21) Analysis of a composition for piano solo

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[Post #21] In this post we make a short analysis of the piece "River Flows In You" by Yiruma. We will try to focus on all the elements we have seen in the previous posts.

Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
(This copyrighted material is used only for study aid)

Let's see the structure of this composition first (as we learned it in these 2 posts: post 1 and post 2):
Intro (4 bars)
A (16 bars)
A' (16 bars)
Outro (9 bars)

There is a very short intro Intro that introduces the general atmosphere of the song. The chord progression is F#m - D.

The Theme of the composition (A) is made of 2 parts both of 8 bars. The first one is quieter, the second one more animated. These 16 bars are played again quite without changes, I wrote in the scheme A' but as the changes are really small I could also write A again. The chord progression of this sequence is always  F#m - D - A - E, very easy as the ones shown in this post.

The Outro is a mix of Intro and Theme. It has the same style and atmosphere and is made of 8 bars + 1 final bar.

These are the most important things until now:
  1. easy song structure, one of the most used in music. 
  2. The themes are strictly connected and proportioned to each other (mostly based on 4 or 8 bars).
  3. Use of typical chord progressions.
Here are some left and right-hand patterns used in this composition. These patterns are used during the whole piece, I highlighted them only on the first page because they are repeated without changes:
  1. The green arrows over the A notes show what we called in this post "repeated note".
  2. The green rings show instead what we in the same post called "repeated notes group".
  3. The red rings on the left hand show two examples of "discontinuous accompaniments" (as we called them in this post) and are used in the first 8 bars of the A theme.
  4. The pink ring shows a "continuous accompaniment" (as we called it in this post) used in the second part of the theme.



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