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Notes on How to Listen to Classical Music
AUB University for Seniors
by Akram Najjar
May 2011
v2.2
© Akram Najjar, 2011
Table of Content
1.0
2.0
3.0
4.0
Purpose of this Document .................................................................... 1
Three Dimensional Listening ................................................................ 2
Dimension 1: Musical Components ...................................................... 5
3.1 Melodies, Phrases and Themes ...................................................... 6
3.1.1 Melodies .............................................................................. 6
3.1.2 Phrases ................................................................................ 7
3.1.3 Themes ................................................................................ 8
3.1.4 But What are Motifs? And Leitmotifs? ................................. 9
3.2 Tempo or Time Beat .................................................................... 10
3.3 Rhythm ........................................................................................ 11
3.4 Dynamics ..................................................................................... 12
3.5 Scales, Keys and Harmonic Relationships ..................................... 12
3.5.1 Notes or Pitches or Frequencies (Same Thing, Really!) ...... 13
3.5.2 The Exotic Octave .............................................................. 13
3.5.3 Instrument Ranges ............................................................. 14
3.5.4 What are Intervals? ........................................................... 15
3.5.5 What is a Major Scale?....................................................... 16
3.5.6 What are the Other Scales? ............................................... 19
3.5.7 What is the Key of a Work?................................................ 19
3.5.8 Related Keys to the Tonic or Home Keys ............................ 20
3.5.9 What is the Relevance of Keys in a Composition? .............. 21
3.6 Timbre ......................................................................................... 21
3.7 Textures: Monophonic / Homophonic / Polyphonic .................... 23
3.8 Color ............................................................................................ 24
3.9 Instrumentation ........................................................................... 25
Dimension 2: Musical Transformations .............................................. 27
4.1 Thematic Statements ................................................................... 27
4.2 Modulation .................................................................................. 28
4.3 Cadences ..................................................................................... 29
4.4 Development ............................................................................... 30
4.5 Reduction .................................................................................... 31
4.6 Contouring ................................................................................... 32
4.7 Telescoping .................................................................................. 32
4.8 Rhythmic Alterations ................................................................... 32
4.9 Ritardando / Accelerando ............................................................ 33
4.10 Crescendos / Diminuendos .......................................................... 33
5.0
6.0
7.0
8.0
4.11 Melodic Inversion ........................................................................ 33
4.12 Interval Inversion ......................................................................... 35
4.13 Sequence ..................................................................................... 36
4.14 Ornamentation ............................................................................ 36
Dimension 3: Musical Form ................................................................ 37
5.1 Level 1: The Form of the Whole Work ......................................... 37
5.2 Level 2: The Form of the Movement within a Work ..................... 39
5.3 Level 3: The Form of the Sections within a Movement ................ 42
5.4 Issues Related to Form................................................................. 43
5.4.1 What is the Relationship between Genre and Form? ......... 43
5.4.2 What about Movement Names? ........................................ 44
5.5 Example: The Sonata Allegro Form .............................................. 45
5.5.1 The Structure of a Sonata Allegro Movement .................... 45
5.5.2 The Three Sections of the Sonata Allegro Form ................. 47
5.5.3 Key Relationships in the Sonata Allegro Form .................... 48
5.6 Example: Rondos ......................................................................... 49
5.7 Example: Sonata Rondo Form ...................................................... 50
5.8 Example: Theme and Variations................................................... 52
5.9 Example: Ternary Forms .............................................................. 54
5.10 Example: Scherzos ....................................................................... 54
5.11 Example: Fugues .......................................................................... 54
5.11.1 The Structure of a Fugue.................................................... 55
5.11.2 Famous Fugues .................................................................. 57
Notes on Tension and Resolution ....................................................... 58
6.1 The Simplicity of our Sound Sense ............................................... 58
6.2 Variations on the Basic Sound ...................................................... 60
6.3 Expectation and Meaning ............................................................ 61
6.4 Tension and Resolution................................................................ 64
Notes on the Natural / Physical Harmonic Series................................ 66
Notes on Tempo Markings ................................................................. 67
8.1 Basic Tempo Markings ................................................................. 67
8.2 Common Qualifiers ...................................................................... 68
8.3 Mood Markings with a Tempo Connotation ................................ 70
Table of Figures
Figure 1: The Three Dimensions of Musical Listening......................................... 3
Figure 2: The Relationship between the 3 Dimensions ...................................... 4
Figure 3: Musical Components ........................................................................... 5
Figure 4: Example of Common Time or 4/4 Rhythm ........................................ 11
Figure 5: Example of 3/4 Time ......................................................................... 12
Figure 6: Octaves ............................................................................................. 14
Figure 7: The Register or Range of Common Instruments and Voice ............... 15
Figure 8: The Scale of C Major on a Piano ........................................................ 16
Figure 9: The Scale of C# Major on a Piano ...................................................... 17
Figure 10: The Scale of F Major on a Piano ...................................................... 18
Figure 11: Color Cube....................................................................................... 24
Figure 12: Resolution of the Color Cube........................................................... 25
Figure 13: Vertical Symmetry ........................................................................... 34
Figure 14: Horizontal Symmetry....................................................................... 34
Figure 15: Vertical Inversion ............................................................................ 35
Figure 16: Horizontal Inversion ........................................................................ 35
Figure 17: Rising and Falling Intervals .............................................................. 35
Figure 18: The 3 Levels of Form (Dimesnion 3) ................................................ 37
Figure 19: Levels 1 and 2 of Form .................................................................... 39
Figure 20: Levels 1, 2 and 3 of Form................................................................. 42
Figure 21: The Standard Sonata Allegro Form .................................................. 46
Figure 22: The Sonata Allegro in Beethoven’s Sonata No 1 (1st Movement) .... 47
Figure 23: Typical Rondo Patterns.................................................................... 50
Figure 24: The Structure of a 3 Voice Fugue..................................................... 55
Figure 25: Calling Someone: the Melody.......................................................... 58
Figure 26: Teaesing Someone: the Melody ...................................................... 59
Figure 27: Congratulating Someone: the Melody ............................................. 59
Figure 28: Information Content for different Possibilities ................................ 61
Figure 29: The Fanfare: Baseline ...................................................................... 62
Figure 30: The Fanfare: Melodic Transformation ............................................. 63
Figure 31: The Fanfare: Rhythmic Transformation ........................................... 63
Figure 32: F. Scott Fitzgeral Quote ................................................................... 65
Figure 33: Harmonic Series .............................................................................. 66
Copyright
This document is under the copyright of Akram Najjar. You are requested to
refrain from using it or any of its content in other publications, public
presentations, articles, books or studies without the author’s written consent.
Akram Najjar can be contacted on [email protected]
1.0
Purpose of this Document
AUB’s University of Seniors program has already hosted two study groups on
Music. One was given in Spring 2010 and covered a lot of foundational
material. The second was given in autumn 2010 and analyzed 6 specific works.
In the second study group, new participants joined. I found it necessary to go
over some of the basics covered with the first group. Those who had attended
earlier found the repetition annoying.
In Spring 2011, we will face a similar situation with 3 generations of
participants: those who attended the above two, those who attended only one
and the new and welcome participants.
You can now see that it is quite difficult to address the discussion to 3 different
generations. After much thought, and against the sound advice of some
friends, I thought it suitable to present the foundational or background
material outside the sessions. This handout can be review by those who wish.
Or as one friend quipped: “We are seniors, we forget easily, so why not a
reminder?”.
Please feel free to call me at any time if you need further clarifications:
Akram Najjar
+9613-206805
[email protected]
Hope you enjoy the workshop and find the material useful.
Notes on How to Listen to Classical Music - v2.2
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2.0
Three Dimensional Listening
Most people starting to appreciate Classical Music concentrate on melodies.
There is so much else in a good piece of music. The 3 study groups have one
common aim: to allow you to decompose a piece (pun intended) and to
develop an ear sensitive to many other musical devices than plain melody.
Composers spend so much time on these lovely works. We ought to pay them
back for the pleasure they constantly give us. This can be done by listening
more carefully to what they were doing.
Years ago, when I was 32, I spent two weeks skiing somewhere in Europe. I
thought I knew how to ski because I used to ski in the Cedars when I was in
high school. To my surprise, the first two days were agony. I kept falling and
was slowly collecting a set of bruises not to be proud of. My cousin, who was
blessed with an inordinate amount of common sense, took me aside and said:
you are not a child. You will never learn to ski through instinct. You should take
the skiing action apart. It is made up of 4 separate motions. Learn each one
alone and then put them back together again. You will be skiing in no time. I
was. And thanks to him, I realized that one can do this to enjoy music, fiction,
cinema, poetry, etc.
In music, I propose to consider 3 Dimensions (the equivalent of the 4 skiing
actions):
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Figure 1: The Three Dimensions of Musical Listening
We will highlight these 3 different dimensions and show how they can operate
at the same time.
Composers manipulate musical components when composing. So, a set of
Musical Transformations (or devices) = Dimension 1. It is these components
that composers use when applying transformations to achieve musical form.
Dimension 2 covers a set of musical transformations. These are changes or
variations that a composer applies on different musical components
(Dimension 1) to arrive at a musical Form.
Dimension 3 is then the result of composing. It is the outcome of a composer
applying transformations to musical components. Musical Form defines how a
Work is structured and successively presented in time.
Note: various music scholars define the 3 dimensions of music as melody,
harmony and rhythm. This is an oversimplification. There are many more
Notes on How to Listen to Classical Music - v2.2
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dimensions. For our discussion, these 3 are musical components. How we
transform them and in which form they will appear become the 3 Dimensions
we discussed above.
Although this discussion will remain within the confines of Classical and
Romantic music (1750 – 1910), it can apply to music from all other periods,
even to Jazz and Pop.
Figure 2: The Relationship between the 3 Dimensions
Conclusion: a Composer applies Musical Transformations on Musical
Components to arrive at a Musical Form.
Similarly, and as a fortuitous by-product of this model,
An Author applies Literary Transformations on Literary Components to arrive
at a Literary Form.
A Painter applies Graphic Transformations on Graphic Components to arrive
at a Painting which is a Graphic Form.
A Film Director applies Cinematic Transformations on Cinematic Components
to arrive at a Film or a Cinematic Form.
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3.0
Dimension 1: Musical Components
If the composer transforms or prepares forms, he transforms what? The form
is made up of what?
Figure 3: Musical Components
In this Section, I shall define the main components that are the atoms of
musical compositions.
Of course, someone will say, the note is the atom. There is nothing smaller
than a note in music. That is very true. If we start from notes, we will get to
most of the following components. But notes on their own are meaningless.
They are only meaningful when considered with other notes or when
contrasted with other notes. We can hear two notes in sequence or at the
same time. In both cases, we need two notes to get something significant: the
interval. But more of that later.
So we shall start with the following Musical Components:
 Phrases and Themes
 Tempo (time beat)
 Rhythm
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






