The term
musical form refers to the overall structure or plan of a piece of music, and it describes the layout of a composition as divided into sections. In the tenth edition of
The Oxford Companion to Music,
Percy ScholesPercy Alfred Scholes was an English musician, journalist and prolific writer, whose best-known achievement was his compilation of the first edition of The Oxford Companion to Music...
defines musical form as "a series of strategies designed to find a successful mean between the opposite extremes of unrelieved repetition and unrelieved alteration."
MusicologistMusicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
Richard MiddletonRichard Middleton FBA is Emeritus Professor of Music at Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne. He is also the founder and co-ordinating editor of the journal Popular Music.-Education:...
describes form through
repetitionRepetition is important in music, where sounds or sequences are often repeated. One often stated idea is that repetition should be in balance with the initial statements and variations in a piece. It may be called restatement, such as the restatement of a theme...
and difference: difference is the distance moved from a repeat; a repeat being the smallest difference. Difference is quantitative and qualitative; how far different and what type of difference. According to Middleton, musical form is "the shape or structure of the work." In many cases, form depends on statement and restatement, unity and variety,
contrastIn music and musical form, procedures of contrast include stratification, juxtaposition, and interpolation. Procedures of connection include gradation, amalgamation, and dissolution. Contrast is also when you compare two different instrument sounds to each other. It can also be the difference...
and connection.
Levels of organization
The founding level of musical form can be divided into two parts:
- The arrangement of the pulse
In music and music theory, the pulse or tactus consists of beats in a series of identical yet distinct periodic short-duration stimuli perceived as points in time occurring at the mensural level...
into accentedIn music, an accent is an emphasis placed on a particular note,either as a result of its context or specifically indicated by an accent mark.Accents contribute to the articulation and prosody of a performance of a musical phrase....
and unaccented beatsThe beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...
, the cellsThe 1957 Encyclopédie Larousse defines a cell in music as a "small rhythmic and melodic design that can be isolated, or can make up one part of a thematic context." The cell may be distinguished from the figure or motif:...
of a measure that, when harmonized, may give rise to a motif or figureA musical figure is the shortest idea in music, a short succession of notes, often recurring. It may have melodic pitch, harmonic progression and rhythmic . The 1964 Grove's Dictionary defines the figure as "the exact counterpart of the German 'motiv' and the French 'motif'": it produces a "single...
.
- The further organization of such a measure, by repetition and variation
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
, into a true musical phrase having a definite rhythm and duration that may be implied in melody and harmony, defined, for example, by a long final note and a breathing space. This "phrase" may be regarded as the fundamental formal unit of music: it may be broken down into measures of two or three beats, but its distinctive nature will then be lost. Even at this level, the importance of the principles of repetition and contrast, weak and strong, climax and repose, can be seen. (See also: Meter (music)Meter or metre is a term that music has inherited from the rhythmic element of poetry where it means the number of lines in a verse, the number of syllables in each line and the arrangement of those syllables as long or short, accented or unaccented...
) Thus, form may be understood on three levels of organization. For the purpose of this exposition, these levels can be roughly designated as passage, piece, and cycle.
Passage
The smallest level of construction concerns the way musical phrases are organized into musical
sentencesIn western musical theory, the term sentence is used in connection with musical spans towards the lower end of the durational scale; i.e. melodic or thematic entities well below the level of 'movement' or 'section', but above the level of 'motif' or 'phrase'...
and "paragraphs" such as the verse of a song. This may be compared to, and is often decided by, the verse-form or meter of the words or the steps of a dance.
For example, the
twelve bar bluesThe 12-bar blues is one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music, including the blues. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics and phrase and chord structure and duration...
is a specific verse form, while common meter is found in many hymns and ballads and, again, the Elizabethan
galliardThe galliard was a form of Renaissance dance and music popular all over Europe in the 16th century. It is mentioned in dance manuals from England, France, Spain, Germany and Italy, among others....
, like many dances, requires a certain rhythm, pace and length of melody to fit its repeating pattern of steps. Simpler styles of music may be more or less wholly defined at this level of form, which therefore does not differ greatly from the loose sense first mentioned and which may carry with it rhythmic, harmonic, timbral, occasional and melodic conventions.
In the analysis of musical form, any components that can be defined on the time axis (such as sections and units) are conventionally designated by
lettersA letter is a grapheme in an alphabetic system of writing, such as the Greek alphabet and its descendants. Letters compose phonemes and each phoneme represents a phone in the spoken form of the language....
