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Binary form is a way of structuring a piece of music into two related sections, both of which are usually repeated. Note that Binary is also a structure used to choreograph dance. // Music is an art form consisting of sound and silence expressed through time. ...
For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ...
Binary form was popular in the Baroque period, often used to structure movements from sonatas for keyboard instruments. It was also used for short one movement works. However, around the middle of the 18th century, the form largely fell from use as sonata form and organic development gained prominence. When it is found in later works, it usually takes the form of the theme in a set of variations. Many larger forms incorporate binary structures, and many more complicated forms (such as sonata forms) share certain characteristics with binary form. Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ...
Sonata (From Latin and Italian sonare, to sound), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to cantata (Latin cantare, to sing), a piece sung. ...
Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ...
(17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...
This article includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ...
Musical development is the transformation and restatement of initial material, often contrasted with musical variation, with which it may be difficult to distinguish as a general process. ...
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition; reiteration with changes. ...
Structure
Most strictly, a piece in binary form is characterized by two complementary, related sections of roughly equal duration. The first section will start in a certain key, and will usually modulate to a related key: In music theory, the key identifies the tonic triad, the chord, major or minor, which represents the final point of rest for a piece, or the focal point of a section. ...
In music, modulation is most commonly the act or process of changing from one key (tonic, or tonal center) to another. ...
In music, a closely related key is one sharing many common tones with the original key. ...
- compositions in major keys will typically modulate to the dominant, the fifth scale degree above the tonic
- compositions in minor keys will typically modulate to the relative major, the major key centered on the third scale degree above the tonic.
The second section of the piece begins in the newly established key, where it remains for an indefinite period of time. After some harmonic activity, the piece will eventually modulate back to its original key before ending. In 18th Century compositions, it was common for both A and B sections to be separated by double bars with repeat signs, meaning both sections were to be repeated. In music, the dominant is the fifth degree of the scale. ...
The tonic is the first note of a musical scale, and in the tonal method of music composition it is extremely important. ...
In music, the relative minor of a particular major key (or the relative major of a minor key) is the key which has the same key signature but a different tonic, as opposed to parallel minor or major, respectively. ...
In musical notation, a bar or measure is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration. ...
Binary form is usually characterised as having the form AB, though since both sections repeat, a more accurate description would be AABB. Others, however, prefer to use the label AA'. This second designation points to the fact that there is no great change in character between the two sections. The rhythms and melodic material used will generally be closely related in each section, and if the piece is written for a musical ensemble, the instrumentation will generally be the same. This is in contrast to the use of verse-chorus form in popular music - the contrast between the two sections is primarily one of the keys used. Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ...
Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. ...
For other uses, see Instrumentation (disambiguation). ...
Verse-chorus form is a musical form common in popular music and predominant in rock since the 1960s. ...
Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ...
Further Distinctions A piece in binary form can be further classified according to a number of characteristics:
Simple vs. Rounded 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 labeled 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 labeled ABA - the difference being the B section in ternary form is completely contrasting with the A material, as in, for example, a minuet and trio. In Western musical theory a cadence (Latin cadentia, a falling) is a particular series of intervals or chords that ends a phrase, section, or piece of music. ...
This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...
A minuet, sometimes spelled menuet, is a social dance of French origin for two persons, usually in 3/4 time. ...
If the B section lacks such a return of the opening AA material, the piece is said to be in simple binary.
Sectional vs. Continuous 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. In Western musical theory a cadence (Latin cadentia, a falling) is a particular series of intervals or chords that ends a phrase, section, or piece of music. ...
The tonic is the first note of a musical scale, and in the tonal method of music composition it is extremely important. ...
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.
Symmetrical vs. Asymmetrical If the A and B sections are roughly equal in length, the design is referred to as symmetrical.
If the A and B sections are of unequal length, the design is referred to as asymmetrical. In such cases, the B section is usually substantially longer than the A section.
Balanced Binary In some simple continuous binary forms, there is a kind of "rhyme" between the closing gesture of the first reprise and the closing gesture of the second. In other words, the cadential material at the end of the first reprise (in the key of the dominant) will return, transposed to the tonic, at the end of the second reprise. This is referred to as balanced binary.
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