Music TheoryPrint

Rhythm & Form

Metre, note values, and the structures pieces are built in.

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Binary form

Binary form is a musical form in 2 related sections, both of which are usually repeated. Binary is also a structure used to choreograph dance. In music this is usually performed as A-A-B-B. Binary

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Fugue

In classical music, a fugue (, from Latin , meaning 'flight' or 'escape' ) is a contrapuntal, polyphonic compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is

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Metre (music)

In music, metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling) refers to regularly recurring patterns and accents such as downbeats and beats. Unlike rhythm, metric onsets are not necessarily

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Musical form

In music, form refers to the structure of a musical composition or performance. In his book, Worlds of Music, Jeff Todd Titon suggests that a number of organizational elements may determine the

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Ostinato

In music, an ostinato (; , compare English obstinate) is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Both ostinatos and ostinati are accepted

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Polyrhythm

Polyrhythm () is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the

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Rhythm

Rhythm (from Greek , rhythmos, "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different

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Rondo

The rondo or rondeau is a musical form that contains a principal theme (sometimes called the "refrain") which alternates with one or more contrasting themes (generally called "episodes", but also

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Sonata form

The sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement form) is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been

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Strophic form

Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music.

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Syncopation

In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or

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Ternary form

Ternary form, sometimes called song form, and the opening chorus of Bach's St John

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Through-composed music

In the theory of musical form, through-composed music is a continuous, non-sectional, and non-repetitive piece of music. The term is typically used to describe songs, but can also apply to

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Tuplet

In music, a tuplet (also irrational rhythm or groupings, artificial division or groupings, abnormal divisions, irregular rhythm, gruppetto, extra-metric groupings, or, rarely, contrametric rhythm) is

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Variation (music)

In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve melody, rhythm, harmony, counterpoint, timbre, orchestration or any combination of

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