3.1
Dynamics
Scales, Keys and Harmonic Relationships
Timbre
Textures: monophonic / homophonic / polyphonic
Color
Instrumentation
Etc
Melodies, Phrases and Themes
This is an important set of components that are often related to one another.
3.1.1 Melodies
We are usually most familiar with Melody. This is simply a set of notes
separated by different intervals of time. There are many other musical
components that cannot be sung but one can sing a melody.
The most important aspect of a Melody is that it “seems” to have a beginning
and an end. Generally, it would start and end on the same note (but there are
exceptions). For example, this is the whole sequence of Happy Birthday:
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday dear Ludwig
Happy Birthday to you
The 4 verses cover one long melody. You can feel the progression from the first
Happy to the last you. You should also feel how the last you seems to settle
down on the same note as the first Happy.
Melodies contain other components (more next). Their most important aspect
is the most difficult to specify: they seem to have an internal unity. They start
and stop. They go away to distant notes and come back to rest on the initial
note.
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Other examples:
 The famous tune of the last movement of the 9th Symphony
 The first line of our national anthem:
 The Beatles song: She Loves You has a full melody in “you think you lost
your love, well I saw her yesterday-yeh”.
3.1.2 Phrases
Phrases are important in music but when it comes to Analysis, they give us
problems. A Phrase is usually part of a melody. However, there are melodies
that do not have Phrases, or, if you want, they are made up of one phrase only.
In the example of Happy Birthday, the first line is a full phrase. You can see the
Phrase clearly because it repeats in the 2nd line. It also repeats in the 3rd and 4th
line but it is varied, not the same.
Therefore, a Phrase is really a short melody, again with a complete unit of its
own. But is usually shorter than a Melody. Melodies can be made up of Phrases
but not the other way round.
Examples:
 The first part of the famous tune of the last movement of the 9th
Symphony is a phrase: tara-rara-rara-rara – it gets repeated a few times
to form the full melody.
 The first line part of the first melody of our national anthem:
 The Beatles song: She Loves You has a full melody in “you think you lost
your love, well I saw her yesterday-yeh” but “you think you lost your
love” is a phrase.
Conclusion: phrases have a unity and can be sung because they are like
shortened melodies. But most of the time they are parts of melodies, they are
given a separate name.
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3.1.3 Themes
This is a really important term in musical analysis. Melodies are made up of
Phrases, most of the time. But both are definitely made up of Themes.
A Theme is the smallest unit in a musical composition. The famous opening of
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony: Tara-raraaaaa is a theme. It is not a melody since:




It does not have an overall contour or
It does not start and end on the same note or
It is probably not long enough
And you probably will not sing it on its own
Themes are inserted in the work because they are to be re-used. This is an
important concept. A composer will introduce a Theme and use it in different
parts of a Work. When he does use it, he literally butchers it through varying its
notes, intervals, rhythm, tempo, key, etc. But the magic is: it remains
recognizable.
The 5th Symphony theme was called by Beethoven (within historical doubt) the
Fate Theme. Beethoven states it twice at the very beginning. The second
statement has a longer end note than the first. The 4 notes are a theme that is
repeated. He then goes on to repeat it throughout the movement, stretching
it, moving it to other notes, removing notes from it, reversing it and combining
it with all sorts of other themes. There is only one real melody in the first
movement and it comes after the famous Horn Call. It is usually called the
second theme (for other reasons we will discuss under Sonata Allegro Form in
Section ‎5.5). But on close analysis, this melody is made up of a reversed
version of the Horn Call which is in itself an extended version of the initial
theme with some notes left out.
So how does a composer change a Theme? This is part of Dimension 2 (See
Section ‎4.0) where we talk about Transformations. Examples will help here:
 Melodic change: the theme feels the same as the original theme but
some of its notes are changed (the way Beethoven changes the Fate
theme to the Horn Call in the 5th Symphony)
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 Rhythmic change: the theme remains the same but its time basis is
changed. The Fate them has 4 notes. In its second statement, Beethoven
writes the same 4 notes but the last note is played for double the
duration. Rhythmic changes can be more severe than this.
 Harmonic change: the theme is retained as first stated but the composer
changes its key structure (more on that later). For example, his first
statement might be in A major. The second statement might start in A,
go to E and then quickly return to A. For example, if we consider the
theme played in the first line of Happy Birthday, the second time it is
played, “Happy Birthday” has the same notes but “to You” is played in a
different key.
 Sequential change: the theme is retained with the same melodic and
rhythmic structure. However, the composer will play it in a different part
of the scale, higher or lower. On the Piano, it would be played on the
higher or lower register. For example, Beethoven’s Fate theme is played
twice at the beginning of the Symphony. The second time, as a different
set of notes but they are the same as the first statement in their
“structure” (and the 4th note is extended).
Conclusion: a Theme is a short set of notes that do not mean anything if played
totally alone. No one goes down the street singing the Fate Theme on its own!
Themes start exhibiting their unity because the composer makes us hear them
several times in a movement. Themes are a major raw material for the
composer. Over and above the transformations we showed above, the
composer will change them in more ways, as we will see in Dimension 2 (See
Section ‎4.0).
3.1.4 But What are Motifs? And Leitmotifs?
Motif is confusing term and we shall not use it. It is often used interchangeably
with Theme. But since it is like a rubber band, let us ignore it during our
discussions.
Leitmotifs are different. They have a specific and symbolic meaning.
A Letimotif can be a phrase, a melody or a theme. The composer uses it so you
can associate it when you hear it with items which are often outside the music
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itself (but maybe part of the Opera or the Program of the Work):




