The aim of this end-of-course article is to offer a complete analysis of Fredyryk Chopin's Ballade in G minor, op. 23., No. 1 as edited by G. Henle USA. This article will discuss the complete elements of Chopin's Ballade in G minor and examine issues of form and tonal patterns. Said to have been inspired by the poet Adam Mickiewicz 1, Chopin composed the Ballade in G minor between 1835 and 1836, during his first tenure in Paris. Chopin's Ballade in G minor has been one of the four most popular and frequently programmed Ballades and is a staple for many of today's leading pianists. The opening statement of the Ballade in G minor is a good specimen for comparing the elements that follow in the rest of the ballad.Example 1 Largo - Chopin Ballade in G minor, op. 23., No. 1In the opening of the ballad, marked Largo in 4/4, a low octave of C2 claimed by both hands rises rhythmically in eighth notes through the Neapolitan (A flat) of the intended key of G minor up to a high C6 and descends through a diminuendo written in F sharp, the main tone of G minor. As the opening statement descends, its message is interrupted by a three-beat silence that stops on a questionable E flat major 7 chord. This chord is echoed at the start of the moderato section as a low D2 evokes the underlying quality of the moderato now in 6/4. The rhythm of the 6/4 meter suggests a latent waltz quality that is only reinforced by the offbeat chords. Further evidence of this waltz quality exists in the portamento style writing of offbeat chords. While the rhythm of the 6/4 meter suggests a latent waltz-like quality, in each offbeat chord the quarter notes are melted under the portame...... middle of paper ......r by his contemporaries. While Chopin is considered one of the first to invent the ballad as a musical form, various studies of the musical form of his ballads debate whether the musical structure of these works is derived from sonata form or whether they are inherently exclusive, deviating from the traditional categories that were more prevalent during the period; for example, the allegro form of the sonata, the rondo form, as well as the theme and variation. Given the obvious presence of a theme, a second theme, and variations on the second theme, it can be suggested that Chopin's ideas regarding the ballad form are similar to the structure of a theme and a variation; However, as noted in many studies of this ballad, further analysis is needed in order to answer the question of whether the ballad is a new musical form, a variation of the sonata form, or whether the theme and variation are not cannot be fully answered..