Music Theory Paper Help

[KyleC]

Hey everyone. I have been given the assignment in my music theory class to write a paper on the "Nature of Musical Form". My teacher has given me terms like, variation, sonata, binary, ternary, development among many others. do you know any good sites that i could find information on these terms as well as the nature of musical form? My teacher said that my assignment isnt that easy being it is so abstract in nature. could you give me some adivice on what to talk about most when discussing the nature of musical form? what do you think i should express as the key points that i should discuss? i do not quite understand what is expected from me in writing this paper. any help is very much appreciated. thanks

I'm not asking for you to do any work for me i would just like a little help getting started like where to look and what are the key points.

[Sorrano]

Originally posted by KyleC:
Hey everyone. I have been given the assignment in my music theory class to write a paper on the "Nature of Musical Form". My teacher has given me terms like, variation, sonata, binary, ternary, development among many others. do you know any good sites that i could find information on these terms as well as the nature of musical form? My teacher said that my assignment isnt that easy being it is so abstract in nature. could you give me some adivice on what to talk about most when discussing the nature of musical form? what do you think i should express as the key points that i should discuss? i do not quite understand what is expected from me in writing this paper. any help is very much appreciated. thanks

I'm not asking for you to do any work for me i would just like a little help getting started like where to look and what are the key points.

Try this for starters: http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/musical_forms.html

Also, http://www.wwnorton.com/enjoy/index/materials/form.htm may have a few pointers in regards to what happens within the major forms you mentioned.

Here is an outline that may be helpful in organizing your thoughts: http://www-student.furman.edu/users/r/rkelley/form.htm

Or you could do what I just did and google the phrase "musical form".

Hope that helps some.

I have to add, too, that this piques my own interest for review purposes. It's been many years since I've studied musical form as well as other aspects of theory.

[This message has been edited by Sorrano (edited 10-10-2004).]

[KyleC]

thank you for your help Sorrano. i appreciate it very much.

[Gurn Blanston]

Kyle,
Here is another site that I use for reference. It is really handy. Hope it helps.
http://tinyurl.com/68wmu



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Regards,
Gurn
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That's my opinion, I may be wrong.
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[Haffner]

Originally posted by KyleC:
Hey everyone. I have been given the assignment in my music theory class to write a paper on the "Nature of Musical Form". My teacher has given me terms like, variation, sonata, binary, ternary, development among many others. do you know any good sites that i could find information on these terms as well as the nature of musical form? My teacher said that my assignment isnt that easy being it is so abstract in nature. could you give me some adivice on what to talk about most when discussing the nature of musical form? what do you think i should express as the key points that i should discuss? i do not quite understand what is expected from me in writing this paper. any help is very much appreciated. thanks

I'm not asking for you to do any work for me i would just like a little help getting started like where to look and what are the key points.

My composition teacher recently told me that great composers must have something to say but also know how to say it. Having something to say refers to an emotion to express and knowing how to say it pertains to the materials of music such as harmony, counterpoint and, most of all, form. I think it would be really interesting to look at form as a means of emotional expression and how it can assist the composer but also often cloud and distort the emotion he/she is trying to express.

As time progressed and emotional expression in music became more profound, form in turn had to expand to meet the demands of composers. The newest element of form is silence. John Cage - whom you may be familiar with - wrote a piece called 4:33 (or 4:13 I can't remember exactly) for piano solo. In this work, the pianist walks on stage and sits in silence for 4 minutes and 33 seconds; this, according to Cage, was the first innovation in form since Beethoven.

So, I have kind of rambled but hopefully you see what I am trying to say; form as a means not only of musical organization but also as a means of emotional expression might be an interesting subject to explore.

[KyleC]

that is a good idea. i never really thought about it that way until now. thanks for the advice i definetly like the idea.