CastleRushenHighSchool

Music Department

IGCSE Music 2O16-2018

Musicianship through

composition Name:

Contents1. BeatandRhythm–SimpleTime2. MelodicNotation(Trebleandbassclef)3. ChordsandHarmony4. Makingchordsmoreinteresting–Inversions5. Intervals6. BeatandRhythm-CompoundTime7. PhrasesandCadences8. Writingamelody9. Morechordsandcadences10. Musicaltexture11. WorkinginaMinorKey12. ModulationExplained13. ModulationinPractice14. DevelopmentofMusicalMaterial15. Expression16. MusicalForms

1. Beatandrhythm–Simpletime• Allmusichasabeat,andweworkoutrhythmsinrelationtothisbeat.• Insimpletimethisbeatisacrotchet(tea).• Weknowapieceofmusicisinsimpletimeasitusesa4asthelowernumberinits

timesignature.Themostcommononesareshownbelow.

Timesignature Beatsinbar

2beats

3beats

4beats

• Youhaveworkedwithrhythmsusingwordstorepresentthem.Onthenextpageyouwillfindthoserhythmsandothers.

• Therestsymbolwhichwouldrepresentthesamelengthhasalsobeenincluded.

Rhythmicsymbol

Symbolofrest

Wordweuse Numberofbeatsitfitsinto

UKname

Tea 1 Crotchet

Cream 2 Minim

Milk 3 Dottedminim

Cheese 4 Semibreve

Coffee 1 2quavers

Cappuccino 1 4semiquavers

Pineapple 1 Quaverand2semiquavers

Weetabix 1 2semiquaversand1quaver

I------love 2 Dottedcrotchetandaquaver

fee ½beat Quaver

Ginger 1 Dottedquaverandsemiquaver

2.Melodicnotation:trebleandbassclef,keysandscales• Mostwesternmusicusesmelodicnotationbasedaroundnotesofthescale.The

onlyexceptionisguitaranddrums,whichusedifferentformsofnotation.• Thetrebleandbassclefarethetwomostimportantclefs,whichallmusiciansuseto

readmusic.Theylooklikethis;

• Boththetrebleandbassclefshavefivelinesandfourspaces,whichrepresentdifferentnotes.Thisiscalledastave.However,thenotesdon’tjuststopatthebottomandtopofthestave.

• Differentinstrumentsusedifferentclefsdependingonthepitchoftheinstrument.Forexample,theFluteusesthetrebleclefbecauseitisahigh-pitchedinstrument,whilethecellousesthebassclefbecauseitisalow-pitchedinstrument.

• Asastartingpointitisgoodtoknowwhere‘MiddleC’appearsonboththetrebleandbassclefs.Theyareboththesamenote.

• Belowarethelinesandspacesofthetrebleandbassclefs.Thesepatternswillhelp

youtobeabletoreadmelodicnotationinbothclefs.

Trebleclef(Linesandspaces)

Bassclef(LinesandSpaces)

Trebleclef

Bassclef

Majorkeysandscales

Thereare12differentmajorKeysandscales,whichareusedtoformthebasisofmuchofthemusicwelistento.Thesescalesaremadeupofmusicalintervals,whichformapatternof7notesbasedaroundaparticularkeysignature.Keysignaturesareacrucialcomponentwhenwritingapieceofmusicanditisimportanttorecognisewhattheylooklikeandhowtheywork.Thecommonfeatureofmostkeysisthattheycontainsharpsandflats,theseareknownasaccidentalsandarewhatmakekeysignaturesunique.Theyusethefollowingsigns

FLAT

(Flattensthenote)

Thissignbeforethenotemeansthatthenoteis

flattened

SHARP

(Raisesthenote)

Thissignbeforethenotemeansthatthenoteissharpened.

Somemajorscalesaremorecommonlyusedthanothers.Thisisbecausetheyhaveasimplerkeysignaturetocomposein,andhavelessaccidentals.ThemostcommonmajorkeyandscaleisCmajor,whichhasnoaccidentalsinitskeysignature.

