Music Banter - View Single Post - Music Theory

venjacques · 03-29-2012, 12:37 PM

MoonlitSunshine is off to a good start. Mr. Dave is good too.

Form is what you want it to be. I've written and played a lot of those little

||:A:||fine
||:B:||DC al fine

pieces. They're cute, simple, and easy.

Basically a lot of music, especially popular things today, are in sections. The letters are clear ways to mark them. But here are a lot of forms:

Strophic form is just the same section over and over, maybe slightly altered. Thus you get AAAAA... or AA'A"A'''... . The A' is said "A-prime", A" is "A-double prime" etc.

The opposite of Strophic is Chain form or Free form. These are the other extreme and hit ABCDEF.... Medlies practice this, but usually a medly will end with A after the whole chain finishes.

Before we go further, it's important to realize that there's no right or wrong. There are common practices, but that doesn't stop you from making one that goes ABACDECDEFGCBCEH. If this works for you, you might have just made a new form. Form allows for pieces to be predictable, which is good for both listener (people get mentally satisfied when they hear something they think is coming), and also the performers, because they all have to move together. If a performing group knows the piece's form, they just have to think of a few sections, and their piece is ready to go. Great for improv players too.

Let's continue to other popular forms:

Binary form is simply AB. These can have repeat signs and make them AABB. Same thing really. These can be rounded binary, in which you have ||:A:|| ||:B A':|| The B section isn't terribly different from A, however, and the final A is usually only part of the original A section.

Ternary form is a closely related one. This is usually ABA or AABA or probably even AABBA. Basically, you state your main theme (A), go away from it (B), and then come back to it (A). AABA was popular for Arias of the 18th century (called Da Capo Arias, since they go back to the beginning and play the first section again). This form made divas shine. Apparently Arias were the most popular songs from operas. They were best songs as far as the public was concerned. This form also worked its way into a 32 bar song. This was used throughout the 1900's. The first 16 measures were A A, the next 8 (B) was called the Middle 8, and then you have A again for the end. Very popular form. The B section in ternary is quite different from the A material (where rounded binary was not), and then the final A section is a full return of the A section (where rounded binary was only half).

Then we have Rondo form, which, as the other have stated, is A_A_A_A_A_A where the blanks can be other sections. The important thing is that we start A with and come back to A as every other section. A couple popular Rondo forms are ABACABA and ABACABADA. A variation on this idea is Arch form, which comes out as ABCBA. I think the name speaks for itself. A larger one, then, would be ABCDCBA.

Theme and Variation is where you play a piece of music, usually not too long, and then you play it again with some kind of varied result. The Major key goes to minor, the melody is infused with triplets, the bass and treble lines switch, or whatever you want. This can be repeated into many variations on the original melody.

-------------

The granddaddy of musical form though is probably Sonata Form. This came about in the classical period, and set the standard. A lot of people groan about this, so I'll try to simplify how it works.

A sonata, in general, is a 3 or 4 movement work. If it has 4 sections, they'll be like this, based on tempo:
Movement I - Allegro (fast).
Movement II - Adagio/Lento/Andante (something on the slower side)
Movement III - Minuet and Trio (Usually. This is a 3/4 piece in rounded binary or "Minuet form".)
Movement IV - Presto/Vivace/Allegro (something on the fast side)

If you had a three movement sonata, the third movement above would be omitted.

For those of you unaware, when you play many movements in a set, traditionally you'd play the first one in its entirety (it's a piece in itself). Then you would stop playing. Then you'd play the second one, finish, stop playing. Then the third, and finally the fourth in the same manner. Only when you're done with the full sonata would the audience applause.

The second and fourth movements' forms are usually very simple - rounded binary, ternary, or rondo are great choices. The bulk of the form analysis for sonatas is found in the first movement, and is called Sonata Allegro Form.

There are three parts to a sonata allegro form - Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation.

Here is what happens in the Exposition part:
The sonata can start with an intro. (Optional)
After that, it plays Theme One in the tonic key (you have to start somewhere).
Then it can play an interlude going to a related key (usually the dominant [V] or relative key).
Then it plays Theme Two, in the related key.
Then it plays a coda to end the section.

Development
All hell breaks loose in this part. You have the material from Theme One and Theme Two, and they all mix and modulate, sequence, imitate, repeat, whatever you want. It's basically a roller coaster ride of the material from the two themes.

Recapitulation
This section ends the sonata allegro form. This happens much the same way as the Exposition.
Theme One comes back in the tonic key.
BUT now you have Theme Two in the TONIC key as well.

You can imagine like you (Theme 1) and your friend (Theme 2) are having an argument. You're on opposing sides (I and V, respectively). This is the exposition.

