Levels of Organization
The founding level of musical form can be divided into two parts:
- The arrangement of the pulse into accented and unaccented beats, the cells of a measure that, when harmonized, may give rise to a motif or figure.
- The further organization of such a measure, by repetition and variation, into a true musical phrase having a definite rhythm and duration that may be implied in melody and harmony, defined, for example, by a long final note and a breathing space. This "phrase" may be regarded as the fundamental formal unit of music: it may be broken down into measures of two or three beats, but its distinctive nature will then be lost. Even at this level, the importance of the principles of repetition and contrast, weak and strong, climax and repose, can be seen. (See also: Meter (music)) Thus, form may be understood on three levels of organization. For the purpose of this exposition, these levels can be roughly designated as passage, piece, and cycle.
Read more about this topic: Musical Form
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