The Principal “Forms” of Tonal Classical Music

Have you ever pondered the structural qualities that distinguish the various types of classical music from one another? Do you hold a desire to learn how the fundamental elements of music fuse together to shape the greater sonic configurations we recognize as compositional artworks? We will begin by reviewing the components of standard chords, basic chord progressions and phrase structures in tonal music. Following a transient venture into a few of the most seminal forms invented during the Medieval and Renaissance eras we will survey some of the primary vocal and instrumental forms found in the common-practice era of tonal music, an era spanning the Baroque period of the seventeenth century through the late Romantic of the early twentieth. Some of the material to uncover will include the Baroque fugue, Classic and Romantic period binary and ternary forms, sonata form, rondo form, variation forms, the da capo aria, cantabile and cabaletta, and art song forms. Moreover, we will direct our attention to the application of these eclectic structures within some of the most enduring genres of classical music such as the opera, the symphony, the concerto, the sonata, the suite, and the march. While we will only grace the overarching surface of the intricate musical material at hand the course presumes the ability to read music as well as a rudimentary knowledge of music theory.