The nature of musical form
Formal design
The term 'form' refers to the large scale design of a piece of music. Most pieces can divided into two or three sections. These sections are often labeled with letters, such as A and B. A piece with two sections would be known as AB. Or, if the second section is a shortened iteration of the first, it would be AA' (A prime)
Part II - Formal structure
The classification of large-scale works into forms is concerned with the number and grouping of musical ideas. For example, a piece that has two musical ideas (AB, or ABA), would be a different genre that a piece with three or more musical ideas (ABC, or even ABACABA).
Part III - Formal Processes
Formal Processes - the harmonic progressions including modulations and when and how modulations take place are essential when analyzing a piece
Thematic processes - How themes (melodic ideas) generate phrases and sections of a design.
Textural process - The texture of a piece (monophonic, Polyphonic, or Homophonic) plays a big role when analyzing a piece. Usually when the texture changes, the theme changes.
Part IV - Formal Function
This refers to the role of segments of music at various levels of the structure.
Part V - The perception of musical form
Music can not be enjoyed or understood without recourse to basic knowledge of musical form. The same can be said for performance.