Cmajor:Whenworkingwithinanykeysignatureitisimportanttoknowthatsomenotesofthescalehavemoresignificancethanothers.Thetwomostimportantnotesofanyscalearenotes1and5.ThesearecommonlyreferredtoastheTonicandDominantnotes,orIandV.Cmajor:

Belowisatablewithfourmajorkeysthatusesharps,andfourmajorkeysthatuseflats.Noticehoweachkeysignatureaddsanewsharporflateachtime.Thesearejustsomeof

Thetonicanddominantnotesarethestrongestpointsofthescale.InCmajortheCisthetonicnoteandthedominantnoteisG.Thisprincipleappliestoallkeys.Inchapter3youwillseehowthisprincipleworkswhenusingchordsandharmony

themajorkeysyoucouldusetohelpyoucreateideasforyourcompositions.Seeifyoucanworkoutthetonicanddominantnotesofeachofthesemajorkeys.

Key KeySignature

Scale Sharps/flats

Gmajor

1-F#

Dmajor

2-F#,C#

Amajor

3-F#,C#,

G#Emajor

4-F#,C#,G#,D#

Fmajor

1-Bb

Bbmajor

2-Bb,Eb

Ebmajor

3-Bb,Eb,

AbAbmajor

4-Bb,Eb,Ab,Db

3.ChordsandharmonyYouhavealreadylearnedaboutkeysandscaleswhichcanbeusedtowriteamelody.Youarenowgoingtolearnhowcomposerssuccessfullycombinenotestocreateharmonythroughtheuseofchords.Thesechordshelpthelistenertounderstandthetonalcentreorkeyofthemusicandphrasing.

• Achordiscreatedwhenmorethanonenoteisplayedatthesametime.• Weusuallycreateorchooseournotesfromachordbycreatingtriads.• Thesetriadsarebuiltfromthenotesathirdapart.• Thesearelabelledusingromannumerals.• Achordmaybecalledbyitsromannumeralorthenoteitisbuilton.(ChordIinC

majorcanalsobecalledtheCchord.)

TriadsinthekeyofCmajor

• Eachnoteofthescalehasanumber.Thatnumberalsotellsyouaboutthetriad

whichisbuiltaboveit.• Thereforechordone(I)inCmajorisbuiltabovenoteoneofthescalewhichisC.

ChordoneinCmajoristhereforemadeupofthenotesCEG.• Althoughtriadscanbecreatedaboveanynotesthemostcommonlyusedchordsare

thoseabovenotesone,fourandfive.• Thesearecalledtheprimarytriads.ChordsI,IVandV• Asthenotesoftheseprimarytriadsincludeeverynoteinthatscaleanymelodyin

thatkeycouldbeharmonisedjustbyusingthesechords.

4.Makingchordsmoreinteresting–Inversions• Youalreadyunderstandthattriadsarecreatedbybuildingchordsonnotesofthe

scale.• Sofarthelowestnoteofthechordaswehavewrittenandplayedithasalways

beenthechordnotewehavebuiltthetriadon.Thisiscalledtheroot.• Chordsdonotalwayshavetousetherootasthelowestnoteofthechord.We

createchordinversionswhenwedonotusetherootasthelowestnote.• Youcanthereforecreate/writeanychordinrootposition(a),firstinversion(b)and

secondinversion(c).• Wedonotusuallybotherlabelrootpositionasa.Wejustwritetheromannumeral.

PrimarychordsandtheirinversionsinCmajor

• Chordsplayedinaninversionsoundlessstrongthaninrootposition.• Wethereforeoftenuserootpositionchordsinimportantplacesinapiece,suchas

thebeginningsandendsofphrases.• Secondinversion(c)isonlyoccasionallyused.

Chordinversionsgivethemusicmorevariety.Comparetheharmonisationofthissimpletunefromthepreviouspage.

5.Intervals• Inmusic,anintervalisthedifferenceinpitchbetweentwonotes.• Intervalsareanimportantmusicalaspectwhencomposingbecausetheyareableto

shapemelodies,andparticularintervalsareimportantwhenmodulatingtonewkeys,whichwewilllookatinmoredetailinlaterchapters.

• Themosttypicalmusicalintervalsare2nds,3rds,4ths,5ths,6thsandoctaves.Theseareshowninthetablebelow.AnyintervalthatstretchesoveranoctaveisknownasaCompoundinterval.

