.
Although 10 shows a strong tendency to move directly to
11 and 11 shows a strong tendency to move to 0, the three-
note combination 10-li-Q does not seem to be common; the
number of 0's two pitches after instances of 10 is actually
lower than the number suggested by general probabilities.
The only strong tendency displayed by 10 in this situation
is to return to 10.
The distribution for 11 displays two strong tendencies.
The number of 3's is significantly low, and the high number
of 7's, the most common pitch in this situation, is
significantly high. The second fact probably arises from
the preference for descending diatonic scales.
In summary, pitches do not generally exhibit a tendency
toward delay of their normal resolutions. That delayed
resolutions occur is unquestioned; they are simply not
significantly abundant. The greatest general tendency among
diatonic pitches is toward descent by diatonic third.
Chromatic pitches display more variety, although 6, 8, and
10 share a tendency to return two notes after they have
sounded.
Intervals
From observing the frequency distributions for
consecutive pairs, one would expect an examination of
intervals formed by consecutive pitches to reveal a high
number of major and minor seconds and a low number of
tritones. These two are indeed among the tendencies
175
indicated by a tally of such intervals. (See table 9.) It
Table 9. Frequencies of intervals formed by

consecutive notes, melodies 1-37.
No. of Frequency
half-steps ascending descending
0 100 --
1 195 147
2 134 190
3 88 72
4 87 57
5 88 60
6 5 7
7 29 38
8 8 19
9 7 15
10 3 2
11 5 9
12 26 17
13 0 1
14 2 3
15 1 2
16 1 0
17 0 1
18 0 0
19 1 1
20-23 0 0
24 1 1
will be seen that, in general, the smaller the interval, the
higher the frequency. There are, on the other hand, several
interesting exceptions to this general trend. For instance,
the number of repetitions is actually lower than the number
of the frequency of any kind of step. Another interesting
exception is that, while there are approximately the same
total number of half-steps as whole-steps (342 vs. 324),
176
there are significantly more descending whole-steps than
half-steps and significantly more ascending half-steps than
whole-steps. The consecutive-pair chart indicates that the
reason for the high number of descending whole-steps is
largely a result of the tendency of diatonic pitches 2, 4,
7, 9, and 11to descend more often to diatonic pitches than
to chromatic pitches. The chart also explains the high
number of ascending half-steps as the result of a
combination of the tendency for the leading tone to resolve
up by half-step with the tendencies of chromatic pitches 3,
6, 8, and 10 to resolve up rather than down.
In both ascending and descending motion, there are
fewer intervals of three half-steps than of two, fewer
intervals of four half-steps than of three. However, in
both directions, there are slightly more leaps of five half
steps than of four. As expected from the study of
consecutive pairs, very few leaps of six half-steps in
either direction occur. But the number of leaps of seven
half-steps is still rather high. After this point, the
numbers drop sharply again.
The tally, then, shows that the number of perfect
fourths and perfect fifths is high considering the general
situation, in which larger intervals occur less often.
Although it is impossible to tell from Youngblood's chart
the difference between ascending fourths and descending
fifths, or between ascending fifths and descending fourths,
177
or between these intervals and their octave equivalents, the
chart does show a total of 112 fourths and fifths, 10.93% of
the total intervals, while Prokofiev uses 218 fourths and
fifths and their octave equivalents, 15.31% of the 1424
intervals used in these melodies.
The high use of fourths and fifths is well represented
by the first melody in "Folk Dance." (See example 80.) The
Example 80. Abundance of fourths and fifths in 151:1-152:1.
Allegro giocoso J - u a
P P ftfltggitn-r
i rrrrTr
j'T P J l i jij
use of these so-called open intervals lends a simple,
elemental character to the music. Thus whether used in the
same way as in folk music or not, these intervals are able
easily to invoke in the listener thoughts of folk music, a
fact capitalized upon by other composers such as Copland.
It is no surprise that the octave is the most numerous
of the larger intervals, or that there are few intervals
178
larger than an octave. These tendencies have been true of
melodic style for generations. What is different from
traditional style, however, is the greater number of large
descending intervals compared to large ascending intervals.
In summary, the melodies of Romeo and Juliet, although
based on diatonic scales, contain a high number of chromatic
pitches. This high use of chromaticism is closely linked
with a willingness on Prokofiev's part to follow, on
occasion, any note with almost any other. On the other
hand, most tones show strong tendencies toward particular
resolutions, some traditional, some, especially in the case
of chromatic pitches, new. Conjunct motion is preferred. A
high incidence of fourths and fifths is observed, as well as
a low incidence of tritones, two features not common to much
chromatic music.
179
CHAPTER VII
DRAMA
We now turn to a description of the way Prokofiev tells
a story with the music of Romeo and Juliet, noting the way
technical features of the music in each number contribute to
the expression of characters and themes in the story. Since
the ballet is based on Shakespeare's version of the story,
it is appropriate occasionally to draw parallels between the
text of his play and Prokofiev's music.1 Descriptions of
action taking place at particular moments are based on cues
scattered throughout the score and on a synopsis by George
Balanchine of the first Soviet production,2 choreographed by
Leonid Lavrovsky and presumably based on the original
libretto, on which Lavrovsky and Prokofiev collaborated.
While some of the following musical descriptions are
detailed enough to necessitate examples, the reader will
need access to a score in order to benefit fully from the
following synopsis.
Excerpts from the play are taken from Romeo and

Juliet, revised ed., edited by John E. Hankins, The Pelican
Shakespeare (New York: Penguin Books, 1970).
2This synopsis is found in Balanchine's New Complete

Stories of the Great Ballets, ed. Francis Mason (Garden
City, NY: Doubleday, 1968).
180
1, Introduction
The "Introduction" is full of the inconstancy,
innocence, and optimism of youth. Several uncomplicated
themes in several keys appear, one following the other
almost as quickly as Romeo's attraction to one young woman
is replaced by passion for another. The first three
melodies are nearly completely diatonic, reflecting the
simplicity that accompanies inexperience, although the
fourth, more sinuous and chromatic, makes pretensions toward
grandeur. While there is this hint of nascent maturity,
there is no foreboding of the tragedy to come. All is
resolved here as each melody finds its way to a tonic chord.
Even the first theme, beginning with a prolongation of pre
dominant harmony, resolves safely within four measures,
serving as a model of the typical adolescent's belief that
any situation other than unrequited love in which he
suddenly finds himself will have a happy ending. If there
is any shadow in the number, it is the ironic shift down
from C major to B major just before the cadence of the
repeat of this opening phrase. This shift is answered,
however, by the last melody's eventual rise from B major to
C major.
Prokofiev's fondness for melodic perfect fourths and
fifths is displayed in the second melody of the
"Introduction." (Please refer to example 18, page 39.)
These intervals stand out in three ways. First, they are
181
abundant; they account for fourteen, or exactly one-third,
of the melody's forty-two melodic intervals. In addition,
they are often found between pitches related in ways other
than by succession; the perfect fifth between the first and
last notes of the opening motive, f-sharp and c-sharp, is an
example. Second, these leaps are usually followed by a step
in the same direction, contrary to tradition. Third, they
often occur between pitches other than the traditional
tonic-dominant pair, usually delaying the normal stepwise
resolution of the less stable tones. The first interval in
the third measure, for instance, leaves the sixth scale
degree, g-sharp, stranded momentarily; the f-sharp and the
a-sharp in the next beat serve as successors to g-sharp in,
respectively, ascending and descending step progressions.
2. Romeo
The first act begins with Romeo sulking over Rosaline's
refusal to return his love. As people in such a state often
find a strange comfort in the perpetuation of their misery
and thus willfully seek this perpetuation, this number seems
determined to go awry. The music resists the establishment
of meter, for instance. (See example 81.) The sequential
nature of the opening measures suggests the duple meter
indicated in the score. The b-natural at the end of measure
2, though, acting as a suspension, lends strength to the
second beat of that measure and, as a corollary, weakness to
182
Example 81. Ambiguous meter in 5:1-5.
[5] Andante J>o
S t s mm m m m m SfiFP
m m m
the next beat, notated as a downbeat. The very presence of
b-natural in place of the b-flat expected because of the
opening F-major harmony, as well as its downward resolution,
contributes to the quirkiness of the music.
Just as the music begins to wander, it is forcefully
and suddenly brought back in measure 7, much as Romeo might
stubbornly interrupt any spontaneous mental wandering to
return to his dark thoughts. The variation on the opening
measures that begins in measure 7 includes a brooding melody
played, suitably, by the low strings and bassoon. A second
variation includes a much less ponderous melody. After two
occurrences, however, the more positive train of thought
represented by this melody is terminated as the bass melody
returns once more. The four lovely final measures announce
the rising of the sun. (See example 82.) But, in the words
of Romeo's father,
. . . all so soon as the all-cheering sun

