Music · Lesson 9

Binary, ternary, rondo, variations, sonata form, suite, overture, vocal forms, African forms, set-work method

JAMBWAECNECO

What the syllabus asks

JAMB: binary, ternary, rondo; overture, oratorio, opera, cantata, suite, sonata, symphony, concerto; African antiphony and cyclic forms; contemporary African art-music techniques; analysis of prescribed set works (Paper 2 Q2, compulsory). JAMB Section D: forms and media of Western music.

WAEC: binary, ternary, rondo; overture, oratorio, opera, cantata, suite, sonata, symphony, concerto; African antiphony and cyclic forms; contemporary African art-music techniques; analysis of prescribed set works (Paper 2 Q2, compulsory). JAMB Section D: forms and media of Western music.

NECO: binary, ternary, rondo; overture, oratorio, opera, cantata, suite, sonata, symphony, concerto; African antiphony and cyclic forms; contemporary African art-music techniques; analysis of prescribed set works (Paper 2 Q2, compulsory). JAMB Section D: forms and media of Western music.

What you will learn

Explain repetition and contrast in form.
Recognise and diagram binary, ternary, rondo, variation and sonata forms with their key schemes.
Describe the sonata, symphony, concerto, suite, overture, opera, oratorio and cantata.
Describe African forms and compare them with Western forms.
Apply a systematic method to analyse a set work.

Key points

Form = plan of sections; repetition and contrast.
Binary: A (to dominant) B (to tonic), each repeated.
Ternary: A complete, B contrast, A return.
Rondo: A B A C A, refrain in tonic.
Variations: theme altered repeatedly.
Strophic vs through-composed songs.
Sonata form: exposition, development, recapitulation, coda.
Second subject: dominant then tonic.
Symphony 4 movements; concerto 3 with cadenza.
Suite: allemande, courante, sarabande, gigue.
Opera staged; oratorio unstaged and sacred.
Set-work analysis: always give bar numbers.

Start here: What is form?

Form (or structure) is the plan of a piece of music: how its sections are arranged, repeated and contrasted. Just as an essay has an introduction, body and conclusion, a piece has sections that a listener can recognise. WAEC lists binary, ternary and rondo forms; large forms such as the overture, oratorio, opera, cantata, suite, sonata, symphony and concerto; and African forms such as antiphony and cyclic forms. Paper 2 Question 2 (compulsory) asks you to analyse a prescribed set work, so you must also learn a method of analysis.

Form depends on two forces: repetition, which gives unity (we recognise the return of an idea), and contrast, which gives variety (a new melody, key, rhythm or texture). Every form is a balance between the two. We label sections with capital letters: a new section gets a new letter (A, B, C); a returning section keeps its letter; a varied return is marked with a prime or a number (A′ or A1).

Worked example: Labelling a hymn. A hymn tune has four 4-bar phrases: phrase 1, phrase 2 (identical to phrase 1), phrase 3 (new), phrase 4 (identical to phrase 1). Label it.
Answer. A A B A: a pattern common in songs and choruses (sometimes called 32-bar song form when each phrase is 8 bars). The phrases are labelled with small letters (a a b a) when they are only phrases within one section.

Levels of form. Form exists at several levels at once. The smallest units are motifs (a few notes); motifs build phrases (often 4 bars); phrases pair into periods (8 bars); periods build sections (A, B); sections build movements; and movements build a whole work (a symphony, a suite, a cantata). In analysis, say which level you are describing: “the A section consists of two 4-bar phrases forming a parallel period” is far more precise than “the first part is repeated”.

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Practice questions

1. Binary form is

A B
A B A
A B A C A
A A A

Show answer

A: A B
Two sections, often both repeated.

2. Ternary form is

A B
A B A C A
A B C D
A B A

Show answer

D: A B A
Statement, contrast, return.

3. A rondo is built on

a theme with variations
continuous development
a refrain returning between episodes
two equal halves

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C: a refrain returning between episodes
A B A C A …

4. In the first section of a major-key binary dance, the music usually modulates to the

tonic minor
dominant
subdominant
relative minor

Show answer

B: dominant
Tonic → dominant, then back.

5. A da capo aria is a large

ternary form
binary form
rondo
strophic song

Show answer

A: ternary form
A B then A repeated from the start.

Key words

Binary: Two-section form, A B.
Ternary: Three-section form, A B A.
Rondo: Recurring refrain with episodes, A B A C A.
Episode: Contrasting section between refrains.
Sonata form: Exposition, development, recapitulation.
Exposition: First section presenting the subjects.
Development: Section working out themes in many keys.
Recapitulation: Return of the exposition in the tonic.
Cadenza: Solo display passage in a concerto.
Oratorio: Unstaged sacred work for voices and orchestra.
Suite: Set of dances in one key.
Homophonic: Melody with chordal accompaniment.

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