A person
An event
An object
A situation
Siegfried
The entry of the security
The bell
The dream of the faune
The promenade
(Wagner: Siegried/The Ring)
(Moussorgsky: Boris Godounov)
(Moussorgsky: Boris Godounov)
(Debussy: Prelude a L’Apres-midi)
(Moussorgsky: Pics at an
Exhibition)
As you can see, Leitmotifs are used in Program Music (music associated with a
narrative) or an Opera where there is a sung narrative.
3.2
Tempo or Time Beat
Tempo is simply the speed at which a Work is played. The composer would
usually indicate the tempo marking in two ways:
 Metronome Marking: using a number that signifies the number of beats
per minute. For example, if Chopin writes 30, then he expects the
performer to play the notes at the rate of 30 per minute or 1 per 2
seconds.
 Tempo Indicator: usually assigned to a movement or part of a
movement. Musicians have settled on the practice of using Italian terms
such as Adagio, Largo and Presto to define the speed at which a
movement or a section should be played. (See Section ‎0‎8.0 for basic
tempo markings).
Of course, performers are not supposed to observe these indications
religiously. They will play a piece according to their discretion: but up to a
point. You will often hear musicians arguing about whether a performer played
something too fast or too slow.
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3.3
Rhythm
This is often confused with Tempo. Whereas Tempo specifies the speed or the
rate at which you can play a piece, Rhythm specifies the nature or the pattern
or the structure of the beats.
For example, although they might be played at the same tempo, Bossa Nova,
Salsa and Waltzes have different rhythms.
How is that defined?
Composers group their notes in measures or bars. They specify the number of
beats in a bar. You can hear musicians “talk” the beat by saying 1-2-3-4 for a
4/4 rhythms and 1-2-3 for a waltz.
Here is an example of a 4/4 rhythm, known as Common Time and represented
by a C with a stroke in it at the beginning of the score:
Figure 4: Example of Common Time or 4/4 Rhythm
You can see that in the first bar or measure, there are 4 notes. In the second
bar, the performer has to count 1-2-3-4 but he/she does not play on these
beats. The composer has chosen to put more notes in some places and remove
some in others.
Here is an example of a 3/4 rhythms, or a Waltz. This is represented by the 3
over 4 at the beginning of the score:
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Figure 5: Example of 3/4 Time
You can also see how the performer has to play 3 notes in a bar.
3.4
Dynamics
This is one of the easier terms to get used to. It signifies the loudness of the
music or how much force a performer has to apply to his/her instrument to
produce a louder or a softer sound.
Composers have a special notation for this. For example, a p mean piano or
softly whereas a pp means more softly and ppp means pianissimo or most
softly.
On the other end of the Dynamics range, we have f for forte or loud where ff
means louder and fff means CRASH BANG!
Dynamics is therefore one of the components that a Composer manipulates to
get to a final composition.
3.5 Scales, Keys and Harmonic Relationships
This is one of the most complex aspects of music, but one of the most
important for Composers and interesting for listeners.
In the first two workshops, we spent a lot of time on this set of components.
Many participants were not happy going through such technical detail. Yet, the
enjoyment of music can be highly improved if we can have at least a cursory
familiarity with such components.
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3.5.1 Notes or Pitches or Frequencies (Same Thing, Really!)
What is a note? It is a sound made by some instrument that is vibrating at a
certain frequency:
 A Piano string gets hit by a hammer and it vibrates 440 times per second.
This is the note A (also called Concert A because musicians in an
orchestra tune to it)
 A violinist scrapes his bow over the bottom string (G, the one nearest to
his cheek) and the string vibrates 196 times per second
 A clarinetist can play a note on his/her instrument and the air column
inside it vibrates at a certain frequency that gives the note that the
performer wants
A Note has one Frequency. That is also called its Pitch.
Western music has 12 notes and 12 notes ONLY. All other notes found on a
Piano, violin or any other instruments are repetitions of these 12 notes.
In terms of pure physics, a hammer hits a string and the string vibrates at a
specific frequency. In this case, the string would vibrate 440 times per second.
Physicists honor one of their own, Herz, by calling the “times per second” unit:
Herz. So the middle A vibrates at 440 Hz.
Here are some properties of notes:
 Each note has its own pitch
 If you play any note on any instrument, then the next note up from that
note must vibrate 1.0594 times more.
 If we keep multiplying a specific note by 1.0594, after 11 notes, we will
get double that note (because 1.0594 is the 12th root of 2).
 The double frequency note is called an Octave note. (See next Section)
3.5.2 The Exotic Octave
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This is a weird note because it is different yet the same. Here is an example. If
you play a C on the Piano, right in the middle, its frequency will be 278.4375
Hz.
Figure 6: Octaves
If you play the C above it or C’, its frequency will be double that of C. The third
C, or C’’ will be 4 times the frequency of C and so on.
All these Cs are Octaves of one another. This is an old terminology from the
time when Pythagoras designed the musical scale to have 7 notes. So, the
double of the initial note was the 8th note, hence the term.
What about Octave notes? They sound the same, but shriller or more bass.
Nothing beats trying it on a Piano. Just play any note and then play the note
above it but in a similar position (or simply count up and play the 12th note).
You will hear the same sound. This has a physical reason which we will not go
into.
What is the significance of an Octave? Having Octaves means that we really
have 12 notes in Western music (or They have, because we are not Western).
3.5.3 Instrument Ranges
All instruments have a certain range of notes. Between the lowest and the
highest in pitch, the group of 12 notes (an Octave), will repeat. The Piano has
88 notes spanning 7 octaves and 4 additional notes. The following diagram
shows these 88 notes and the span of typical instruments relative to the Piano:
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Figure 7: The Register or Range of Common Instruments and Voice
3.5.4 What are Intervals?
An interval is the musical distance between one note and another.
Musicians call the smallest interval, a semi-tone. This is the interval between
each of the 12 notes and the one above it or below it.
Examples of intervals between the 12 notes:
 The interval between C and C# is one semitone
 The interval between C and D is a whole tone or 2 semitones
 The interval between C and E is 2 whole tones (often called the major
third)
Examples of intervals between notes of a scale:
 The interval between the first note (Tonic) of a scale and the 4th note
(Sub-Dominant) is made up of 5 semitones or 2 whole tones and 1
semitone. This is called the 4th interval
 The 5th interval is similarly computed: 3 whole tones above the Tonic. It
is called the Dominant.
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These are important as musicians often think in intervals so that a melody can
also be viewed as a series of intervals between notes.
A rising interval is when we go from a note to one above it (as in all above
cases)
A falling interval is the reverse: when we go from a note to one below it.
3.5.5 What is a Major Scale?
Now that we know we have 12 unique notes (that repeat), we need to define
the word Major Scale.
A Major Scale is made up of 7 notes taken from the unique 12 notes of
Western music.
There is a certain sequencing of the 7 which grew out of historical necessities
which we cannot discuss here.
In the lower part of the following diagram, I show one Octave on the Piano.
Above it I show a stretched out version of the Piano where the black notes
have the same shape and size as the white notes.
Figure 8: The Scale of C Major on a Piano
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The scale of C major is simply the white notes on the piano. There are seven of
them: C, D, E, F, G, A and B.
You can immediately notice that the major Scale consists of notes that are not
equally spaced from one another.
C is followed by D which is 2 notes above it
not used
D is followed by E which is 2 notes above it
not used
E is followed by F which is 1 note above it
F is followed by G which is 2 notes above it
not used
G is followed by A which is 2 notes above it
not used
A is followed by B which is 2 notes above it
not used
B is followed by C which is 1 note above it
Octave
In between: C sharp which is
In between: E flat which is
Nothing in between
In between: F sharp which is
In between: A flat which is
In between: B flat which is
which is part of the next
Result: each of the 12 notes can be used as the starting point of a major scale
as long as we observe the above intervals.
Two more examples: the Scale of C Sharp starting with C sharp:
Figure 9: The Scale of C# Major on a Piano
C# to Eb = 2 notes above it
Eb to F = 2 notes above it
F to F# = 1 note above it
= 2 semitones or 1 whole tone
= 2 semitones or 1 whole tone
= 1 semitone
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F# to Ab = 2 notes above it
Ab to Bb = 2 notes above it
Bb to C = 2 notes above it
C to C# = 1 note above it
= 2 semitones or 1 whole tone
= 2 semitones or 1 whole tone
= 2 semitones or 1 whole tone
= 1 semitone
And the Scale of F starting with F:
Figure 10: The Scale of F Major on a Piano
F to G = 2 notes above it
G to A = 2 notes above it
A to Bb = 1 note above it
Bb to C = 2 notes above it
C to D = 2 notes above it
D to E = 2 notes above it
E to F = 1 note above it
Several things can be noticed:
 Major scales are called by the name of their starting note
 Each major scale will have a set of relative spacing of notes each to all
other major scales.
 The spacing is called an Interval
 We can therefore have 12 major scales in Western music
Because of this equality, the 12 notes that are physically tuned to be 1.0594
higher than the one below them are called the Well-Tempered Scale.
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3.5.6 What are the Other Scales?
There are other scales in Western music: minors, pentatonics, etc.
Each Scale is a different subset of the 12 notes.
For example, there are 3 different types of Minor Scales. One of them consists
of the same notes as the Major Scale with one difference: the third note. In the
major Scale, this is 2 notes above the second note. In the Minor Scale, this is
only 1 note above the second note.
We shall note go into the varieties of scales.
3.5.7 What is the Key of a Work?
Most of the time, a Classical or a Romantic Work will be set to a specific Key.
Beethoven’s Violin Concerto is in the key of D major. Mozart’s Quintet for Piano
and Wind Instruments is set to the key of E flat.
Because of many reasons we shall not get into here, keys usually evoke an
emotional feeling for a composer. For example, A major is often a bright and
cheerful key while F minor is a morose and melancholic key.
It is enough to say that when a work is composed in one key, the composer will
very often compose music played in the scale of that key. It becomes the
reference, the Home key of the work. A more standard name is: the Tonic.
So, in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto, if we say, “now the Violin is playing a theme
in the Tonic”, then it will be playing in D major.
Of course, it will be extremely boring for us to hear a work ALL in one key.
Composers will use the Tonic as the baseline or reference scale. They will
venture away from it into other keys but will usually return to the Home or the
Tonic key.
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3.5.8 Related Keys to the Tonic or Home Keys
If you consider the notes of a scale in numeric sequence (using C major as an
example), we get the following:
Note 1
Note 2
Note 3
Note 4
Note 5
Note 6
Note 7
C or the Home note or the Tonic
D
E
F
G
A
B
Musicians use the sequence to denote Intervals. For example, the note F is the
4th note in the scale and hence has an interval of a 4th above C. Similarly, G is a
5th above C. Always, intervals are stated relative to the Tonic or the note of the
scale.
These notes are significant in the following manner:
 The 5th note is an interval called the Dominant.
 The 4th note is an interval called the Sub-Dominant.
Most popular melodies consist of a main melody played in the Tonic key (say
C). The composer will then venture into the Dominant and the Sub-Dominant.
If we try to play Happy Birthday on a guitar, we will strum the keys of C, F and
G as follows:
C
C
C
G
Happy Birthday to you
G
G
G
C
Happy Birthday to you
C
C
F
F
Happy Birthday dear Ludwig
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F
C
C–G–C
Happy Birthday to you
The idea is the following: we are comfortable in the Tonic key of C. The
composer takes us away to nearby keys and when we feel the Tension, he will
resolve and go back to the Home or Tonic key.
Why are they called nearby Keys? Because they usually share a lot of notes
with one another.
Daring composers will take you to very far away keys. They will not do it
abruptly, but will modulate or shift slowly from one key to another until they
reach the distant key. They will need to come back in the same manner.
3.5.9 What is the Relevance of Keys in a Composition?
As we saw, Classical and Romantic compositions are usually written for a
specific Key, the Tonic Key. Composers will use the Tonic key as the basis for all
their development. They will wander away from it and return, as we saw with
Happy Birthday.
More importantly, various sections in a movement might be assigned different
keys. For example, a movement in three parts, A-B-A might start in one key, go
to another key in section B and return to the starting key in the return of
section A.
Going from one key to another is a musical transformation we will discuss
under Dimension 2 (See Section ‎4.0). It is called Modulation and is one of the
beautiful things you should look for in a Work.
3.6
Timbre
This is a term that is often used but is not always well defined. Let us take an
absolute note, say Middle A which vibrates at 440 Hz. An absolute scientific
note consists of only one vibration or wave, at 440 Hz.
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However, in real life, when an A is played on a violin, there will be other notes
sounding with it at the same time. Their source?
 Some will sound because the string itself creates overtones in other
frequencies. This is called the harmonic series and is well defined
mathematically. The notes are called overtones.
 Some will sound because of the properties of the box of the instrument
playing it. An actual violin will reverberate with other notes than the
note being played. It will also dampen some. This is what gives an
instrument its special sound.
 A third variant is the way a performer plays the note. He or she can
produce different overtones depending on the stroke or beat or
hammer, etc.
 Sometimes, the room has an effect on the final sound.
In brief, the sound envelope of a single note will contain a lot more notes than
the initial note. This is called the Timbre or the tone of the instrument.
An A on a Clarinet sounds different than an A on a Piano because the Timbre of
a Clarinet is different OR because a Clarinet will produce different side notes
than a Piano.
Composers will use their creativity to get different sounds from a specific
instrument and combine them with other sounds.
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3.7
Textures: Monophonic / Homophonic / Polyphonic
Texture is a term used to describe the way a Composer combines melodies or
notes together.
Monophony:
Very early in the Greek or Renaissance periods, Western music was
unsophisticated and mostly produced Monophonic textures. This meant that
what was sung or played was a single melody and on its own. It is possible to
have several voices in such music, but they will all be singing the same melody.
Examples of Monophony: any group of people singing a folk song or a violinist
playing a single tune, unaccompanied.
Homophony:
This texture consists of a Work with one main melody accompanied by
baselines, chords or other related accompanying notes. Homophony became
popular early in the Classical period when the rise of solo performances.
Accompaniment was usually unsophisticated and supported the main melody
in various ways.
Examples of Homophony: early songs and many passages in the Classical
period, pop songs of the 20th century and choral/sacred music.
Polyphony:
This form of texture arose in the late Renaissance and early Baroque. With the
rise of scientific reasoning and thinking, composers started to innovate and
became adventurous. Rather than restrict themselves to simple melodies, they
started composing a melody and writing another in parallel with it. The second
(or third, fourth, etc) was not an accompaniment and so was different. The
presence of two or more melodies taking place at the same time was called
Polyphony. It is often referred to as Counterpoint or Contrapuntal Music
because for each point in the melody, there is a counter point in another
melody being played at the same time.
Examples of Counterpoint or Polyphony: all fugues are contrapuntal. Baroque
music thrived on Counterpoint. This later lost its popularity with the rise of
Classical Homophony. Later on, Classical composers such as Beethoven and
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Schubert revived counterpoint when they became more exposed to what Bach
was doing.
3.8
Color
Color is a difficult term to describe without trying it out with real music.
In painting, color measures the frequency of the light wave coming out of the
painting. Light waves vary from around 400 Tera Hz to 750 Tera Hz. Since
individual colors have a frequency, and individual notes also have a frequency,
the term color was used to describe the combinations of frequencies. This is
not enough.
Here is an example:
Figure 11: Color Cube
Compare the middle square on top of the cube and the middle square on the
front. You will have the temptation to say that the top square is brown and the
front square is orange.
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I have captured the two squares and will show them together: you can see
they have the same color:
Front Square
Top Square
Figure 12: Resolution of the Color Cube
No trick photography here. The human mind is influenced by nearby colors and
will record the perceived colors differently. In physical terms, the two colors
are the same.
The same happens in music. Try the following on a piano as follows.
 Play the note C and listen to it
 Play the note C and F at the same time and concentrate on C
 Play the note C and G at the same time and concentrate on C
You will feel that the color of C changes based on what is played with it at the
same time.
A composer will therefore become very conscious of the position of notes
because they will affect the color of his composition.
Another major influence on Color is instrumentation. We shall discuss that
next.
3.9
Instrumentation
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At last, a clear component to describe. It should go without saying that a
composer can become very creative by using combinations of different
instruments.
Listening to a Trio by Schubert one is immediately conscious of how he can
repeat the same melody (with some variation) using different instrumental
combinations to produce different moods.
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4.0
Dimension 2: Musical Transformations
Having presented the Form of works (Dimension 1) with its different levels, I
presented the different components (Dimension 2) that a composer will have
at his hands to construct such forms.
However, he still needs to have devices that will allow him to transform or
change or vary these components to suit his Forms.
Dimension 2 will present a variety of devices that a composer will use in a
musical composition.
What do they have in common? At some time or another, a musical device will
work on a component to change it or transform it.
Here is a list of typical Musical Transformations:














