This document discusses various musical forms including binary, ternary, rondo, and others. It explains that binary form has two sections, ternary has three, and rondo form repeats one section throughout. Letters are used to label sections, with uppercase for larger sections and lowercase for subsections. Repetition, contrast, and variation are key principles in determining musical form. Texture and melody can both be used to delineate formal sections within a piece of music.

1. A Q UI C K V I S UA L A N A L O G Y
FORM

2. PRINCIPLES OF FORM
• Repetition
• The return of the familiar
• Contrast
• The arrival of something different
• Variation
• The return of the familiar with some changes

3. VISUAL REPRESENTATION
• If these shapes represented sections of a piece of
music, which principle would they represent?
• Contrast – the second passage is different

4. VISUAL REPRESENTATION
• If these shapes represented sections of a piece of
music, which principle would they represent?
• Repetition – the second passage is the same

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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 A’B

10. 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

11. 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

12. “DOULZ VIAIRE GRACIEUS”
BY GUILLAUME DE MACHAUT
• Doulz viaire gracieus, de
fin cuer vous ay
servi. Weillies moy estre
piteus, Doulz viaire
gracieus, Se je sui un po
honteus, ne me mettes
en oubli: Doulz viaire
gracieus, de fin cuer
vous ay servi.
• Sweet gracious face, I have served
you with a sincere heart. If you will
have pity on me, sweet gracious
face, then if I am a bit shy, do not
embarrass me: Sweet gracious
face, I have served you with a sincere
heart.

13. 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 A AB C

14. 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

15. 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