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. 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 Ternary form is a three-part structure, often notated ABA. The first and third parts (A) are musically identical, or very nearly so, while the second part (B) contrasts sharply with it. The B section is often known as a trio.
At least in pieces written before the 19th century, the first section of a piece in ternary form does not usually change key, but ends in the same key as it began. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar In Music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways The middle section will generally be in a different key, often the dominant of the first section (a perfect fifth above). It usually also has a contrasting character; in a march, for example, the highly rhythmic and strident character of the march itself is usually contrasted with a more lyrical and flowing trio. A march, as a Musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a Military Often the trio is in a 3/4 time signature as opposed to the 4/4 of the primary march theme. The time signature (also known as " meter signature" is a notational convention used in Western Musical notation to specify how many beats
As well as marches, ternary form is often found in baroque opera arias (the so-called da capo aria) and in many dance forms, such as polkas. Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto This article is about the musical term "aria" For other meanings or uses of the word see Aria (disambiguation. The da capo aria was a musical form prevalent in the Baroque era The polka is a fast lively Central European Dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas It is also the form used in the minuet (or scherzo) and trio, which in the classical music era was usually the third movement of symphonies, string quartets, sonatas and similar works. A minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a Social dance of French origin for two persons usually in 3/4 time. A scherzo (plural scherzi) is a piece of Music or a movement in a certain style that forms part of a larger piece such as a Symphony. The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as 1750 to 1810 A symphony is a Musical composition, often extended and usually for Orchestra. A string quartet is a Musical ensemble of four String instruments &mdash usually two Violins a Viola and Cello &mdash or a piece 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
A distinction is sometimes made between compound ternary form—in which each large part of the form is itself divided in a way to suggest ternary or binary form (giving, for example, an overall scheme of ABACDCABA)—and simple ternary form, in which each large part of the form has no particular structure itself. This article is about the musical form See Binary numeral system for the mathematical term Da capo arias are usually in simple ternary form; minuets (or scherzos) and trios are normally compound. Another name for the latter is "composite ternary form. "
Commonly, the third section will feature more ornamentation than the first section (e. g. da capo arias). The da capo aria was a musical form prevalent in the Baroque era In these cases the last section is sometimes labeled A’ ("A prime") to indicate that it is slightly different than the first A section.