. Upper-case letters are used for the most fundamental, while lower-case letters are used for sub-divisions. If one such section returns in a varied or modified form, a
numerical digitA digit is a symbol used in combinations to represent numbers in positional numeral systems. The name "digit" comes from the fact that the 10 digits of the hands correspond to the 10 symbols of the common base 10 number system, i.e...
or an appropriate number of
prime symbolsThe prime symbol , double prime symbol , and triple prime symbol , etc., are used to designate several different units, and for various other purposes in mathematics, the sciences and linguistics...
appears after the letter. Even at this simplest level, there are patterns that may be re-used on larger time-scales. For example:
The following verse is composed of two differently-rhymed couplets (
AABB), and thus its organization is
binaryBinary form is a musical form in two related sections, both of which are usually repeated. Binary is also a structure used to choreograph dance....
or "twofold".
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
- How I wonder what you are.
- Up above the world so high,
- like a diamond in the sky.
However, in the verse below, there is a rhyme repeated in the second line, then a variant in the third line, two half-lines sharing a new rhyme, followed by a final return to the first arrangement in the last line (
AABA), and thus its organization is
ternary formTernary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form, usually schematicized as A-B-A. The first and third parts are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part in some way provides a contrast with them...
or "threefold".
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- There once was a fellow from Leeds
- Who swallowed a packet of seeds.
- In less than an hour he burst into flower
- And he died trying to pull up the weeds.
However, as music educator
Stewart Macpherson Stewart Macpherson was an English musician of Scottish descent. He was born in Liverpool, and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 1887, he joined the RAM staff, and taught harmony and composition. He founded the Music Teachers' Association in 1908, and was its chairman until 1923...
stated, there is a preference at all levels of musical organization for groupings of two, four, eight over other divisions, so that even a ternary form is often extended by repetition of the first subject into a "fourfold" structure. Composers can be on guard against excessive "squareness".
Piece
The next level concerns the entire structure of any single self-contained musical piece. If the hymn, ballad, blues or dance alluded to above simply repeats the same musical material indefinitely then the piece is said to be in
strophic formStrophic form is the simplest and most durable of musical forms, elaborating a piece of music by repetition of a single formal section. This may be analyzed as "A A A..."...
overall. If it repeats with distinct, sustained changes each time, for instance in setting, ornamentation or instrumentation, then the piece is a theme and variations. If two distinctly different themes are alternated indefinitely, as in a song alternating verse and
chorus-Musical:* Choir, a vocal ensemble* Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound; signal processors design to simulate the effect* Refrain or chorus of a song, pre-chorus may refer to bridge...
or in the alternating slow and fast sections of the Hungarian czardas, then this gives rise to a simple binary form. If the theme is played (perhaps twice), then a new theme is introduced, the piece then closing with a return to the first theme, we have a simple ternary form.
Great confusion, argument and misunderstanding can be generated by such terms as 'ternary' and 'binary', as a complex piece may have elements of both at different organizational levels. A
minuetA minuet, also spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in 3/4 time. The word was adapted from Italian minuetto and French menuet, and may have been from French menu meaning slender, small, referring to the very small steps, or from the early 17th-century popular...
, like any Baroque dance, generally had simple binary structure (
AABB), however, this was frequently extended by the
introductionIn music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. In popular music this is often abbreviated as intro...
of another minuet arranged for solo instruments (called the
trio), after which the first was repeated again and the piece ended—this is a ternary form—
ABA: the piece is binary on the lower compositional level but ternary on the higher. Organisational levels are not clearly and universally defined in western musicology, while words like "section" and "passage" are used at different levels by different scholars whose definitions, as Scholes and others point out, cannot keep pace with the myriad innovations and variations devised by musicians.
Cycle
The grandest level of organization may be referred to as "cyclical form". It concerns the arrangement of several self-contained pieces into a large-scale composition. For example, a set of songs with a related theme may be presented as a song-cycle, whereas a set of
Baroque danceBaroque dance is dance of the Baroque era , closely linked with Baroque music, theatre and opera.- English country dance :...
s were presented as a
suiteIn music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
. The
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and
balletBallet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
may organize song and dance into even larger forms. This level of musical form, though it again applies and gives rise to different genres, takes more account of the methods of musical organisation used. For example: a
symphonyA symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
, a
concertoA concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
and a
sonataSonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
differ in scale and aim, yet generally resemble one another in the manner of their organization. The individual pieces which make up the larger form may be called
movementsA movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
.
Single forms
Scholes suggested that European classical music had only six stand-alone forms: simple binary, simple ternary, compound binary, rondo, air with variations, and
fugueIn music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
. However, musicologist
Alfred MannAlfred Mann , was a writer in musical theory and Professor Emeritus of Musicology at the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester.-Biography:...
