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Harmonic rhythm: how fast does harmony move?

Melodic rhythm is easy to hear — the notes going by. Harmonic rhythm is quieter: how often the underlying chord actually changes, independent of how busy the surface sounds. We reduced all 76 pieces in our corpus to block chords and measured the rate: the corpus averages 1.50 changes per bar, but the range is wide. Prelude 20 in A minor (BWV 889) (J. S. Bach) changes chord 3.12 times a bar — more than three new harmonies every measure — while Für Elise (L. v. Beethoven) sits at just 0.78, one chord regularly stretched across more than a full bar.

Practice with the pieces that use it →

The census: every piece, ranked by pace

Changes per bar for the whole corpus, fastest to slowest:

piece	changes/bar
Prelude 20 in A minor (BWV 889)	3.12
Prelude 7 in E-flat major (BWV 852)	2.87
Prelude 16 in G minor (BWV 861)	2.47
Prelude 19 in A major (BWV 864)	2.42
Prelude 12 in F minor (BWV 857)	2.41
Prelude 7 in E-flat major (BWV 876)	2.41
Nocturne in E♭, Op. 9 No. 2	2.34
Prelude in C minor, Op. 28 No. 20	2.31
Clair de Lune	2.31
Prelude 18 in G-sharp minor (BWV 887)	2.31
Prelude 14 in F-sharp minor (BWV 859)	2.29
Prelude 11 in F major (BWV 856)	2.28
Prelude 8 in D-sharp minor (BWV 877)	2.19
Prelude 2 in C minor (BWV 871)	2.17
Prelude 6 in D minor (BWV 851)	2.15
Prelude 23 in B major (BWV 868)	2.11
Prelude 22 in B-flat minor (BWV 867)	2.08
Canon in D	1.98
Prelude 10 in E minor (BWV 855)	1.90
Melody (Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 1)	1.85
Invention No. 1 in C, BWV 772	1.83
Prelude 2 in C minor (BWV 847)	1.71
Prelude 5 in D major (BWV 850)	1.71
The Merry Peasant (Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 10)	1.67
Arabesque No. 2	1.65
Prelude 13 in F-sharp major (BWV 858)	1.63
Soldiers' March (Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 2)	1.59
Arabesque No. 1	1.56
Prelude 21 in B-flat major (BWV 866)	1.55
Ode to Joy	1.53
Sonata in C, K. 545	1.53
Prelude 9 in E major (BWV 854)	1.46
Prelude 12 in F minor (BWV 881)	1.46
Prelude 6 in D minor (BWV 875)	1.34
Nocturne in C-sharp minor (Op. posth.)	1.31
Prelude 14 in F-sharp minor (BWV 883)	1.30
Prelude 24 in B minor (BWV 893)	1.29
Londonderry Air (Danny Boy)	1.28
The Irish Rover	1.25
Prelude 18 in G-sharp minor (BWV 863)	1.24
The Little Hunter's Song (Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 7)	1.23
Prelude 5 in D major (BWV 874)	1.23
Moonlight Sonata, 1st Movement	1.20
Auld Lang Syne	1.20
Prelude 15 in G major (BWV 884)	1.20
Liebestraum No. 3	1.16
Prelude 8 in E-flat minor (BWV 853)	1.15
Prelude 20 in A minor (BWV 865)	1.14
Minuet in C (Notebook for Wolfgang)	1.13
The Wild Horseman (Album for the Young, Op. 68 No. 8)	1.12
Sonata No. 11, K. 331 — Alla Turca	1.10
Swan Lake Theme	1.09
Humoresque No. 7	1.08
Morning Mood (Peer Gynt)	1.08
The Entertainer	1.07
Prelude 13 in F-sharp major (BWV 882)	1.07
Arabesque, Op. 100 No. 2	1.06
Gymnopédie No. 1	1.05
Prelude 15 in G major (BWV 860)	1.05
Prelude 17 in A-flat major (BWV 862)	1.05
Prelude 23 in B major (BWV 892)	1.04
Lullaby (Wiegenlied)	1.00
Sonatina in C, Op. 36 No. 1	1.00
Air Napolitain "Santa Lucia"	1.00
Clair de Lune (Easy Arrangement)	1.00
Minuet in F, K. 2	1.00
Amazing Grace	1.00
Prelude No. 1 in C, BWV 846 (WTC I)	1.00
Waltz in A minor, B. 150	1.00
Prelude 1 in C major (BWV 846)	1.00
Prelude 3 in C-sharp major (BWV 848)	1.00
Prelude 4 in C-sharp minor (BWV 873)	1.00
Sonatina in G, Anh. 5 No. 1	0.97
When the Saints Go Marching In	0.95
Waltz, Op. 32 No. 1	0.89
Für Elise	0.78

Fastest and slowest, side by side

Each link opens the piece in the harmony player — the label under each one is exactly the chord-count and bar-count behind the rate above it.

Fastest-moving harmony

Prelude 20 in A minor (BWV 889) J. S. Bach 3.12 changes/bar (103 chords, 33 bars)
Prelude 7 in E-flat major (BWV 852) J. S. Bach 2.87 changes/bar (201 chords, 70 bars)
Prelude 16 in G minor (BWV 861) J. S. Bach 2.47 changes/bar (47 chords, 19 bars)
Prelude 19 in A major (BWV 864) J. S. Bach 2.42 changes/bar (58 chords, 24 bars)
Prelude 12 in F minor (BWV 857) J. S. Bach 2.41 changes/bar (53 chords, 22 bars)
Prelude 7 in E-flat major (BWV 876) J. S. Bach 2.41 changes/bar (171 chords, 71 bars)
Nocturne in E♭, Op. 9 No. 2 F. Chopin 2.34 changes/bar (82 chords, 35 bars)
Prelude in C minor, Op. 28 No. 20 F. Chopin 2.31 changes/bar (30 chords, 13 bars)

Slowest-moving harmony

Sonatina in G, Anh. 5 No. 1 L. v. Beethoven 0.97 changes/bar (33 chords, 34 bars)
When the Saints Go Marching In Traditional 0.95 changes/bar (18 chords, 19 bars)
Waltz, Op. 32 No. 1 C. Czerny 0.89 changes/bar (16 chords, 18 bars)
Für Elise L. v. Beethoven 0.78 changes/bar (83 chords, 106 bars)

Go deeper

Train your ear to feel the pace → Our ear-training site drills hearing when the chord actually changes versus when the surface is just busy above a held harmony.
The opposite extreme, surveyed → Pedal points hold the bass still for bars at a time while the harmony above keeps moving — a different kind of slow harmonic rhythm, counted on its own terms.
Learn a piece that uses them → The practice ladder loops eight bars at a time — hear the harmony slowly, read along, then play at tempo.