Lesson No.

6 Musical forms
• Preamble:

By carefully examining the various musical works, whether written or not (improvised) from the past, we
can observe that they are almost all structured (internal organization) in a more
or less complicated. The goal of a musical work is to present, under different 'facets', a
or several ideas in a 'pleasant' way to the ear. The internal structure of a musical piece
can be compared to that of a novel or a book.

Book Musical piece

The letter the note
The word The pattern
The proposal The period
The phrase The sentence
The paragraph The section
The chapter The movement
The book the work in its entirety

The musical idea generally corresponds to the phrase. Different types of ideas are distinguished, the
melody or the theme, main or secondary, the bridges, codas, cadences etc...
The melody has a generally 'singing' character, meaning it 'can be sung', it is balanced from
point of view tonality and is self-sufficient. The development of a melody takes place
essentially by 'extensions', changing the intervals, the note durations, etc... The theme
on the contrary poses a problem by juxtaposing relatively "distant" patterns from the perspective
rhythmic. This problem of coherence of the theme therefore needs to be resolved, as a result the theme is not
not autonomous but requires a follow-up that must 'explain' the structure of the theme.

The structure or organization of the musical piece is called 'form'. To describe it, we use
Letters A, B, C, A’, B’, C’ etc. associated with the main divisions (sections) of the part.
Letters are frequently used in jazz to delimit sections in addition to the double bar.
Measurement fine.

Examples of shapes:

1. The sonata form:

This extremely widespread and flexible form corresponds to the structure {A-B-A'}
Section A
It is called 'Exhibition' where the themes are presented for the first time.
Section A is essentially stable from a tonal perspective. It presents in
General 1 or 2 themes in similar tones. The 2e theme beyond its tone
Contrast with 1erby its character (singing, rhythmic, calm, violent, etc...)

Section B
It is called "Development". A. Schoenberg uses the term "Durchführung" which
means 'Which leads through or towards' which better corresponds to the role of this section B.
which is essentially unstable from a tonal point of view (modulating). Its goal is to bring back the
theme and the initial tone with an appropriate cadence. B takes up elements from A and
develops in different tones, it is rare for B to introduce totally new elements
new. The duration of section B is very variable, it is generally shorter than the
section A.
 oSection A'
It is called 'Re-exposure'. Its purpose is to make the themes of section A heard again.
with a return to the original tone. The 2ethe theme is generally in the same key as
the main themeeunlike the initial Section A.
If the themes are repeated exactly as in section A, it is referred to as 'Da Capo' form.
otherwise the themes are varied in different ways (rhythm, harmony, accompaniment) for
avoid monotony.

The sections A, B, A' can themselves be structured in sonata form A = {A1-B1-A'1}

B = {A2-B2-A’2}, A’ = {A3-B3-A’3} etc... on the principle of Russian dolls.
One can arrive at an extremely complex structure this way.

The sections must be connected to each other naturally from a harmonic perspective.
and melodic. For this, we use sections called 'Bridges' that connect
2 neighboring sections. Unlike the main sections, the bridges have no significance.
theme, it is rather sequences, rhythmic patterns or
melodic. We talk about a sequence when a group of notes (motif, period) is repeated
on different degrees (transposition), when it is the harmony that progresses in sequence,
we talk about 'harmony progression' (e.g. C – Am - F - Dm - Bb - Gm - Eb)

Music generally progresses in successive "waves", we talk about "amplification" and

"liquidation" with the achievement of a peak point called "climax" then descent towards a
calmer sound.
The music amplifies when the volume increases, the number of voices grows, the
notes rise to the high, complexity increases, the durations of notes become shorter,
the pace is accelerating etc... Conversely, we talk about liquidation in the opposite cases. The
liquidation occurs by gradually eliminating the main traits until only
keep only thematically insignificant elementary traits. The liquidation is
important to prepare the introduction of the next theme.

The sonata form applies to a piece or a work:

Concert: generally in 3 movements: Fast - Slow - Fast. The movements
Different in character, the 2e movement contrasts with the 1hein tempo (slow) and tonality
(minor/major, your neighbor). Sometimes a short transition (bridge) allows to connect the
Almost continuous movements (a fairly common case in CPE Bach).

