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THE NECESSITY OF FORM IN MUSIC THE EVIDENCES OF FORM IN MUSIC UNITY AND VARIETY

TIME TEMPO BEATS MEASURES RHYTHM MELODY

THE MELODIC FIGURE DEFINING THE FIGURES THE MELODIC MOTIVE, OR PHRASE-MEMBER PRELIMINARY TONES

THE PHRASE LENGTH OF THE REGULAR PHRASE EXCEPTIONS OF THE PHRASE

CADENCES IN GENERAL MODIFICATION, OR DISGUISING OF THE CADENCE THE ELISION SPECIES OF CADENCE PERFECT CADENCE SEMICADENCE LOCATING THE CADENCES

CAUSES OF IRREGULARITY THE SMALL AND LARGE PHRASES THE PRINCIPLE OF EXTENSION INHERENT IRREGULARITY

PHRASE-ADDITION THE PERIOD

ENLARGEMENT BY REPETITION THE PHRASE-GROUP THE DOUBLE-PERIOD

THE SONG-FORM, OR PART-FORM THE PARTS THE FIRST PART THE SECOND PART

REPETITION OF THE PARTS EXACT REPETITIONS MODIFIED REPETITIONS THE FIVE-PART FORM GROUP OF PARTS

THE PRINCIPAL SONG THE TRIO, OR SUBORDINATE SONG THE "DA CAPO"

EVOLUTION THE RONDO-FORMS THE FIRST RONDO-FORM

DETAILS

THE EXPOSITION THE MIDDLE DIVISION THE RECAPITULATION

CLASSIFICATION OF THE LARGER FORMS THE SONATINE-FORM

ORIGIN OF THE NAME THE SONATA-ALLEGRO FORM THE EXPOSITION THE DEVELOPMENT, OR MIDDLE DIVISION THE RECAPITULATION DISSOLUTION RELATION TO THE THREE-PART SONG-FORM

APPLICATION OF THE SEVERAL DESIGNS IN PRACTICAL COMPOSITION AFTERWORD

LESSONS IN MUSIC FORM.

THE NECESSITY OF FORM IN MUSIC.--So much uncertainty and diversity of opinion exists among music lovers of every grade concerning the presence of Form in musical composition, and the necessity of its presence there, that a few general principles are submitted at the outset of our studies, as a guide to individual reflection and judgment on the subject.

Thus interpreted, the necessity of form, that is, Order, in the execution of a musical design appears as obvious as are the laws of architecture to the builder, or the laws of creation to the astronomer or naturalist; for the absence of order, that is, Disorder, constitutes a condition which is regarded with abhorrence and dread by every rational mind.

Which of these two conditions is the more desirable, or necessary, would seem to be wholly self-evident.

Another and higher significance involved in the idea of Form, that goes to prove how indispensable it may be in truly good music, rests upon the opposition of Form to the material.

THE EVIDENCES OF FORM IN MUSIC.--The presence of form in music is manifested, first of all, by the disposition of tones and chords in symmetrical measures, and by the numerous methods of tone arrangement which create and define the element of Rhythm,--the distinction of short and long time-values, and of accented and unaccented pulses.

This is not what is commonly supposed to constitute form in music, but it is the fundamental condition out of which an orderly system of form may be developed. As well might the carpenter or architect venture to dispense with scale, compass and square in their constructive labors, as that the composer should neglect beat, measure and rhythm, in his effort to realize a well-developed and intelligible design in the whole, or any part, of his composition. The beats and measures and phrases are the barley-corn, inch and ell of the musical draughtsman, and without these units of measurement and proportion, neither the vital condition of Symmetry nor the equally important condition of well-regulated Contrast could be clearly established.

Cadences serve the same purpose in music, then, as do the punctuation marks in rhetoric; and an idea of the senselessness and confusion of a musical composition, if left devoid of cadences in sufficient number and force, may be gleaned from an experimental test of the effect of a page of prose, read with persistent disregard of its commas, colons, and other marks of "cadence."

