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Musical Form

The organization of musical elements in time

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Musical Form

• The techniques that create musical form are:

– Repetition- Repetition- hearing the same theme over and over

– Contrast- Contrast- loud to soft, fast to slow, many to few

– Variation-Variation- changing the melody to a higher pitch

or varying the accompanying rhythm

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Repetition

• This type of composition appeals to us because we can recognize and remember parts of music we hear over and over

• Through repetition, melody is engraved in the memory

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Contrast

• Forward motion, conflict and change of mood all come from contrast

• Opposition of loud and soft, strings and brass, fast and slow, major and minor- helps the composer develop musical ideas (and the listener from falling asleep)

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Variation

• In the variation of a musical idea, some of its features will be retained while others are changed

• The melody might be restated with a different accompaniment, or the rhythms might be changed

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Musical Form• When referring to musical phrases the smaller

case letters (a, b) refer to short sections of songs or phrases

• Capital letters refer to large sections of the piece (A, B)

• A` or a` refers to a section that is very similar to the previous section

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Musical Form

• Three part form is called ternaryternary

• This form can be represented as statement -(A), contrast or departure- (B), and return (A)

• If the return of (A) is varied, it is outlined as A B A´

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Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

• Dance of the Reed Pipes from Nutcracker Suite (1892)– Is a clear example of ABA´ form

• Section A features three flutes playing a staccato melody which feels light and airy

• Section B contrasts in tone color, melody, and key• The concluding A´section is a shortened version of

the opening A section

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Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

• Dance of the Reed Pipes from Nutcracker Suite (1892)– Is a clear example of ABA´ form

• Section A features three flutes playing a staccato melody which feels light and airy

• Section B contrasts in tone color, melody, and key• The concluding A´section is a shortened version of

the opening A section

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Johann Sebastian Bach (1717-1723)

• Forlane from Suite No. 1 in C Major for Orchestra– Is in two part, binary form (AABB)– Part A is a lilting phrase with varied repetition

of this phrase (a a´)– Part B is twice as long as A