Musical form

In music, form refers to the structure of a musical composition or performance. In his book,
Worlds of Music, Jeff Todd Titon suggests that a number of organizational elements may
determine the formal structure of a piece of music, such as "the arrangement of musical units of
rhythm, melody, and/or harmony that show repetition or variation, the arrangement of the
instruments (as in the order of solos in a jazz or bluegrass performance), or the way a
symphonic piece is orchestrated", among other factors.[1]

These organizational elements may be broken into smaller units called phrases, which express
a musical idea but lack sufficient weight to stand alone.[2] Musical form unfolds over time
through the expansion and development of these ideas.

Compositions that do not follow a fixed structure and rely more on improvisation are
considered free-form. A fantasia is an example of this.[3]

Contents
Labeling procedures
Levels of organization
Passage
Piece (or movement)
Cycle
Common forms in Western music
Sectional form
Strophic form
Medley or "chain" form
Binary form
Ternary form
Rondo form
Variational form
Sonata-allegro form
Forms used in Western popular music
Sectional forms
Extended forms
Compound forms
Section names in popular music
Cyclical forms
See also
References
Further reading
External links

Labeling procedures
To aid in the process of describing form, musicians have developed a simple system of labeling
musical units with letters. In his textbook "Listening to Music", professor Craig Wright writes,

The first statement of a musical idea is designated A. Subsequent contrasting

sections are labeled B, C, D, and so on. If the first or any other musical unit returns
in varied form, then that variation is indicated by a superscript number-- A1 and B2,
for example. Subdivisions of each large musical unit are shown by lowercase letters
(a, b, and so on).[4]

Some writers also use a prime label (such as B', pronounced "B prime", or B'', pronounced "B
double prime") to denote sections that are closely related, but vary slightly.

Levels of organization
The founding level of musical form can be divided into two parts:

The arrangement of the pulse into unaccented and accented beats, the cells of a measure
that, when harmonized, may give rise to a motif or figure.
The further organization of such a measure, by repetition and variation, 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 unit of musical form: 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.[5][6] 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
sentences 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 blues is a specific verse form, while common meter is found in
many hymns and ballads and, again, the Elizabethan galliard, 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.
Piece (or movement)
The next level concerns the entire structure of any single self-contained musical piece or
movement. 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 form 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 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 arguments 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
minuet, like any Baroque dance, generally had simple binary structure (AABB), however, this
was frequently extended by the introduction 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 Schlanker points 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
dances were presented as a suite. The opera and ballet may organize song and dance into even
larger forms. The symphony, generally considered to be one piece, nevertheless divides into
multiple movements (which can usually work as a self-contained piece if played alone). 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 symphony, a concerto and
a sonata 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 movements.

Common forms in Western music

Scholes suggested that European classical music had only six stand-alone forms: simple binary,
simple ternary, compound binary, rondo, air with variations, and fugue (although musicologist
Alfred Mann emphasized that the fugue is primarily a method of composition that has
sometimes taken on certain structural conventions).[7]

Charles Keil classified forms and formal detail as "sectional, developmental, or variational."[8]

Sectional form
This form is built from a sequence of clear-cut units[9] that may be referred to by letters but also
often have generic names such as introduction and coda, exposition, development and
recapitulation, verse, chorus or refrain, and bridge. Sectional forms include:

Strophic form

Medley or "chain" form

Medley, potpourri or chain form is the extreme opposite, that of "unrelieved variation": it is
simply an indefinite sequence of self-contained sections (ABCD...), sometimes with repeats
(AABBCCDD...).

Binary form

The term "Binary Form" is used to describe a musical piece

with two sections that are about equal in length. Binary
Form can be written as AB or AABB.[10] Using the example
of Greensleeves provided, the first system is almost identical
to the second system. We call the first system A and the "Greensleeves" as an example of
second system A' (A prime) because of the slight difference Binary Form.
in the last measure and a half. The next two systems (3rd
and 4th) are almost identical as well, but a new musical idea
entirely than the first two systems. We call the third system B and the fourth system B' (B
prime) because of the slight difference in the last measure and a half. As a whole, this piece of
music is in Binary Form: AA'BB'.[10]

Ternary form

Ternary form is a three-part musical form in which the third part repeats or at least contains the
principal idea of the first part, represented as A B A [11] There are both simple and compound
ternary forms. Da capo arias are usually in simple ternary form (i.e. "from the head"). A
compound ternary form (or trio form) similarly involves an ABA pattern, but each section is
itself either in binary (two sub-sections which may be repeated) or (simple) ternary form.

