ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some small units of musical form. Composers apply principles of repetition, contrast, variation, and development to organize their musical ideas and craft coherent musical structures. Musical form is the study of these principles and structures. A motive is a short musical idea that repeats to unify a musical passage or entire work. Motives typically combine a characteristic melodic shape with a particular rhythm. The principle of varied repetition allows musical ideas to recur without becoming monotonous. It also enables composers to develop their musical ideas. A musical phrase exhibits tonal motion, or progress through the tonal syntax. A cadence is a type of musical punctuation ending a phrase. Cadences provide a degree of closure or repose, allowing the music to breathe. Two phrases might group into a larger structure called a period. The phrases forming a period exhibit an antecedent–consequent relationship.
