Transcript Introduction to Music: Musical Forms

Introduction to Music:
Musical Forms & Styles
Instructor: Anthony Johnson
Course: Music 100
Musical Form
 Sonata Form- From the Italian sonare meaning simply "to sound,"
the sonata has undergone enough changes throughout music history to fill several
encyclopedic volumes, as some scholars have indeed given us. Fortunately for us,
however, sonata form nearly always refers to a single-movement structure.
 Traditional sonata form in the Classical era.
 Generally, if a large-scale work is called a "sonata” like the "Moonlight" Sonata for
example, only one movement of it is actually in sonata form.
 It's nearly always the first movement, in the case of the "Moonlight" Sonata the
last movement is the sonata.
 Normally the first movement of a Classical symphony or sonata is invariably in
sonata form... even though the whole composition isn't called a sonata!
Musical Form
 Sonata Form
 If the composition was written between Mozart's birth, 1756 and
Beethoven's death, 1827, has several movements, the first of which is
in sonata form, and is written for just one or two instruments, it's
called a "sonata”.
 If it's written for a full orchestra it's called a "symphony." Does that make
sense? (Of course not.)
 It’s very confusing, simply put,. So the "Moonlight" Sonata has three
movements—each of which are essentially a self-contained piece—
yet only one of them is "really" a sonata. The 3rd Movement
Musical Form
 Movements of a Sonata:
 Now that movements will be divided into four sections:
 exposition
 development
 recapitulation
 coda
Musical Form
 Movements of the Sonata
 Exposition
 The exposition introduces the main themes. Remember music is a
dramatic art and can only exist in time themes are can be considered
individual characters in a drama. Each theme will almost certainly
have a specific personality: happy, sad, heroic, lyrical, or anything
else.
 A Classical-period sonata has two main themes. Keep in mind this is
just a guideline and sometimes composers would stray and do what
they want to artistically create music. But this is the easiest way to
understand this form.
 These themes nearly always contrast one another. Thus, if the first
theme is happy, the second might be sad, and if the first is heroic
the second might be lyrical. And always begins in the tonic key. But
by the end of the movement you will be in a different key,and the
music must find its way back to the tonic key by the end of the
entire piece
Musical Form
 Development
 That is a conflict of interest... and now our sonata has a dramatic goal: the
second theme has to get back to the tonic key. This is where the
development enters into play...
 Just like in a film, once the main characters (in this case the themes) are
presented and the conflict has been established, the action heats up. Things
can get frantic in a Classical sonata's development section: themes appear in
fragmentary form, the composer will rapidly cycle through keys (none of them
the "right" one) so fast it's impossible to tell which key we're in, major may
become minor, and the section is fraught with dissonance.
 By the end of the development the main theme once again will return.
Musical Form

Recapitulation
 Once the drama settles down some and the first theme returns, it will not be in the tonic key,
yet, it's largely a simple matter of repeating the exposition. The recap will also be filled with
variants to keep things interesting.

When the second theme returns, it will at long last be in the "right!!" key, the tonic. The tension has
now been resolved both musically subconsciously and it's now time to wrap up the piece and bring
things to a close with the...
Musical Form

Coda
 The coda is simply the conclusion. The events that take place after the
climax which bring the story to a satisfying close.
 As with all music theory, what's most important is how it sounds and what it
means. Remember, all music is inherently dramatic, and great composers
found all sorts of ways to burst the boundaries of conventional sonata form in
order to express great musical thoughts and emotions.
Questions &
Disscussion
1-If it's written for a full orchestra it's called?
Symphony
2-This movement introduces the main themes.
Exposition
3-: Themes appear in fragmentary form, the composer will rapidly cycle through keys in
this movement.
Development
4-The first theme returns, it will not be in the tonic key, yet, it's largely a simple
matter of repeating the theme in this movement.
Recapitulation
5-A piece written for just one or two instruments, it's called?
Sonata