Rondo form

This form has a recurring theme alternating with different (usually contrasting) sections called
"episodes". It may be asymmetrical (ABACADAEA) or symmetrical (ABACABA). 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 ritornello form of the Baroque
concerto grosso. Arch form (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 theme, 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 (A,B,A,F,Z,A), 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 Passacaglia and Chaconne, was that of
the ground bass—a repeating bass theme or basso ostinato over and around which the rest of
the structure unfolds, often, but not always, spinning polyphonic or contrapuntal threads, or
improvising divisions and descants. This is said by Scholes (1977) to be the form par excellence
of unaccompanied or accompanied solo instrumental music. The Rondo is often found with
sections varied (AA1BA2CA3BA4) or (ABA1CA2B1A).

Sonata-allegro form

Sonata-allegro form (also sonata form or first movement form) is typically cast in a greater
ternary form, having the nominal subdivisions of Exposition, Development and Recapitulation.
Usually, but not always, the "A" parts (Exposition and Recapitulation, respectively) may be
subdivided into two or three themes 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]A1ab1+coda).

The sonata form is "the most important principle of musical form, or formal type from the
classical period well into the twentieth century."[12] It is usually used as the form of the first
movement in multi-movement works. So, it is also called "first-movement form" or "sonata-
allegro form"(Because usually the most common first movements are in allegro tempo).[13]

Each section of Sonata Form movement has its own function:

• It may have an introduction at the beginning.

• Following the introduction, the exposition is the first required section. It lays out the thematic
material in its basic version. There are usually two themes or theme groups in the exposition,
and they are often in contrast styles and keys and connected by a transition. In the end of the
exposition, there is a closing theme which concludes the section.

• The exposition is followed by the development section in which the material in the exposition
is developed.

• After the development section, there is a returning section called recapitulation where the
thematic material returns in the tonic key.

• At the end of the movement, there may be a coda, after the recapitulation.[13]

Forms used in Western popular music

Some forms are used predominantly within popular music, including genre-specific forms.
Popular music forms are often derived from strophic form (AAA song form), 32-bar form
(AABA song form), verse-chorus form (AB song form) and 12-bar blues form (AAB song
form).[14]

Sectional forms
AABA a.k.a. American Popular
 AB a.k.a. Verse/Chorus
ABC a.k.a. Verse/Chorus/Bridge
ABAB
ABAC a.k.a. Verse/Chorus/Verse/Bridge
ABCD a.k.a. Through-composed
Blues Song forms
AAB a.k.a. Twelve-bar blues
8-Bar Blues
16-Bar Blues

See [14]

Extended forms
Extended form are forms that have their root in one of the forms above, however, they have
been extended with additional sections. For example:

AAAAA
AABABA

Compound forms
Also called Hybrid song forms. Compound song forms blend together two or more song
forms.[14]

Section names in popular music

Introduction a.k.a. Intro
Verse
Refrain
Pre-chorus / Rise / Climb
Chorus
Post-chorus
Bridge
Middle-Eight
Solo / Instrumental Break
Collision
CODA / Outro
Ad Lib (Often in CODA / Outro)

Cyclical forms
In the 13th century the song cycle emerged, which is a set of related songs (as the suite is a set of
related dances). The oratorio took shape in the second half of the 16th century as a narrative
recounted—rather than acted—by the singers.

See also
Developing variation
List of musical genres by era
Musical analysis
Song structure