Then you have your discussion, talking about his mother's parents (foreign keys), how you felt when you didn't get to share ice cream last Friday (sequences), etc. That's the development.

Finally you reach a conclusion and agree (Theme 1 and 2 are both in the same key). And you won the argument, of course, since you both ended in the tonic where you started. So the moral of the story is that your friend is stupid for disagreeing in the first place.

-------------

I know this is a lot to take in, but hopefully it's in digestible chunks.

Up last is a favorite of mine - Fugue (fugal) form. This is difficult because it has to do with counterpoint, but the sections are still apparent.

All fugues will start with the main Subject - a melodic statement. This can be likened to a Motive, but in fugal analysis, it's called the Subject.

After the subject dies, two things happen -

1. A second voice comes in, usually at an interval of the 5th, and plays the subject again in the new key of the 5th. This is called the Answer.

2. The first voice turns into other melodic material, supporting the answer. This is called the counter subject. The counter subject now will partner the subject (answers) whenever they come in. They're best friends, but the subject/answer is the main character of the story, where the counter subject is more of a supporting role.

When the second voice ends, the third voice comes in with the subject on the tonic key. It's a subject because it's on the tonic key, rather than an answer, which is on the 5th (dominant). Voice two becomes the new counter subject. Voice one, having done the subject and counter subject roles already, is free do do whatever it wants and supports the other two voices, but it's just musical fluff. There's no importance of what it turns into.

If there are more voices, they keep ping-ponging with subject and answers, and then turning into counter subjects to support the new-coming voices. This whole section from the start up to this point is called, like Sonata Allegro Form, the Exposition. This ends when your last voice finishes its initial subject/answer (it doesn't have to become a counter subject).

Throughout the rest of the fugue, you have two parts that will alternate - subject material, and episodic material.

After the Exposition, you have an episode. The episode will modulate to new keys, transition in any way it wants, and move the music to different places. The episode is in lack of a full subject (in any key).

A subject section has at least one full subject. This can be in any key, and any voice.

The episodes and subject sections just keep ping-ponging back and forth until the end of the fugue, where you usually have a coda to end in the tonic key.

A useful term in fugal works is stretto. This is caused by many subjects entering (but not finishing). Instead of hearing a full subject by one of the voices, many voices interrupt one another before the subjects can finish. It's a really cool effect that builds tension, and usually happens near the end of the fugue.

------

That's all.

Well, time for breakfast.

