FORM REVIEW

FORM

Musical form is an overarching term referring to how pieces are put together. At a “macro” level, this can include order and types of movements in a large, multi-movement work. Within a single movement or piece, form is reflected in new and repetitive materials and phrases. Within phrases, form is also used to define structure such as cadences and periods.

In the history of Western Classical Music, form has encountered somewhat of a bell curve with a lack of form in the earlier eras (Medieval especially) moving to more rigid, predictable forms through the Baroque and Classical Eras. While the Romantic Era still heavily relied on form, composers began to play with established concepts to lend surprise and interest to their works. In the 20th century and modern eras, many pieces have completely lost a sense of form (aleatoric and through-composed works), while others in Neo-Classical or Neo-Romantic styles rely on the listener’s understandings of forms from bygone eras. Still, other styles (such as Minimalism) focus on microforms of short phrases and motifs to develop a combination of pattern and originality.

For those planning on spending a lot of time with music from the 17th through 19th century in your career, you will encounter work almost entirely driven by form. For those of you with other interests, form is still important to recognize and understand as it is the basis for most of what we encounter in more modern music - even when music feels devoid of form or breaks form in a non-standard way, there is often an intentionality to it that can be better understood through a solid comprehension of form.

BINARY FORM

Binary form is the simplest and most straight-forward of all the musical forms but it also has the most variety to it so it can be a bit confusing. In general, binary form has an A and a contrasting B section back to back. We can categorize the various types of binary forms based on what happens with their melodic, harmonic, and length of content.

MELODIC REFERENCE

SIMPLE: The A and B melodic material are completely different (B does not call back to A). ||: A :||: B :||

ROUNDED: The B section includes a call back to A. This can occur during the same length of time as the original A (so the second section only calls back to some of A) or the length of the B section may be extended to include all new B material plus all the original A material. ||: A :||: B A :||

In rounded binary, the B material is referred to as a DIGRESSION because it digresses momentarily from the overarching A material.

HARMONIC REFERENCE

SECTIONAL: Both the A and B sections end with the tonic of the key (they are complete without the other). ||: … I :||: ... I :||

CONTINUOUS: The A section does not end on tonic and the B section does not begin on tonic (they are connected). ||: … V :||: … I :||

BALANCED: The end of B is identical to the end of A (if they’re sectional and both ending in tonic) both melodically and harmonically -or- if continuous, the end of B is referencing the end of A but doing so in the tonic so it feels like an ending - both the melody and harmony mirror A but finish in tonic.

LENGTH REFERENCE

SYMMETRICAL: Both the A and B sections have the same number of measures (like A is 8 measures and B is 8 measures).

ASYMMETRICAL: The two sections are different lengths - usually B is longer than A. Asymmetrical binary form is much more common in rounded form since the second half will often include a complete B and complete A statement.

Review in more detail on the BINARY FORM WEBPAGE

THEME & VARIATION

In this form, a THEME (either a single phrase, period, or some configuration of phrases) is presented in one key and style. For the remainder of the piece, all new material is a VARIATION of the original theme, with elements altered such as rhythms or notes in the melody, harmony, texture, tonality, meter, or style and expression. Very basic theme and variation just looks like: A A’ A’’ A’’’ A’’’’ etc. but more complex theme and variation could include introductions and transition material between the variations and each variation might be a different length. Theme and Variation form pieces are broken up into two categories:

SECTIONAL VARIATIONS: The theme and each new variation are presented as a detached complete miniature, usually ending in tonic, often with a double bar line before the next.

CONTINUOUS VARIATIONS: The theme and each new variation are blended together more seamlessly with transitions between or preparation for the new variation in the previous variation’s ending.

Some other concepts or forms that come up around Theme & Variation:

OSTINATO: A repetitive elemental idea that continues in a piece of music even as other elements change.

GROUND BASS: A repetitive bass line in a piece of music.

CHACONNE: A repetitive chord/harmonic structure in a piece of music.

