FORM

A QUICK VISUAL ANALOGY

 PRINCIPLES OF FORM

• Repetition
• The return of the familiar
• Contrast
• The arrival of something different
• Variation
• The return of the familiar with some changes
 VISUAL REPRESENTATION

• If these shapes represented sections of a piece of

music, which principle would they represent?

• Contrast – the second passage is different

 VISUAL REPRESENTATION

• If these shapes represented sections of a piece of

music, which principle would they represent?

• Repetition – the second passage is the same

 VISUAL REPRESENTATION

• If these shapes represented sections of a piece of

music, which principles would they represent?

• Contrast and repetition

• The second section is different from the first
• The third section is the same as the first
 VISUAL REPRESENTATION

• If these shapes represented sections of a piece of

music, which principles would they represent?

• Contrast and variation

• The second section is different from the first
• The third section is the similar to, but not same as, the first
 BINARY AND TERNARY FORM

• If a piece has two sections, it is binary

• If a piece has three sections, it is ternary
• We use these terms, even if the sections in question
are themselves made up of smaller sections
 LABELING FORM

• We use letters to label sections or structures in a

piece of music
• If there is repetition, we use the same letter
• If there is contrast, we use a new letter

A A A B
 LABELING FORM

• Because variation involves familiar music with

changes, we add an extra symbol to the letter
• We label variation with the same letter as the earlier
familiar section plus an added “prime” (apostrophe)

A B A’
 LABELING FORM

• In the case of a more complex form, we still use

upper case letters to label the larger sections
• We also use lower case letters for subsections

A B

a b a c d c
 RONDO FORM

• Rondo is based on medieval poetic form (rondeau)

• A line of text was repeated throughout the poem
• This repetition provided a structure for the text
• When these poems were set to music, the music for
the repeated text was always the same
• This musical form continued to be used long after
the poetic rondeau had fallen out of favor
• An example of a rondeau written by one of our
composers is on the next slide
• The repeated text is in bold, red type
 “DOULZ VIAIRE GRACIEUS”
BY GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT

• Doulz viaire gracieus, de • Sweet gracious face, I have served

fin cuer vous ay you with a sincere heart. If you will
servi. Weillies moy estre have pity on me, sweet gracious
piteus, Doulz viaire face, then if I am a bit shy, do not
gracieus, Se je sui un po embarrass me: Sweet gracious
honteus, ne me mettes face, I have served you with a sincere
en oubli: Doulz viaire heart.
gracieus, de fin cuer
vous ay servi.
 RONDO FORM

• In music, rondos can have different patterns

• ABACABA
• ABACADA
• A common rondo form is ABACA
• A visual representation would look like this:

A B A C A
 MANY DIFFERENT FORMS

• The structures listed in this slideshow are examples of

simple, common musical forms
• The labels used in binary and ternary forms (upper
and lowercase letters) represent melody
• When we label a piece AA, it is generally because
the melody we heard first has come back
• Not all music makes such frequent use of repetition
• Some of the music in the Middle Ages and
Renaissance features very little melodic repetition
• That doesn’t mean those pieces have no form
 SECTIONS BASED ON TEXTURE

• Musical forms are usually constructed out of smaller

sections within the piece
• While melody is an easy way to create sections
within a piece, other elements can also be used
• Josquin’s Ave Maria is an example of a piece that
uses contrasting textures to create sections
• At one point, texture and meter change giving that
section an even greater sense of contrast