This is most salient in music for orchestra, where each player describes an individual tone-line, rendered all the more distinct and recognizable by the specific "color" of his instrument; and that is the chief, perhaps the sole, reason why the orchestra is esteemed the most complete and perfect medium of musical expression.

In musical composition these two requisites are embodied in the principles of Unity and Variety.

These conditions are, of course, squarely opposed to each other, though their interaction is reciprocal rather than antagonistic; and, from what has been said, it is obvious that they are of equal importance. Hence, as was declared on the second page, the great problem of the art-creator consists in so balancing their operations that neither may encroach upon the domain of the other. For too constant and palpable Unity will inevitably paralyze interest; while too much Variety will as surely tend to obscure the distinctness of the design.

The workings of the principle of Unity are shown in the following elementary details of composition:--

and its inversion

run through the whole number.

In every one of these manifestations of unity there lies the germ of the principle of Variety, which quickens into life with the action of the former, always following, as offspring and consequence of the primary unity. Thus:--

This distinction is so significant and so striking, that the music lover who is eager to gain the first clues to the structural purpose of a composition, should endeavor to recognize which one of these two rhythmic species underlies the movement to which he is listening. It is fairly certain to be one or the other continuously. Of duple measure, the march and polka are familiar examples; of triple measure, the waltz and mazurka. The "regularity" of the former rhythm imparts a certain stability and squareness to the entire piece, while triple rhythm is more graceful and circular in effect.

Or, the melodic contents of a measure may be thus reproduced, as far as the rhythm and direction of the tones are concerned, but--for variety--they may be shifted to a higher or lower place upon the staff, or may be otherwise modified.

The figures of the accompaniment, though reproduced in uniform rhythmic values and melodic direction, undergo constant modifications in pitch and in shape, similar, to those shown in Ex. 2. See, again, No. 37 of the Songs Without Words and note the changes in the formation of the otherwise uniform six-tone groups.

LESSON 1.--The student is to study this chapter thoroughly, and write answers to the following questions; if possible, without reference to the text:--

TEMPO.--This refers to the degree of motion. The musical picture is not constant, but panoramic; we never hear a piece of music all at once, but as a panorama of successive sounds. Tempo refers to the rate of speed with which the scroll passes before our minds. Thus we speak of rapid tempo , or slow tempo , and so forth.

BEATS.--The beats are the units in our System of Measurement,--as it were, the inches upon our yardstick of time; they are the particles of time that we mark when we "count," or that the conductor marks with the "beats" of his baton. Broadly speaking, the ordinary beat is about equivalent to a second of time; to less or more than this, of course, in rapid or slow tempo. Most commonly, the beat is represented in written music by the quarter-note, as in 2-4, 3-4, 4-4, 6-4 measure. But the composer is at liberty to adopt any value he pleases as beat. In the first study in Clementi's "Gradus ad Parnassum," the time-signature is 3-1, the whole note as beat; in the 8th Sung Without Words it is 6-16, the sixteenth note as beat; in the last pianoforte sonata of Beethoven , last movement, the time-signatures are 9-16, 6-16, and 12-32, the latter being, probably, the smallest beat ever chosen.

MEASURES.--A measure is a group of beats. The beats are added together, in measures, to obtain a larger unit of time, because larger divisions are more convenient for longer periods; just as we prefer to indicate the dimensions of a house, or farm, in feet or rods, rather than in inches.

A curious and rare exception to this rule of the compound measure occurs when five or seven beats are grouped together. This involves a mingling of the duple and triple species, and, consequently, an irregular disposition of the accents; for instance, 5-4 measure is either 3+2 or 2+3 beats, with corresponding accentuation:

The first measure of this hymn is, by itself, merely an exponent of the metric principle, for it consists of three uniform quarter-notes. The second measure, however, is a rhythmic one, because, by dotting the first of the three beats, three different time-values are obtained . Further, by association and comparison with each other, both measures assume a collective rhythmic significance.