PASSACAGLIA: A repetitive bass line and chord/harmonic structure in a piece of music.

Review in more detail on the THEME & VARIATION WEBPAGE

TERNARY FORM

The TERNARY FORM is a three-part piece of continuous music in an ABA (or ABA’) structure where the outer two sections are identical or practically identical and the interior section is fundamentally different. Ternary form is not to be confused with rounded binary as the A and B are more interrelated than in ternary. Ternary form is common as both a small-scale form and a large-scale/compound form where each of the large areas is made up of a binary or ternary form itself.

SECTIONAL TERNARY: Most often, the first A section moves away from its own tonic as a way to lead into the B section. The B section then finishes in its own tonic before moving to the final A. Spatially, it could be looked at as AB | A. On occasion, sectional ternary pieces might have a more resolute first A with the continuous movement between B and the second A like this: A | BA.

FULL SECTIONAL TERNARY: Each of the three sections (A, B, and A’s reprise) finish on the tonic chord of the key it started in. A | B | A

CONTINUOUS TERNARY: Each of the three sections finish on a different chord than its key center’s tonic. ABA

Many ternary pieces are disguised with the use of DA CAPO (D.C.), a publishing tactic meant to save ink in which the musician performs an A and B section and then is instructed to return to the beginning to repeat the A section again.

Review in more detail on the TERNARY FORM WEBPAGE

RONDO FORM

Review in more detail on the RONDO FORM WEBPAGE

SONATA-ALLEGRO FORM

This form was developed in the Classical Era and used to great extent in the Romantic Era (and still today). It is often found as the first movement of major symphonies, concerti, or sonatas and may sometimes be also found in the last movement. Usually, this form is not used for a stand-alone piece.

• INTRODUCTION: Many sonata-allegro form movements begin with a very slow introduction, especially if it is the first of a very large-scale work such as a symphony. The introduction may be in tonic, a non-tonic key center, or multiple key centers.

• EXPOSITION: This could be considered the large A section of the movement in which all the material is stated for the first time. In general, the Exposition is divided between two themes (an A theme and a B theme) in two contrasting but related keys. Most expositions have a note-for-note repeat through the use of a repeat sign around the section ||: exposition :||

  • THEME I/A/FTA: This is the first full theme of the movement stated in the tonic key

  • TRANSITION: A short transition to modulate or set up to the new key between the two themes of the exposition.

    • DEPENDENT TRANSITION (DTr): this is when the transition uses material from the first theme

    • INDEPENDENT TRANSITION (ITr): this is when the transition uses all new material

  • THEME II/B/STA: This is the second full theme stated in the exposition. If the tonic key is major, the second theme is most likely in the dominant major key (V); if the tonic is minor, the second theme is likely presented in the mediant major key (III).

    • CLOSING SECTION: This is the final part of the second area of the exposition. It is still in the second tonic area and still using melodic content of the second theme but feels like an ending.

• DEVELOPMENT: This is the “fun” part where small motifs and snippets of Theme I and Theme II are processed, overlapped, transformed, mutated, flipped on their heads, and tossed around into new but somewhat familiar settings. There is no specific tonality this section must be in and it is frequently ambiguous or sequences through multiple tonalities that might be distantly related from the tonic. A RETRANSITION (RTr) will signal the move back to tonic and a revisiting of the Exposition which will be called the Recapitulation because it is not an identical repeated section.

• RECAPITULATION: This is the “recap” of the Exposition but with a few key differences: the first is that all the material presented in the Exposition is now in the tonic key including any transitional material, Theme II/B/STA and the Closing Section. On occasion, the Expositional Material (especially Theme I) might be slightly abbreviated - as if just calling back to the idea rather than repeating it note-for-note.

  • CODA: A Coda is a musical device that ends many large-scale works, and often include a very abbreviated or blended statements of previous themes.

Review in more detail on the SONATA-ALLEGRO FORM WEBPAGE