References
1. Titon, Jeff Todd (2009). Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's
Peoples. Cooley, Timothy J. (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Schirmer Cengage Learning. ISBN 978-
0534595395. OCLC 214315557 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/214315557).
2. Spring, Glenn (1995). Musical Form and Analysis: Time, Pattern, Proportion. Hutcheson,
Jere. Long Grove, Illinois: Waveland Press. pp. . ISBN 978-1478607229. OCLC 882602291
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/882602291).
3. Taruskin, Richard (2009). " 'Songs' Without Words". Oxford History of Western Music.
Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199813698.
4. M., Wright, Craig (2014). Listening to music (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Schirmer/Cengage
Learning. ISBN 9781133954729. OCLC 800033147 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/8000331
47).
5. Macpherson, Stewart (1930). "Form". Form in Music (New and Revised ed.). London:
Joseph Williams.
6. See also: Meter (music)
7. Mann, Alfred (1958). The Study of Fugue. W.W.Norton and Co. Inc.
8. Keil, Charles (1966). Urban blues (https://archive.org/details/urbanblues0000keil). ISBN 0-
226-42960-1.
9. Wennerstrom, Mary (1975). "Form in Twentieth Century Music". In Wittlich, Gary (ed.).
Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-
13-049346-5.
10. Kostka, Payne, Stefan, Dorothy (2009). Tonal Harmony with an Introduction to Twentieth-
Century Music. 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020: McGraw-Hill. p. 335.
11. Ebenezer Prout (1893). Musical form. London.
12. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Oxford University Press. 2004. ISBN 978-
0195170672.
13. "The Sonata Allegro Form" (https://courses.lumenlearning.com/musicappreciation_with_the
ory/chapter/the-sonata-allegro-form/). Lumen Music Appreciation.
14. "A Guide To Song Forms – Song Form Overview" (https://www.songstuff.com/song-writing/a
rticle/song-form-overview/). Songstuff.

Further reading
Chester, Andrew. 1970. "Second Thoughts on a Rock Aesthetic: The Band". The New Left
Review 1, no. 62 (July–August): 78–79. Reprinted in On Record: Rock, Pop, and the Written
Word, edited by Simon Frith and Andrew Goodwin, 315–19. New York: Pantheon, 1990.
 Keil, Charles. 1987. "Participatory Discrepancies and the Power of Music". Cultural
Anthropology 2, No. 3 (August): 275–83.
Cadwallader, Allen. 1990. "Form and Tonal Process. The Design of Different Structural
Levels". Trends in Schenkerian Research, A. Cadwallader ed. New York, etc.: Schirmer
Books: 1-21.
Laskowski, Larry. 1990. "J.S. Bach's 'Binary' Dance Movements: Form and Voice-Leading",
Schenker Studies, H. Siegel ed. Cambridge: CUP: 84-93.
Schmalfeldt, Janet. 1991. "Towards a Reconciliation of Schenkerian Concepts with
Traditional and Recent Theories of Form", Music Analysis 10: 233-287.
Beach, David. 1993. "Schubert's Experiments with Sonata Form: Formal-Tonal Design
versus Underlying Structure", Music Theory Spectrum 15: 1-18.
Smith, Peter. 1994. "Brahms and Schenker: A Mutual Response to Sonata Form", Music
Theory Spectrum 16: 77-103.
Smith, Charles J. 1996. "Musical Form and Fundamental Structure: An Investigation of
Schenker's Formenlehre". Music Analysis 15: 191-297.
Burnham, Scott. 2001. "Form", Cambridge History of Western Music Theory, Th.
Christensen ed. Cambridge: CUP: 880-906.
Webster, James. 2009. "Formenlehre in Theory and Practice", Musical Form, Forms, and
Formenlehre: Three Methodological Reflections, P. Bergé ed. Leuven: LUP: 123-139.
Hooper, Jason. 2011. "Heinrich Schenker's Early Conception of Form, 1895-1914". Theory
and Practice 36: 35-64.
Schmalfeldt, Janet. 2011. In the Process of Becoming: Analytic and Philosophical
Perspectives on Form in Early Nineteenth-Century Music, New York: Oxford University
Press.
Cecchi, Alessandro (ed.). 2015. Schenker's Formenlehre. Rivista di Analisi e Teoria
Musicale XXI, No. 2.

External links
Lessons in Music Form by Percy Goetschius, 1904 (https://archive.org/details/cu319240224
95018)
Study Guide for Musical Form: A Complete Outline of Standardized Formal Categories and
Concepts by Robert T. Kelley (http://www.robertkelleyphd.com/form.htm)
A Practical Guide to Musical Composition by Alan Belkin (http://alanbelkinmusic.com/bk/ind
ex.html)
Morphopoiesis: A General Procedure for Structuring Form by Panayiotis Kokoras (https://we
b.archive.org/web/20090715170614/http://www.rem.ufpr.br/REMv9-1/kokoras.html)

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