Should in the farthest East begin to draw
The shady curtains from Aurora's bed,
Away from light steals home my heavy son
Example 82. Sunrise motive in 8:10-13.
j -ted f f f |» l l
>J >J jH ’ ;rl|
And private in his chamber pens himself,

Shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out,
And makes himself an artificial night.
(I,i , 132-38.)
Romeo's sun rises in a later scene.
3. The Street Wakens. 4. Morning Dance
An essential element of the story is the unawareness on
the part of the lover's parents, and of the adult population
of Verona in general, of Romeo and Juliet's love and of the
impending disaster. This situation is an essential element
of the plot, of course, but is also important for the tone
of the story in that the tragedy is set in relief by the
portrayal of people for whom life is continuing merrily as
always. Later in the story, for instance, Old Capulet
restrains Tybalt's indignation and allows the presence in
his house of his hated enemy's son simply because a
disturbance would ruin the gaiety of the party. Both he and
Tybalt are totally unaware that Romeo's words reveal his
love for Juliet even though it is by the sound of his voice
184
that they recognize him. Prokofiev provides this element to
his telling of the story with the lively number 3 and the
boisterous number 4, at the same time providing an occasion
for ensemble dancing.
The opening melody of number 3 perfectly depicts the
simple, happy character of the folk of Verona. (Please
refer to example 17, page 37.) Since the tonic pitch occurs
on the downbeat of the second measure, it is clear that
expectation of the arrival of the tonic is not what makes
the passage tonal. Rather, it is the expectation of
standard phrase length, in conjunction with the tonic's
eventual arrival on the downbeat of a strong measure in
measure 9:11, that creates the sense of cadence or tonal
closure at that time; meter makes this passage tonal.
The meter having been established, Prokofiev indulges
in some slight metrical games. Notable among them is a
transformation of the second passage, measure 10:1-13. (See
example 83.) The melody being viewed on a two-bar-
hypermeasure level, the first instance of the opening motive
begins on a strong measure, the second on a weak measure.
As this pattern continues, the high d comes on a weak
measure, the fourth hypermeasure. The tonic pitch's
occurrence on a fourth downbeat initially suggests the
arrival of a cadence. There is, however, an extension; the
phrase lasts ten measures, or five hypermeasures. When this
phrase is repeated, beginning with pick-up notes to measure
Example 83. Metrical comparison of 10:1-10 with 11:3-10.
r ir “I i
'±*L
11:3, the opening motive is heard only once. The omission
of an entire hypermeasure from this phrase puts the high d
on a strong measure this time; the phrase sounds short even
though its length is standard.
The "Morning Dance" adds a menacing note to the simple
character of the preceding number: both the introductory
material and the melody that begins at measure 5, a
variation on the melody from number 3, emphasize the minor
third and the tritone. When members of the house of Capulet
and of the house of Montague are on the street together,
tension is present, ready at any moment to flare up.
With the brash horn melody at rehearsal 16, Prokofiev
sets himself a compositional problem. (See example 84.)
The melody, while only four measures long, modulates up a
perfect fourth, creating, in Charles Rosen's words, a
186
Example 84. Modulating melody in 16:1-4.
P U i o , Ary«, Afckl
/!
T i n y . P i t t o , V- * . , C . k .
"large-scale dissonance."3 Prokofiev resolves this
dissonance in two ways. At the end of this number he simply
alters and extends the end of the phrase. A second method
is used later in the ballet.
5. The Quarrel
The menacing tone of the previous number is given full
development here as the potential for trouble between the
houses is realized in this quarrel on the streets. The
number opens with two statements of the same motive that
began number 4. The minor mode, introduced and used
occasionally in the previous number, is present throughout
the quarrel. When Prokofiev sets aside his preferences and
uses the minor mode, he usually has an expressive purpose
for doing so; the minor mode here represents the conflict
between the houses.
3See Charles Rosen, Sonata Forms, revised ed. (New York:

W. W. Norton, 1988), pp. 25, 129, and passim.
187
Onomatopoeic representation of the quarrel is provided
by the often recurring tremolos and fast repeated notes,
features reminiscent of Monteverdi's stile agitato, and by
the quick exchanges of register and instrumentation that
occur in measures 20:3, 20:12-13, and elsewhere. The two-
sided nature of the altercation is represented by the
lengths of the various passages: an opening of two measures
is followed by a motive lasting two beats, a pair of motives
each comprising two notes, a passage two measures long, an
ascending passage of four measures, a pair of measures
filled with repeated notes, etc.
Whereas quarrelers often find trading insults fun, and
fighters often continue to seek blood without consciously
thinking why, those at the moment between the exchange of
insults and the exchange of blows experience great emotional
heat. The violent, dissonant cadence at the end of the
number perfectly captures the moment. This exceptional
cadence (see example 32, page 65; chapter 3 contains details
on the resolution of the pitches involved) is used only
twice, both times at violent moments essential to the cycle
of fate that is to bring Romeo and Juliet to their doom.
If the simplicity of passion is represented by the use
of four-measure phrases and the complexity of decision
making by the use of other lengths, then Prokofiev tells us
188
here that no thought is involved in belligerent hatred.
Once the fight begins, instinct takes over those involved,
and the four-measure standard takes over the music. No
structure inherent in the pitch patterns demands the change
at measure 5 to a new bass; the C-major and D-major
harmonies of the first four measures could have alternated
for only one measure or for one hundred. (See example 48,
page 87.) The standard phrase length is present for the
purpose of expressing the emotions of the characters. The
scurrying pace of the fight gives way at rehearsals 30 and
33. It is only here, where the belligerents have a chance
to catch a breath and think, that the four-measure pattern
is broken. The changes are slight: two measures are taken
away from the second phrase in rehearsal 33, and one measure
is added just before rehearsal 35.
7. The Duke's Command. 8. Interlude
The slow pace and loud, dissonant chords lend to this
number, in all respects reminiscent of the "Catacombs"
movement from Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, an air
of authority, judgment, and death.
. . . What, ho! you men, you beasts,

That quench the fire of your pernicious rage
With purple fountains issuing from your veins!
On pain of torture, from those bloody hands
Throw your mistemp'red weapons to the ground
And hear the sentence of your movfed prince.
If ever you disturb our streets again,

