Glossary Form

8/13/2019 Glossary Form

1/3

CHAPTER

FORM

principles categories prose species poetic species unitsconcatenation continuous unified binary period partdivision binary rounded binary double period theme group

digression ternary sonata-allegro quatrain codareturn binary-ternary interrupted binary song formparallelism hybrids amplified binaryhybridization poetic amplified binary-

ternary hybridsrondo

amplified form A form in which most or all of the parts are complex sen-tences of several clauses each. For example, compound ternary formand sonata-allegro form.

amplified interrupted binary form A binary form in which the first part mod-ulates and concludes with a full cadence and the two tonal areas in the

first part are each defined by one or more monotonal clauses. The secondpart begins in the original tonality and reprises the material of the firstpart in the original tonality. Also calledsonata form without development.

binary form A composition divided into two parts, each marked by a strongcadence.

binary-ternary hybrid form These are binary forms in which part two beginswith a digression and ends with a reprise of the material of part one. Seerounded binary,sonata-allegro form.

coda A section appended to the end of a large-scale form, often beginning

with the thematic unit that initiated the first part and composed of a se-quence of thematic units that loosely parallel the sequence of thematicunits in the exposition or recapitulation. The coda often follows an in-terruption or subordination of the cadence in part two that parallels thefinal cadence of part one.

compound ternary form A ternary form in which each part is a binary orrounded binary form.

31


2/3

FOR M

concatenated binary form A piece in binary form in which the two parts areeach marked by a strong full cadence in the main tonality.

concatenated form A composition that is a series of self-contained units, eachmarked by a strong tonic cadence. For example: theme and variations.

continuous form A composition that has but one strong cadence. Also calledthrough-composed.

cyclic form A form in which a sequence of thematic units forms the basis formore than one part. Amplified binary and binary-ternary hybrids areoften cyclic. The sequences of thematic units are sometimes called rota-tions.

digression A contrasting section or part.

division (formal) Division of a composition into parts by strong cadences.

double period Pairs of couplets that are parallel in construction (a1b1 a2b2.The cadence of the second pair is a full cadence that has greater finalitythan the cadences of the other clauses.

interrupted binary form A binary form in which the first part modulates, butthe second part begins again in the original tonality and reprises the ma-terial of the first part without modulating.

parallelism A term describing the relation of units that have similar thematiccontent and occupy similar formal positions.

part The largest formal unit, marked by a strong cadence.

period A pair of clauses that are of the same length, usually four or eight bars,and have similar thematic material (a1 a2). The cadence of the conse-quent clause is stronger than or as strong as the cadence of the antecedentclause.

poetic forms Various forms composed of clauses of equal length, usually fouror eight bars: period, double period, quatrain.

prose forms Uh, forms that arent poetic?

quatrain A series of four clauses of equal length. The first two form a period,possibly modulating; the third is contrasting, and the fourth repeats thesecond clause or synthesizes aspects of the first and second clauses:a1a2b a3. Also calledsong form.

double quatrain A series of four periods of equal length. The first two form adouble period, possibly modulating; the third is contrasting and is some-times a single long clause rather than a period, and the fourth repeats thesecond period or synthesizes aspects of the first and second periods.


3/3

FOR M

reprise The repetition of a formal unit, usually indicated by repeat signs. De-spite the meaning of the word, the term is sometimes used to refer to thesection itself rather than the repetition.

double reprise A binary form in which both parts are marked by repeat signs.Variation of the reprise is at the discretion of the performer, as is whetherto take the reprise in the first place.

return Recurrence of a section or part following a digression.

rondo A form in five or seven parts in which a self-contained binary form(often poetic) alternates with digressions.

rounded binary form A small-scale binary-ternary hybrid form in which thesecond part begins with a digression and concludes with a re-initiation

in the main key and a return of material from part one.sonata-allegro form An amplified binary-ternary hybrid form in which the

first part modulates and concludes with a full cadence. The two tonal ar-eas in the first part are each defined by one or more monotonal clauses.The reprise in part two transposes the non-tonic material of part one,usually into the tonic. Part one is called the expositionand consists of afirst theme groupand asecond theme group. A modulating passage can bepart of the first theme group (e.g., a modulating consequent) or may bea separate clause or sentence, in which case it is called a transition sec-tion. The digression in the second part is the development sectionand thereprise is called the recapitulation. The development often begins with the

thematic unit that initiated the first part (usually transposed) and may becomposed of a cycle of thematic units that loosely parallels the sequenceof thematic units in the exposition. The development typically ends witha half cadence or an arrival on a dominant, usually the dominant of VIor I. A conjunction may link the development to the beginning of the re-capitulation. The recapitulation may present the thematic material of theexposition in a different order.

song form Seequatrain.

ternary form A composition divided into three parts, each marked by a strongcadence. Normally the first and third parts are parallel and the second

contrasting. The second part may be in a different tonality than the fram-ing parts.

unified binary form A piece in binary form in which the first cadence is not afull cadence in the main tonality and the second part does not begin witha stable tonic in the original tonality.

Documents

Glossary Form