Measures 7 and 8

Measures 7 and 8 are variations of measures 3 and 4. The melody is transposed by an ascending minor third. The harmony in the first two beats is exactly the same, but a minor third higher. From then on, Chopin moves the dominant seventh chords chromatically. Each seventh chord can be analysed as the German sixth of the next chord:

Recording courtesy of Robert Ståhlbrand and Piano Society

The last chord will be used as a German sixth chord. This will resolve to a Bb tonic in second inversion.

The series of dominant chords moving chromatically can also be explained using the concept of tritone substitution from jazz theory. Tritone substitution involves replacing a dominant chord with another dominant chord that shares the same tritone and is a tritone away from the original chord. For example, G7 can be substituted with Db7, as they both share the same tritone (B – F and F – Cb):

Using tritone substitution on every other chord in a cycle of fifths progression results in a series of chromatically descending chords, similar to those in Chopin's Prelude: