The term musical form refers to two related concepts:
- the type of composition (for example, a musical work can have the form of a symphony, a concerto, or other generic type -- see Multi-movement forms below)
- the structure of a particular piece (for example, a piece can be written in binary form, sonata form, as a fugue, etc. A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. The term Concerto (plural concertos or concerti) usually refers to a three part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an Orchestra Structure is a fundamental and sometimes Intangible notion covering the Recognition, Observation, nature, and Stability of Musical composition is an original piece of Music the structure of a musical piece the process of creating a new This article is about the musical form See Binary numeral system for the mathematical term Sonata form is a Musical form that has been used widely since the early Classical period. In Music, a fugue (ˈfjuːg is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred -- see Single-movement forms, below)
There is some overlap between musical form and musical genre. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other The latter term is more likely to be used when referring to particular styles of music (such as classical music or rock music) as determined by things such as harmonic language, typical rhythms, types of musical instrument used, and geographical origin. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. In Western music, harmony is the use of different pitches simultaneously and chords actual or implied in Music. Rhythm (from Greek ῥυθμός - rhythmos, "any measured flow or movement symmetry" is the variation of the length and accentuation of A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. The phrase musical form is typically used when talking about a particular type or structure within those genres. For example, the twelve bar blues is a specific form often found in the genres of blues, rock and roll and jazz music. The Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of Music based on the use of the Blue notes It emerged as an accessible form of self-expression Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States
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Descriptions of musical form
Musical form in both senses is contrasted with content (the parts) or with surface (the detail), but there is no clear line between them. "Form is supposed to cover the shape or structure of the work; content its substance, meaning, ideas, or expressive effects" (Middleton 1999). In many cases, the form of a piece produces a balance between statement and restatement, unity and variety, contrast and connection. In Music and Musical form, procedures of contrast include Stratification, juxtaposition, and Interpolation.
Forms and formal detail may be described as sectional or developmental, developmental or variational, syntactical or processual (Keil 1966), embodied or engendered, extensional or intensional (Chester 1970), and associational or hierarchical (Lerdahl 1983). Form may also be described according to symmetries or lack thereof and repetition. A common idea is formal "depth", necessary for complexity, in which foregrounded "detail" events occur against a more structural background, as in Schenkerian analysis. Schenkerian analysis is a method of Musical analysis of tonal music based on the theories of Heinrich Schenker.
Formal Depth in Pop Music
Fred Lerdahl (1992), among others, claims that popular music lacks the structural complexity for multiple structural layers, and thus much depth. Fred Lerdahl (born March 10 1943) is the Fritz Reiner Professor of Musical Composition at Columbia University However, Lerdahl's theories explicitly exclude "associational" details which are used to help articulate form in popular music. Allen Forte's book theories were designed to analyse. Allen Forte (born December 23, 1926) is a music theorist and Musicologist. (Middleton 1999, p. 144).
Extensional and Intensional
Extensional music is "produced by starting with small components - rhythmic or melodic motifs, perhaps - and then 'developing' these through techniques of modification and combination. " Intensional music "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. " (Middleton, p. 142). However, extensional music is a description of a style of composition rather than being an example of a musical form.
- Western classical music is the apodigm of the extensional form of musical construction. Theme and variations, counterpoint, tonality (as used in classical composition) are all devices that build diachronically and synchronically outwards from basic musical atoms. The complex is created by combination of the simple, which remains discrete and unchanged in the complex unity. . . If those critics who maintain the greater complexity of classical music specified that they had in mind this extensional development, they would be quite correct. . . Rock however follows, like many non-European musics, the path of intensional development. In this mode of construction the basic musical units (played/sung notes) are not combined through space and time as simple elements into complex structures. The simple entity is that constituted by the parameters of melody, harmony, and beat, while the complex is built up by modulation of the basic notes, and by inflexion of the basic beat. All existing genres and sub-types of the Afro-American tradition show various forms of combined intensional and extensional development (Chester 1970, p. 78-9).
Syntactic music
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. '" Non-notated music and performance "foreground process. They are much more 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" (Middleton 1990, p. 115).
Middleton (p. 145) also describes form, presumably after Gilles Deleuze’s Difference and Repetition (1968, translated 1994), through repetition and difference. Gilles Deleuze ( (January 18 1925 &ndash November 4 1995 was a French philosopher of the late 20th century Difference is the distance moved from a repeat and a repeat being the smallest difference. Difference is qualitative and quantitative, how far different and what type of difference.