Symbol Notes Name/Interval

C-D

2nd(Major)

C-E

3rd

(Major)

C-F

4th

(Perfect)

C-G

5th

(Perfect)

C-A

6th

(Major)

C-B

7th

(Major)

C-C

Octave

• ThistableshowshowintervalsareformedbetweennotesstartingonC.TheCatthebottomcouldbereplacedbyanynoteofthescaleandreproducedinexactlythesameway.

• Nowwehavelookedathowtoworkoutasimpleinterval,wenowneedtolookatthedifferenttypesofintervalswecanget,dependingonthekeyweareworkingin.

• Thefourmaintypesofintervalyouneedtoknowarecalled

Major Minor Perfect Diminished LetstakethekeyofCmajor:

• HereistheCmajorscale.Cmajorhas

nosharpsofflatsinitskeysignatureandsoitmakesiteasiertoworkouttheintervalsbetweennoteswithinthiskey.Belowaresomeexamplesofdifferentintervalsinthisparticularkey.

Majorinterval Interval Minorinterval Interval

Major3rd(C-E)

Minor3rd(C-

Eb)

Major6th(C-A)

Minor6th(C-

Ab)

Intervalsof4th’sand5th’sareknownasPERFECTintervalsasshownbelow-Theseareintervalswhichpredominantlyapproachcadences.Perfectintervals Interval Perfectintervals Interval

Perfect4th(C-F)

Perfect5th(C-G)

AdiminishedintervaloccurswhenaPerfectintervalhasaflattened5thDiminishedinterval

Interval Reason

Diminished5th

TheGhasbecomeaGb,whichthereforemakesthisintervaldiminished.Lookatthecomparisonwiththeintervalabovetoseewhy.

6.Beatandrhythm–Compoundtime

• Bynowyouwillunderstandthedifferenceinsoundbetweensimpleandcompoundtime.Thesepagesaimtohelpyouunderstandthetheoryaswell.

• The8asthelowernumberinthekeysignaturetellsusthatthebeatiscountedinquavers.Therefore6/8timehas6quaversineverybar.

• Butasyouwillalreadyknow,mostofthetimeweactuallyfeelthisrhythmas2inabar,2dottedcrotchets.

• Therhythmsyoucanusein6/8areincludedinthepieceofmusicbelow.Thedottedcrotchetbeatisshownabove.

• Youmayfindthesewordsbelowhelpfulwhenusingcompoundtime.Youcouldtrytomakeupyourownfortheonesnotincludedhere.

• Alloftheserhythmsfitintoonedottedcrotchet/areworth3quavers.

Rhythm Wordweuse

Home

Gallop

Hoppity

Runaway

• Musiccanalsobewrittenin9/8and12/8,butthisisnotascommon.

7.Phrasesandcadences• Allmusicismadeupofphraseswhicharelikemusicalsentences.• Theseareimportantinallowingmusictomakesensetothelistener.• Themovementfromthesecondlasttothelastchordinaphraseisknownasa

cadence.• Thetwochordswhicharechosentomakeupthiscadenceareveryimportantas

theyworkjustlikepunctuationwouldinapieceofwriting.• Acadencecaneithersoundfinished(likeafullstop),orunfinished(likeacomma).• Theyaresoimportanttomusicthattheyallhavenameswhichyouneedtoknow.

Withtheprimarychords(I,IVandV)thatyouhaveusedsofaryoucancreatethefollowingcadences:Cadencenames Finished/unfinished Secondlast

chordLastchord

Perfectcadence Finished V IPlagalcadence Finished IV IImperfectcadence

Unfinished ChordsIorIV V

Thesecadencesareusedinthefollowingpieceofmusic.

• Apieceofmusicwillalmostalwaysendwithafinishedcadence,butasyoucansee,

thesecanalsooccurinthemiddleofthemusic.• Thechordswhichmakeupacadencemayoccurinthemiddleofaphrase,butonly

createacadenceattheendofaphrase.

8.Writingamelody• Usingthechaptersonmelodicnotation,chordsandharmony,andintervals,weare

goingtoexplorethekeycomponents,whichyouneedtouseinordertowriteasuccessfulmelody.

• Agoodmelodyissomethingthatismemorableandhasalyricalquality.• Writingagoodmelodyisoneofthemostdifficultchallengesasamusician.Itis

importantthatanymelodyiswellstructuredandthatithasasenseofdirection,butmostcruciallythatitfitswellwithothermusicallines.