Your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace.
(I,i, 81-86, 94-95.)
189
The Duke and his train exit the stage during the
"Interlude," marked "andante pomposo." One of the most
striking features of the number is its unusual dissonances.
(See example 85.) Mild dissonances are present as early as
Example 85. Dissonances in 44:1-45:1.
(T D A n d an te pom poso CL’l s t e s s o tem po)
1 y c o r .l i.s o a w / iLllt m r r p r L i U f i
iny i
i*tftfe4=!
1i ir iiij- Hffftfffr
L,lrT HsJ IL 1 l i - L --E .= fcJ- -i
.,0 ,1 , .s- î t elig> § g - g - fe ee [

t’ l l u r
T n . n .m sr m . n n
/Tr-«l ^ *#*■
a n b I p i.
-sfafei-s n e e.g cci » < o h

i* lllt rm t t - r r r t D J ~ =
/
fr, i;p___ i
J 53 3rw:
• ^ jLii H i
the second half of the first beat, where scale degrees 2 and
4 sound above newly reiterated scale degrees 1, 3, and 5.
190
Sharper dissonances begin in measure 5 where b-natural
occurs in the trombones on the second beat while b-flat
occurs in the horns above it. A more extreme case occurs on
the second half of beat 2 in measure 45:1, where c-natural
sounds together with d-flat as well as with the b-natural in
the trombones. (The b-natural is sustained from the
previous measure, although the piano reduction does not show
this.) The slow pace of the number gives these dissonances
a stubborn character, contributing to the pomposity called
for by the performance instructions.
9. Preparations for_the Ball (Juliet and Nurse)
Although the number is subtitled "Juliet and Nurse," it
is the Nurse's character that is treated in this number.
The open fourth in measure 2 and the open fifth in measure
4, out of place in a passage of fuller sonorities; the heavy
accents in measure 48:1; the parallel octaves in 48:3 and 4;
the sudden scale shifts— all point to the Nurse's humorous,
awkward character. (See example 86.) Her enjoyment in
telling the same silly story of a fall Juliet took as a
child (I,ii, 38-57) is represented by the numerous
repetitions of the same few short passages.
10. The Young Juliet
Neither Romeo nor Juliet expects to fall in love with
each other; Romeo thinks he is in love already, and Juliet
is too young to have thought much about love. This number
Example 86. Nurse's humorous character in 47:1-48:4.
Andante assai. Scherzando
fArehi
rwrw
finds Juliet, who is not yet fourteen, scurrying around her
room playing games with her nurse. (Please refer to example
20, page 43.) The quick tempo, the playful cadences, the
192
regular two-measure phrases, the running scales, and the use
of orchestra bells all point to Juliet's youth.
Inside the thirteen-year-old, however, womanhood is
springing. Juliet's mother enters at rehearsal 53 with one
of the themes from the "Introduction,11 a theme that is to be
associated in the next few scenes with Paris and with the
tradition of passionless courtship practices and arranged
marriage he represents. When Juliet's mother asks her what
she thinks of marriage, Shakespeare has her reply, "It is an
honor that I dream not of" (I, iii, 66); Prokofiev has her
remind her mother of her youth by repeating, at rehearsal
54, the music from the beginning of the number.
In both tellings, Juliet's mother points out that she
is indeed old enough to think about marriage. In the play,
the mother observes that she herself was a mother by the
time she was Juliet's age. In Leonid Lavrovsky's original
choreography, the mother leads Juliet to the mirror to make
her point. Juliet's budding maturity and readiness for love
are revealed at rehearsal 55. (Please refer to example 73,
page 132.) Everything up to this point has merely set the
stage; now characters begin to develop. Prokofiev brings to
the occasion the first truly odd-length melody. As does
Juliet's awareness of the inner stirring, the melody starts
tentatively. The listener has no idea what the pulse or
tempo are when the flute begins its long high c, and still
does not until two or three measures later. Regardless of
193
this fact, the melody covers six downbeats, the last marking
an elision into the next phrase. Thus, with or without
prior knowledge of the score, the phrase does not seem to
fit the standard length. Prokofiev uses the odd length to
express the new complexity of Juliet's character.
11. Arrival of the Guests
This number is subtitled "Minuet," but the characters
of the several melodies cover a spectrum much wider than
that usually associated with minuets. The first section is
stately, rehearsal 61 is demure, rehearsal 63 is graceful,
rehearsal 66 is comically pompous, and rehearsal 67 is
dainty. The variety of the pageant is expressed even in the
tonal structures of the various themes. All the melodies
begin in one key and end in another except for the one in
rehearsal 66, which is too boorish to change keys. Many of
them have no real ending but either cadence imperfectly
(64:9) or simply lead into the next melody (61:16).
12.. Masks
In this number, the audience is introduced to Mercutio.
Although a choreographer may have him present on stage
during the earlier street scene, it is here that Prokofiev
reveals Mercutio's character as he and Benvolio decide to
put on masks and go to the Capulets' party. They try to
persuade Romeo to go, but he hesitates:
194
ROMEO
And we mean well in going to this masque,
But 'tis no wit to go.
MERCUTIO Why, may one ask?
ROMEO
I dreamt a dream to-night.
MERCUTIO And so did I.
ROMEO
Well, what was yours?
MERCUTIO That dreamers often lie.
ROMEO
In bed asleep, while they do dream things true.
(I, iv, 48-52)
Such repartee is represented in the clever rhythmic turn at
the beginning of the melody, the dense chords that make
humorously false the martial spirit called for by the
performance instruction "andante marciale," the subtle
difference between the two statements of the first melody,
and the wry scale shifts. (Please refer to example 60, page
110.) The melodic structure of the first melody, one in
which stable tones of one scale are repeatedly reinterpreted
as members of a new scale, provides a musical analogy to the
use of puns in the boys' dialogue.
The theme that is specifically associated with Mercutio
later in the ballet begins at rehearsal 73. (Please refer
to example 58, page 106.) The ugly youth who makes light of
learning and love is present in the crude repetitions of the
raised fourth scale degree in measure 2, the flippant leaps
in measure 3, and the cynical shift to the minor mode in
195
measure 5. The melody has no cadence here in its first
presentation; an ending becomes tragically necessary later.
Romeo thinks of Rosaline one last time as rehearsal 75
offers a reprise of the music from the first scene. After
this, however, the sunrise motive is heard again; Romeo's
outlook is about to change for the better.
13. Dance of the Knights. 14. Juliet's Variation
Knights dance to music whose claim to be able to create
a noble theme out of an arpeggio and a dotted rhythm
discloses the pretentious character of the dancers. (Please
refer to example 77, page 138 for a reprise of this melody.)
The E-minor tonality gives way to A-flat major at rehearsal
81, reinforcing the importance of major-third structural
relationships in general and the special relationship shared
by C, A-flat, and E in particular. After a slower interlude
and a final cadence, this boastful music is followed by
Juliet's dance with Paris, at rehearsal 84. (Please refer
to example 79, page 142.) Juliet's theme here begins with
the same E-minor and B-minor arpeggios that launched the
Knights' dance, but the rhythmic and metrical transfor
mation, the slow staccato articulation, and the mysterious
glissandi in the violins make this music coy rather than
brash. E minor is juxtaposed with C major this time as one
of the refined love themes from the "Introduction11 serves as
Paris's interlude.
196
In number 14, Juliet begins to transform these themes.
As she becomes more comfortable with the situation, her
youthful scales begin to intrude, and the refined nature of
the melodies begins to soften. Whether playing the shy
debutante or the sprightly young girl, Juliet is unprepared
for the change that is about to take place in her life.
With the music at rehearsal 93, Romeo enters theparty,
sees Juliet, and falls in love:
Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight!

For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
(I, v, 52-53)
Most of the rest of the number is devoted to the melody from
the end of the "Introduction," the most impassioned of the
love themes presented so far. The melody occurs first in a
quick waltz variation, portraying the excitement that
accompanies Romeo's first sight of Juliet. (See example
87.) At rehearsal 95, the melody returns to its original
Example 87. 93:1-7 as metrical transformation of 2:6-12.