, emphasized that the fugue is primarily a method of composition that has sometimes taken on certain structural conventions.
Where a piece cannot readily be broken down into sectional units (though it might borrow some form from a poem, story or programme), it is said to be
through-composedThrough-composed music is relatively continuous, non-sectional, and/or non-repetitive. A song is said to be through-composed if it has different music for each stanza of the lyrics. This is in contrast to strophic form, in which each stanza is set to the same music...
. Such is often the case with pieces named
FantasiaThe fantasia is a musical composition with its roots in the art of improvisation. Because of this, it seldom approximates the textbook rules of any strict musical form ....
,
PreludeA prelude is a short piece of music, the form of which may vary from piece to piece. The prelude can be thought of as a preface. It may stand on its own or introduce another work...
,
RhapsodyA rhapsody in music is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour and tonality. An air of spontaneous inspiration and a sense of improvisation make it freer in form than a set of variations...
,
EtudeAn étude , is an instrumental musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty, usually designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular technical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popularity of the piano...
or study,
Symphonic poemA symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
,
BagatelleA bagatelle is a short piece of music, typically for the piano, and usually of a light, mellow character. The name bagatelle literally means a "trifle", as a reference to the innocent character of the piece.-Earliest known bagatelle:...
,
ImpromptuAn impromptu is a free-form musical composition with the character of an ex tempore improvisation as if prompted by the spirit of the moment, usually for a solo instrument, such as piano...
, etc. Professor Charles Keil classified forms and formal detail as "sectional, developmental, or variational."
Sectional form
This form is built from a sequence of clear-cut units that may be referred to by letters as outlined above but also often have generic names such as
IntroductionIn music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. In popular music this is often abbreviated as intro...
and
CodaCoda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
, Exposition, Development and
recapitulationRecapitulation may refer to:* Recapitulation , a section of musical sonata form where the exposition is repeated in an altered form and the development is concluded...
, verse, chorus or
refrainA refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
, and
bridgeIn music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
. Introductions and codas, when they are no more than that, are frequently excluded from formal analysis. All such units may typically be eight measures long. Sectional forms include:
Strophic form
This form is defined by its "unrelieved repetition" (
AAAA...).
MedleyIn music, a medley is a piece composed from parts of existing pieces, usually three, played one after another, sometimes overlapping. They are common in popular music, and most medleys are songs rather than instrumental. A medley which is a remixed series is called a megamix, often done with tracks...
,
potpourriPotpourri or Pot-Pourri is a kind of musical form structured as ABCDEF..., the same as medley or, sometimes, fantasia. It is often used in light, easy-going and popular types of music....
or
Chain form: this is the opposite extreme of "unrelieved variation": it is simply an indefinite sequence of self-contained sections (
ABCD...), sometimes with repeats (
AABBCCDD...). Orchestral overtures are sometimes no more than a string of the best tunes of the show to come, such as in
Johann StraussJohann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
'
Blue DanubeThe Blue Danube is the common English title of An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 , a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866...
waltz, which ends with a reprise of the main theme (
(intro)ABCD...A1(coda)).
Binary form
This form uses two sections (
AB...); each section is often repeated (
AABB...). In 18th-century western classical music, "simple binary" form was often used for dances and carried with it the convention that the two sections should be in different musical keys but maintain the same rhythm, duration and tone. The alternation of two tunes gives enough variety to permit a dance to be extended for as long as may be required.
Ternary form
This form has three parts. In Western classical music a simple ternary form has a third section that is a recapitulation of the first (
ABA). Often, the first section is repeated (
AABA). This approach was popular in the 18th-century operatic
ariaAn aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment...
, and was called
da capoDa Capo is a musical term in Italian, meaning from the beginning . It is often abbreviated D.C. It is a composer or publisher's directive to repeat the previous part of music, often used to save space. In small pieces this might be the same thing as a repeat, but in larger works D.C...
(i.e. "repeat from the top") form. Later, it gave rise to the 32-bar song, with the
B section then often referred to as the "middle eight". A song has more need than a dance of a self-contained form with a beginning and an end.
Rondo form
This form has a recurring theme alternating with different (usually contrasting) sections called "episodes". It may be asymmetrical (
ABACADAEA) or symmetrical (
ABACABAC). A recurring section, especially the main theme, is sometimes more thoroughly varied, or else one episode may be a "development" of it. A similar arrangement is the
ritornelloA ritornello is a recurring passage in Baroque music for orchestra or chorus. The first or final movement of a solo concerto or aria may be in "ritornello form", in which the ritornello is the opening theme, always played by tutti, which returns in whole or in part and in different keys throughout...
form of the Baroque
concerto grossoThe concerto grosso is a form of baroque music in which the musical material is passed between a small group of soloists and full orchestra...
