ABSTRACT
During the eras of the Baroque, Classical, and, to some extent, Romantic epochs, Western composers used various traditional forms for the structure of their works. In a sense, their task was made easier than in modern times by the availability of classical forms. Each dance that made up a suite (allemande, courante, bourrée, sarabande, gavotte, minuet, and gigue) had its own rhythmic character and tempo, and all were in binary form. Other forms-including fugue, chaconne, passacaglia, sonata, minuet and trio, rondo, and aria-had their particular prototypes that composers adapted or developed, thus stamping their individuality upon the particular structures. All of these forms utilized the key system of tonality-with its hierarchy of tonic, dominant, and their subsidiaries-and acted as "moulds" into which composers "poured" their music.
