Where is sonata form used

On occasion it will actually return to the sub-dominant key and then proceed with the same transition as in the exposition. The transition from the development to the recapitulation is a crucial moment in the work. The last part of the development section is called the retransition: It prepares for the return of the first subject group in the tonic, most often through a grand prolongation of the dominant seventh.

In addition, the character of the music would signal such a return. The general key of the movement is C major, and it would then follow that the retransition should stress the dominant seventh chord on G. Instead, it builds in strength over the dominant seventh chord on C, as if the music were proceeding to F major, only to take up immediately the first theme in C major.

Occasionally, the retransition can begin with a false recapitulation, in which the opening material of the first theme group is presented in a key other than the tonic. The surprise that ensues when the music continues to modulate toward the tonic can be used for either comic or dramatic effect. Exceptions to the recapitulation form include Mozart and Haydn works that often begin with the second subject group when the first subject group has been elaborated at length in the development.

After the closing cadence, the musical argument proper is said to be completed. If the movement continues, it is said to have a coda. The Coda is optional. After the final cadence of the recapitulation, the movement may continue with a coda which will contain material from the movement proper. The coda will end, however, with a perfect authentic cadence in the original key.

Codas may be quite brief tailpieces, or they may be very long and elaborate. Explanations for why an extended coda is present vary. Linking Episode — bars The episode uses ideas from the 1st subject. This is written in the relative major key A flat major. Coda — bars This section is then repeated. Have a listen to the development and follow the sheet music. Both the 1st and 2nd subjects are developed, exploring a number of different harmonies and tonalities.

Have a listen to the recapitulation and follow the sheet music. This is written in the tonic key F minor. This differs from the episode in the exposition. For example, the start is transposed into the tonic key. This is now in the tonic key F minor as opposed to the relative major A flat major played in the exposition. Coda — bars end.

This is similar to the coda from the exposition, but has a few additions to make it longer and has been transposed into the tonic key.

A half cadence in m. This passage features a new theme, first in octaves on the upper staff mm. A sequence in mm. Although coming after the sequence it may not be heard as such, it soon becomes clear that this is another half cadence. It leads to a familiar melody compare m. As is often the case, this development section balances new material and new keys with old material presented in new ways.

The development retransitions back to the home key by tonicizing the ii C minor chord in B b major. The recapitulation in this sonata form is much shorter than the exposition. The primary theme in mm. The transposed closing theme appears after the fermata in m. In some cases, these tricks and variations are common enough to warrant names.

Composers will sometimes include, for example, a false recapitulation. In such pieces, the listener will hear an instance of the primary theme in the midst of the development, but rather than starting the recapitulation, it will lead instead to more developmental material. In other cases, the development may lead to a subdominant return , a recapitulation in which the entire exposition appears intact but transposed down a perfect fifth.

With the recapitulation starting in the key of the subdominant, the modulation that led up a fifth to the dominant in the exposition will instead lead up a fifth to the home key, the proper harmonic goal at the end of the piece.

As you listen to and analyze sonata forms you should keep in mind that the form is flexible, and twists like these make it appealing to composers and listeners alike. Some alterations to sonata form are substantial enough that we may think of them as creating an entirely new form. One example of this may be found when a sonata form is set at a slower tempo: in a sonatina or slow-movement form , the development section is greatly reduced or omitted altogether.

After the repeat of the exposition, the listener hears a brief retransition followed immediately by the recapitulation—or, where the development is omitted, just the recapitulation:. Note: In the interest of conserving space we will not include examples of the forms discussed in this section. Readers are advised to analyze the following pieces to see sonatina form in action:. In each of these two movements, the second large-scale section features a brief retransition leading directly into the recapitulation.

Neither has a substantial development. Some sonata forms incorporate elements of other forms. A sonata rondo , for example, combines sonata form with the seven-part rondo see Chapter The form is very similar to a regular sonata form, but includes a repeat of the primary theme area at the end of the exposition and again at the end of the recapitulation. A and B combined, then, form the exposition and C the development.

The following diagram provides an overview of sonata rondo form. Notice that the primary theme area A is typically set in the home key in each of its four appearances.

This is a rather significant departure from sonata form as described above, where the exposition ends in the secondary key and leads directly into the development:.

The primary characteristic that distinguishes a sonata rondo from a regular seven-part rondo is the development section. For a rondo to be considered a sonata rondo, the C section must incorporate developmental passages in the manner found in a typical sonata. As mentioned above, sonata forms routinely appear in symphonic works as well including a variant typically found in the first movement of a concerto, where a soloist is accompanied by an orchestra.

In concerto form , the soloist plays through all three of the main sections—exposition, development, recapitulation—in order. Alternating with these sections, however, are passages in which the musical focus is on the orchestra. A concerto form begins with the full orchestra playing through the primary theme area in the primary key. They may play through the transition and secondary theme area, too, but if they do they will stay in the home key.

The main action in a concerto form—including, for example, the modulation to the secondary key—is reserved for the soloist, who plays through the exposition again in S 1.

Some teachers and texts prefer the term double exposition form over concerto form for exactly this reason. It is important to note that during the solo sections, the orchestra does not sit quietly. It plays behind the soloist, providing the supporting harmonies and musical punctuations. At the end of the recapitulation, just before the final structural cadence, most concerto forms will include a cadenza , in which the soloist, unaccompanied, will play through or improvise an extended passage full of virtuosic figuration.

