Musical Forms And Devices

Musical form

Musical form

refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it dictates how the music is organized and developed.

Musical devices

are techniques used to develop and enrich the musical material.

Binary form

A piece is divided into two sections: A and B.

Each section usually repeats (AABB).

Common in Baroque music

Ternary form

Three-part form where the first section (A) is repeated after a contrasting section (B).

The return to A can be varied (ABA′)

Rondo form

Features a recurring main theme (A) alternating with different sections (B, C, etc.).

Common in Classical and Romantic music

Sonata form

Typically used in the first movement of sonatas, symphonies, and concertos.

Consists of three main sections: Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation

Theme

presented and then altered in successive variations.

Variations

can change melody, harmony, rhythm, or timbre.

Strophic form

The same music is repeated for each verse or stanza of text (AAAA...).

Common in hymns and folk songs

Through-composed form

Music is continuous and non-repetitive, with new material throughout.

Often used in art songs (Lieder)

Verse chorus form

Common in popular music.

Alternates between verses (with varying lyrics) and a repeated chorus (with consistent lyrics)

12-bar blues

A specific form often used in blues and jazz.

Consists of 12 bars with a specific chord progression

Motif

A short, recurring musical idea or theme.

Can be rhythmic, melodic, or harmonic.

Ostinato

A repeated musical pattern or phrase.

Can be rhythmic (rhythmic ostinato) or melodic (melodic ostinato)

Sequence

Repetition of a motif or phrase at a different pitch.

Often used to build tension and momentum.

Imitation

One voice or instrument repeats a phrase or motif immediately after it is introduced by another.

Common in contrapuntal music.

Pedal point

A sustained or repeated note, usually in the bass, while harmonies change above it.

Syncopation

Accents or stresses are placed on weak beats or offbeats.

Canon

A contrapuntal composition where a melody is imitated exactly in one or more parts.

Contrapuntal

Combining two or more independent melodies into a cohesive musical texture.

Drone

A continuous note or notes that provide a harmonic foundation.

Arpeggio

Playing the notes of a chord in succession, rather than simultaneously.

Ornamentation

Decorative notes added to the main melody to embellish it.

Harmonic devices

Techniques like chord progression, modulation (changing key), and cadences (endings).

Rhythmic devices

Techniques like syncopation, hemiola (cross-rhythm), and augmentation (note values lengthened).

Ludwig van Beethoven

Born in 1770 in Bonn, Germany.

Grew up in a musical family.

Learned piano and violin from a young age.

Began performing publicly at the age of

8.

28

Beethoven began to lose his hearing at the age of __

Romantic

Beethoven is the key figure in the transition from the Classical period to the ________ period in music.

Piano Sonata No. 8 “Pathétique”

Composed by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1798, published in 1799.

One of Beethoven’s celebrated works from the Classical period.

Written when Beethoven was 27 years old.

Symphony No. 5

Pathétique has similar approach in other Beethoven works, such as ___________

13 and 19

In pathétique, the exposition contains syncopation in bars ________

contrary

In pathétique, _______ motion is used in bars 105 to 110.

4/4, Grave

time signature and tempo of introduction of pathétique

2/2

Time signature of exposition

tonic

In pathétique, the introduction key opens in C minor, the _____ key.

two

The first subject melody has a rising staccato theme spanning ___ octaves.

Bar 137

The bar based on the first subject.

Second subject

Includes acciaccaturas and mordents

Bars 140-141

Bars based on the second subject.

Western music

The course examines Beethoven’s legacy and how his music set new standards for expressiveness and complexity in ________