Structure & Form

What is Structure and Form?

The way sections of musical ideas are

arranged and ordered in a

composition

Which forms do you need to know?

The following forms are all required for the
Eduqas GCSE Music course.
• Binary Form
• Ternary Form
• Rondo Form
• Theme and Variations
• Ground Bass
• Minuet and Trio

Binary

• Two sections of roughly equal length
• First section (A) is then answered by the second

section (B)

• Each section is usually repeated
• There is usually a modulation (Key Change) in

Section A which is continued into Section B, where
there is another modulation changing the key
signature back to the beginning one.

A

B

Each Section Usually Repeats

Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 6 (K.284 III)

Track 01

Ternary

• Built up in three sections: A, B, A
• Section B contains a contrast in some way to

Section A

• The repeat of Section A can be exactly the

same as the first time or it may have added
detail to make it more interesting

A1

B

A2

Schubert
Piano
Sonata No.
13 in A
major, D.
664 (Op.
120) I

Track 02

Ternary – Example 02

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

Track 03

Rondo Form

• A main theme (A) keeps on returning between

contrasting sections

A, B, A, C, A, D, A and so on

• The contrasting sections are called episodes (B,C,D

etc.)

• Remember the Main Section (A) may change

slightly each time e.g. may be made shorter

A1
(Main
Theme)

B1
(First
Episode)

A2
(Repeat of
Main
Theme)

C
(Second
episode)

A3
(Repeat of
Main
Theme)

D
(Third
Episode)

A4
(Repeat of
Main
Theme)

Typical Exam Questions

(Structure and Form)

A1 A2 A1 A2

A1 A2 B A2

A1 A2 A3 B

A1 A2 B C

Example 01

Example 02

Example 03

A A B B A

A A B A A

A B A C A

A B C A A

A A B B

A A B A

A A B C

A B A B

Track 04

Track 05

Track 06

Theme and Variations

• Involves starting a piece with a main theme

which is then repeated several times, but
changing or ‘varying’ each time

• May be changed in;

– Tempo
– Rhythm
– Tonality (e.g. major to minor)
– Ornaments/ Adding extra notes

Excerpt on next

slide

Theme and Variations

• You should

recognise the main
theme at the start
(Twinkle Twinkle).

• At 34 Seconds, it

moves to the 1st
variation

• At 1min 03secs, it

moves to the 2nd
variation

• Listen to (and look

if you can) the
main and the
variations. There
are a lot of extra
notes added,
decoration of
notes…anything
else?

A
(Main
Theme)

A1
(First
Variation)

A2
(Second
Variation)

A3
(Third
Variation)

Ground Bass

• A melody in the bass (the lowest part) that is

repeated throughout the music

• Harmony and Melody may keep changing above

the ground bass

• This is a characteristic common of the Baroque

Period
– Used in Baroque music, enabled the composer to

achieve unity (togetherness) in the music

– The music shows the same bass part/melody being

repeated throughout.

Ground Bass Examples

Minuet and Trio Form

• The Minuet is a dance from 17th/ 18th centuries in

3/4 time, at moderate tempo

• Often performed in the Royal Courts
• The Trio is a ‘thinner textured’ section, often

made up of just three instruments

A

B

Contrasting tune, key and
texture

C

D

Repeat of minuet, but
without internal repeats

A

B

A1

B

A2

Minuet 1

Trio

Minuet 1

Minuet and Trio Form

A

B

Each Section
Usually Repeats

A1

B

A2

A1
(Main
Theme)

B1
(First
Episode)

A2
(Repeat
of Main
Theme)

C
(Second
episode)

A3
(Repeat
of Main
Theme)

D
(Third
Episode)

A4
(Repeat
of Main
Theme)

A

B

Contrasting tune, key and texture

C

D

Repeat of minuet, but without
internal repeats

A

B

A1

B

A2

Minuet 1

Trio

Minuet 1

A
(Main
Theme)

A1
(First
Variation)

A2
(Second
Variation)

A3
(Third
Variation)