4.1
Thematic Statements
Modulation
Cadences
Development
Reduction
Contouring
Telescoping
Rhythmic Alterations
Ritardando / Accelerando
Inversion
Sequence
Harmonic progressions
Ornamentation
Etc
Thematic Statements
This is not really a transformation. However, it is the “raw material” on which
transformations are often based.
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In many Classical and Romantic movements, the composer will state his
themes at the beginning.
Examples:
 Beethoven’s 5th Symphony states the Fate theme very clearly. He will
wait until just after the famous Horn Call to introduce his second theme.
 In his B minor Sonata, Liszt states 3 of his 5 Themes at the very
beginning. They are separated by silences for added emphasis. Later on
in the movement, he will introduce his 4th and 5th Themes.
 In the Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Wind Instruments that we will take
apart in the workshop, Mozart starts with an introduction. It has the
purpose of presenting 3 different themes to be used later on for
development (see Section ‎0). Yet, the Quintet really starts when he goes
into the main exposition Section where he introduces Themes 1 and 2.
We should always look for sections where Themes are stated because
composers will eventually use these sections as the basis for their
transformations.
4.2
Modulation
We came across this before.
In scientific terms, modulation means something different. So if you are a
scientist or an electronic engineer, look the other way please.
When a composer has written a section in a specific Key and wants to move to
another section in another Key, it was often not good practice to jump straight
into the second Section. The abrupt change of Key would be jarring on the
listener’s ears.
What a composer will do is to insert a section between the two that takes us
from one Key to the next in a smooth manner.
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Example: in Sonata Form movements, composers usually introduce 2 themes.
Between the first and the second statement, there is usually a small section
where the composer modulates to the key of the second theme.
Ironically, because composition is about surprises, Beethoven started the habit
of skipping modulation as a way to break from the past.
4.3
Cadences
A cadence is a section in a movement that creates the expectation of an
impending end. It gives the listener a sense of resolution or repose.
Most Beethoven Symphonies have a finale with an extensive cadence that goes
over many bars. You cannot miss the end with Beethoven. In contrast,
Mozart’s ends are rather abrupt and faintly announced.
In all cases, cadences are used by composers as markers in a movement.
A second point to watch out for is that Cadences have a key structure that also
prepares you for the repose or the resolution. For example, in Happy Birthday,
the last two lines were:
C
C
F
F
Happy Birthday dear Ludwig
F
C
C–G–C
Happy Birthday to you
You can see that in the last line, after a short excursion to F, the composer
went from C through to G then back to C, the Tonic or Home key.
This is how a cadence feels like, harmonically. When singing it, you can feel
that the song is about to stop.
A similar non-musical cadence can be heard whenever someone is giving you a
list of items, say numbers or names. By the time they reach the one before the
last item in the list, their voice will rise a little then settle down with the last
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item. This is a communications device to tell you that they have finished the
list.
There are many types of cadences and one can spend hours talking about them
and their purpose. We shall introduce two:
An Authentic Cadence is a melody where the harmonic progression goes from
the Tonic Key, through the Dominant (5th Key) and back to the Tonic. It does
not have to be at the end of a movement, but most likely, all movement ends
have an authentic cadence.
Most other cadences vary by the way the passage from the Tonic to the end
Tonic is structured harmonically: what other keys and in what sequence. We
will not go into this.
However, in terms of musical analysis, you should look for cadences in two
places:
End of Movements: is where there must be a cadence ending on the Tonic.
End of Sections within a Movement: where there is a cadence but it is not
always ending on the Tonic. There are variants of this that we need not look
into. It is only important to realize that such cadences announce section ends
or markers of phrases or melodies within a movement.
4.4
Development
This is one of the most common and desirable transformations. In Jazz, what
we call improvisation is really development. In Arabian Music, you might say
that Taqseem is development.
This is a section within a movement where the composer uses musical
components as his raw material. He then proceeds to develop the material by
changing it. How does he change it? For how long? This is totally up to him and
his artistic bent.
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Most often, composers will develop themes. Less frequently, they will develop
other components such as rhythmic units, key sequences or even
instrumentation.
Taking the development of themes as an example, a composer will vary the
themes that he stated earlier in the movement. Sometimes, in the case of
theme and variation movements, each variation is consider a development on
its own.
4.5
Reduction
I visited Aref Rayess, that wonderful painter. When he showed me some of his
work, he stood in front of one painting and said, here, you see, and he pointed
to a bare white spot without any paint, is Escamotage. He meant, that the part
of the painting that was missing to enhance the contrast was a subterfuge on
his behalf, a way to enhance the painting through trickery: remove the paint,
keep a white spot on the canvas.
Composers will often remove notes, part of a theme or whole sections of it to
create tension. This Reduction will surprise you and keep you guessing until
the resolution at the end of the movement.
Beethoven’s 5th Symphony starts by stating the Fate theme using 4 notes. It
then repeats those notes. So now we have a larger theme of 8 notes. When the
Horn Call comes in, Beethoven does two things:
 First, he raises the first note and lowers the last note thus transforming
the Fate theme or widening its intervals.
 Second, the Horn Call has 6 notes only: 4 are stated to sound like the
Fate theme but the last 2 are an envelope, a contour of the Fate them.
This is Reduction.
In the Archduke Trio that we will analyze on in the workshop, Beethoven bases
a lot of his development on a set of 4 descending notes. You can hear them all
over the place. Yet, when he starts the movement, he states the first theme
without the 3rd note. This third note appears at the end of the restatement.
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Reduction or “hole making” is very common and when used well, creates a
most eerie effect.
4.6
Contouring
This is a term you won’t find in musical circles (like some of the above).
However, composers use it a lot.
Contouring is a kind of reduction but an added slice of lemon.
When a composer writes a melody, say with 11 notes, built into this melody is
usually a subset of many fewer notes that forms the main structure of these
notes.
For example, the 8 notes of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony can be reduced to
form a contour of 4 notes. Indeed, Beethoven goes on to use the contour
(when inverted) to develop the second theme.
Contours are useful to pick out when listening to music because composers use
them to build other notes on top of the main pillars.
4.7
Telescoping
Telescoping is a device used by a composer when he states a theme or a
phrase and then plays it at double the speed, then double again, and so on.
A most wonderful example is found in Ray Charles’ What I Say when he starts
saying “yeah, ah, yeah, ah” and he gets answered by the 3 ladies (wall of
sound).
You can also look for inverse telescoping when a composer does the reverse:
play a them and then slow it down repeatedly. But this is less common.
4.8
Rhythmic Alterations
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This transformation is very common, so common that it is almost unnoticeable.
This is a device where the composer takes a rhythmic pattern and alters it. In
general, there is no change in the speed. It is only the pattern that gets altered.
4.9
Ritardando / Accelerando
These are performance devices where the composer requests the performer to
slow down a melody or a theme (ritardando) or speed it up (accelerando).
It is interesting that ritardando is often mixed with a cadence, emphasizing the
ending or the coming of repose.
4.10 Crescendos / Diminuendos
This is a dynamic transformation. The passage on which a composer applies
crescendo will gradually increase in volume until it reaches where the
Composer wants it to.
Diminuendo is the reverse: the volume will decrease, gradually.
4.11 Melodic Inversion
Alert: and for those who can read music, we are not discussing the inversion of
chord positions here whereby the chord of C, say, is played using different
starting notes.
We are talking here about a theme that is inverted across a line of symmetry.
Vertical Symmetry: this is when an image or a theme is reflected across a
vertical axis:
The shape is reflected across a vertical axis:
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Figure 13: Vertical Symmetry
In Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, the second theme is a vertical inversion of the
Fate theme.
Horizontal Inversion: this is when an image or a theme is reflected across a
horizontal axis:
Figure 14: Horizontal Symmetry
An example from Paganini and Rachmaninoff: the top melody is from the 24th
Capriccio of Paganini while the bottom melody is what Rachmaninoff does to
it: invert it horizontally:
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Figure 15: Vertical Inversion
Another example of horizontal inversion:
Figure 16: Horizontal Inversion
These are often used by composers but are not easy to hear.
4.12 Interval Inversion
One common device is when an interval is inverted. There is some arithmetic
here which we will not go into. However, let us list the notes of the C major
scale over two octaves:
Figure 17: Rising and Falling Intervals
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You can see that a rising 5th interval lands on the same note ass a falling 4th.
The secret is that their sum is always 9:
A rising 4th is a falling 5th.
A rising 2nd is a falling 7th.
And so on.
Composers will use this transformation on intervals in a theme so that if a
theme is made up of a falling interval of a 3rd following by a 5th, it might next
appear as a rising theme with an interval of a 4th followed by a 4th.
We will see a lot of that in Cesar Franck’s Violin Sonata in A.
4.13 Sequence
A sequence is also easy to hear. It is simply a theme that is played on a higher
or a lower part of the instrument.
In Beethoven’s 5th symphony, he states the first theme. He then states it again
on a lower register. That is sequencing. He goes to state the theme in groups of
3 twice, each time sequencing the theme upwards.
4.14 Ornamentation
These are often used but sadly, they are looked down upon when used simply
for ornamentation.
The composer will state a theme and will then state it once more, in the same
place or sequenced, but he will add a few ornamental notes to it: to beautify it.
Tchaikovsky’s famous Piano concerto in B flat minor starts with a very strong
theme that is made up of falling intervals on the Piano. He then repeats it by
adding notes on top of the theme, ornamenting it but not doing anything else
to it.
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5.0
Dimension 3: Musical Form
Form defines the structure of a musical Work. The Structure has components
which were covered when we talked about Dimension 1 in Section ‎3.0.
In any work, we can focus on Form at 3 different levels:
Figure 18: The 3 Levels of Form (Dimesnion 3)
Each level is broken down into sub-structures of the lower level until we reach
Level 3.
5.1
Level 1: The Form of the Whole Work
A Work has an overall Form. In most cases, this top level of Form depends on
the number of movements a work might have.
Works with Multiple Movements:







