When you learn to read music, no doubt eventually you’ll need to learn various musical forms. Here’s a lesson to help you in learning to read music with binary form.
Binary form has the sense of each smaller musical unit developing into a larger one. The opening motive initiates the first phrase then expands to the A section, and finally to the complete piece. We can sketch out binary form as:
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|| : A : || |
|| : B : || |
|
Phrase 1 Phrase 2 |
Phrase 3 Phrase 4 Optional phrases |
|
Opening motif |
Opening motif may appear with new or related material |
We can represent binary form simply by its larger sections as well:
||:A:||:B:||
Another common musical form is ternary form. This form has a three part structure where a section of music is presented, followed by a contrasting section, then the original material is restated. This form is usually represented as:
A B A
The opening A section may have repeats, as well as the B section, but they are not necessary for the form. Composers may vary the final A section (A B A’), or more simply, at the end of the written B section, the performer is asked to go back to the beginning and play to the end of the A section.
Tags: how to sight read music, learn how to read music, Learn to Read Music, Learning To Read Music, Read Sheet Music, Sight Reading Music