Beats
The beats are the units in our System of Measurement,--as it
were, the inches upon our yardstick of time; they are the particles of
time that we mark when we count, or that the conductor marks with the
beats of his baton. Broadly speaking, the ordinary beat (in moderate
tempo) is about equivalent to a second of time; to less or more than
this, of course, in rapid or slow tempo. Most commonly, the beat is
represented in written music by the quarter-note, as in 2-4, 3-4, 4-4,
6-4 measure. But the composer is at liberty to adopt any value he
pleases (8th, 16th, half-note) as beat. In the first study in
Clementi's Gradus ad Parnassum, the time-signature is 3-1, the whole
note as beat; in the 8th Sung Without Words it is 6-16, the sixteenth
note as beat; in the last pianoforte sonata of Beethoven (op. 111),
last movement, the time-signatures are 9-16, 6-16, and 12-32, the
latter being, probably, the smallest beat ever chosen.
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1 Augmentation Of The Regular Form
To this species belong those forms (small and large) which are provided with a separate Introduction, or Interludes, or an independent Coda (in addition to, or instead of, the usual consistent coda). For example, Beethoven, pianoforte sonata, op.... 2 Abbreviation Of The Regular Form
This consists chiefly in the omission of the Principal theme after the Development (that is, in beginning the Recapitulation with the Subordinate theme). Other contractions, by omission of portions (Parts) of important thematic members, during the... 3 Dislocation Of Thematic Members
By this is meant, any exchange or alteration of the regular and expected arrangement of members. This can refer, naturally, only to what occurs after the Exposition,--that is, during the Recapitulation; for it is the Exposition which determines th... 4 Mixture Of Characteristic Traits
This process tends to affiliate the two distinct classes of larger or higher forms, whose respective characteristics were explained and compared at the beginning of Chapter XVI. Upon very careful revision of this explanation, and reference to the ... Afterword
The expression Musical Forms is often used, somewhat carelessly and erroneously, with reference to Styles or Species of composition, instead of to the structural design upon which the music is based. The Barcarolle, Mazurka, ?tude, Anthem, and so f... Application Of The Forms
The use of the various forms of composition, that is, their selection with a view to general fitness for the composer's object, is, primarily, simply a question of length. The higher aesthetic law of adjusting the design to the contents, of which w... Beats
The beats are the units in our System of Measurement,--as it were, the inches upon our yardstick of time; they are the particles of time that we mark when we count, or that the conductor marks with the beats of his baton. Broadly speaking, the ordi... Cadences In General
A cadence is the ending of a phrase. Strictly speaking, every interruption or break between figures, and between all melodic members, is a cadence; but the term cadence is applied to nothing smaller than entire phrases. The cadence is the point ... Causes
The possibility of deviating from the fundamental standard of phrase-dimension (four measures) has been repeatedly intimated, and is treated with some detail in the text preceding Example 17, which should be reviewed. It is now necessary to examine... Causes
Despite the many points of resemblance between the various forms to which our successive chapters have been devoted,--the natural consequence of a continuous line of structural evolution to which each plan owes its origin,--they are separate and ind... Classification Of The Larger Forms
The Sonatine form is the smaller variety of two practically kindred designs, known collectively as the Sonata-allegro forms. In order to obtain a clear conception of its relation to the latter, and also to the Rondo-forms, it is necessary to subje... Contents Of The Phrase
The question may arise, what is it that makes a phrase,--the rhythm, harmony, or melody? Strictly speaking, all three; for music subsists in the ceaseless co-operation of these three primary elements of composition, and no phrase is wholly complete... Defining The Figures
It is not always easy to distinguish the figures in a melodic sentence. While they are unquestionably analogous to the words in speech, they are by no means as concrete, nor are they separated as distinctly, as the words upon a written or printed s... Dissolution
When any section of a higher form starts out with a perfectly definite structural intention, pursues this intention for a time (sufficient to establish it), but then insensibly diverges and gradually adopts a new modulatory direction,--as transition... Distinction Between Bipartite And Tripartite Forms
We learned, in the preceding chapter, that the Two-Part Song-form is a composition of rather brief extent, with so decisive a perfect cadence in its course as to divide it, in a marked manner, into two separate and fairly individual sections or Par... Enlargement By Repetition
The first and simplest method is to increase the length of the period-form by the process of repetition; repetition of the entire sentence, or of any one--or several--of its component members, in a manner very similar to that already seen in connec... Evolution
It cannot have escaped the observant student of the foregoing pages, that the successive enlargement of the structural designs of musical composition is achieved by a process of natural growth and progressive evolution. No single form intrudes itse... Exact Repetitions
When Part I,--or Parts II and III together,--are to be repeated without any changes, it is customary to employ the familiar repetition-marks (double-bar and dots); with first and second ending, if, for any reason, some modification of the cadence-me... Exceptions
In its ordinary, normal condition the phrase is a musical sentence four measures in length. But this rule has its necessary exceptions; necessary because, as we have learned, the principle of Variety is quite as vital as that of Unity or symmetry. ... Group Of Parts
In some, comparatively rare, instances, the arrangement of perfect cadences is such that,--coupled with independence of melodic formation and character,--the composition seems to separate into four or more individual sections or Parts, with or with... Inherent Irregularity
Finally,--there exists another, third, condition, besides those mentioned at the head of this chapter, whereby a phrase may assume an irregular dimension; not by doubling or dividing its length (as in the large and small phrases) nor by the processe... Length Of The Regular Phrase
Fortunately for the work of analysis, there are certain established landmarks of forms, so conscientiously observed, and so firmly grounded in the practices of classic writing (because the necessary consequences of natural law), that it is generall... Lesson 1
The student is to study this chapter thoroughly, and write answers to the following questions; if possible, without reference to the text:-- 1. What does Form in music mean? 2. Define the conditions which constitute good form. 3. When is a c... Lesson 10
Analyze the following examples of the Three-Part Song-form. The first step, here again, is to fix the end of the First Part; the next, to mark the beginning of the Third Part, by determining where the return to the beginning is made. These points e... Lesson 11
Analyze the following examples of the enlarged Three-Part Song-form. As before, the form of each Part should be defined, and introductions and codas (if present) properly marked. All of the given examples belong to this chapter, but are not classi... Lesson 12
The following examples all belong to the Song with Trio. They should be analyzed as usual, each Song separately, defining the Parts, their form, and other details, as minutely as possible. Careful analysis is the first condition of intelligent inte...