Musical form refers to the organization and shape of a composition’s elements, giving it a sense of structure and coherence. Both popular and classical composers employ several standard forms, but their basic principle is the same: repetition and contrast.
The smallest musical unit that a composer works with is the the motif, typically just a few notes having a characteristic rhythm and interval structure. A composer will build a motif and expand it to a larger musical gesture or phrase of a few measures. A second phrase may complement the first one creating a larger unit in what we typically think of as a melody. The second phrase may start off with a repetition of the original motif, but it usually finishes somewhat differently than the first phrase. The following melody from Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik exemplifies this two phrase structure:

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