An Introduction to Form

Form is the structure in which a piece of music is organized. Form provides the building blocks in which a composer will construct a coherent piece of music. Knowing the form of a piece of music is essential for performing, but just as essential for the listener in the audience. A listener who cannot identify the form of a piece is more likely to become disengaged in the music; a problem many face, especially with classical or jazz music.
A commonly used form today is the verse-chorus, or verse-refrain form. The verses and choruses are strophic, which means the melody stays the same for each respective section. The text of the verse will usually be different for each stanza, but the chorus’ text will usually be the same, giving the listener a catchy part to latch on to and sing. Listen to Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” from the album Wish You Were Here for the verse and chorus. This band’s composition style was usually very simple (earlier works tended to be longer and more complex) and many of their albums are perfect examples of strong songwriting in verse-chorus form.

Binary form is closely related to verse-chorus. It is usually written as |AB|. When the A section is repeated, the form is called rounded binary form, or |ABA|. This form is prevalent in music today, and perhaps even more so for classical music. Bach’s Minuet in G minor follows a modified binary form, or ||:A:||:B:||. Listen for the two distinct sections - a hint: look at the music!

The jazz genre utilizes binary form a lot as well. However, after the entire form is played, the performer has the option to end the tune or to improvise a solo over the entire form again. After soloing, the main melody of the form is repeated to wrap up the song. Many people are deterred from jazz because they cannot tell when the main melody is performed versus an improvised solo. Here is the tune “Autumn Leaves” performed by Cannonball Adderlley (saxophone) and Miles Davis (trumpet). There is a slow introduction, with the main melody coming in around :50, played by the trumpet. See if you can identify how many different solos over the entire form take place! The main melody comes back around 7:47, played by the trumpet, but taken over by a different instrument. Which one is it?! Also, listen to other versions of this song, perhaps one with lyrics. The wonderful thing about jazz is that so many musicians perform the same tunes, so you can get a variety of completely different interpretations.

Rondo form relies on one repeated section to “glue” the piece together. Many last movements of sonatas and symphonies are in rondo form (but not limited to). It is expressed as ABACA. Essentially, the A section just needs to be juxtaposed with any other material. Beethoven’s Für Elise, WoO 59 is a very famous example of how useful this form is. Again, listen while you look at the music to easily identify all the parts!

Forms govern all genres of music to give the piece a structure. This structure helps us, the listener, into enjoying the piece more, and helps us have a deeper understanding of the music. When listening to any music, whether it is pop, rock, classical, or jazz see if you can identify the form of the piece. Some forms will be easier than others to pick up on, but the more you explore this, the more music you will come to appreciate. Also, it’s fascinating to see how artists and composers will purposefully break the rules of a form to become more innovative and creative. See if you can compose your own piece in one or all of these forms, maybe you will end up breaking the rules as well!

Not all types of forms were discussed in this article! Have a new one you want to share? Like us on Facebook and share a comment!