.
Arch formIn music, arch form is a sectional structure for a piece of music based on repetition, in reverse order, of all or most musical sections such that the overall form is symmetric, most often around a central movement...
(
ABCBA) resembles a symmetrical rondo without intermediate repetitions of the main theme.
Variational form
Variational forms are those in which variation is an important formative element.
Theme and Variations: a
themeIn music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based.-Characteristics:A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found . In contrast to an idea or motif, a theme is...
, which in itself can be of any shorter form (binary, ternary, etc.), forms the only "section" and is repeated indefinitely (as in strophic form) but is varied each time (
AA1A2A3A4A5A6), so as to make a sort of sectional chain form. An important variant of this, much used in 17th-century British music and in the
PassacagliaThe passacaglia is a musical form that originated in early seventeenth-century Spain and is still used by contemporary composers. It is usually of a serious character and is often, but not always, based on a bass-ostinato and written in triple metre....
and
ChaconneA chaconne ; is a type of musical composition popular in the baroque era when it was much used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line which offered a compositional outline for variation, decoration, figuration and...
, was that of the ground bass - a repeating bass theme or
basso ostinatoIn music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
over and around which the rest of the structure unfolds, often, but not always, spinning
polyphonicIn music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords ....
or
contrapuntalIn music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm and are harmonically interdependent . It has been most commonly identified in classical music, developing strongly during the Renaissance and in much of the common practice period,...
threads, or improvising
divisionsDivision in music refers to a type of ornamentation or variation common in 16th and 17th century music in which each note of a melodic line is "divided" into several shorter, faster-moving notes, often by a rhythmic repetition of a simple musical device such as the trill, turn or cambiata on each...
and
descantDescant or discant can refer to several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice above or removed from others....
s. This is said by Scholes (1977) to be the form
par excellence of unaccompanied or accompanied solo instrumental music. The
RondoRondo, and its French equivalent rondeau, is a word that has been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character-type that is distinct from the form...
is often found with sections varied (
AA1BA2CA3BA4) or (
ABA1CA2B1A).
Developmental form
Developmental forms are built directly from smaller units, such as
motifsIn music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
, combined and worked out in different ways, perhaps having a symmetrical or arch-like underpinning and a progressive development from beginning to end. By far the most important in Western classical music is;
Sonata form
This form, also known as
sonata allegro form, first movement form, compound binary, ternary and a variety of other names, developed from the binary-formed dance movement described above but is almost always cast in a greater ternary form having the nominal subdivisions of
Exposition, Development and
Recapitulation. Usually, but not always, the "A" parts (
ExpositionIn musical form and analysis, exposition is the initial presentation of the thematic material of a musical composition, movement, or section. The use of the term generally implies that the material will be developed or varied....
and
RecapitulationIn music theory, the recapitulation is one of the sections of a movement written in sonata form. The recapitulation occurs after the movement's development section, and typically presents once more the musical themes from the movement's exposition...
, respectively) may be subdivided into two or three
themesIn music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based.-Characteristics:A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found . In contrast to an idea or motif, a theme is...
or theme groups which are taken asunder and recombined to form the "B" part (the Development) - thus e. g. (AabB[dev. of a and/or b]A
1ab
1+coda). This developmental form is generally confined to certain sections of the piece, as to the middle section of the first movement of a sonata, though nineteenth-century composers such as Berlioz, Liszt and Wagner made valiant efforts to derive large-scale works purely or mainly from the motif.
Chester (1970) distinguished this as "extensional music", that "produced by starting with small components - rhythmic or melodic motifs, perhaps - and then 'developing' these through techniques of modification and combination." "Intensional music", meanwhile, "starts with a framework - a chord sequence, a melodic outline, a rhythmic pattern - and then extends itself by repeating the framework with perpetually varied inflections to the details filling it in."
Cyclical forms
Opera was originally modelled upon classical drama and takes much of its form from its
librettoA libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
and narrative. For many years, ballet was a component of opera, not in itself narrative, but having the form of a suite of set dances included at some appropriate moment in the story such as a
festivalA festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
or
weddingA wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
. It emerged as a separate form, supplying its own narrative or representation, during the 19th-century. At the same time, the
song cycleA song cycle is a group of songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a single entity. As a rule, all of the songs are by the same composer and often use words from the same poet or lyricist. Unification can be achieved by a narrative or a persona common to the songs, or even, as in Schumann's...
emerged, which is a set of related songs (as the suite is a set of related dances). The
oratorioAn oratorio is a large musical composition including an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. Like an opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias...
took shape as a narrative, often religious, recounted—rather than acted—by the singers.
