Understanding compositional methods and music conceptsGetting started - Form

Consider what structure your musical piece should have. All music should have a beginning, middle and end. You must decide what is going to happen and where it is going to happen in your music. For a piece to sound balanced, these sections should be the same length.

Consider using:

• repetition - the same ideas coming back throughout the composition
• modulation - to give the music different moods and colours
• different tempos - to give the music variation of speed
• different instruments in sections - to create interest and a variety of tone and timbre
• dynamics within each section - to create variety of volume

Many contemporary composers take a similar approach to composers from the past and write music through composed music. This is music that does not have lots of repeated, definite sections, but instead develops ideas and moods to create one composition.

Tchaikovsky did this in his overture Romeo and Juliet. As the story progresses from one part to the next, the music develops from one idea to the next. Bohemian Rhapsody by the rock group Queen also follows this structure.

VIDEO - BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY

Listen to Rondo alla Turca by Mozart. This piece illustrates rondo form as you can hear sections of music being repeated with contrasting sections in-between. Daniel Ciobanu explains how Mozart uses different concepts including modulation, homophony and dynamics to allow the listener to identify the various sections of music.