• Letshavealookatsomeofthestepstowritingagoodmelody.

Firstly-Thechordstructure

1)Letsstartwiththefirst4bars

• Thesechordsdeterminetheharmonyofthepieceofmusicwearegoingtowrite,

butalsocruciallyimportanttheygiveusabasisforwhichtostartandconstructourmelody.

• Itisalwaysimportanttothinkthatyourchordsareyourfoundationforyourmelody!

2)Thenextstepistostarttoconstructasimplelinetogetherthatusesprimarynotesofthechords:

• • AsafirststepIhavedecidedtojustusethenotesofthechordsinthebass.Mynext

stepwouldbetoelaborateonthesenotesandstarttoaddinmorenotevaluesandintervalstomakethemelodymoreinteresting.Theseareknownasnonchordnotes

Usingnon-chordnotesAswebegintodevelopamelodywestarttoaddinsomeofwhatwecallnon-chordnotes.Thesenotesarecallednon-chordnotesbecausetheydon’tappearwithin the chord in the bass. Take the notes below in the first bar. The firstchord,chordIisC,E,G.Ifyoulookatthenotesinthetrebleclefyouwillfindthattheonlynon-chordnotehighlightedistheB,thisisbecausetheBisnotpartoftheCmajorchordinthebass;thereforeitisanon-chordnote.Thesameruleappliestotherestofthebars.

Withinthesefirst4bars:

• Morerhythmicvalueshavebeenaddedtomakethemelodiclinemoreinteresting.• Alsoyoushouldbeabletonoticethattheintervalsbetweennotesarenotverybig,

whichmakesiteasiertosing/perform.• Themelodyhasagoodamountofstepsandleapswithintheintervalsthisisall

downtotheuseofmelodicdecoration.

ThetwotypesofmelodicdecorationthatyouneedtobeawareofareAuxiliarynotesandpassingnotes.Belowareexamplesofbothoftheseandhowtheyareused

Auxiliarynotes

Anauxiliarynoteiseitherasemitoneortoneaboveorbelowthenoteseitherside.Thetwonoteseithersideoftheauxiliaryarethesamepitch.ForexamplethisauxiliarymovefromCtoBthenbacktoC.

Passingnotes

Apassingnotelinksthenotesbeforeandafter.InthisexamplefromabovetheAandCarepassingnotesastheylinktheGandBwhicharepartofthechord.Passingnotesusuallyfallontheweakbeatsofthebar.

4)Afterexperimentingwithideasandcontinuingtodevelopnewones,Icompletedmyideasforthesecond4barsandmadethepieceintoan8barstructure.Seeifyoucanhighlightallthenon-chordnoteswithinthelastfourbars,andanyauxiliaryorpassingnotes.

Importantthingstoremember:

• Alwayslistentowhatyouarewriting(Ithelpstodevelopyourideas)• Useyourchordstructuretohelpyouinitially,andthenletthemelodiclinelead.• Giveyourmelodyasenseofdirection.

9.Morechordsandcadences

• Sofaryouhaveonlyusedtheprimarychords.• Inamajorkeytheseareallmajorchords.Theyareusedmostoftentokeepthe

majorcharacterofthemusic.• Formorevarietyyoucanalsousetheotherchords.Theseaddinterestastheyare

minoranddiminishedchords.

Moreoncadences

• Byusingotherchordsthereisanothercadenceyoucanuse.• Belowisthecompletelistofcadencesandchords.

HereisTwinkle,TwinkleLittleStarusingdifferentchordsandcadences.

Cadencenames Finished/unfinished Secondlastchord

Lastchord

Perfectcadence Finished V I

Plagalcadence Finished IV I

Imperfectcadence

Unfinished ChordsI,IIorIV

V

Interruptedcadence

Unfinished V VI

10.Musicaltextures• Inmusic,textureisthewaythemelodic,rhythmicandharmonicmaterialsare

combinedinacomposition,andthisdeterminestheoverallqualityofsoundofapiece.

• Apiece’stexturemaybeaffectedbythenumberofpartsplayingatonce,thetimbreoftheinstrumentsorvoicesplayingthesepartsandtheharmony,tempo,andrhythmsused.