(Latter transposed.)
version. Paris sees a threat to his plans brewing and, at
197
the end of the number, tries to stop Romeo's advances.
15. Mercutio
To aid his friend by distracting the other guests, to
grab some attention for himself, and to provide the ballet
with a break in a succession of love themes, Mercutio dances
in this number. His witty character is represented by the
quick tempo, the subtle hemiolas, the wide leaps, the short,
forceful gestures, and the chromaticism. The contrasting
section links E-minor with A-flat once again. The octatonic
scale suggested at many scale shifts (see page 93) is
present in its complete form in measures 102:9-10, lending
confidence to the notion that Prokofiev's occasional use of
the scale is not accidental.
1,
6. Madrigal
In this number, Romeo and Juliet dance together for the
first time. Surrounded by other people, they feel a tension
between their need to act modestly and the desire to express
their passion. In the play, this tension is present in the
sonnet they recite to each other:
ROMEO
If I profane with my unworthiest hand
This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this;
My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand
To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss.
JULIET
Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,
Which mannerly devotion shows in this;
For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,
And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.
198
ROMEO
Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?
JULIET
Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer.
ROMEO
0, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do!
They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair.
JULIET
Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake.
ROMEO
Then move not while my prayer's effect I take.
Thus from my lips, by thine my sin is purged.
JULIET
Then have my lips the sin that they have took.
ROMEO
Sin from my lips? 0 trespass sweetly urged!
Give me my sin again.
JULIET You kiss by th' book.

(I, v, 93-110)
That Prokofiev thought of representing this text
specifically is suggested by the title, "Madrigal." He
portrays both the inner and the apparent emotions of the
pair by using two kinds of music in this number. The first
three melodies are quiet, mostly diatonic, and emotionally
restrained. There is a degree of tension in the first
melody with its mild diatonic dissonances, its chromatic
third phrase, and the sinuous interlocking thirds in its
middle line, but the simplicity of its outer lines and the
diatonicism with which it begins and ends keeps the tension
under control. (Please refer to example 74, page 133.)
This music specifically suggests love's sacred nature,
199
expressed by the metaphors in the poetry cited above. The
other two melodies of the first part first occur in the
"Introduction,"1 themes which have previously represented
innocence and decorous love. This music has suited Paris's
bid for Juliet's hand, but the love that she and Romeo find
and the music that expresses it are to surpass in beauty and
intensity what has come before. At rehearsal 111, with a
melody marked "caloroso," the restraints fall loose, and the
young lovers' true feelings are made known. (Please refer
to example 46, page 85.) The wide range covered in just the
first two measures, the wide, slow leaps, the exotic scale
shifts, the at times sinuous chromaticism, and the
appoggiaturas and other accented dissonances all point to
the passion Romeo and Juliet feel for one another. A
reprise of one of the simpler melodies, at rehearsal 113,
brings the audience gently back from the realm of inner
emotions to an awareness of the surrounding situation.
1.7_.- Tvbalt_Recognizes Romeo. 18. Gavotte (Departure of

Guests.)
When Tybalt recognizes the son of the enemy, Montague,
he is ready to fight him; Mercutio, Old Capulet and others
hold him back. This conflict, as are others, is represented
in the number by the use of two different kinds of music.
Tybalt's rage is expressed by music from the "Quarrel" and
music from the "Dance of the Knights." The various motives
generally fill four measures each, representing the
200
ingrained, instinctual nature of the hatred the men of the
two houses are taught to have for each other. The attempts
of others to calm Tybalt are set to music originally heard
at rehearsal 63, music whose phrases last five measures
each, a great contrast to the bold, square meter of Tybalt's
music. The meter is even less obvious in the variation
presented here since each beat of the original now takes up
one whole measure, and this only after an ambiguous
beginning. (See example 88.)
The turmoil having abated, the guests leave peacefully
in pageantry. The "Gavotte" from Prokofiev's Symphony No. 1
occurs here in expanded form. The interlude appears three
times. As a result, the main theme appears four times, each
time with variations, the most ironic of which occurs in the
last phrase, when the shift back to the D-major scale comes
early. (See example 89.) The very normal cadence that
results sounds very odd indeed in context. It is here that
the Nurse tells Juliet the name of the boy she has just
fallen in love with.
19. Balcony Scene. 20. Romeo's Variation, 21. Love Dance
But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?

It is the East, and Juliet is the sun!
(II, ii, 1-2)
The sunrise motive begins the "Balcony Scene;" Romeo's
night is over. His and Juliet's initial concern for names
and for proper behavior are evident in the use of the
201
Example 88. Contrasting moods in 114:1-116:1. (Each three-

measure group corresponding to a single measure at
rehearsal 63 bracketed.)
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i-hH ■-j^ — . -- -
■ 5- > c
'-fils]T-.ii i--
m m T@l
> £jy r=
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r Iraftgtu'iio itprtti:
r f -S - L 4^=
.M
ii
^ m ft ,
T— 1M -
---- J----
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202
Example 89. Early shift and normal cadence in 133:5-8.
i ,i m t f |
■==»- mp r \ I
j jjir n s 1 ■ | 1=
1-
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.
restrained melodies from the first part of the "Madrigal."
The young lovers' desire to overstep the boundaries set by
society, on the other hand, is expressed by the throbbing
interruptions to these melodies, starting at rehearsal 136.
Once the more passionate music begins this time, the
innocent, restrained love themes of the "Introduction" are
silenced forever.
Prokofiev now follows one intense love theme with
another through the end of the first act. Number 20 begins
with a quick waltz variation of the "caloroso" music of
rehearsal 111 (see example 90), expanding on a side of
Romeo's character first revealed at rehearsal 93, where he
first sees Juliet. This number has an ABA form, the
interlude introducing a theme in the same fast triple meter,
a theme whose wriggling chromatic passing tones serve per
fectly as a foil to the wide leaps of the surrounding music.
Number 21 introduces another new theme, at 142:5. (See
example 91.) This melody, while lasting eight measures,
203
Example 90. 139:1-7 as metrical transformation of 111:1-4

