A period in music is the smallest completed compositional structure expressing a more or less complete musical thought. The period often consists of 2 sentences , less often of three, but may not be divided into sentences at all.
Content
Role in the work
There are two points of view regarding the role of the period in the work. Adherents of the first claim that the period can only be considered as an integral part of a larger form . The second point of view is that a period can be a complete form of a small one-piece work. In favor of the second point of view is the fact that the period includes all logical functions - exposure, development, closure. The period structure is characterized by a stable ending, most often it is a complete perfect cadence .
Classification
By tonal structure
- Single tone
- modulating - ending in a new key [1] ,
- modulation - containing a deviation to a new key .
By degree of dismemberment
- Dissected structure
- merged structure.
Subject
- Re-build,
- unique structure.
Scale
- Square - the number of ticks in the period = 2 n , most often 4, 8, 16;
- non-square - the number of ticks ≠ 2 n . The following types of non-square periods are distinguished:
- with the addition - after a complete perfect cadence , one or more additional cadences are introduced;
- with the extension - the supposed complete perfect cadence turns out to be imperfect or interrupted , thus the “real” full perfect cadence appears later;
- organic non-squareness - the material itself does not fit into the diagram of the square period, for example, the initial period of Largo e mesto sonata for piano No. 7 by Beethoven .
- Single - a period that is not divided into 2 or more sentences. That is, it consists of one indivisible sentence.
Notes
- ↑ I.V. Methodin. The period of the simplest structure, the components of the period . corpuscul.net. Date of treatment June 13, 2010. Archived on February 20, 2012.