Symphonies
Concertos
Sonatas
Trios
Quartets
Quintets
Sextets
Orchestral works
Orchestra + one or more soloists
A soloist or a Soloist accompanied by another
Three instruments
And so on
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



Septets
Octets
Nonets
Etc
Each one of these can have from 2 to more movements. There is no rule.
Beethoven wrote Sonatas with 2 or 3 or 4 movements.
Each one of these can be composed for different types of instruments.
There are trios for the following combinations:





Piano trio:
String trio:
Clarinet trio:
Horn Trio:
Etc
Piano, Violin, Cello
Violin, Viola, Cello
Clarinet, Piano, Cello
Horn, Piano, Cello
Sometimes, works can have only one Movement:
A symphonic poem
A ballade
Etc
Each work will therefore have a generic set of movements that identifies it as a
type (or genre, as we will discuss in Section ‎5.4.1).
Operas have Acts and Scenes
Suites can have a collection of dances
Collections of miniatures can have a set of small pieces grouped together as
one work:




Preludes
Etudes
Preludes and Fugues
Impromptus
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




Nocturnes
Waltzes
Mazurkas
Moments Musicaux
Etc
Conclusion: there is no standard Form but every work has a Form. It becomes
a good practice to search for forms that a Work might resemble. As shown
above, the number and nature of movements usually determine what Form a
Work has.
5.2
Level 2: The Form of the Movement within a Work
A work is made up of one or more Movements. Each Movement (at Level 2)
will have its own Form.
Figure 19: Levels 1 and 2 of Form
Again, there are movements that might have standard forms as shown below
while some movements do not fit into any standard and will have their own
form.
Movements of Baroque Works have different Forms which we shall not
address. The following are some examples of standard Level 2 forms usually
found in Classical and Romantic Works:
 The Sonata Allegro Form
 Rondos
 Theme and Variations
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





Scherzo made up of Ternary Forms with 3 sections: A-B-A
Multiple Forms made up of broken down ternaries: A-B-A-C-B-A
Miniatures of all types: Preludes, nocturnes, etudes, impromptus, etc
Fugues
One time / specific forms
Etc
Each of these Level 2 Forms will have its own structure or set of Sections.
Example: Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 23 in A major has 3 movements (Level
1):
 First Movement:
 Second Movement:
 Third Movement:
Sonata Allegro Form
Ternary Form
Rondo
And Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Wind Instruments K452 has 3 movements:
 First Movement:
 Second Movement:
 Third Movement:
Sonata Allegro Form
Sonata Allegro Form
Rondo
There is no reason why a composer cannot have a Work with two different
movements having the same Form. For example, we can have a Symphony
with two Sonata Allegro movements.
Each Movement will have a set of Sections that should be easily recognized by
the listener.
Sonata Allegro movement:





Introduction
Exposition
Development
Recapitulation
Coda
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Theme and Variations movements have:
 One theme stated at the beginning
 Several variations whose melodic structure is based on the theme
 Sometimes the initial theme is restated at the end
A Rondo will have:
 The Rondo theme which is followed by several episodes
 After each episode, the Rondo theme returns
Fugues started life in the Baroque period where a fugue was written out as a
single movement. Classical composers began the practice of including fugues
as sections within movements. In all cases, a fugue starts by stating a theme.
This is called a subject.
(We will discuss Fugues in more detail in Section ‎5.11).
A Coda is a section of a movement that comes at the end of a movement, its
tail. It is usually different and very often brings in new material to the
movement.
Finally, and very often, composers can write Sections that do not have a
relationship to the Form of the movement but are included as transformations.
For example, in the Sonata Allegro movement, there is a Section called
Exposition. In this Section, the composer states his themes (usually 2). In
between these sub-sections, there can be others that allow the composer to
move smoothly between themes or to announce the end of a movement.
These two types of sections are best described under our Dimension 2 as
transformations:
 Modulation: is a section in a movement where the composer gradually
transforms moves the work from one key (say A major) to another (say E
major). A composer can include modulation sections anywhere in the
movement.
 Cadence: at the end of certain sections, the composer will write a
passage that announces an impending end. The end could be final or
could be a temporary halt in the movement. There are many cadence
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types and uses. In all cases, they can be considered as sections in a
movement.
Finally, a composer can easily include a section that does not have a name or a
purpose (as defined above) but is used to express different moods,
instrumentation, rhythm or keys. For example, in some Schubert sonatas, we
have a repeat of the statement of the initial theme in different
instrumentation, harmony, tempo or key.
5.3
Level 3: The Form of the Sections within a Movement
Each Movement will have one or more Sections:
Figure 20: Levels 1, 2 and 3 of Form
Sections within a movement will have their form. At this level, we are no more
talking about physical sub-sections (or parts of the work that unfold in time).
At this level, Musical Form is a Relationship. In the same manner that a family
member is related to other members through relationships, he or she can also
be related to his friends and loved ones through a different type of relationship
or link.
Form appears to be a problem for philosophers. Ever since Plato established
the Theory of Ideal Forms, Western culture has split form from content in a
manner that has been detrimental to critical thinking. German and French
philosophers dismantled this and allowed for a higher clarity in cultural
analysis.
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Form defines relationships which are content themselves. For example, irony
in a poem is a form. One can visualize it mentally. Opposing poetic meter to
the sound of words is also Form. It is endless. All you have to do is to relate
components of content to themselves or to others and Form appears,
magically.
The Musical Form that governs sections within a movement can dictate:





The way themes are contrasted to one another
The way themes are inverted (the different symmetries we talked about)
The way instruments are grouped or opposed
The way keys are linked to one another
The way dynamics are distributed
Examples:
 If Mozart oscillates between simple themes with small intervals and
complex melodies with large intervals, this is Form
 If in his 4th Symphony, Beethoven delays the entrance of the Tonic key
by going through various wily routes, this is Form
 If Brahms chooses darker tones by stressing the lower register of the
Cello, this is Form
In fact, Musical Form at this level is exactly the result of the various
transformations we talked about earlier.
It is Musical Form at this level that yields most of the beauty in a musical work.
One hardly goes to a concert to appreciate the fact that Beethoven’s Archduke
Trio has 4 movements or that the third movement is a Theme and Variation. It
is what Beethoven does inside the Sections that is our final objective: Musical
Form.
5.4
Issues Related to Form
5.4.1 What is the Relationship between Genre and Form?
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Genre is a confusing word in music (or in literature, painting, film, etc). It is
very closely linked to Form at the top level. However, it is often used
differently.
Genre is usually a Form that has been so used that it becomes a standard.
Example: Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is a most wonderful work that
has a Form that was never used before and never used since. It is particular to
this Work so we can say it has a Form (all works must) but does not belong to a
Genre.
Example: when Beethoven composed a Choral movement to end his 9th
Symphony, he had a Form in mind but as far as Genre is concerned, he had
moved out of the standard structure of a Symphony without vocal elements.
He also created a new Form but so far, not a Genre. It was when Mahler
continuing with Beethoven’s practice wrote 4 symphonies (out of his 9) with
massive choral movements, that he succeeded in standardizing the choral
symphony as a Genre.
Sometimes Genre is linked to instrumental combinations. For example, there is
the Concerto Genre which describes works with one or more soloists and an
orchestra. Even though the form of various Concertos might differ (with 1 or
more movements), the term Concerto refers to instrumentation and not to
Form.
Conclusion: let us not use the term Genre much. Its definition and use are
confused and do not add value to our enjoyment of music. Form does.
5.4.2 What about Movement Names?
Even though movements have their own Form (at Level 2), the names that
composers assign to movements are not usually related to their form. For
example, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 23 (as discussed earlier) is never listed in
concert programs or in scores or on CDs to show that the first movement is a
Sonata Allegro. Nor are we told when viewing the structure of Beethoven’s 5th
Symphony that the second movement is a Theme and Variations. We are left to
find that on our own.
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The first movement of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No 23 is called an Allegro.
The second movement of Beethoven’s 5th symphony is called an Andante con
moto.
Composers have chosen to give such names to movements as an indication of
their tempo and mood. The indication is usually in Italian but some composers
often resort to tempi names in their own language (Mahler, etc).
We shall go into the details of such terminology. However, in Section ‎8.0, I
have copied a list of definitions from Wikipedia for your reference.
5.5
Example: The Sonata Allegro Form
The Sonata Allegro form is not given this name because it applies to Sonatas or
to Allegros.
The Sonata Allegro Form is a Form used to structure a movement into several
sections.
It is mostly applied to 1st movements but can frequently be found in other
movements, Opera overtures and single works.
A Sonata Allegro Form movement is not restricted to Sonatas but can be found
in Concertos, Symphonies, Trios, Quartets, Quintets, etc.
The form started life in the early Classical period with Carl Philip Emanuel Bach
(the son of Bach. He stood at the beginning of the Classical era). Haydn
improved on it so that it became a standard from there on: mid/late 1700’s. It
survived the transition from Classical to Romantic music.
5.5.1 The Structure of a Sonata Allegro Movement
The structure is made up of 3 necessary and 2 optional Sections:
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Figure 21: The Standard Sonata Allegro Form
The Introduction and the Coda are optional.
The Introduction contains material that may or may not be repeated later on:
 Beethoven’s Symphony No 4 contains an enigmatic movement where
Beethoven plays with the listeners trying to confuse them as to which
Key the symphony is in. It finally starts with a dynamic entry of the firsts
theme, heralding the Exposition.
 Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Wind Instruments has a lovely and
longish introduction which introduces three themes that are lightly used
in the 3 coming sections of this movement.
The Coda is a section is one where a composer can tag to the whole movement
and would usually contain new material not played in the Sonata Allegro
movement.
Example: The structure of the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata No 1 in F
minor Op 2:
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Figure 22: The Sonata Allegro in Beethoven’s Sonata No 1 (1st Movement)
5.5.2 The Three Sections of the Sonata Allegro Form
The three main and necessary sections are:
1.
The Exposition Section
This is the Section where the composer states his themes. There are
usually 2 themes. Sometimes they are called the Masculine and the
Feminine themes. At others, simply Theme 1 and 2 or A and B. We shall
stick to 1 and 2.
Some Sonata Allegro Movements can have 1 theme only. Others,
frequent in late Beethoven, can have more than 2.
Themes 1 and 2 are often interlinked with a modulation section because
they are in different Keys. (See next sub-section for a discussion on the
keys of the Sonata Allegro Form).
Sometimes the Exposition is repeated as in the case of the first
movement of Beethoven’s Archduke Trio that we will be analyzing in the
workshop.
2.
The Development Section
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This Section is where the composer applies his creative genius to
developing the themes stated in the Exposition. Anything can happen to
the themes:







They can be inverted
They can be sequenced
Their melody can be distorted
Their rhythmic structure and tempo can be changed
They can be mixed together
The above can be applied by different instruments
They can be played in different keys
There is no restriction on what a composer can do in this Section.
At the end, the Section usually returns to the Tonic key in preparation
for the Recapitulation.
3.
The Recapitulation Section
Having taken us on a long excursion in the Development Section, the
Composer now returns to the Exposition and restates the themes as
they were first stated. However, the Recapitulation Section is not just a
repetition of the Exposition. There can be changes in keys, themes and
some minimal development.
The length of the above Sections is not standardized.
5.5.3 Key Relationships in the Sonata Allegro Form
Each of the above 3 Sections will have its own Key norms (standards) which are
very often broken:
1.
The Exposition
The introduction is usually in the Tonic Key but can playfully confuse the
listener.
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In case of a major Tonic key, Theme 1 is always in the Tonic while Theme
2, after a modulation, is stated in the Dominant (or 5th) of the Tonic.
In case of a minor Tonic key, Theme 1 is in the Tonic while Theme 2,
after a modulation, is in a major key. Example: in case the work is in F,
Theme 2 will be in G.
The major key will be the 3rd of the Tonic but in major. Example: In case
the work is in F minor, the third note in F minor is A so Theme 2 will be
in A major.
The Exposition ends on the Tonic Key.
2.
The Development
There is no rule here. The Composer can develop themes in any key he
likes often introducing new themes. He can also develop themes in quite
distant keys but always returning to the Tonic at the end of
Development.
3.
The Recapitulation
Themes 1 and 2 are stated in the Tonic of the work, whether minor or
major. This is a jump and will surprise the listener because one is used to
hearing Theme 2 in the Exposition as different from the Tonic.
5.6
Example: Rondos
The Rondo movement is descended from the Baroque Ritornello Concerto. The
first or final movement of a solo concerto may be in ritornello form.
The Ritornello itself is a Section which after an initial statement, is repeated by
the whole orchestra (tutti). It then returns in whole or in part and in different
keys separated by episodes where there is usually a slight development or
solos by various instruments.
A typical form for a Rondo movement is
A-B-A-C-A-B-A
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The movement has a repeated return to an original theme (A) = Refrain or
Ritornello which in the Classical Period was always in the Tonic of the
movement.
In between, there are Episodes (the B or C sections) which can be in different
keys.
The following are some typical Rondo patterns (sections):
A-B-A
A-B-A-C-A
A-B-A-C-A-D-A
A-B-A-C-A-D-A-E-A
A-B-A-C-A-D-A-E-A-F-A
Figure 23: Typical Rondo Patterns
Notice that we do not always have symmetry of movements (as in the third
form). We will see the ABA and similar variations (ABACABA) in Ternary forms
which are symmetrical.
Moreover, earlier Episodes do not have to return.
The Rondo is commonly used in the Classical and Romantic period as the final
movement of a sonata, symphony, concerto, etc. It is unsuited as a first
movement (which is often in Sonata Allegro Form) because the firsts
movement is usually the tightest and most intellectually rigorous movement in
the work. Rondos are often joyful and cheerful movements. They have not
been known to occur as slow movements (though there are exceptions:
Mozart's Rondo in A minor K511).
Example: Il Rondo di tutti Rondi is the 3rd movement of Mozart’s Piano
Concerto No 23 in A major.
5.7
Example: Sonata Rondo Form
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This is a combination between the Rondo Form and the Sonata Allegro Form.
This is not a play on words but a form for a movement that is often used (see
below).
A Sonata Rondo movement is a Sonata Allegro movement whose Development
Section is different. In a Sonata Allegro movement, the development is free
form. The composer can do what he wants and in whichever key (not usually
far from the Tonic).
In a Sonata Rondo movement, the composer is more restricted in the
Development Section. In it, he would repeat the material stated in the
Exposition in the Tonic (A is theme 1 and B is theme 2):
Exposition
Development
Recapitulation
A (tonic)
A (tonic)
A (tonic)
and B (dominant)
and C (new material in remote keys)
and B (tonic)
You can see that the Expo and the Recap are the same as in a Sonata Allegro
movement.
By changing the Development Section, we now have:
A-B-A-C-A-B
Which gives the impression of a Rondo with A is the ritornello.
Here are some examples of Sonata Rondo movements (all of them found in the
last movement):
Beethoven
Beethoven
Mozart
Mozart
Schubert
Mozart
Brahms
Mendelssohn
Sixth Symphony
Eighth Symphony
Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488
Quintet for Piano and Wind, K452
Death and the Maiden Quartet
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K 525
Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat Major, Op. 83
Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64
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5.8
Example: Theme and Variations
Theme and Variations started life in the Baroque Period as the Passacaglia. This
is Spanish for: Pasar (walk) and Calle (street).
Passacaglia was refined by Frescobaldi (1620s) where he established the form
as a theme and a series of variations over a ground bass pattern. Sometimes
the variations were improvised by soloists.
The most popular example from the Baroque period is: Bach’s Passacaglia and
Fugue in C minor BWV 582.
Theme and Variations are almost never the first movement of a Work (but
there are exceptions: Beethoven’s Sonata Op 26 No 12 (Les Adieux) and
Mozart’s Sonata No 11 in A K331)
A Theme is stated first and it can be a long melody too. Material is then
presented as Variations:
A – A’ – A’’ – A’’’ – A’’’’ – A’’’’’ - - - - A
At the end, it is common practice to restate the initial Theme.
The theme is most often written by another composer. However, sometimes,
as in the case of the second movement of Brahms’ Sextet No 1 in B flat Op 18,
the composer would write his own theme and vary it.
But what does the Composer vary?