(Latter transposed.)
places emphasis on the fourth downbeat with an appoggiatura
at the top of the melody's nearly three-octave range, thus
throwing off the symmetrical nature inherent in the eight-
measure length. As a further irregularity, the melody
begins in F find ends on Z. It is precisely irregularities
such as these that keep this long string of melodies moving
without being too regular .n its large-scale rhythm, and
that makes the section so successful.
Measure 143:11 witnesses a reprise of the melody
introduced in number 20. Since neither of its two phrases
cadences, Prokofiev is able to add interest here by merely
reversing the order of the phrases. The addition of
chromatically sliding parallel fifths at rehearsal 144
increases the melody's sensuousness. As a contrast to the
open-ended nature of the previous phrases, the series of
cadence figures discussed earlier (see page 107) increases
tension through its chromatic ascents, quickly shifting
204
Example 91. Asymmetry within standard length in 142:4-12.
P'J’3| E u j i rT1
scales, and a melodic rise of two octaves in as many
measures. None of the melodies being used seems enough to
express the height of emotion at this point; only one phrase
from each is heard. The climax is finally reached in
measure 145:4 as the previously noted appoggiatura in the
opening melody of this number is harmonized chromatically
with a half-diminished seventh, quite voluptuous in contrast
205
to the figure's original diatonic setting. The long section
quickly relaxes with a cadence at long last, the second half
of the "caloroso" music serving the purpose. The closing
melody of the "Introduction" and the sunrise motive, a
literal representation this time, provide a long, glowing
coda to the act.
A series of folk-style melodies makes up number 22.
Simple bass lines, diatonicism, use of the four-bar phrase,
and sequential treatment of simple motives are four of the
factors that give the music its relatively simple character.
In addition, emphasis on the perfect fifth and perfect
fourth— a result of a high incidence of these intervals
between consecutive pairs of melodic pitches, numerous
outlined triads in the melodies, use of the fifth as a
structural interval in bass lines, use of fifth
relationships between the keys of successive melodies, and
occasional use of quintal harmony— contributes to the folk
like quality.
The first two periods of this number illustrate these
points. (Please refer to example 69, page 128, and to
example 56, page 105.) All phrases in these two periods,
including the introductory "phrase," last four measures.
The first melody is entirely diatonic; the second melody,
although comprising a section using the four-flat scale
206
between its G-major beginning and ending, uses no chromatic
pitches within these scale areas. The perfect fourth and
fifth are found between many consecutive pairs in the first
melody, notably in measures 151:7-9; the fifth is present in
each outlined triad in the sequential second melody. As the
D-major tonality of the first melody yields to G major in
the second (a fifth relationship), the D-major triad
stubbornly remains over the new g-natural bass, forming
quintally flavored harmony. As a final point, the simple
bass line of the second melody moves down by step (with
octave displacement in measure 52:4) to the fifth scale
degree, d, at which time it leaps back to the tonic. The
folk dances in the second act serve to provide more of the
ensemble dancing required for a successful spectacle, to
reinforce the idea of the general public's unawareness of
the impending tragedy, and to set the stage for the upcoming
street fight.
23. Romeo and Mercutio. 24. Dance of the Five Couples. 25_._
Dance with Mandolins
The sacred and the profane are juxtaposed in number 23
as Romeo's thoughts, expressed by the "Madrigal" melody, are
contrasted with the mocking humor of Mercutio's themes from
"Masks." Foreshadowing is supplied by the transformation of
the music from rehearsal 73 to the minor mode.
The folk dance that follows in number 24 displays an
unusual degree of sophistication, starting with the chro-
207
matically sliding parallel sixths and the eleven-measure
form of the opening melody. (Please refer to example 26,
page 57.) Although other sections of the number use four-
bar phrases, chromaticism remains a distinctive feature of
most of the melodies, as in the chromatic sequence found at
rehearsal 176 and elsewhere. Two further examples of
relative sophistication, are found in rehearsal 178.
(Please refer to example 14, page 33.) The beginning of the
melody features an ingenious chromatic sequence that seems
to rise and fall at the same time. Near the end of the
melody, Prokofiev expands on one of Schubert's devices. The
reinterpretation of the second harmony in measure 13, a
seventh chord built on the lowered sixth scale degree, as a
dominant of the Neapolitan is a common traditional
procedure, although the use of a minor Neapolitan may be
new. But in the next measure, Prokofiev resolves this same
chord deceptively, so that a chord built on the lowered
sixth of the main key moves to a chord built on the lowered
sixth of the Neapolitan.
Chords generated through chromatic voice leading and
regular phrase length fill the sixteen-bar variations in the
"Dance with Mandolins."
26. Nurse, 27. The Nu£se_Jp.e.lJj&e.r.g_RQTOeo a Note.fr.Qm Juliet
The Nurse's music is given full development here.
Included is a clever musical pun discussed earlier (please
208
refer to example 63, page 115), suitable for a character
that indulges in wordplay such as
. . . I'll lay fourteen of my teeth—

And yet, to my teen be it spoken, I have but four-
She's not fourteen. (I, iii, 12-14)
In number 27, the sender of the note as well as the
emotional response of the receiver are made known by the
excited music from "The Young Juliet." The final cadence,
an E-minor triad followed by a B-flat-major triad, is
suggestive of the outcome of the marriage just agreed upon.
The tritone relationship is found at only one other cadence
in the ballet.
28. Romeo at Friar Laurence's. 29. Juliet at. Friar

Laurence's. 30. Public Merrymaking. 31. Further Public
Festivities
Friar Laurence is represented by two gentle melodies,
each moving mostly in slow quarters, as a chorale. The
lovely chromatic embellishment of a-vii°/V in measure 208:6
is especially effective in contrast with the totally
diatonic first melody. (See example 92.)
Example 92. Chromatic embellishment of vii°/V in 208:5-8.
3 if.
ri , 6
*," yr
-.■mi ¥ -taL. ----- —
rjMEO
JQL
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209
The music for the marriage ceremony, in number 29, uses
metrically irregular or ambiguous phrases; the effect of a
folk dance or street fight is not appropriate here.
Although the beautiful melody starting at rehearsal 213
consists of two eight-measure phrases, the regularity is not
clear since each phrase starts on the second beat of a
measure. No difference in harmony, rhythm, orchestration,
or texture marks the downbeat in either case.
The wedding is followed by a reprise of most of the
folk dances heard earlier. The large-scale dissonance of
the short modulating melody from the "Morning Dance" is
given its second resolution in this section, at rehearsal
228. Starting on D, the melody modulates, cadencing on G.
Then, after a short interlude, the melody starts again, this
time on A, and modulates to D. A simple I-IV-V-I
progression is the result.
32. Meeting of Tvbalt and Mercutio. 33. Tybalt and Mercutio

Fight. 34. Mercutio Dies. 35. Romeo Decides to Avenge the
Death of Mercutio. 36. Finale of the Second Act
The use of b-natural in rapid alternation with a D-
minor triad, whether thought of as a raised sixth that
resolves in the wrong direction or as half of an unresolved
tritone, tastes of impending disaster. The transformation
to minor, at 247:9, of the melody from "The Street Awakens,"
together with the addition of a dissonant, chromatic counter
subject indicates that the underlying tension that the
210
public has tried to overlook is about to turn the festive
square of Verona into a place of death. (See example 93.)
Example 93. Minor mode as foreboding of death in 247:1-16.

T.al.V.le
A ciZl I I I. ^**~^****' e^—
- J-/j-jjj T B J T T j | j^ 1JJ
v.-r ■
C.b
8a«.,.Faic.
-i * ...r i r i . i i - r —f t » i—.— i i i i r r n - i
-=fi WA j f i U b =
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.P j - j j
, , ? ; ri > i . n ,
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f ’ ^ ’ r ^~]
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A new turn at rehearsal 248, full of violently unresolved
diminished fifths and fourths, is accompanied by the
arpeggiated motive from the "Dance of the Knights," showing
211
that Ingrained machismo and not reason or just retribution
is behind the quarrel.
In number 33, the exuberant music from Mercutio's dance
at the Capulet's party returns with a few alterations and
insertions; among them are metrical ambiguity in the opening
material resulting from a five-beat pattern superimposed on
the triple meter, and the series of dissonant chords at
measures 256:3-5 and elsewhere. This musical juxtaposition
shows that, while Mercutio has moments of trouble, his
cavalier attitude will not allow him to take seriously the
possibility of death. The recurrence of the violent cadence
from number 5 conveys the tragic consequences.
The slow minor-mode transformation of the melody from
"The Street Wakens" now, in number 34, represents the dying
Mercutio's staggering around, trying to fend off death. At
measures 263:6-7, we hear for the first time the motive of
death that will recur tragically often in coming scenes: the
juxtaposition of two minor triads a third apart over a slow
throbbing bass. (See example 94.) The return of the major
mode for the final reprise of Mercutio's theme, at rehearsal
265, underscores the poignancy of his futile struggle. How
different at this slow tempo seem the wide leaps at 265:5-7
that once sounded so joyously arrogant. When, at the
cadence, a B-minor triad is followed by an E-flat minor
triad, Mercutio is dead.
Romeo's decision to kill Tybalt in revenge and the
212
Example 94. Juxtaposition of two minor triads a third apart

as signal of death in 263:4-8.
iIp #
i^PPPPPPP
A n k l toa aori.
ri
PP
subsequent duel is set to music from the first street fight.
The most significant difference is the string of violently
accented, dissonant sonorities at rehearsal 280; Romeo
achieves his goal. Hatred and inexorable fate are evident
in the loud, dissonant finale to Act 2.
37. Introduction. 38. Romeo and J u l i e t . 39. Romeo bids

Juliet Farewell
The "Introduction” to Act 3 is a reprise of "The Duke's
Command," reminding the audience that Romeo must, as a
result of his actions, live in exile for the rest of his
life or die. This judgmental music is contrasted with a
reprise, in number 38, of one of the melodies from the
wedding scene as the curtain rises on Romeo and Juliet,
213
together in the morning. Number 39 introduces a new melody,
at rehearsal 289. As do so many of the love themes, this
melody rises nearly two octaves in its opening gesture. The
first phrase ending on supertonic harmony, the opening
phrase of the entire ballet provides the perfect consequent.
The happy ending looked to by the original occurrence cf the
phrase is no longer a dream appearing from nowhere;
happiness, if but for a moment, is a reality. The rest of
this number is much like the balcony scene.
40. Nurse. 41. Juliet Refuses to Marrv Paris. 42. Juliet

