Chapter 4 Musical Form and Musical Style

Chapter 4Musical Form and Musical Style Form in Music

Form Memory Outer form Inner form Repetition Contrast Return Variation Genre Key Terms

Form in Music • Overall shape of a musical work • Arrangement, relationship, or organization of various elements of music • Rhythm • Pitch and melody • Dynamics • Harmony • Tone color • Texture • Tonality

Form in Music • Musical works can divide into clear sections with clear-cut relationships or unfold gradually and organically • Form is not purely intellectual • Our experience of form shapes our emotional response to a work • The emotional trajectory of a work is forged by careful use of repetition and contrast

Form in Music • Musical works are formed through repetitions and contrasts of elements • Repetitions may be strict or free • Contrasts may be subtle or dramatic • Repetitions and contrasts define relationships between phrases of a melody or sections of a work • Memory is the key to hearing these relationships as they unfold in time

Form in Music • Possible relationships between phrases, themes, or sections • Repetition (a a) • Parallelism • Identical or nearly identical restatement of a phrase, theme, or section • Feels reassuring, but lacks excitement

Form in Music • Possible relationships • Contrast (a b) • A new phrase or section • May have subtle connections to previous material, or may be entirely new • Provides excitement of new phrase, theme, or section, but doesn’t feel stable or complete

Form in Music • Possible relationships • Variation (a a’) • A restatement of previous material, but one or more elements are altered • Simultaneous repetition and contrast • Similar enough to sound like the same idea, but definitely not identical • Variation can change or transform the mood or feeling of a phrase, theme, or section

Form in Music • Possible relationships • Contrast and return (a b a) • Unlike repetition, return is restatement of original material after contrasting material • You can’t return home if you never leave! • Commonly used, emotionally satisfying formula (unity and variety) • Combines excitement of new material and sense of relief with return of familiar material (homecoming)

Listening for Form • Try several examples—which of these do you hear? • Repetition? • Contrast? • Variation? • Contrast and return?

Form and Forms • Form is organization of elements in a work • A form refers to one of many standardized patterns used by composers • Possible forms include: • Strophic form (A A A …) • Ternary form (A B A) • Fugue • Baroque dance form (aabb) • Sonata form

Form and Forms • An example: A B A form • Three large sections: statement, contrast, return • Each section might have its own form • A = a b a • B = c d c • A = a b a • Such “nesting” arrangements are often used to create more complicated forms

Form and Forms • “Outer” and “inner” form • Standard patterns outline a work’s overall shape—its “outer” form (e.g., A B A) • “Outer” forms are reassuring, provide a satisfying, easy-to-follow overall shape • “Outer” forms do not describe the content of each section, its moment-to-moment inner workings, or the feel of contrasting material—its “inner” form

Form and Forms • “Inner” Form • Take any work in A B A form • Is B in a different mode or key? • Is B’s contrast due to rhythm, texture, tone color, or some other element? • Does the return convey excitement, trickiness, or relief? • Take any other work in A B A form • The answers will be different! • Same “outer” form, different “inner” form

Listening to Forms • Rondo form (A B A C A) • Describe the A section, its mood and use of musical elements • Describe the B section, its mood and use of musical elements • How does the B section contrast with A? • How literal is the return of A? • Musorgsky excerpt — Brahms excerpt (CD5)

Musorgsky Grand, triumphant, full orchestra Subdued, hymnlike, woodwinds only Soft vs. loud, minor vs. major Return shorter, melody in lower register, new countermelody Brahms Lively, dancelike, violin vs. orchestra Emphatic, loud passage, new keys Stability vs. tension, lilting vs. forceful Return shortened, ends differently Listening to Forms

Musical Genres • Categories or types of musical compositions • A genre can be defined by a its: • Performing forces (number and kind of instruments or voices used) • Function or purpose • Text • Not to be confused with form

Musical Genres • Examples of genres: • Concerto • Mass • Oratorio • Symphony • Sonata • String quartet • Song cycle • Madrigal • Opera

Genre vs. Form • A genre is defined by its broadest features (performers, function, etc.) • A form is defined by its internal sections and their interrelationships

Genre vs. Form • In literature, poetry is a genre • A work in verse • Usually breaks down into stanzas and lines • Often uses poetic meter and rhyme • Traditionally intended for public reading • Haiku, sonnets, and limericks are forms • Each has a specific number of lines (3, 14, and 5, respectively) • Each uses a specific poetic meter (or specific number of syllables per line) • The last two have an expected rhyme scheme

Genre vs. Form • In music, the symphony is a genre • a large work in several movements for orchestra (performing forces) • written for entertainment at a public concert (function) • Each movement of a symphony may use a different form—Haydn’s 95th uses: • Sonata form • Theme and variations • Minuet form • Rondo form

Listening for Genre • Try several examples—answer these questions: • What is the function of this music? • Public or private entertainment? Worship? Patriotic? Commercial? • What are the performing forces? • Orchestra? String quartet? Chorus? Solo voices? Piano? Rock band? Jazz combo? • What is the genre?

Chapter 4 Musical Form and Musical Style