How does sonata form work

A sonata-form movement is dramatic because it contains at least two contrasting themes. Listeners follow the two themes, primary and secondary or main and subordinate , through their introductory statements in the exposition section, their transformations in the development section, and their restatement in the recapitulation.

On the one hand, the three large structural areas of a sonata form typically contain elements of thematic contrast, which elucidates a simpler narrative than the complex contrapuntal 5 techniques of the Baroque period. On the other hand, however, sonata forms also contain a harmonic narrative of tension—resolution. The exposition, just as it contains more than a single melodic theme, thus contains more than one key area.

If you would like to see how it works in music, continue reading. The first movement contains all three major sections of the sonata and provides an excellent major-mode example of the procedure outlined above. In the exposition , the first theme mm. The transition mm. In other words, the phrase is left open on the dominant harmony D major —we expect another phrase in G major to close this section on the tonic—and thus initiates harmonic instability.

The former is part of a sequence and the latter is part of a chromatic intensification scale degrees 4— 4—5 of the half cadence at m. The C s belong to the key of D-major, the dominant key V , the key in which Haydn begins the second theme mm. Except for a few brief harmonic departures, the second theme , in dark blue, ends firmly in D major with a perfect-authentic cadence at mm.

Haydn could have ended this theme at either m. The short closing theme mm. Encapsulated by orange borders on the score, the development section mm. By doing this, Haydn incorporates previous thematic material into the development. The next harmonic event features a prolonged rising circle-of-fifths harmonic progression D—A—E moves the key to the submediant minor for a period of brief stability mm. A quicker-moving falling-fifths progression with seventh chords follows mm.

The fermata on the dominant seventh in m. While the recapitulation mm. For example, the first theme is shortened because its final sub-phrase dissolves into the a novel transition section that was not present in the exposition compare mm.

Remember, In the recapitulation, the transition typically does not modulate from the tonic key. Haydn plays against this expectation by influencing the transition with references to the lively motives and harmonic sequences of the development. It also functions as a clear energy-building and exciting contrast to the first theme. At the onset of the second theme in m.

With the exception of the transposition 7 down a perfect fifth to comply with the key of G major plus four added measures mm. Following the perfect-authentic cadence at m. This article introduces the history and specifics of sonata form as well as how it works in music, when you go to a concert that includes a movement in sonata form, you can try to spot the themes and the different sections and hear what the composer is trying to communicate!

Movement : An individual section that is part of a complete composition which comprises other movements as well 2. 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. Only this time we must hear it all in the tonic key, even the second theme and the closing theme, which we originally heard in the dominant; so that when the movement is over, we are safely at home, in C major where we began.

Of course Mozart, like all geniuses is full of surprises. He doesn't always play the game according to the rules. In fact he often gives us more musical pleasure by breaking rules than by obeying them. In this C-major Sonata of his, where the recapitulation should be in the tonic in the key of C, Mozart holds out on us; he is still resisting that magnet of the tonic; and so he gives us the recapitulation in the unexpected key of F.

But now Mozart yields, and the magnet wins after all. The rest of this little movement is all safe and warm, back home in C-major. Now that wasn't too terribly hard, was it? It's certainly hard to play. It sounds easier that it is. But it's not very hard to follow the form. Do you see now what I mean by balance and contrast? The balance of the three-part form the exposition, the development, and the recapitulation , and the contrast of the tonic with the dominant. Of course there's much more to it than we can explain in this brief hour: The contrasting key is not always in the dominant; rules get broken right and left.

And then there's the whole business of introductions and codas—which means extra sections at the beginning and end of a sonata movement; but you've got plenty of time to learn about those. What matters now is that you see the two main things: the magnetic effect of the tonic, and the A-B-A form. Armed with only that information, you should be able to recognize and follow any classical sonata form movement. Just to see if I'm right, I'm going to throw you a curve and play you the last movement of Prokofiev's Classical Symphony—a modern work, but a deliciously spoofing imitation of the 18th-century classical sonata form.

It has an exposition consisting of a first theme in the tonic, a second theme in the dominant, and a closing theme in the dominant. Then that whole exposition section is repeated exactly; then a development section in which these themes are tossed around; and then finally the recapitulation which is the whole exposition again, only all in the tonic.

It is a perfect example: sonata form at its simplest and clearest A-B-A. See if you can follow it. I hope I was right in thinking you were able to follow the form of that movement by Prokofiev.

If I was wrong, you'll have another chance in a moment to try your luck. If I was right, you are well on your way toward being a real music listener.

Because, as I said before, anyone can enjoy a tune or a rhythm, that's easy. To enjoy the form of a piece of music is much harder. Sonata form shares many structural properties with small ternary form specifically the rounded binary variant.

This is called a double-reprise structure, and on this level looks exactly like a rounded-binary theme. Still later sonatas often shed both sets of repeats, making the binary aspect of the structure much less obvious if it even exists than the ternary aspect of the structure.

These are the same names as other small ternary forms, like a minuet or the theme of a theme-and-variations movement. The B section exhibits what we call development function. This differs from the contrasting middle of other small ternary forms. These functions will be briefly defined below and explored in greater detail in other resources. Development function highlights the openness of this question by cycling through the same melodies in the same order, exploring the instability of the secondary key.

This exploration can be accomplished by any of the following:. Recapitulation function does this by progressing one last time through the thematic cycle, but this time bringing it to a satisfactory completion: a PAC in the home key, called the essential sonata closure ESC.

As hinted at above, sonata form is anchored around several important cadences. They serve as signposts for the formal structure, as well as goals of the music leading into them. We will note these cadences using a Roman numeral for the key relative to the home key followed by a colon and the type of cadence. Rather than being simply a norm, though, this cadence is essential to the form.