Connection and Contrast
Procedures of connection include gradation, amalgamation, and dissolution. In Music gradation is gradual change within one parameter or an overlapping of two blocks of sound Procedures of contrast include stratification, juxtaposition, and interpolation. About CONTRAST CONTRAST is a Multidisciplinary alliance bringing together key skills and expertise to generate new knowledge on biological environmental In Music and Musical composition, especially 20th century and later interpolation is an abrupt change of elements, with (almost immediate
Formal structures
In classical and Popular music, there are many labels applied to forms, abstract formal designs, as contrasted with the principles and procedures of combining materials: form. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more
In formal analysis, sections, units etc. , that can be defined on the time axis, are conventionally designated by letters: capital for basic, small for sub-divisions. If one section (etc. ) returns varied or modified (one or more times), a small digit or an appropriate number of prime symbols appears behind the letter. The prime symbol ( ′ double prime symbol ( &Prime triple prime symbol ( ‴ etc
Single-movement forms
Traditional
In a Sectional form, the piece is built by combining small clear-cut units, sort of like stacking LEGO bricks (DeLone, 1975). Lego, officially trademarked LEGO, is a line of construction Toys manufactured by the Lego Group, a privately When these units are not referred to by letters (as outlined above), they often have generic names, such as Introduction or Intro, Exposition (see sonata and fugue), Verse, Chorus or Refrain, Bridge or Pre-chorus, Interlude, Break or Breakdown, Conclusion (music), Coda or Outro, and Fadeout. In Music, the introduction is a passage or section which opens a movement or a separate piece. Sonata form is a Musical form that has been used widely since the early Classical period. In Music, a fugue (ˈfjuːg is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred A refrain (from Vulgar Latin refringere, "to repeat" and later from Old French refraindre) is the Line or lines that are This article is about a bridge section in a piece of popular or classical music In Popular music a break is an Instrumental or percussion section or interlude during a song derived from or related to Stop-time &ndash being In Music, the conclusion is the ending of a composition and may take the form of a coda or Outro. Coda ( Italian for "tail" from the Latin cauda, see below is a term used in Music in a number of different senses primarily to designate In Audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an Audio signal.
Sectional forms traditionally include:
- Strophic form, usually used in vocal songs, repeats the same tune: (AA. In Music, strophic form (or chorus form) is a sectional and/or Additive way of structuring a piece of Music based on the . . ) - several times. The sections of these pieces are often known as "verse 1", "verse 2", etc.
These strophes are however often subdivided into other sectional forms - especially the binary and ternary forms below. - Binary form uses two sections, one after the other: (AB); each section is often repeated: (AABB), or repeated and modified (usually at the end): (AA1BB1). This article is about the musical form See Binary numeral system for the mathematical term
- Chain form: the binary form extended with more sections, like (ABCD); also this often with repeats, like (AA1BB1CC1DD1).
- Ternary form (sometimes called tertiary) has three parts, where the third section is a recapitulation of the first section: (ABA). Ternary form is a structuring mechanism of a piece of music Along with several other Musical forms ternary form can also be applied to dance choreography Very often, the first section repeats. When a section recurs, it is often modified as above: (ABA1), (AA1BA1).
- Arch form: (ABCBA). In 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
- Especially the forms from here on are often concluded with a coda. Coda ( Italian for "tail" from the Latin cauda, see below is a term used in Music in a number of different senses primarily to designate
- Rondo form, which has a recurring ritornello separated by different (usually contrasting) sections. Rondo, 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 In Baroque music, ritornello was the word for a recurring passage for Orchestra in the first or final movement of a Solo concerto or Aria It comes in two categories: 1. asymmetrical: (ABACADAEA); 2. symmetrical (somewhat related to the Arch form above): (ABACABA). Here, a recurring section is sometimes more thoroughly varied - especially the 'A'.
- Song Form, one of the most common used in Popular music (AA B AA B A. Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more . . . ), where the last "A" repeats several times. Sometimes, this form can have some slight variations, such as (AA B AA B C A. . . ); (AAB AAB C D A. . . ) or even (B AAB AAB A. . . ). This form is used in several compositional styles such as, chansons, canzones, ballads, hymns, arias, pop music etc.
In Developmental forms, the pieces are built, as a rule, from smaller bits of material - motifs - combined and worked out in different ways, usually balancing between a symmetrical or arch-like "supporting" structure of the whole, and a progressive development from beginning to end. In European classical music, musical development is a process by which a musical Idea is communicated in the course of a composition. In Music, a motif or motive is a perceivable or salient recurring fragment or succession of notes that may be used to construct the entirety or parts
- Sonata form (also known as sonata allegro form, but this can be misleading: whereas allegro is a tempo indication, sonata movements can be in any tempo). Sonata form is a Musical form that has been used widely since the early Classical period. 2266-Tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl or TEMPO is the Chemical compound with the formula (CH23(CMe22NO On the basic level, this very important form is almost always cast in the mould of the ternary form above, with the basic nominal subdivisions: Exposition - Development - Recapitulation. Usually, but not always, the "A" parts (Exposition and Recapitulation, respectively) are then subdivided into two or three themes or theme groups, which are then, so to say, taken asunder, kneaded, and recombined in the "B" part (the Development) - thus e. In Musical form and analysis, exposition is the initial presentation of the thematic material of a Musical composition, movement, In Music theory, the recapitulation is one of the sections of a movement written in Sonata form. In Music, a theme is the initial or primary Melody. The Encyclopédie Fasquelle (Michel 1958–61 defines a theme as follows "Any In European classical music, musical development is a process by which a musical Idea is communicated in the course of a composition. g. (AabB[dev. of a and/or b]A1ab1+coda).
In Variational forms, variation of some sort or another is given the rank of formative element. Variation form Variation form include Ground bass, Passacaglia, Chaconne, and theme and variations
- Rondo as above, the sort with sections varied, like: (AA1BA2CA3BA4), or (ABA1CA2B1A)
- Theme and Variation form: a theme, which in itself can be of any shorter form (binary, ternary,etc. Rondo, 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 In Music, a theme is the initial or primary Melody. The Encyclopédie Fasquelle (Michel 1958–61 defines a theme as follows "Any ), but which is repeated, and varied each time - e. g. : (AA1A2A3A4A5A6). (Cf. the sectional chain form. )
- Passacaglia and Chaconne. A passacaglia is a short usually slow and often grave musical work in any metre In Music, a chaconne (ʃaˈkɔn Italian: ciaccona) is a Musical form whose primary formal feature involves variation on a repeated Basically, these are also variation chains; but the chain itself consists of an unvaried ostinato, usually in the bass at least to start with, over and around which the rest of the structure unfolds, in piecemeal sections with the chain links or more continuously - often, but not always, by spinning polyphonic or contrapuntal threads. In Music, an Ostinato (derived from Italian: "stubborn" see also Oscillation) is a motif or phrase which is persistently In Music, polyphony is a texture consisting of two or more independent Melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice ( Monophony In Music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and Rhythm, and interdependent in Harmony
These structures are defined by the different distributions of thematic material, melodies, key centres, etc. In Music, a melody (from Greek μελῳδία - melōidía, "singing chanting" also tune, voice, or In Music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways . While some of the forms listed above are traditionally partly defined by tonality schemes in the European Major/Minor tradition, nothing precludes their use within other tonalities (two mere hints of the wealth under "Musical modes" and "Dodecaphony") or with none at all. In Music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways In Music, a scale is an ordered series of Musical intervals which along with the key or tonic, define the pitches However mode Twelve-tone technique (also dodecaphony, especially in British usage twelve-note composition) is a method of musical composition devised by Arnold A single piece or movement may conform to more than one formal pattern, or seem to diffuse over part of the scale-of-greys the patterns are of course embedded in; if musicologists fail to categorize such a composition, they call it "through-composed". Music is described as through-composed when it is relatively continuous non- sectional and/or non- Repetitive.