Alone. 42. Interlude
As adolescents, neither Romeo nor Juliet can, or even
think to, look beyond circumstances to the future; as Romeo
departs, Juliet asks suddenly, "O, think'st thou we shall
ever meet again?" (Ill, v, 51) Unable to foresee
difficulty, the young couple must face it as it comes. To
previously introduced melodies, the Nurse, Juliet's parents,
and Paris enter in number 40, and Juliet is told she will
marry Paris. Not brave enough to admit the truth, Juliet
first tries to simply put the trouble off. She says,
I will not marry yet; and when I do, I swear

It shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate,
Rather than Paris. (Ill, v, 122-24)
To her parents, this response seems to be a complaint that
she is not old enough, an idea expressed in the music by the
use at the beginning of number 41 of a variation on music
from "Young Juliet". At rehearsal 303, Juliet's inner
214
thoughts are revealed as the music first heard when Juliet
realized her maturity is transformed to the minor mode: she
is old enough to marry, but has, to her now realized misery,
married a man not allowed in her house or, in fact, in her
city. Her mother exclaims, "I would the fool were married
to her grave!” (Ill, v, 141) As she and Old Capulet storm
out, the music of "The Dance of the Knights" reveals the
egotistical indignation felt by the Father and Paris.
Juliet is left alone for numbers 42 and 43. Various love
themes accompany her thoughts of Romeo as she, having
received no help even from the Nurse, decides to go to Friar
Laurence for help.
44_.__At Friar .Laurence's Cell
As Juliet explains her situation and Laurence begins to
realize what desperate measures are needed, even his melody
is transformed to the minor mode, at 313:3. The strikingly
different effects Prokofiev achieves through transformation
of his themes is reflective of a bit of wisdom spoken by
Friar Laurence himself:
0, mickle is the powerful grace that lies

In plants, herbs, stones, and their true gualities?
For naught so vile that on the earth doth live
But to the earth some special good doth give;
Nor aught so good but, strained from that fair use,
Revolts from true birth, stumbling on abuse.
Virtue itself turns vice, being misapplied,
And vice sometime 's by action dignified.
(II, iii,15-22)
With this very knowledge, Laurence is able to make a potion
215
that will cause Juliet to appear dead. At rehearsal 314, he
gives Juliet this potion. At 314:5, the upper strings play
a new motive in which can be heard the slowly bubbling
poison as well as Juliet's careful contemplation of its use,
while the low winds and strings play more new material, this
melody, with its outlining of the augmented second between
the unresolved leading tone and lowered sixth, representing
the hideousness of even feigned death. (See example 95.)
Example 95. Death and poison motives in 313:10-314:6.
Fa*., V-l
n— n rrn
Cl.*.
C.-fa*.
Tuba C-*„esp
Love themes at the end of this number indicate Friar
Laurence's assurances concerning the outcome of the affair.
45. Interlude. 46. Juliet's Room. 47. Juliet Alone
From this point until the final scene, the minor mode
predominates through the dark proceedings. "Dance of the
216
Knights" music in number 45 indicates the return of Paris.
Number 324 brings the return of the melody to which Juliet
grudgingly agreed to dance with Paris; here it accompanies
her false agreement to marry him. The second half of number
46 and all of number 47 are devoted mostly to the theme of
Juliet's mature love in its minor-mode form, and to the
poison and death motives. Paris and the Capulets satisfied,
they leave Juliet alone to contemplate and to perform the
dreadful act of drinking poison to fool her family into
thinking she is dead that she may safely leave the only home
she has known in order to live with an exile. The only
formal articulations in this contemplative and metrically
highly irregular passage are various juxtapositions of minor
triads. The last, at measures 333:4-6, involves a C-sharp-
minor triad moving to an F-minor triad over a throbbing bass
that keeps irregularly slowing down as Juliet's heart slows
to an imperceptible murmur.
48-.Morning_Serenade_,_ 49. Dance of the Girls with Lilies
These two numbers provide a contrast to the dark,
irregularly phrased music that begins at the scene of
Juliet's visit to Friar Laurence and extends to the final
scene. Both numbers move almost exclusively in four-measure
phrases that add up to simple symmetrical forms. The
"Morning Serenade" constitutes the longest major-mode
passage of this section. Its use of C-minor harmony as an
217
embellishing chord for the E-major tonic is especially
striking and provides the final instance of the special
relationship between those roots. Number 49, with its
harmonic progression generated by chromatic voice leading,
offers an example of a link between foreground and
middleground root relationships: several phrases beginning
in A minor eventually slip into G-sharp minor, and G-sharp
minor is the neighbor chord used to embellish A minor in the
first two measures of the melody.
50.. At Juliet's Bedside. 51. Ju l i e t s Funeral. 52. Juliets

Death
Part of the Nurse's music constitutes most of number
50. She tries to wake Juliet, and as she discovers what she
believes to be a dead body, the orchestra plays the slow
theme from "Young Juliet," which indicates that her readi
ness for mature love has driven her to this act. The final
cadence juxtaposes A-flat and C as roots. The triads' major
quality, in contrast with the minor quality used at other
such cadences, makes the situation more poignant, as it did
when Mercutio's theme was played, at its last appearance, in
the major mode. The use of the major mode here also
suggests that good can come from the grim circumstances,
since Juliet's death is to serve as a means of ending the
feud between the two houses.
The death melody appropriately constitutes most of the
music of the funeral scene, in number 51. Its slow, regular
218
dotted rhythms serve perfectly for a funeral march. A love
theme at rehearsal 354 marks Romeo's presence. The death
melody at 355, forceful arpeggios at 356, harsh dissonances
at 357, and mysterious murmuring at 358 accompany the duel
between Romeo and Paris, the death of Paris, and Romeo's
commission of suicide.
Number 52 is entitled "Juliet's Death," and Romeo's
death takes place during the number entitled "Juliet's
Funeral." Prokofiev is correct in focusing attention on
Juliet here, since it is her character and not Romeo's that
really changes over the course of the story. Romeo's
suicide is the last rash act of a consistently rash boy, a
characterization confirmed by the strong, dissonant music
played during his death. How differently Prokofiev
accompanies Juliet's death! The juxtaposition of A-flat
major and C major that occurred at the nurse's discovery of
Juliet's feigned death returns as the theme of mature love
is transformed again to the major mode for four soaring
appearances. The full effect of the work is not appreciated
unless one sees, or at least visualizes, the gruesome action
taking place. "0 happy dagger!/ This is thy sheath; there
rust, and let me die." (V, iii, 169-70) The association of
the violent suicide of a thirteen-year-old girl with the
beautiful music of this last scene is very moving. A slow
coda accompanies the gathering of the two families and the
Prince in the sepulchre as Capulet and Montague reconcile.
219
A tragic, ironic cadence with a tritone root relationship
closes the ballet.
Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things;