• Textureisoftendescribedinregardstoitsthicknessandrangebetweenthelowestandhighestnotes.Wealsodistinguishthetextureofapieceaccordingtotherelationshipbetweenthemusicalvoices.

• Belowarethethreemainmusicaltexturesthatyouneedtobeawareofwhencomposingdifferentstylesofmusic.Monophonic

“PopgoestheWeasel”melody(Kliewer 1975, p.270-301).

Amonophonictextureisasinglemelodiclinewithnoaccompaniment.

• Manysolosectionswithinpiecescanbedescribedasmonophonicastheyaremainlyunaccompanied.Thispieceabove‘popgoestheweasel’hasjustonemelodicline,thereforethetextureismonophonic.

• AnothermusicaltexturecalledBiphonicissimilartoamonophonictexture.Theonlydifferenceisthatabiphonictexturehastwodistinctlines,withthelowerlineactingasadronewhiletheupperlinehasmoreofamelodyHomophonic

Homophony in Tallis' "If ye love me," composed in 1549

AHomophonictextureisMelodyandaccompaniment.Multiplevoicesofwhichone,themelody,standsoutprominentlywhiletheothersforma

backgroundofharmonicaccompaniment.

• Manypiecesofwesternmusiccomposedduringtheclassicalandromanticperiodandintothe20thcenturycanbedescribedasHomophonic.

• Theextractaboveisanexampleofgoodhomophonicwriting,wherebytherearemultiplevoicesofwhichone,thesopranomelody,standsoutprominently.

• Thisextractcouldalsobeclassedashomorhythmicbecauseallofthepartshavethesamerhythm.

• OtherexamplesofgoodhomophonicwritingcanbefoundinmanypianoworksbyBeethoven,andlotsof20thcenturyjazzwriting.

• Mosthomophonicmusicisreadvertically,simplybecauseitisusuallyverychordalbasedmusic.Polyphonic

J.S. Bach's "Fugue No.17 in A flat", BWV 862, from Das Wohltemperirte ClavierApolyphonictextureismultiplemelodicvoices/lines,whichareeither

independentofeachotherorimitateeachother.

• PolyphonicmusicisaverycharacteristictextureoftheRenaissanceperiodandparticularlytheBaroqueperiod.J.S.Bachwrotemanychoralesandfugues,whichthisextractistakenfrom,whichdemonstratehowseveraldifferentmusicallinescreatealineartexture.

• Mostpolyphonicmusicisreadhorizontally,simplybecausethemusicallinesmovefreelyandindependentlyamongsteachother,ratherthaninblocksorclustersofnotes.

11.Workinginaminorkey• Composinginaminorkeyposesitsmusicalchallengestoanycomposer.• Minorkeysaretypicallyusedbycomposerstoprovidemusicalcontrastwithina

pieceofmusic.Inpiecesthathaveaternaryform(ABA)ofbinarystructure(AB),themiddlesection(B)isusuallyintherelativeminorkeyofthetonicmajor.

• Whenworkinginaminorkeyitisfirstimportanttounderstandthattherearetwotypesofminorscale;MelodicminorandHarmonicminor.Thesedifferentminorscalesareshownbelowandexplained

aminor(Harmonic)

• Theharmonicminoristhemostcommonlyusedminorscaleandthenotesofthis

scalewouldbeusedwhenworkingwithinthekeyofaminor.

aminor(Melodic)

• Youwillnoticethatoneofthefeaturesofthemelodicminorscaleisthatitis

differentwhenascendinganddescending.ThedescendingnotesofthescalearemorelinkedwiththerelativemajorkeyofCmajor.Themelodicscalenotonlyraisesthe7thnoteofthescalebutalsoraisesthe6th,hencetheFbecomesanF#.Thesethenbecomenaturalonthedescendingpartofthescale.

• Itisalwaysimportanttorecognisethatoneofthekeymainfeaturesofbeinginaminorkeyisthatthe7thnoteofthescaleisalwayssharpened.

Key Keysignature Raised7th Key Keysignature

Raised7th

dminor

Csharp

gminor

Fsharp

TONICKEY RELATIVEMAJORaminor

Cmajor

dminor

Fmajor

eminor

Gmajor

12.ModulationExplainedWhatismodulation?