Melody
Harmony (keys and harmonic structure)
Rhythm
Timbre / Color
Orchestration
Texture: homophony, polyphony, etc
Ornamentation: adding embellishing material
Simplification: reducing theme melody to essentials
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 Figural and systematic ornamentation: a particular figure is
superimposed on the melody
 Additives: voices, lines, to increase density, color and/or complexity of
successive variations
 Characteristic: changing mood or personality of each variation
Often, Theme and Variations are movements in a larger work:
 Beethoven: Piano Sonata No 23 in F minor (Appassionata) – 2nd
movement
 Mozart: Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor – 3rd movement
There are many examples of independent Theme and Variation works:





Bach: Goldberg Variations
Beethoven: Diabelli Variations
Rachmaninov: Variations on a Theme by Paganini
Ravel: Bolero
Brahms: Variations on a Theme by Handel
Variations that build up: One type starts with a simple theme and builds on it
as each variation is introduced. This is the form of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata
No 23 (2nd Movement). The variations are therefore not independent of one
another. The same applies to Ravel’s Bolero which grows and grows and grows.
Variations that are Independent of one another: each Variation would be a
different development on the main Theme as in the case of the rest of the
examples above. This is more common than the first type.
Double Variations: as in the case of Beethoven’s Symphony 5th Symphony – 3rd
movement. The composition would have 2 Themes, A and B. They are then
repeated as shown:
A – B – A’ – B ‘ – A’’ – B’’ - - - A - B
Sometimes, between each A B pair, you can have some development
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5.9
Example: Ternary Forms
The Ternary Form is more “free” than the rest. It is usually made up of 3
sections: A-B-A. It does not have a standard form. We will come across several
Ternary Forms in our workshop.
The Scherzo discussed next, is also a Ternary form but is more standardized in
structure.
5.10 Example: Scherzos
The word "scherzo" means "joke" in Italian. It evolved from the minuet, a
Baroque dance movement in triple time. It is considerably quicker and often
has a light-hearted nature. It gradually came to replace the minuet as the 3rd
(sometimes the 2nd) movement in symphonies, quartets, sonatas and similar
works.
A Scherzo can be a movement in a work or a whole work on its own such as
 Chopin: 4 scherzos (op 20, 31, 39 and 54)
 Brahms: Scherzo for Piano op 4
The Form of a Scherzo is ABA or ternary form but sometimes can be ABABA or
more repetitions.
5.11 Example: Fugues
Fugues are magical. They became popular during the Baroque period due to
the rising respect for intellectual art and the domination of reason and science.
Bach was a master fugue writer. However, with the advent of the Classical
period, composers resorted to other practices and neglected the Fugue for a
while.
In his late period, Beethoven revived fugal writing. Two months before he died,
Schubert started taking composition lessons to learn fugal and contrapuntal
writing.
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Maybe it is wrong to talk about Fugue as a form. It is a compositional
procedure which results in a movement or a section in a movement.
The term comes from the Latin verb “Fugus” or to flee whereby melodies
follow or flee from one another!
A Fugue is a composition for 2 or more Voices. Although we use the term
“voice”, Fugues are mostly based on individual instrumental voices or
performances.
A Fugue is mono-thematic: it is based on 1 subject or phrase. We do not use
the term Theme in a Fugue, rather Subject.
5.11.1The Structure of a Fugue
The Structure of a Fugue is complex and depends on the number of Voices (or
instruments) in the Fugue. Here is a diagram of a typical Fugue:
Figure 24: The Structure of a 3 Voice Fugue
The Exposition Section of a Fugue
 Voice 1 (on its own) starts the Fugue
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 Voice 1 plays the Subject in the Tonic key: (mono-phony)
 After Voice 1 completes the Subject, Voice 2 plays the Subject but in
another key while at the same time, Voice 1 plays a Counter-Subject
(polyphony)
 Voice 3 then plays the Subject (also in a different key, maybe the tonic)
while Voices 1 and 2 play different Counter-Subjects
 And so on with other voices . . . .
The Exposition is over when ALL Voices have played the Subject.
What is an Answer in a Fugue?
This is another name for the Subject’s second appearance in Voice 2. We call it
a Real Answer: if it is an exact melodic replica (even though in another key).
We call it a Tonal Answer: if the composer changes the intervals (melody) a
little to suit the key or other voices
The Development Section of a Fugue
The Development Section covers the rest of the Fugue. It consists of several
Episodes interleaved with Restatements of the Subject.
There is no rule to define the number of Episodes or Restatements. Also, one
Episode can follow another Episode without a restatement. There can even be
a full recap of the Exposition.
The Composer can do any of the following in the different Episodes:
 Fragment the Subject or the Countersubject
 Diminuate / Augment: slowing down / speeding up
 Introduce Stretto: a section where subject entries overlap, the second
beginning before the first is completed
 Sequence part of the subject in a lower or an upper register
 Modulate: develop a melody that takes us from one key to another as
discussed in Section ‎4.2
 Invert part of the subject: as discussed in Section ‎4.11
The End of a Fugue
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Near the end of the Fugue, there is usually a statement of the Subject in the
Tonic key.
There can also be a short Coda.
5.11.2Famous Fugues
Bach wrote some of the most famous Fugues ever. Most of his works also
contain fugal writing. However, when Bach learnt the Well-Tempered scheme
for tuning keyboards, he wanted to impress the music world that works can be
written for such keyboards in any key.
Bach wrote two books called The Well-Tempered Clavier (Books 1 and 2).
Each book contained 24 sets, 12 in all major keys and 12 in all minor keys. Each
set contained a Prelude and a Fugue.
In music circles, it is enough to say “The 48” when talking about these two
books.
But the following Fugues are also famous:
 Beethoven’s Grosse Fugue, a 17 minute fugue for string quartet (op 133)
 Shostakovitch’s 24 Preludes and Fugues
 Cesar Franck: Prelude, Fugue and Variation
Many great fugues abound in most composer’s works as parts of movements.
Beethoven’s Archduke Trio (which we shall analyze in the workshop), contains
a subtle fugue in the 3rd movement.
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6.0
Notes on Tension and Resolution
This section investigates Tension and Resolution and shows how they are
responsible or are the reasons we enjoy music (or any other narrative art
form).
6.1
The Simplicity of our Sound Sense
The sense of hearing is one of the first senses to be used in a human being
(even before the doctor’s slap). It is said that babies hear their mother’s voice
from inside her womb (but of course, cannot see her).
Humans (and animals before them) used sound even before humans evolved
the use of language. Animals use it to woo, warn, search for their mother,
search for their children and generally communicate in a manner as
sophisticated as their evolutionary status.
Babies get attuned to their parents’ melodies very early. Just listen to someone
calling their baby: Juliaaaanaaa: 3 notes:
Figure 25: Calling Someone: the Melody
How about the teasing song? Naa Naa, Naa Naa, Nana, Naa Naa . . . .
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Figure 26: Teaesing Someone: the Melody
And the Bravo song? Bravo Faisal, Bravo Faisal (Or Frere Jacques):
Figure 27: Congratulating Someone: the Melody
All of these melodies are made up of very simple intervals.
Someone will say, but these are western intervals. Yes, that is true. However,
Oriental intervals include quarter tones which are narrower than western
intervals. That does not mean that these tunes are not part of Oriental Music.
That these notes are simple and come from a standard major scale will be
discussed further in the next Section. It is important to remember that these
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are natural notes that our ears evolved to understand because our ears
response to the Harmonic Series (see next Section).
6.2
Variations on the Basic Sound
In all the above examples, the basic logic is that there is a single tone that is
the basis of the communication (the melody). Sometimes this tone is clearly
notated and sometimes it is heard in absentia:
 Calling Juliana starts on C and ends on E but C is understood as the
baseline.
 The Teasing song is stronger. E is clearly the anchor.
 The Bravo song is also strong. We start on C and return to C
Now just imagine if the caller in all of these tunes retained one note. Juliana as
C-C-C and Nana as GGGGGG and Bravo Faisal as CCCCCCCC. We would not
have communication.
Here, we need to go into Information Theory a little (which comes to me from
my electronic engineering background).
If I call you every day and each time, I tell you that it will rain, after a while, you
will not answer me because you know my message. There is no “information”
in my phone call.
Now if sometimes I call and say: “It will rain” and at others, say 50% of the
time, I say “it will be fine weather”, now there is information. The information
is 1 out of 2.
If I call to give you the name of the elected president of our society and there
are 8 candidates, the information is 1 out of 8.
Information Engineers define information as the Natural Log (base 2) of the
number of possibilities. For example, the rain telephone call will have a Ln(2) =
0.693 whereas the case of the election call has 2.079, more information. The
following table shows the cases from 1 (no info) to 10 (most info):
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Possibilities
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Natural Log
0.000
0.693
1.099
1.386
1.609
1.792
1.946
2.079
2.197
2.303
Figure 28: Information Content for different Possibilities
How does this affect music? Well, the communicator in all cases is introducing
variation. He or she is introducing different possibilities. This increases
information. If the caller had said Jul-ia-na using the same notes, the chances
are the listener (Juliana) will not notice the change and will not realize she is
being called. Of course, the caller can change the call and shout out Juliana in
anger or in urgency or in questioning. Each one will have a different set of
notes, ie, more possibilities are now available and hence, more information.
In our terms, each time we vary the notes, we introduce new meaning. Here,
we are stepping into stormy grounds. Initially, human beings translated these
minor melodies into specific “socio-psychological” meanings: anger, urgency,
questioning, teasing, applauding, etc.
When musicians started introducing variations, they sailed away on their own
routes and launched a new world full of Musical Meaning which is far from
socio-psychological meaning. We cannot, today, understand the sociopsychological meaning of the main theme of the first movement of
Beethoven’s Archduke Trio.
The point being made in this Section is that a composer will vary musical
components to arrive at new Musical Meanings. We are simply calling these
meanings, Musical Form.
6.3
Expectation and Meaning
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So now, we have a link between sender and receiver. In most human
communications, the message is usually agreed upon. The receiver can work
out which one of the possibilities is being meant. This is a competence that is
acquired with learning and growth. A mother will be seen repeating sentences
to her child so that the child can gain competence, ie, can learn the meaning of
the variations.
