Piano4t Binary form
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All Students preparing for Grade exams are recommended to use the Hofnotes on-line training pages to practise for the aural tests. 

At higher grades  you must be able to discuss with the examiner musical features such as texture, form, style, and period of a piece of music.  My own  web pages to help with these parts of the test at Grade 5+ and at GCSE are available here!

 

 

 

 

 

Simple binary form

Simple binary form is often found in minuets, trios, dance movements in a suite, and other short pieces.

The plan of such a movement is:

Part 1 (A)

  • Theme
  • ending in tonic (sectional binary) or a related key (continuous binary) such as the dominant or related minor

Part 2 (B)

  • Short development
  • Possible repetition of the theme
  • closure in tonic

Simple Binary form is sometimes described as an AB structure - or AABB if the sections have internal repeats.

Rounded binary form

Occasionally, the B section will end with a "return" of the opening material from the A section. This is referred to as rounded binary, and is labelled as ABA′.  In rounded binary, the beginning of the B section is sometimes referred to as the "bridge", and will usually conclude with a half cadence in the original key. Rounded binary is not to be confused with ternary form, also labelled ABA—the difference being that, in ternary form, the B section contrasts completely with the A material as in, for example, a minuet and trio.

Sectional binary

If the A section ends with an Authentic (or Perfect) cadence in the tonic key, the design is referred to as a sectional binary. This refers to the fact that the piece is in different tonal sections, each beginning and ending in their own respective keys.

Continuous binary

If the A section ends with any other kind of cadence, the design is referred to as a continuous binary. This refers to the fact that the B section will "continue on" with the new key established by the cadence at the end of A.

Moonlight sonata

Beethoven's C sharp minor sonata (the "Moonlight") has a menuet and trio as its second movement.

The trio taken on its own is a good example of simple binary form:

Play

The performer there was Vladimir Horowitz in a  recording made in 1935.

Were the two sections equal in length?  If so you can label this a symmetrical binary form.  If not it has an asymmetrical binary structure.

Take a look at short pieces (Airs, Marches and so on) by Bach or Purcell that you may have studied at earlier grades. 

Try to identify the elements of part one and two in these pieces and check that you can recognise any modulations.