• Asyoualreadyknowmusiciswritteninakey• Thekeyapieceofmusicbeginsinisknownasthetonickey• Musicmodulateswhenitmovesfromthetonickeyintoadifferentone• Themostcommonkeysmusicmodulatestoarethedominant,sub-dominantand

relativeminor.

Sub-dominant(4th)

TONICKEY Relativeminor Dominant(5th)

Fmajor

Cmajor

aminor

Gmajor

Bbflatmajor

Fmajor

dminor

Cmajor

Cmajor

Gmajor

eminor

Dmajor

Workingoutthecloselyrelatedkeys

• Toworkoutthedominantkeycountthetonicnoteas1thenthe5thnotewillbethedominant.(C=1,D=2,E=3,F=4,G=5)ThereforethedominantofCmajorisGmajor.

• Toworkoutthesub-dominantcountthetonicnoteas1andthe4thnotewillbethesub-dominant.(C=1,D=2,E=3,F=4)Thereforethesub-dominantofCmajorisFmajor.

• Toworkouttherelativeminorcountdown3semi-tones.(CtoB,BtoBbandBbtoA)ThereforetherelativeminorofCmajorisaminor.

Youmayfindthecircleoffifthsbelowusefulforworkingoutkeys

• Whenmusicmodulatestoanewkeyyouthennamethechordsinthisnewkey• Modulationaddsinterestandvarietytothemusic.• Apieceofmusicmaymodulatemanytimes• Youshouldalwaysreturntothetonickeyfortheendofyourpiece

13.ModulationinpracticeNowyouunderstandwhatmodulationis,youneedtoknowhowyoucanachievethisinyourownmusic.Thereisashortpieceofmusicbelowtohelpyouunderstandthis.

• ThepieceiswritteninthekeyofGmajorandstartsonchordoneofGmajor.Thefirsteightbarsareinthiskeyandfinishonaperfectcadence(V-I)inthiskey.

• Inthenexteightbarsyouwillseethemusicmodulatestwicebeforeendingonaperfectcadenceinthetonickey.

• Inbothcasesthisisdonebyusingwhatiscalledapivotchord.Thisisachordwhichappearsinbothkeys.Youwillalwaysbeabletofindchordswhicharethesameinrelatedkeysandusetheseaspivotchords.

Gmajor EminorChord I ii IV V vi i ii iv V VINotes D

BG

ECA

GEC

DF#A

BGE

BGE

CAF#

ECA

F#D#B

GEC

Pivotchords

Eminoriv

EminorVI

Gmajorii

GmajorIV

• Achangeofkeyshouldalwaysbeconfirmedbyaperfectcadenceinthenewkey

soonafterthemodulation.• Afterthepivotchordthemusicisbeingwritteninthenewkey,sothechord

symbolsrepresentthenewkey.• Accidentalsneedtobeusedtoshowthenoteswhicharenotthesameineachkey.

Ifyouaremodulatingforalongtimeinyourmusicyoumaywishtoaddinyourkeychange.

14.Expressionmarkings• Expressionisoneofthemostimportantmusicalfeatures.Itallowscomposersand

performerstoshapetheirpieceofmusicandmakeitmorestylistictoperform.• Thefourmainareasofmusicalexpressionyouneedtobeawareofaredynamics,

tempo,articulationandornamentation.• Itisimportanttomaketheseexpressiveelementsclearwithinyourcompositionsin

ordertogiveyourmusicindividualcharacter.Belowareatableofexpressivemarkings,whichyouneedtoknow;theirmeanings;andtheirItalianterms,whicharecommoninallmusic.

DynamicsSymbol Italianterm Meaning

Pianissimo

Verysoft

Piano Soft

Mezzo-piano Moderatelysoft

Mezzo-forte Moderatelyloud

Forte Loud

Fortissimo Veryloud

Sforzando Suddenlyloud

Crescendo Graduallygettinglouder

Diminuendo Graduallygettingsofter

Tempo

Italianterm Meaning

Lento SlowlyAndante AtawalkingpaceAllegretto ModeratelyfastAllegro FastVivace Veryfast(Briskly)Conmoto WithmovementRallentando GraduallygettingslowerAccelerando Graduallygettingfaster

ArticulationSymbol Musicalterm Meaning

Staccato

Detached

Legato

Smoothly

Accent

Accentthatparticularnote

Tenuto

Stressthenote

Ornamentation

Symbol Musicalterm Meaning

Trill

Amusicalornamentwhich

fluttersbetweentwoadjacentnotes

Pedal

Soundissustainedduringthewholephrase.