Some shall be pardoned, and some punished;
For never was a story of more woe
Than this of Juliet and her Romeo.
(V, iii, 307-310)
220
CONCLUSION
In general terms, a tonal style is one in which musical
events bear implications concerning future events in the
same composition. More specifically, a tonal style is one
in which these implications work together to point to the
time and pitch of the final sonority of a given formal unit.
Although matters of pitch receive most of the attention in
discussions of tonality, it is actually matters of time upon
which a tonal style must be based; it is only when the
metrical placement of a cadence can be anticipated that its
pitch can be sensed as well. The agent for establishing the
sense for the metrical placement of cadences was, in
history, a regularity of phrase length. Once the pitch
patterns within the framework of the regular phrase length
began to crystalize, composers became free to alter the
regularity of phrases without destroying the sense of
tonality. Thus, tonality can survive if the proper pitch
patterns alone are present. However, should a composer wish
to create using new pitch patterns a style that prompts
active anticipation of cadences, he would have to once again
provide the necessary metrical regularity.
Prokofiev is just such a composer. While he felt he
221
needed always to be seeking new musical patterns, his early
use of shocking dissonances later gave way, at about the
time of the composition of our model, Romeo and Juliet, to a
more accessible style that, by consensus, is tonal.
Prokofiev's use of the four-measure phrase allowed him to
create a sense of anticipation, while freeing him to write
within that framework progressions not quite like anything
heard before.
The use of particular pitch patterns at cadences, of
diatonic scales as pitch sources, of particular methods of
shifting from one scale to another, of (in some cases)
stepwise melodic structures, and of melodic tendencies of
the twelve individual tones provide the listener with means
by which to sense pitches of resolution in the style of
Romeo and Juliet. Granted, the patterns are in some cases
complex enough to require some practice and familiarity on
the part of the listener, even though the sense of temporal
anticipation is picked up very easily. While these patterns
contribute to the tonal nature of the style, they also, by
their peculiarity, make the style unique. The wide variety
of cadential dominant sonorities, the sudden scale shifts
just before the final sonority of a period's first phrase
and just before the penultimate sonority of a period's last
phrase, the occasionally nontraditional melodic structures,
the high level of chromaticism, and the unusual resolution
of chromatic pitches combine to make Prokofiev's some of
222
history's most easily recognized music. This tonal style is
eminently suitable for accompanying the telling of the story
of a Shakespearean play, especially that of Romeo and
Juliet, since in both the story and the music, events are
directed, by the Fates or by the listener's ear, through
ironic twists toward their inevitable conclusion.
223
APPENDIX A
LOCATION OF CADENCE FIGURES

USED FOR STUDY IN CHAPTER III
Designations followed by (L) represent dominant-to-
tonic progressions that lead into a phrase without providing
closure to the previous phrase.
1. Beginning:3-4
2 . 1 :11-12
3. 2:11-12
4. 2:15-16
5. 2:17-3:1 (L)
6. 3:13
7. 4:3-4
8. 5:6-7
9. 6:9-7:1
10 . 8 :11-12
11. 9:10-11
12. 10:13-11:1
13. 16:4
14. 19:8
15. 19:44-45
16. 25:12-14
17. 26:8-27:1 (L)
18. 27:12-28:1 (L)
19. 48:4
20. 48:6-7 (L)
21. 48:8 (L)
22. 49:8-9
23. 50:2
24. 50:4
25. 50:8
26. 54:4
27. 54:7-8
28. 55:8-9
29. 58:7-8
30. 59:8-9
31. 60:3-4
224
32. 63:10-64:1
33. 64:8-9
34. 66:1-2
35. 66:4-5
36. 71:11-12
37. 73:8-74:1 (L)
38. 75:7-8
39. 77:2-3 (L)
40. 80:10
41. 84:8-85:1 (L)
42. 85:7-8
43. 86:3-4
44. 86:7-8
45. 90:13-14
46. 93:14-15
47. 95:8-9
48. 96:6-7
49. 103:8-9
50. 106:7-8
51. 106:10-12
52. 107:15-17
53. 111:7-8
54. 117:11-12
55. 121:5-6
56. 122:13-123:1
57. 125:8-9
58. 128:7-8
59. 137:11-138:1
60. 140:18-141:1
61. 142:11-12
62. 145:7-8
63. 152:8-153:1
64. 169:8-9
65. 174:18-19
66. 176:7-8
67. 178:15-16
68 . 201:2
69. 203:6
70. 203:7
71. 204:6
72. 206:8
73. 206:10
74. 207:4
75. 210:8
76. 254:6-7
77. 283:11-12
78. 289:2
79. 306:9-10
225
APPENDIX B
LOCATION OF MELODIES USED FOR STUDY IN CHAPTER VI
1. Beginning: 1-4
2. 1:5-12
3. 1:13-20
4. 2:6-13
5. 6:3-7 :1
6. 9:5-11:1
7. 18:5-19:8
8. 30:1-8
9. 44:5-8
10. 48:1-4
11. 50:1-8
12. 55:1-6
13. 60:1-4
14. 64:1-9
15. 67:1-4
16. 71:1-8
17. 73:1-4
18. 84:1-85:8
19. 88:3-89:10
20. 97:1-5
21. 106:1-8
22. 107:1-17
23. 111:1-112:8
24. 122:3-123:1
25. 125:2-9
26. 151:5-152:1
27. 152:2-153:1
28. 161:1-7
29. 174:9-19
30. 178:1-16
31. 201:1-4
32. 207:1-8
33. 208:1-209:8
34. 212:6-8
35. 213:5-214:8
36. 289:1-8
37. 315:3-6
226
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Works Cited
Tonality
Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music. 2nd ed. Cambridge,

MA: Belknap Press, 1969. S.v. "Tonality."
Crocker, Richard L. A History of Musical Style. New York:

McGraw-Hill, 1966.
Hindemith, Paul. The Craft of Musical Composition. Book l:

Theoretical Part. Translated by Arthur Mendel. 4th ed.
Mainz: Schott, 1970.
New. Grove_pictionarv of Music and Musicians. The. Edited by

Stanley Sadie. S.v. "Tonality," by Carl Dahlhaus.
Persichetti, Vincent. Twentieth-Century Harmony. New York:

W. W. Norton, 1961.
Rosen, Charles. Sonata Forms. Revised ed. New York: W.W.

Norton, 1988.
Schoenberg, Arnold, et al. Schoenberg. Edited by Merle

Armitage. New York: G. Schirmer, 1937; reprint ed.,
Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1977.
Regular Phrase Length
Cooper, Grosvenor and Meyer, Leonard B. The Rhythmic

Structure of Music. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, I960.
Seashore, Carl E. Psychology of Music. New York: McGraw-

Hill, 1938.
Stravinsky, Igor, poetics of Music in_the F_orm of Six

Lessons. Translated by Arthur Knodel and Ingolf Dahl.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1947.
227
Information Theory
Youngblood, Joseph E. "Style as Information." Journal of

Music Theory 2 (April 1958):24-35.
Prokofiev and Romeo and Juliet
Balanchine, George. Balanchine's New Complete Stories of the

Great Ballets. Edited by Francis Mason. Garden City,
NY: Doubleday, 1968.
Nestyev, Israel V. Prokofiev. Translated by Florence Jonas.

Foreword by Nicolas Slonimsky. Stanford, CA: Stanford
University Press, i960.
Prokofiev, Sergei. Romeo and Juliet: Piano Score, Op. 64.

Melville, NY: Belwin Mills, n.d.
Prokofiev, Sergei et al. Autobiography. Articles.

Reminiscences. Edited by Semyon Shlifstein. Translated
by Rose Prokofieva. Moscow: Foreign Language Publishing
House, n.d.
Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Revised ed. Edited

by John E. Hankins. The Pelican Shakespeare. New York:
Penguin Books, 1970.
Other Works on Prokofiev
English Language
Ashley, Patricia Ruth. "Prokofiev's Piano Music: Line,

Chord, Key." Ph.D. dissertation, University of
Rochester, Eastman School of Music, 1963.
Austin, William W. "Prokofiev's Fifth Symphony." Music

Review 17 (August 1956):205-20.
Biancolli, Louis. Serge Prpkofieff and His Orchestral Music .

New York: The Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New
York, 1953.
Brown, Malcolm Hamrick. "The Symphonies of Serge Prokofiev."