The sonata, symphony, and concerto were all developed by the great composers of the Viennese school (Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven) along the same formal lines into distinctively musical forms limited little by the forms of song, dance or ceremony. Other forms of music, such as the
CatholicCatholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
massThe Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that sets the invariable portions of the Eucharistic liturgy to music...
and
requiemA Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
, are largely shaped by and subordinated to their texts and ceremonial functions.
More recent developments
A common idea is the depth of layers of form necessary for complexity, in which foregrounded detail events occur against a more structural background, as in
Schenkerian analysisSchenkerian analysis is a method of musical analysis of tonal music based on the theories of Heinrich Schenker. The goal of a Schenkerian analysis is to interpret the underlying structure of a tonal work. The theory's basic tenets can be viewed as a way of defining tonality in music...
. Composer and
music theoristMusic theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...
Professor
Fred LerdahlAlfred Whitford Lerdahl is the Fritz Reiner Professor of Musical Composition at Columbia University, and a composer and music theorist best known for his work on pitch space and cognitive constraints on compositional systems or "musical grammar[s]." He has written many orchestral and chamber...
, among others, argues that popular music lacks the structural complexity of multiple structural layers and thus lacks depth. However, Lerdahl's theories explicitly exclude associational details which are used to help articulate form in popular music; the theories of which are analyzed in music theorist and musicologist
Allen ForteAllen Forte is a music theorist and musicologist. He was born in Portland, Oregon and fought in the Navy at the close of World War II before moving to the East Coast. He is now Battell Professor of Music, Emeritus at Yale University...
's book,
The Structure of Atonal Music.
Similarly, Middleton maintains that "syntactic music" is centered on notation and "the hierarchic organization of quasilinguistic elements and their putting together (com-position) in line with systems of norms, expectations, surprises, tensions and resolutions. The resulting aesthetic is one of 'embodied meaning.'" on the other hand, non-notated music and performance "foreground process and are concerned with gesture, physical feel, the immediate moment, improvisation; the resulting aesthetic is one of 'engendered feeling' and is unsuited to the application of 'syntactic' criteria."
Connection and contrast may be achieved in new ways. Procedures of connection include:
gradationIn music gradation is gradual change within one parameter, or an overlapping of two blocks of sound....
, amalgamation, and dissolution. Procedures of contrast include: stratification,
juxtapositionJuxtaposition is the placement of two things near each other.Juxtaposition may refer to:...
, and
interpolationInterpolation in music refers to an abrupt change in musical elements from the main theme.-In classical music:In music and musical composition, especially 20th century and later, interpolation is an abrupt change of elements, with continuation of the first idea...
.
Especially recently, more segmented approaches have been taken through the use of stratification,
superimpositionIn graphics, superimposition is the placement of an image or video on top of an already-existing image or video, usually to add to the overall image effect, but also sometimes to conceal something .This technique is used in cartography to produce photomaps by superimposing grid lines, contour lines...
, juxtaposition, interpolation, and other
interruptionIn music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected in that they deviate from the strict succession of regularly spaced strong and weak but also powerful beats in a meter . These include a stress on a normally unstressed beat or a rest where one would normally be...
s and
simultaneitiesIn music, a simultaneity is more than one complete musical texture occurring at the same time, rather than in succession. This first appeared in the music of Charles Ives, and is common in the music of Conlon Nancarrow and others....
. Examples include the postmodern "block" technique used by composers such as
John ZornJohn Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
, where rather than organic development, one follows separate units in various combinations. These techniques may be used to create contrast to the point of disjointed chaotic
texturesIn music, texture is the way the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic materials are combined in a composition , thus determining the overall quality of sound of a piece...
, or, through repetition and return and
transitionalIn music, the transition is the middle section or formal function, while the main theme is the beginning, and the subordinate theme is the ending...
procedures such as dissolution, amalgamation, and gradation, may create connectedness and unity. Composers have also made more use of open forms such as produced by
aleatoricAleatoric music is music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the determination of its performer...
devices and other chance procedures, improvisation, and some
processesProcess music is music that arises from a process. It may make that process audible to the listener, or the process may be concealed. Primarily begun in the 1960s, diverse composers have employed divergent methods and styles of process...
.
See also
- Developing variation
In music composition, developing variation is a formal technique in which the concepts of development and variation are united in that variations are produced through the development of existing material....
- List of musical forms by era
- Song structure (popular music)
The structures or musical forms of songs in popular music are typically sectional, repeating forms, such as strophic form. Other common forms include thirty-two-bar form, verse-chorus form, and the twelve bar blues...
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