Glissando

Slidingfromonenotetothe

next.

Fermata

Pauseonthenote

15.MusicalFormsAllmusiciscomposedusingastructureorform.Usingtheseinyourowncompositionswillhelpyoutoachieveasatisfyingpieceofmusicandallowyoutomakethemostofyourmusicalideas.FormsinsongwritingWhendiscussingsongstructurewethinkofthestructurepresentedbythelyrics.Thesewillbeorganisedintoversesandpossiblyachorus.Strophic

• Mostofthesongsyouwillbefamiliarwithwillbewritteninstrophicformwhichconsistsofversesandchorusesorjustverses.

• Thelyricsoftheversewillchangeeachtimebutthemelodywillremainthesame,althoughtheremayneedtobeslightrhythmicchangestofitinthedifferentwords.

• Thelyricsandmelodyofachoruswillremainthesameeachtimeitisperformed.• Othersectionssuchasabridgeormiddle8maybeaddedtothisverse-chorus

structureforinterestandvariety.• Althoughthemelodyremainsthesamethroughoutyoucanstilldevelopyour

musicalmaterialbyvaryingtheaccompanimentandchangingkey.

Through-composed• Thisistheoppositeofstrophicformasthemusicisnotrepeated,itchanges

throughout.• Thelyricsofeachversehavenewmusic.Thismaybeanewmelody,chords,or

both.• Thisformisusefulfortellingastoryasitallowsthemusictobevariedasthestory

moveson,suchasinanoperaormusical.

Ternaryform/Dacapo• ABA• ContrastingAandBsectionsareperformed.Thesingerthencompletelyrepeatsthe

Asectionagain.

MusicalFormsContinuedFormsininstrumentalwritingAswithternaryform(above)weoftenlabelpartsofthemusicalstructurebyusingletternames.BinaryForm

• AB• AcontrastingAandBsectionarecomposed.• Theyareoftenbothplayedtwice,markedusingrepeatsigns.

TernaryForm• ABA.• Thisisalsousedininstrumentalwriting.• TheBsectionshouldcontrastwiththeAsection.• TherepeatoftheAsectionmaybethesameorwithslightchangesand

developments.ThiswouldmakeitA1–B–A2.

RondoForm• ABACADAetc.• Inrondoformthemainthemekeepsbeingrepeatedwithothercontrastingsections

calledepisodesinbetween.• AsinternaryformtherepeatsoftheAsectionmaybeslightlydifferentand

sometimesshortened.• Smallpassagesmaybeusedtolinkthesectionssmoothly.

ThemeandVariation• Athemeisstatedfirst.Thisisusuallyshortandmemorable.• Thisthemeisthenrepeatedseveraltimesbutischangedbyusingdifferent

techniquestodevelopit.• Examplesofvariationmaybeplayingitinadifferentkey,changingthetextureof

theaccompanimentorusingornamentation.

GroundBass

• Thisusessimilartechniquestothemeandvariation,butitisthesamebasslinewhichisbeingusedthroughout.

• Changescanthereforebemadetothemelody,rhythm,tempoetc.

SonataForm• Sonataforistheformofonemovement,ratherthanawholesonata.• Liketernaryformitissplitintothreemainsectionsbuthasmorestructuretothe

wayitiswritten.

Exposition

(Statingthemusicalmaterial)

Development

(Developingthemusicalmaterial)

Recapitulation

(Restatementoftheoriginalmaterial.)

Coda

Firstsubject(Intonickey)

Bridge

(Usedtomodulatetothenewkey.)

Secondsubject

(Newkey)

Thiswilldeveloptheideasusedintheexpositionandmovethroughmanykeys.

Firstsubject

(Intonickey)

Bridge

(Differentasitisnotbeingusedtochangekey.)

Secondsubject

(Intonickey.)

Usedtofinishoffthemovement