WHAT IS SONATA FORM?| SONATA FORM| SONATA FORM EXPLAINED

WHAT IS SONATA FORM?| SONATA FORM| SONATA FORM EXPLAINED

Sonata form is one of the most commonly used forms in classical music. This  might sound difficult and academic but you probably know more about it than you thought if you have performed a piece of music by either Hyden, Mozart or Beethoven then you've probably encountered work in Sonata forms most.

 The first movements of symphonies and concertos, as well as chamber and solo instrumental works by these composers, are organized into Sonata form. If you watch a lot of sitcoms like Brooklyn nine-nine 30 rock or the office you might start to perceive the formula they often start with a short funny intro which might or might not be related to the main plot then the main part of the episode might have one or more storylines each with some of the characters in it all of the stories have conflict. All of which are resolved by the end of the episode. At the very end, another short funny incident closes the episode. If an episode doesn't follow this formula you might feel like something is not quite right even if you aren't consciously aware of the formula like sitcoms.

WHAT IS SONATA FORM?

 Sonata form has an underlying formula through this shared knowledge. The composers and listeners can communicate with each other and sometimes have private little jokes. Think of the Sonata form as two cookies basically in the first half the two cookies are the main characters they are different shapes and colors in the second half of the song the two cookies get all mixed up and by the end of the second half the two Oreos are back to their original shape except that the second Oreo is now the color of the first. What you see in this diagram is that the Sonata form contains two harmonically enclosed halves. The exposition is the first half and the development and recapitulation are the second half in terms of the ma tic development. the Form is divided into three main sections exposition, development and recapitulation so sonata-form mixes binary and ternary form two of the most common musical forms.

EXPOSITION

The main section is called the exposition it often has two themes the primary theme is the tonic meaning the key of the piece the second theme is often in meaning the fifth scale degree. If a piece is in c-major the primary theme is in C major and the second theme is in G major. In a minor piece, the second theme is usually in a relative major or the third scale degree. For example, if the piece is in C minor, the primary theme would be in C minor and the second theme would be in E flat major.

DEVELOPMENT

The development is the most unstable section anything can happen here harmonically it usually begins in the new key only to quickly depart on an exploration of the other key areas before returning to the dominant area again the fifth scale degree which creates a strong expectation for the primary theme in the opening key thematically. Composers might use a variety of tricks to reuse material they may only use a fragment of a motif they may restate a theme indifferent keys or they may dress up a familiar theme in various forms.

 

RECAPITULATION

 The recapitulation section is the homecoming section after all the adventures the characters return home with slightly different outlooks in this section. The first and second theme are both in the tonic key to close the entire Sonata-form in the exact same tonic key in which it began called a double return recapitulation in other words in a C major piece. The second theme is in G major in the exposition and in C major in the recapitulation. The important difference signals that everything is now stable occasionally a development section features a false recapitulation. One that sounds like a melodic Restatement of the opening theme but the key is not actually the same as the beginning exposition. In other words, we are not yet back to a place of stability until the recapitulation returns to the original tonic in short a large scale harmonic tension resolution schema begins with harmonic instability in the transition section of the exposition which is amplified and put on display in the development and finally resolved during the secondary themes perfect authentic cadence in the recapitulation.

The first movement of Haydn's keyboard sonata in G major contains all three major sections of the Sonata form and provides an excellent major mode. Example of this enough next time when you go to a concert that includes a movement or apiece in Sonata form try and hear the themes the different sections and hear what the composer is trying to communicate.

 I hope this helps you understand Sonata form check back online learning king for more information and Share this post with your friends if you found it interesting