The rhythm of the second measure in Ex. 3 is regular, because the longest tone stands at the beginning of the measure, thus confirming the accent. The rhythm in Ex. 1 is also regular, throughout, the light eighth-notes occupying the light third beat, and the heavy dotted-quarter the heavy pulse . Ex. 2 is strikingly definite in rhythm, because the time-values are so greatly diversified; and the arrangement is regular.

On the other hand, the following is an example of irregular rhythm:

The longer tones are placed in the middle of the measure, between the beats; the tie at the end of measure 3 places the heavy note at the end, instead of the beginning, of the measure, and cancels the accent of the fourth measure. These irregular forms of rhythm are called syncopation. See also Ex. 6, second Phrase.

In the second place, the tones and groups in a good melody are measured with reference to harmony of time-values; that is, their metric condition, and their rhythmic arrangement, corroborate the natural laws already defined:--uniformity of fundamental pulse, uniform recurrence of accent, and sufficient regularity of rhythmic figure to insure a distinct and comprehensible total impression. This also may be verified in the time-values of Ex. 5. Scrutinize also, the melodic and rhythmic conditions of Exs. 1 and 2,--and the examples on later pages,--and endeavor to vindicate their classification as "good" melodies. Ex. 4, though an exposition of irregular rhythm, is none the less excellent on that account; on the contrary, this irregularity, because wisely balanced by sufficient evidence of harmonious and logical agreement, only heightens the beauty and effectiveness of the melody.

Whenever whole bodies of tone are played successively, a number of melody lines are being described,--as many, in fact, as there are tones in each body. For example, in playing a hymn-tune we describe the four separate melodies known as the soprano, alto, tenor and bass voices. In a duet, unaccompanied, there are two melodic lines; if accompanied, other melodic lines are added to these. Thus we recognize the same system of associated lines in music as in architecture or drawing. Very rarely indeed does one single unbroken line portray a complete image.

Here then, at the top of the harmonic tone-complex, we look for the chief melody; and here it will be found,--excepting when arbitrary emphasis is imparted to some lower tone-line, so that it, for the time being, assumes a prominence equal, or superior, to that of the uppermost line.

LESSON 2.--Write careful and complete answers to the following questions:--

THE MELODIC FIGURE.--The smallest unit in musical composition is the single tone. The smallest cluster of successive tones that will convey a definite musical impression, as miniature musical idea, is called a Figure. Assuming the single tone to represent the same unit of expression as a letter of the alphabet, the melodic figure would be defined as the equivalent of a complete word;--pursuing the comparison further, a series of figures constitutes the melodic Motive, equivalent to the smallest group of words ; and two or three motives make a Phrase, equivalent to the complete, though comparatively brief, sentence . This definition, amply illustrated in the following examples, serves also to point out the significant resemblance between the structure of language and of music. The principal melody is, as it were, the voice of the speaker, whose message is framed wholly out of the primary tones, or letters of the musical alphabet. The association of primary tone-units, in successive order, results first in the figure, then in the motive, then the phrase, period, and so forth, in the manner of natural growth, till the narrative is ended. The following example, though extending beyond our present point of observation, is given as an illustration of this accumulative process :--

The pregnancy and significance of each of these tiny musical "words" ,--small and apparently imperfect as they are,--can best be tested by concentrating the attention upon each as if it stood alone upon the page; it is such vitality of the separate particles that invests a musical masterwork with its power and permanency of interest.

DEFINING THE FIGURES.--It is not always easy to distinguish the figures in a melodic sentence. While they are unquestionably analogous to the words in speech, they are by no means as concrete, nor are they separated as distinctly, as the words upon a written or printed sheet. This is in keeping with the intangible quality of music, and the peculiar vagueness of its medium of expression; the quality which veils its intrinsic purport from the mass of music admirers, and lends it such exquisite and inexplicable charm to all hearers alike.

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