03-29-2012, 12:37 PM	#63 (permalink)
venjacques Groupie Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 48	MoonlitSunshine is off to a good start. Mr. Dave is good too. Form is what you want it to be. I've written and played a lot of those little \|\|:A:\|\|fine \|\|:B:\|\|DC al fine pieces. They're cute, simple, and easy. Basically a lot of music, especially popular things today, are in sections. The letters are clear ways to mark them. But here are a lot of forms: Strophic form is just the same section over and over, maybe slightly altered. Thus you get AAAAA... or AA'A"A'''... . The A' is said "A-prime", A" is "A-double prime" etc. The opposite of Strophic is Chain form or Free form. These are the other extreme and hit ABCDEF.... Medlies practice this, but usually a medly will end with A after the whole chain finishes. Before we go further, it's important to realize that there's no right or wrong. There are common practices, but that doesn't stop you from making one that goes ABACDECDEFGCBCEH. If this works for you, you might have just made a new form. Form allows for pieces to be predictable, which is good for both listener (people get mentally satisfied when they hear something they think is coming), and also the performers, because they all have to move together. If a performing group knows the piece's form, they just have to think of a few sections, and their piece is ready to go. Great for improv players too. Let's continue to other popular forms: Binary form is simply AB. These can have repeat signs and make them AABB. Same thing really. These can be rounded binary, in which you have \|\|:A:\|\| \|\|:B A':\|\| The B section isn't terribly different from A, however, and the final A is usually only part of the original A section. Ternary form is a closely related one. This is usually ABA or AABA or probably even AABBA. Basically, you state your main theme (A), go away from it (B), and then come back to it (A). AABA was popular for Arias of the 18th century (called Da Capo Arias, since they go back to the beginning and play the first section again). This form made divas shine. Apparently Arias were the most popular songs from operas. They were best songs as far as the public was concerned. This form also worked its way into a 32 bar song. This was used throughout the 1900's. The first 16 measures were A A, the next 8 (B) was called the Middle 8, and then you have A again for the end. Very popular form. The B section in ternary is quite different from the A material (where rounded binary was not), and then the final A section is a full return of the A section (where rounded binary was only half). Then we have Rondo form, which, as the other have stated, is A_A_A_A_A_A where the blanks can be other sections. The important thing is that we start A with and come back to A as every other section. A couple popular Rondo forms are ABACABA and ABACABADA. A variation on this idea is Arch form, which comes out as ABCBA. I think the name speaks for itself. A larger one, then, would be ABCDCBA. Theme and Variation is where you play a piece of music, usually not too long, and then you play it again with some kind of varied result. The Major key goes to minor, the melody is infused with triplets, the bass and treble lines switch, or whatever you want. This can be repeated into many variations on the original melody. ------------- The granddaddy of musical form though is probably Sonata Form. This came about in the classical period, and set the standard. A lot of people groan about this, so I'll try to simplify how it works. A sonata, in general, is a 3 or 4 movement work. If it has 4 sections, they'll be like this, based on tempo: Movement I - Allegro (fast). Movement II - Adagio/Lento/Andante (something on the slower side) Movement III - Minuet and Trio (Usually. This is a 3/4 piece in rounded binary or "Minuet form".) Movement IV - Presto/Vivace/Allegro (something on the fast side) If you had a three movement sonata, the third movement above would be omitted. For those of you unaware, when you play many movements in a set, traditionally you'd play the first one in its entirety (it's a piece in itself). Then you would stop playing. Then you'd play the second one, finish, stop playing. Then the third, and finally the fourth in the same manner. Only when you're done with the full sonata would the audience applause. The second and fourth movements' forms are usually very simple - rounded binary, ternary, or rondo are great choices. The bulk of the form analysis for sonatas is found in the first movement, and is called Sonata Allegro Form. There are three parts to a sonata allegro form - Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation. Here is what happens in the Exposition part: The sonata can start with an intro. (Optional) After that, it plays Theme One in the tonic key (you have to start somewhere). Then it can play an interlude going to a related key (usually the dominant [V] or relative key). Then it plays Theme Two, in the related key. Then it plays a coda to end the section. Development All hell breaks loose in this part. You have the material from Theme One and Theme Two, and they all mix and modulate, sequence, imitate, repeat, whatever you want. It's basically a roller coaster ride of the material from the two themes. Recapitulation This section ends the sonata allegro form. This happens much the same way as the Exposition. Theme One comes back in the tonic key. BUT now you have Theme Two in the TONIC key as well. You can imagine like you (Theme 1) and your friend (Theme 2) are having an argument. You're on opposing sides (I and V, respectively). This is the exposition. Then you have your discussion, talking about his mother's parents (foreign keys), how you felt when you didn't get to share ice cream last Friday (sequences), etc. That's the development. Finally you reach a conclusion and agree (Theme 1 and 2 are both in the same key). And you won the argument, of course, since you both ended in the tonic where you started. So the moral of the story is that your friend is stupid for disagreeing in the first place. ------------- I know this is a lot to take in, but hopefully it's in digestible chunks. Up last is a favorite of mine - Fugue (fugal) form. This is difficult because it has to do with counterpoint, but the sections are still apparent. All fugues will start with the main Subject - a melodic statement. This can be likened to a Motive, but in fugal analysis, it's called the Subject. After the subject dies, two things happen - 1. A second voice comes in, usually at an interval of the 5th, and plays the subject again in the new key of the 5th. This is called the Answer. 2. The first voice turns into other melodic material, supporting the answer. This is called the counter subject. The counter subject now will partner the subject (answers) whenever they come in. They're best friends, but the subject/answer is the main character of the story, where the counter subject is more of a supporting role. When the second voice ends, the third voice comes in with the subject on the tonic key. It's a subject because it's on the tonic key, rather than an answer, which is on the 5th (dominant). Voice two becomes the new counter subject. Voice one, having done the subject and counter subject roles already, is free do do whatever it wants and supports the other two voices, but it's just musical fluff. There's no importance of what it turns into. If there are more voices, they keep ping-ponging with subject and answers, and then turning into counter subjects to support the new-coming voices. This whole section from the start up to this point is called, like Sonata Allegro Form, the Exposition. This ends when your last voice finishes its initial subject/answer (it doesn't have to become a counter subject). Throughout the rest of the fugue, you have two parts that will alternate - subject material, and episodic material. After the Exposition, you have an episode. The episode will modulate to new keys, transition in any way it wants, and move the music to different places. The episode is in lack of a full subject (in any key). A subject section has at least one full subject. This can be in any key, and any voice. The episodes and subject sections just keep ping-ponging back and forth until the end of the fugue, where you usually have a coda to end in the tonic key. A useful term in fugal works is stretto. This is caused by many subjects entering (but not finishing). Instead of hearing a full subject by one of the voices, many voices interrupt one another before the subjects can finish. It's a really cool effect that builds tension, and usually happens near the end of the fugue. ------ That's all. Well, time for breakfast. __________________ It's just another day.