- (DeLone (1975) and countless others)
More recent developments
Especially recently, more segmented approaches have been taken through the use of stratification, superimposition, juxtaposition, interpolation, and other interruptions and simultaneities. In 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 In the mathematical subfield of Numerical analysis, interpolation is a method of constructing new data points within the range of a Discrete set of In Computing, an interrupt is an asynchronous signal from hardware indicating the need for attention or a synchronous event in software indicating the need for a change Examples include the postmodern "block" technique used by composers such as John Zorn, where rather than organic development one follows separate units in various combinations. John Zorn (born September 2 1953 in Queens, New York City) is an American Avant-garde Composer, arranger, Record These techniques may be used to create contrast to the point of disjointed chaotic textures, or, through repetition and return and transitional procedures such as dissolution, amalgamation, and gradation, may create connectedness and unity. In Music gradation is gradual change within one parameter or an overlapping of two blocks of sound Composers have also made more use of open forms such as produced by aleatoric devices and other chance procedures, improvisation, and some processes. Aleatoric music (also aleatory music or chance music; from the Latin word alea, meaning " Dice " is Music Improvisation (also called extemporization) is the practice of acting singing talking and reacting of making and creating in the moment and in response to the stimulus of Process music or systems music is music that arises from a Process, and more specifically music that makes that process audible (ibid)
In an effort to define more precisely a framework for a systematic form-creating device based on timbre, composer Panayiotis Kokoras introduces the term Morphopoiesis. Panayiotis Kokoras (born 1974 is a Greek Composer, Musician and teacher in music It is proposed to give a rather specific and descriptive process paradigm of structuring musical form that derives from the interaction between content and form. Morphopoiesis offers an abstraction of the primary principles by which a new musical form is built up. It focuses on the procedures of the inner formal characteristics of a musical work which give to a sound its specific identity, the functional relations between it and other sounds, and the motion and direction of those sounds. In contrast with past procedures of musical form which are based on musical elements such as rhythm, harmony and melody, Morphopoiesis is mainly based on timbre. It is an analytical tool for analysing, listening to, and making music of all kinds, ranging from electroacoustic music to instrumental and vocal music. It refers to music that concentrates its interest on changes in the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes of the sound in the flux of time. (Kokoras 2005)
Multi-movement forms
- Ballet, larger musical composition intended for Ballet dance form
- Cantata
- Chorale
- Concerto
- Dance, smaller musical composition intended for presentation of a dance, either as accompaniment for dancing or as music as such
- Duet
- Etude or study
- Fantasia
- Fugue
- Mass
- Opera
- Oratorio
- Prelude
- Requiem
- Rhapsody
- Sonata
- Suite
- Symphonic poem
- Symphony
Forms of chamber music are defined by instrumentation (string quartet, piano quintet and so on). Ballet as a Musical form is a musical composition intended for ballet performance. Ballet is a formalized form of Dance with its origins in the French court further developed in France and Russia as a Concert dance A cantata (derived from the Italian word 'cantare' meaning 'to sing' is a vocal composition with an instrumental Accompaniment and often A chorale was originally a Hymn of the Lutheran church sung by the entire congregation The term Concerto (plural concertos or concerti) usually refers to a three part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an Orchestra Dance as a Musical form is a smaller musical composition intended for the presentation of Dance. Dance (from French danser, perhaps from Frankish) is an Art form that generally refers to movement of the body usually rhythmic Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. A duet is a Musical composition or piece for two Performers In Classical music the term is most often used for a composition for two singers An étude (a French word meaning study) is an instrumental Musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty usually designed to provide practice The fantasia (also fantasy fancy Fantasie fantaisie is a musical composition with its roots in the art of Improvisation. In Music, a fugue (ˈfjuːg is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred For other uses see Mass (disambiguation The Mass, a form of sacred musical composition, is a choral composition that Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto An oratorio is a large Musical composition including an Orchestra, a Choir, and soloists The oratorio was somewhat modeled after the Opera A prelude is a short piece of Music, which its form will vary from piece to piece The Requiem (from Latin requiem, accusative case of requies, rest or Requiem Mass (informally a funeral Mass also known formally (in Latin as the A 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 Usage of sonata The Baroque applied the term sonata to a variety of works though most works in the Baroque Period were fugues and toccatas In Music, a suite is an ordered set of Instrumental or Orchestral pieces normally performed in a Concert A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of Orchestral Music in one movement in which some extramusical program provides a narrative or illustrative element A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. Chamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber A string quartet is a Musical ensemble of four String instruments &mdash usually two Violins a Viola and Cello &mdash or a piece A piano quintet is a chamber Musical ensemble made up of one Piano and four other instruments or a piece written for such a group The structure of a chamber work is typically similar to a sonata.
See also
- List of musical forms
- Category:Musical forms
- Song structure (popular music)
- Developing variation
External links
References
- DeLone et al. A list of musical forms Medieval Estampie Gregorian Chant Motet The structures or Musical forms of Songs in Popular music are typically sectional forms such as Strophic form. In music composition, developing variation is a formal technique in which the concepts of development and variation are united in that variations (Eds. ) (1975). Aspects of Twentieth-Century Music. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. ISBN 0-13-049346-5.
- Panayiotis Kokoras (2005). Panayiotis Kokoras (born 1974 is a Greek Composer, Musician and teacher in music Morphopoiesis: A general procedure for structuring form. Electronic Musicological Review Volume IX. [1]
- Lerdahl, Fred (1992). "Cognitive Constraints on Compositional Systems", Contemporary Music Review 6 (2), pp. 97-121.
- Richard Middleton. Richard Middleton may refer to Richard Middleton (Lord Chancellor (died 1300 English theologian philosopher and Lord Chancellor Richard "Form", in Horner, Bruce and Swiss, Thomas, eds. (1999) Key Terms in Popular Music and Culture. Malden, Massachusetts. ISBN 0-631-21263-9.
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