If a mother uses a tone (a melody) that is not known by the child, the child will
not respond. For example, supposing the mother tells her child when he has
broken a vase: “you have done a great job” but says it with an ironic melody,
the child will not understand this. In time, he/she will learn how irony is
“sung”.
The point being made here is that a composer will vary the melody (and other
musical components) without any guarantee that the listener will be
competent enough to understand the musical meaning.
Let us see how the Fanfare (drums or beat to announce an ending) is varied by
a composer. Suppose we start with 8 notes (C repeated regularly: 8 times):
Figure 29: The Fanfare: Baseline
Now the composer changes all the notes in between the first and last C to
others:
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Figure 30: The Fanfare: Melodic Transformation
He then doubles the beat of the second note (G) and removes the 5th and 8th
notes (shown as rests):
Figure 31: The Fanfare: Rhythmic Transformation
You can now see how the composer varied or transformed the melody and the
rhythm to reach his final form: the musical work or composition.
The listener expects a series of similar notes. This is stressed by the composer
starting with C and ending with C. The listener also expects a regular beat. The
composer mixes between single notes, half notes and beats without notes
(rests).
This variation or development or transformation results in a “bending” of the
expectation of the listener. The listener now opens his ears wide: is it true
what I am hearing? Why is the composer moving away from the main note or
the beat?
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So it is now a question of which listener can spot the variance or the difference
from the baseline.
If a listener is not exposed to classical music, ie, not very sensitive to the
various musical devices a composer would use, such variations would be too
difficult for him or her to spot. The music would therefore sound difficult or
plain inaccessible. Most 20th century music sounds difficult for music lovers
only exposed to Classical and Romantic music.
If, on the other hand, the listener is sensitive, ie, competent in these devices,
he or she will be able to recognize the variance or the difference from the
baseline.
6.4
Tension and Resolution
Basing the composition on variations from an implicit baseline, ie, the
expectation of the listener, the composer can move away from the expectation
using various transformations. When the composer moves away, he creates a
Tension in the form. Tension is expressed as a potential energy resulting from
the composer stretching the expectation away from its neutral baseline.
For example, the Fanfare example above moves away in melodic and rhythmic
terms. More importantly, it moves away in Keys. It starts with C and goes to F
and return to C (false resolution). It then goes to G (the fifth or Dominant key)
and returns to C. The combined return in melodic, key and rhythmic terms is
called a Resolution.
Historically, the two terms, Tension and Resolution, were used to define how
keys can go from the Tonic, to a combination of Sub-Dominant / Dominant and
then back to the Tonic. (See Section ‎3.5 for a clarification of such terms).
In our context, Tension can be created by the Composer in any transformation.
Examples of Tension creating devices (most transformations):
 Listening to a melody repeated but without some of its notes
 Listening to a theme inverted in different ways (across different
symmetries)
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 Creating a ritardando effect on a melody that we have grown used to
hearing under a regular beat
 Venturing into keys that are very far from or unusual as neighbors of the
Tonic key.
 Introducing the melody with a strong counterpoint that stands against it
and competes with it
 Etc
It is my claim that most of the transformations that result in the Musical Forms
that were listed earlier serve to create a Tension in the work. (This also applies
to fiction, poetry, film and theater).
Very often, Tension is create by the juxtaposition of opposites. This next
quotation comes from a great writer. He should know what he is talking about:
“The test of a first rate intelligence is the ability to
hold two opposed ideas in the mind, at the same
time, and still retain the ability to function.”
From The Crack-Up by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Figure 32: F. Scott Fitzgeral Quote
It is very common for composers to use contrast, contradiction, opposition and
other Tension building devices to hold “two opposed ideas” as Fitzgerald
means. For example, in Mozart’s Quintet for Piano and Wind Instruments,
K452, very complex themes are juxtaposed alongside very simple runs. Another
example from the same work is the use of regular beats all of sudden
illuminated by syncopations (themes stated on unstressed beat in a measure).
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7.0
Notes on the Natural / Physical Harmonic Series
For a long time, music was considered an emotional reaction to sound. Science
has shown that our ears are attuned to spotting sounds that are naturally
organized.
On a violin or a guitar, the string is stretched between the top part of the
board and the bridge on the bottom of the instrument. In a piano, strings are
attached between points on a strong cast iron plate. Whether we scrape a
string (on a violin), pluck it (on a guitar) or ram it with a hammer (on a piano),
the string produces a sound that is proportional to its length (and other factors
we will not go into now).
The note of the string is called the Fundamental note. Middle C has a
Frequency of 261.626 Hz. For our example, let us use a more friendly number,
say 100 Hz (which is really an A, but C is easier to work with because everyone
knows its related notes).
As we pluck a string, it gives the sound of its fundamental frequency. It also
gives the sound of the frequencies that are multiples of the fundamental
frequency. This is shown in the following diagram:
Figure 33: Harmonic Series
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As we pluck one string, we hear other notes with it, but of less intensity.
Result: because the notes we hear with when one string is plucked are part of
its natural family, our ears evolved to accept these “near” notes as “familiar”
notes. It is not by mistake that the notes found in the 3 mundane melodies
(Juliana, Nananana and Bravo Faisal) are all notes that are part of the scale our
example is in: C.
So it was not Pythagoras who invented the scale. It was Pythagoras who found
out that this scale is part of nature.
Conclusion: it is natural, if we are singing the note C, to go to notes that are
found in the harmonic series of C. It becomes even more natural to use the C
major scale and go from it to other scales based on notes in the Scale itself
such as the scale of F (4th or Sub-Dominant) and the scale of G (5th or
Dominant).
8.0
Notes on Tempo Markings
This section is taken and adapted from the web page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempo
Credit is to Wikipedia for providing such a comprehensive listing.
8.1
Basic Tempo Markings
These markings are based on a few root words. Composers can add 3 different
suffixed to modify the feeling of a tempo:
 Adding issimo at the end of an indication makes the indication more
extreme
 Adding ino at the end of an indication diminishes the indication
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 Adding etto at the end of an indication makes is more endearing
(whatever that means)
The numbers in the brackets indicate the metronome speed that is usually
followed for such a tempo:
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Larghissimo
Grave
Lento
Largo
Larghetto
Adagio
Adagietto
Andante
Andante Moderato
Andantino
Moderato
Allegretto
Allegro moderato
Allegro
Vivace
Vivacissimo
Allegrissimo
Presto
Prestissimo
Tempo comodo:
Tempo di...:
 Tempo giusto:
 Tempo semplice:
8.2
very, very slow (20 and below)
slow and solemn (20-40)
very slow (40–60)
very slow (40–60), like lento
rather broadly (60–66)
slow and stately (literally, "at ease") (66–76)
rather slow (70–80)
at a walking pace (76–108)
a bit faster than andante
slightly faster than andante
moderately (101-110)
moderately fast (but less so than allegro)
moderately quick (112–124)
fast, quickly and bright (120–139)
lively and fast (˜140) (quicker than allegro)
very fast and lively
very fast
very fast (168–200)
extremely fast (more than 200bpm)
at a comfortable (normal) speed
the speed of a... (such as Tempo di valse (speed
of a waltz), Tempo di marcia (speed of a
march))
at a consistent speed, at the 'right' speed, in
strict tempo
simple, regular speed, plainly
Common Qualifiers
The following terms qualify the Tempo Markings above:
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 alla breve: in short style, i.e., duple time, with the half note (minim)
rather than the quarter note (crotchet) as the beat; cut time; 2/2 instead
of 4/4; often marked as a semicircle with a vertical line through it (see
Time signature)
 alla marcia: in the manner of a march (e.g., Beethoven, op. 101)
 alla (danza) tedesca: in the style of the Ländler (ca. 1800), and similar
dances in rather quick triple meter (see Beethoven, op. 79, op. 130)
 alla turca: in the Turkish style, that is, in imitation of Turkish military
music (Janizary music), which became popular in Europe in the late 18th
century (e.g., Mozart, K. 331, K. 384)
 alla zingarese: in the style of Gypsy music
 assai: much, as in allegro assai, quite fast
 con bravura— with skill
 con brio: with vigor and spirit
 con fuoco: with fire
 con moto: with motion
 fugato: in fugal style, usually part of a non-fugal composition; such
passages often occur in the development sections of symphonies,
sonatas, and quartets
 in modo: in the manner of, in the style of: in modo napolitano (in
Neapolitan style), in modo di marcia funebre (in the manner of a funeral
march)
 mena: almost none, as in mena forte (almost not at all loud)
 molto: much, very, as in molto allegro (very quick) or molto adagio (very
slow)
 non troppo: not too much, e.g. allegro non troppo (or allegro ma non
troppo) means "fast, but not too much"
 non tanto: not so much
 poco: slightly, little, as in Poco Adagio
 poco: a poco: little by little
 quasi: almost, nearly, as if (such as Più allegro quasi presto, "faster, as if
presto")
 senza: without, as in senza interruzione (without interruption or pause),
senza tempo or senza misura (without strict measure)
 sostenuto – sustained, prolonged
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Note: In addition to the common allegretto, composers freely apply Italian
diminutive and superlative suffixes to various tempo indications: andantino,
larghetto, adagietto, and larghissimo.
8.3
Mood Markings with a Tempo Connotation
Some markings that primarily mark a mood (or character) also have a tempo
connotation:
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Affettuoso
with feeling/emotion
Agitato
agitated, with implied quickness
Appassionato
to play passionately
Animato
animatedly, lively
Brillante
sparkling, glittering, as in Allegro brillante, Rondo
brillante, or Variations brillantes became fashionable in titles for
virtuoso pieces
Cantabile
in singing style (lyrical and flowing)
Dolce
sweetly
Eroico
heroically
Espressivo
expressively
Furioso
to play in an angry or furious manner
Giocoso
merrily, funny
Gioioso
joyfully
Lacrimoso
tearfully, sadly
Grandioso
magnificently, grandly
Grazioso
gracefully
Leggiero
to play lightly, or with light touch
Maestoso
majestic or stately (which generally indicates a
solemn, slow march-like movement)
Marcato
marching tempo, marked with emphasis
Mèsto
sad, mournful
Scherzando
playfully
Sostenuto
sustained, sometimes with a slackening of tempo
Spiccato
slow sautillé, with a bouncy manner
Teneroso
tenderness
Vivace
lively and fast, over 140 (which generally indicates a
fast movement)
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