Ph.D. dissertation, Florida State University, 1967.
Dresser, Mary Anne. "Twentieth-Century Russian Cello

Sonatas." D.M.A. document, University of Texas at
Austin, 1983.
228
Evans, Robert Kenneth. "The Early Songs of Sergei Prokofiev

and their Relation to the Synthesis of the Arts in
Russia 1890-1922.” Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State
University, 1971.
Hanson, Lawrence and Elizabeth. Prokofiev; The Prodigal Son.

London: Cassell, 1964.
Kaufman, Rebecca Sue. “Expanded Tonality in the Late Chamber

Works of Sergei Prokofiev.” Ph.D. dissertation,
University of Kansas, 1987.
Me A1lister, Margaret Notman. "The Operas of Sergei

Prokofiev." Ph.D. dissertation, Cambridge University,
1970.
McAllister, Rita. "Sergey Prokofiev." In The New Grove

Russian Masters 2 . London: Macmillan, 1986.
A revision of the article by McAllister in The New
Grove Dictionary.
Martin, Rebecca Gena. "The Nine Piano Sonatas of Sergei

Prokofiev." D.M.A. project, University of Kentucky,
1982.
Moreux, Serge. "Prokofiev: An Intimate Portrait." Tempo. no.

11 (1949), pp. 5-9.
New Grove Dictionary of Music and, Musicians. The. Edited by

Stanley Sadie. S.v. "Prokofiev, Sergey," by Rita
McAllister.
Prokofiev, Sergei. Prokofiev by Prokofiev: A Composer/s

Memoir. Edited by David H Appel. Translated by Guy
Daniels. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1979.
________ . "Prokofiev Explains." Musical Times 89 (August

1948):233-34.
Prokofiev, Sergei et al. Sergei Prokofiev: Materials.

Articles. Interviews. Compiled by Vladimir Blok.
Translated by Kathleen Cook, Rose Prokofieva, et al.
[Moscow]: Progress Pulishers, 1978.
Robinson, Harlow. Seraei Prokofiev: A Biography. New York:

Viking, 1987.
Rogerson, Virginia C. "Political Influences on Twentieth-

Century Russian Composers and Their Compositions as
Observed in the Literature of Prokofiev, Shostakovich
and Khachaturian." M.A. thesis, California State
229
University, Fullerton, 1980.
Roseberry, Eric. "Prokofiev's Piano Sonatas." Music and

MUSi<?3.3ng 19 (1971) :38-42.
Samuel, Claude. Prokofiev. Translated by Miriam John.

London: Calder and Boyars, 1971.
Seroff, Victor. Sergei Prokofiev: A Soviet Tragedy. New

York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1968.
Smith, Elwood L. "The Fifth Symphony of Sergei Prokofiev."

Master's thesis, Eastman School of Music, 1957.
Vlahcevic, Sonia Klosek. "Thematic-Tonal Organization in the

Late Sonatas of Sergei Prokofiev." Ph.D. dissertation,
Catholic University, 1975.
Werth, Alexander. "The Real Prokofiev." Nation 176 (April 4,

1953):286.
Foreign Language
Aranovskii, Mark. Melos of S. Prokofiev. Leningrad: Muzyka,

1969.
In Russian.
Blok, Vladimir. "Prokofiev's Method of Composition: Problems

in the Organization of His Work Illustrated by
Materials from His Instrumental Music." M.A.
dissertation, Moscow Conservatory, 1973.
In Russian.
________ • Prokofiev's Music for Children. Moscow: Muzyka,

1969.
In Russian.
________ • S. S. Prokof'ev. Studies and Articles. Moscow:

Muzyka, 1972.
In Russian.
Kiseleva, E. I. "Auxiliary Tones in Prokofiev's Harmony." In

Theoretical Problems of 20th-Century Music I: A
Collection of Articles. Edited by Iuri Tiulin. Moscow:
Muzyka, 1967.
In Russian.
230
________ . "Polyharmony and Polytonality in the Work of S.

Prokofiev." In Problems of Music Theory; Book 2 . Edited
by Iuri Tiulin. Moscow: Muzyka, 1970.
In Russian.
Poszowski, Antoni. "The Features of the 'Prokof'ev

Dominant.'" Zeszvtv Naukowe Paristwowa Wyzsza Szkola
In Polish.
Streller, Friedbert. "Die friihen Sinfonien Sergej

Prokofjews: Ein Beitrag zu semantischer Analyse von
Musik." Ph.D. dissertation, Berlin, 1972.
Xolopov, Iuri. .Contemporary Traits in Prokofiev's Harmony.

Moscow: Muzyka, 1967.
In Russian.
________ • "Integral Development in the Harmonic Structures

of Prokofiev's Work." In Theoretical Problems of 20th-
.Csntury. Music I: A-Collection of Articles. Edited by
Iuri Tiulin. Moscow: Muzyka, 1967.
In Russian.
________ . "Russian Neoclassicism: Neoclassic Tendencies in

Prokofiev and Shostakovich." HudVeda 17 (1980):291-304.
In Czech.
Xolopova, Valentina. The problem of Rhvthm in the Work of

Composers_of the First Half of the 20th Century.
Moscow: Muzyka, 1971.
In Russian.

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INFORMATION TO USERS

The most advanced technology has been used to photo­

The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the

Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are re­

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University Microfilms International

T h e to n a l style o f Sergei P rokofiev’s “R o m eo a nd J u lie t”

Stephenson, Kenneth Dale, Ph.D.

C o p y rig h t © 1 9 8 9 b y S te p h e n so n , K e n n e th D a le . A ll rig h ts reserved .

ROMEO AND JULIET

Kenneth Dale Stephenson

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment

Thesis supervisor: Professor W. T. Atcherson

This is to certify that the Ph.D. thesis of

Kenneth Dale Stephenson

has been approved by the Examining Committee

Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet is tonal despite the

obvious stylistic differences between it and traditional

tonal music. Tonality is a sense the listener has

concerning the metrical placement and the pitch of an

approaching cadence. A regularity of phrase length gives

the listener a sense of the metrical placement of cadences

in this style, normally on the downbeat of the fourth

measure of a phrase. Information concerning the pitch is

provided (1) by cadence formulas, which involve a preference

for highly chromatic dominant sonorities, the notes of which

usually resolve by step or, frequently, by major third, and

(2) by the expectation that the key established at the

beginning of a melody, usually through the use of a diatonic

scale, should return by the time of the final cadence.

Between the beginning of a phrase and the end, however,

Prokofiev often indulges in colorful shifts to other,

distant scale areas, normally through the use of one

strategically placed altered scale degree, or through the

reharmonization of a common tone.

Prokofiev's melodic structures, while at times very

traditional, are often not: ascents as well as simple

oscillations are found. Regarding local-level melodic

traditional tonal style are a higher level of chromaticism,

the resolution of many chromatic pitches in the non-

traditional direction, and a frequent use of perfect fifths

and perfect fourths between scale degrees other than 1 and

§. This style is suitable for accompaniment to a story both

because of the inherently rich possibilities for the

development of character and theme, and because of its goal-

II. PHRASE L E N G T H ............................ 29

Establishment of Meter ................... 30

Final C h o r d s ..................... ... 60

IV. KEY, SCALE, AND MODULATION........... . 83

Methods of Establishing K e y s ......... 84

V. MELODIC STRUCTURE ........................... 125

Melodies with Descending Structures.. . . 126

Individual Pitches ....................... 151

VII. D R A M A .......................................... 179

APPENDIX A. LOCATION OF CADENCE FIGURES USED FOR

APPENDIX B. LOCATION OF MELODIES USED FOR STUDY IN

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY................ 226

1. Frequency distribution of pitch classes in

2. Frequency distribution of pitch-classes by mode 154

3. Comparison of pc-probability distributions for

4. Relative frequency of each pitch in Prokofiev

5. Frequencies of consecutive pairs in Schubert

6. Frequencies consecutive-pair combinations in

7. Frequencies of pc pairs with one note

The Tonal Style of Sergei Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet"

The Tonal Style of Sergei Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet"

The most advanced technology has been used to photo

Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are re