The cadenza typically concludes with a trill, a signal to the conductor to cue the orchestra, and the piece concludes with the full orchestra playing once again T 4. This piece is particularly instructive since it takes as its basis the sonata written by Johann Christian Bach discussed in Example 38—5 above.

The T sections use material from the same source. The form may be thought of as an extended continuous rounded binary, but with its substantial and contrasting middle section it also bears a meaningful resemblance to ternary form.

Descriptions of sonata form typically go into much more detail than just the number and harmonic structure of the large-scale sections, but due to the remarkable variety found between pieces exhibiting sonata-form qualities, it is difficult to pin down a definitive and universal model. Instead, we describe some of the most commonly encountered general characteristics. The first part of a sonata form, known as the exposition , typically presents contrasting thematic material divided between two conflicting keys—most often the home key and the dominant or relative major.

In most sonata forms, the primary theme area is heard first, followed by a transition , and then, after an abrupt break in the musical texture called the medial caesura , the secondary theme area. Some sonata forms present a single theme in each theme area, but many others feature multiple themes per area, particularly the second which often includes a closing theme to conclude the exposition.

Some expositions include introductions and codettas as well. The exposition is typically repeated. The second part of a sonata form is the development , a lengthy section in which material from the exposition is reworked in new and exciting ways. Some developments present new thematic material as well and in some cases do not incorporate old material at all.

The effect of a development section, with characteristic sequences and surprising changes of key, can be very exciting and for some composers, performers, and listeners it is the highlight of the form. The development section usually concludes with a retransition leading back to the original key for the recapitulation , a replaying of all of the main thematic material from the exposition, though here recomposed to avoid modulating to the secondary key.

Misleading cadences and false themes are common and add to the overall excitement of a piece. Along similar lines, we find several common variants of the form including sonata forms which lack a development sonatina or first-movement form , incorporate the repeated refrain of a rondo sonata-rondo form , and assign the main sections to a soloist between passages played by a full orchestra concerto or double-exposition form.

Skip to content IV. Example 38—1. Continuous rounded binary form. Example 38—2. Sonata form, structural overview. The following table displays some of the semi-synonymous terms used to describe various parts of the exposition: Table 38—1.

Sonata form terminology synonyms. Example 38—3. Structure of exposition section. Example 38—4. Structure of development and recapitulation sections. Example 38—5. Example 38—6. Allegro, mm. And this idea of contrast is just as important as the other idea of balance; it's what gives the sonata form its drama and excitement.

Now how does this contrast take place? I'll show you; and here we're going to have to get technical for a minute or two. But I'm sure you won't mind that; because what I'm going to show you now is very important—in fact this is the root of this whole sonata business.

And that is the sense of key, or tonality. Most music that we hear is written in one key or another; not so much the concert music that's written these days, but most of the music you are likely to hear is written in a key. For instance, the Beatle song we played before is in this key:.

Not twelve others, twelve in all. But whatever key it's in—let's say C-major—you feel a key-note, a center, or home plate, where the music belongs, starts out from there, and gets back to. That home plate center is called the tonic. Now all the other notes of the scale also have names; but I won't bother you with them except for this one, which I'd like you to remember: the dominant.

That's the name given to the fifth note of any scale—. That's the dominant. Now comes the main event—how these two key-centers, the tonic and the dominant, are related to each other. If I play a tonic and a dominant chord, in that order, what do you feel? Something is left unfinished, unresolved, isn't it? You feel a desperate urge to get back to the tonic, where you started, don't you? So you see, that tonic is like a magnet; you can pull away from it, going to all kinds of other chords,.

And out of this magnetic pull, away from and back to the tonic, classical sonata form is built. That's where the drama lies, the tension—in the contrast of keys with one another. Let's see how this works in an actual piece of music by Mozart.

The composer will naturally begin his sonata in the key of the tonic, and his opening theme will be in that key, as in this famous C-major Sonata by Mozart.

Here's the main theme. So there we are, solidly established in the dominant key of G-major and the exposition part of this movement is over. Now at this point in the classical sonata we usually bump smack into a repeat sign, which means go back to the beginning and play that whole A Section or exposition you have just heard, all over again.

Just like the Beatles: Remember? You repeat that phrase. And so for the second time, we hear the full exposition - first theme, second theme, and closing theme; starting in the tonic and winding up in the dominant. But there's no point in playing it for you now.

You've all just heard it. So you go on to the next section. Actually this whole exposition we've just heard is like a drama, the drama of running away from home—a pulling away from that magnet we call the tonic. Now the next act coming up, the development, intensifies that drama, wandering even farther away from home, through even more distant keys, but then finally giving in and coming home in the third act—or recapitulation. That's the drama of it all.

So in the second part, or development section of this Mozart sonata, the composer lets his imagination roam free; the themes he has stated in the exposition wander around in one foreign key after another—like a trip around the world. Now because this particular sonata of Mozart's is a very short one, the development section is also very short. In fact the only theme Mozart does develop is that little fanfare tune we just heard—the closing theme of the exposition.

Which brings us to the third and last section of this three-part sonata form—the recapitulation. And this is the moment when that magnet we were talking about finally wins out and draws us back home, to the tonic; and the whole exposition is repeated or recapitulated.