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Game: Spot the mistake

Featured Replies

Got a cool idea for a game: I'm going to post a score by a celebrated composer with (what I feel is) an error that that composer made in the music, and whoever finds it first posts another one and so on. No nonsense pedantry please! Errors identified by ear (rather than sight) a necessity in choosing scores!

First:

Rameau - La Joyeuse

I played through this piece and the error jumped out at me and made me wrinkle my nose, so I don't think it's one of those exceptional cases!

Hidden fifths, first appearing on the second crotchet of bar 13.

I am better than everybody forever because I spotted the mistake.

You are good Ian! :)

  • 3 weeks later...
  • Author

Since Ian didn't respond:

Mozart - String Quartet No. 7

It's in the first movement.

Wait. How is the Rameau fifth an error? I don't see it.

  • Author

Moving to a perfect fifth by similar disjunct motion sounds stunted, or something, to me, and to whatever theorist prohibited it in the first place.

Oh. hahah.

Not against the rules in my book.

Oh. hahah.

Not against the rules in my book.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consecutive_fifths#Hidden_consecutives

No no! I know the rule. I just don't see it as a mistake.

I don't know by what criteria we are saying "mistake". As a writer of 21st century music, I see errors in rules as good things... In a game like this, I see no errors unless you define the rules.

Common Practice harmony?

Theory of the 1700s?

Certainly there were conventions and people followed them. But, how do we judge that in our present day lives?

  • Author

The Rameau piece had a mistake according to (what I think I know of) the conventions of the time. The Mozart piece has (I think) a mistake according to (what I think I know of) the conventions of the time. The next piece will have a mistake according to (what I think I know of) the conventions of the time. See the pattern? :thumbsup:

Thank you. Now I know the rules of the game. ;) I'll look for the Mozart error sometime this weekend if nobody else looks at it.

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