2. Other common forms:

a. The rondo:
The structure is of the type A-B-A-C-A-D-A-...-A
The chorus A alternates with the successive verses B, C, D, ...
The refrain A is always in the same key, the verses vary in character (key,
rhythm, duration...)

b. The theme and variations

The structure is of the type A-A1-A2-A3...
It defines the main theme, A1, A2, A3... are variations built on harmony or the
melody of the main theme. We can end with a reminder of theme A for reasons of
 symmetry and coherence of the piece (in the case of jazz where the variations are quite distant from the theme,
A reminder of this at the end allows for closing the 'loop' and concluding logically.
Moreover, it is pleasant to hear a 2 again.e something that pleased the 1eratimes.

The themes adapted to variations are generally quite short. The theme
est parfois joué à la basse comme dans les passacailles. Dans le jazz les variations sont
successively played by the different soloists, the theme being played in general
by the entire group of musicians but not always.

c. The fugue

The structure is of the type A-B-A1-C-A2...

The theme is presented in section A successively in different voices, A1, A2 are
Similar to section A but in different tones. The fugue is constructed
essentially on imitations (repetitions of the same idea at different levels).
Sections B, C,… represent 'episodes' that connect sections A.. in between
they and how they differ in character. The episodes use sequences or melodies
homophones or semi-counterpoint (parallel combination of a theme and a counter-)
melody) while the A sections are absolutely contrapuntal and exploit the possibilities of
combination between different voices or instruments.

Towards the end of the piece, the theme can be presented with note durations decreasing, creating
thus a form of acceleration called 'stretto'. The entries of the theme can overlap like
Some "chevrons" etc...
When the theme is presented with notes in extended durations with the other voices in longer durations.
Shortly, the theme is called "Cantus Firmus." It is a typically Baroque process that one
frequently found in the cantatas of [Link] where the melody of the chorale serves as the basis for the
The cantata is played/sung in soprano in cantus firmus.

The classic combinations of counterpoint:

1) the theme is played in parallel motion: The theme is imitated at another degree or at the octave.
This is the typical case of the 'canons'.

The theme is played in the opposite motion: each interval between 2 notes of the theme is repeated.
but in the opposite sense (upwards or downwards)

3) The theme is played in retrograde motion: The theme is played from right to left instead of
left to right.

4) The theme is played in contrary and retrograde motion: We combine the previous two cases:
The theme is played from right to left and by reversing the intervals.

5) The reversible counterpoint: When 2 melodic lines (voices) can be interchanged.

freely, we speak of reversible counterpoint (e.g.: the bass goes to the soprano, the soprano goes
At the base).

d. The concert:
The concerto generally has a structure in 3 movements: fast - slow - fast
The 1erand the 3e movements are in the same key
The 2andmovement contrasts with the 1erand the 3andby the tempo and the key (your neighbor, mode
Minor/major and character.
 The concerto puts in opposition, in dialogue, a soloist and the orchestra. The orchestra plays the theme,
these are the 'tutti', the soloist plays episodes or 'solis'. The alternation 'tutti'-'solis' of
Baroque concertos can sometimes disappear in more modern or romantic works.

We distinguish 2 forms of the concerto: the concerto 'Da Chiesa' (of the church) and the concerto 'Da
Chamber music. The concerto 'Da Chiesa' generally had 4 movements:
Lent - fast - lent - fast. One of the movements is often a fugue. The concerto 'da
Camera » is generally in 3 movements (fast-slow-fast). The last movement can
Being in shape "rondo" or built on a dance rhythm (jig for example).

e. The French Opening

The opening is structured in sonata form with Da capo A - B - A - B - A.
Section A is written at a slow tempo with 'dotted' rhythms, eighth dotted - double
Crochet. Section B is in fast tempo and often constructed in the form of a fugue.

f. The following :
The suite is essentially built on the form of an opening followed by pieces in the
same tonality but with different characters (often dances: minuet, gavotte, bourrée,
gigue). See for example the suites by [Link] or [Link].

g. The symphony:
The symphony is generally constructed in 4 movements in the form A-B-C-D.
A is in sonata form and in fast or moderate tempo.
B is a slow movement in a key closely related to A
It is a quick movement, minuet or scherzo, in a key close to A or in the same key.
D is a rapid movement in the same key as A.
The form of movements B, C, D is variable (often in sonata form)

h. The sonata:
The sonata is generally structured in 3 movements, sometimes more (4, 5...) in the form A-B-C.
A is generally fast (allegro) and built on the sonata form.
B is generally slow or moderate (adagio) on a tone close to A.
It is generally fast or very fast (allegro, presto) in the same key as A.

When there are additional movements, they are generally minuets with a trio that
inserted between B and C. This gave the structure of the symphony. A - B - C1 - (C2) - D