Large Forms

This lesson is part of the Rhythm, Meter & Form category.

Objectives

• Students will be able to analyze a composition using formal notation (A, A’, B, etc.).
• Students will be familiar with common forms such as sonata allegro, da capo aria, and popular song form.
• Students will be familiar with macroformal structures such as song cycles, operas, oratorios, musicals, and concept albums.

Resources

Readings:

• Snodgrass, Contemporary Musicianship:
  • Chapter 4: “Classical Forms”

• Hutchinson, Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom:
  • Chapter 12: Form in Popular Music
  • Chapter 24: Binary and Ternary Forms
  • Chapter 25: Sonata and Rondo Forms
• Covach, “Form in Rock Music: A Primer”
• Shaffer, Wharton (eds.), Open Music Theory:
  • Sonata Form: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
  • Rondo Form: 1, 2, 3, 4
  • Minuet Form
  • Pop/Rock Form: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Peres, Top 40 Theory:
  • “Don't Bore Us, but Don't Rush to the Chorus”
  • “The Chainsmokers ft. Halsey — ‘Closer’: Crafting the Chorus”
  • “Everything You Need to Know About the Postchorus”
  • “About that Chorus in Bed Rexha’s ‘I’m a Mess’”
  • “A Sonic Twist in the Plot: The Bridge in Modern Pop”
  • “The PostChorus-Bridge Switcheroo”
  • “Recycling the Chorus in Zedd & Elley Duhé’s ‘Happy Now’”
  • “The Internal Sonic Progression in Bebe Rexha’s “I’m a Mess’”
  • “Sonic Meta-Progressions in Pop Songs”
• Kenrick, Elements of a Musical: "The Book (Libretto)"
• Jarvis and Peterson, "Detour or Bridge? Contrasting Sections and Storytelling in Musical Theater"

Listening or Videos

• Barna, "The Dance Chorus in Recent Top-40 Music"

Class Activities

• Discussion and definition of the concept of formal analysis, and of common large-scale forms
• Formal analysis of music in different genres and time periods
• Creation of a compositional formal blueprint based around two or three given melodies or motives

Assignments

• Comprehension questions
• Formal analysis of written and recorded music
• Creation of a formal blueprint for a piece to meet given criteria

Files

• Formal Analysis: "Jumper" by Third Eye Blind (Word | Pages | PDF)
• Formal Analysis: "Unfinished" by Barenaked Ladies (Word | Pages | PDF)
• Formal Analysis: Piano Sonata in C minor, K. 457 by W. A. Mozart (Finale | MusicXML | PDF)