What is sonata form?
Q: What is sonata form?
A: Sonata form is a way of organizing a piece of music that has been used since the Classical period. It can be used for movements from symphonies, concertos, overtures and more.
Q: How did composers use binary form in the Baroque period?
A: In the Baroque period, composers like Bach and Handel wrote pieces with dance movements such as minuets in “binary form”. This meant that there were two sections which were often the same length and separated by a double bar line. The music would not stay in one key but would modulate (change key) between each section before finishing back in the main key.
Q: Who developed sonata form?
A: Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven developed sonata form further. A movement in sonata form has three sections called “exposition”, “development” and “recapitulation”.
Q: What happens during an exposition?
A: During an exposition we hear all the main material - usually one or more themes - firstly in the main key then contrasting tunes or tunes in a related key (normally the dominant or relative minor).
Q: What happens during development?
A: During development, the music is developed further by going into several different keys to create tension before returning to the main key at recapitulation.
Q: How does Beethoven's Fifth Symphony use sonata form differently?
A: Beethoven's Fifth Symphony spends its entire time developing its famous four-note motif instead of just using it for development section only as other pieces do. Even its other three movements carry on developing this idea throughout their duration too.
