Learning Sonata Form

Hello,

This is my first post and I'm grateful to have found this site.

Right now I'm intimidated by the Sonata form. I'd really like to learn how to write Sonatas -- but the books I've looked at in the stores are dense philosophical tomes of 900 pages about the Sonata Form...

I can't seem to find a book of the exceptional sort which steps away from Academia and makes learning the Sonata form fun with lots of cool diagrams and a writers knack for simplicity and clarity. I want something really hands on and engaging.

I've never understood song structure and form... I want a great teacher.

Does anyone know if such a thing exists?

- Azelza

I've never seen any such thing. A lot can be made of the Sonata form because it is so flexible. A sonata movement can be a very simple thing, or as complex as a Brahms symphony movement, yet they still have the same basic structure.

Here's an exercise you can try (I'm assuming you're pretty much a beginner):

1. Write a tune - just a tune - 8 measures long, that cadences in the same key it started in (let's just say it's G major).

2. Then write another tune 8 measures long, only this one in D major (the so-called "dominant" key to G major).

3. Put a repeat sign at the end of these 16 measures you've written, if you want.

4. Then for 8 measures, take a few aspects of the tunes your wrote in the first 16 measures (a rhythmic figure, a certain part of the melody) and put them together as something new. The 8th measure should end up in D, so that you can naturally go back to the tonic key of G. This section is called the development, because it takes ideas that have gone before it and develops them. Optionally, some composers (particularly in the Classical period, like Mozart) forgo the development once in a while and instead introduce a third melody in its place that leads them to the next section. This might be simpler for beginners.

5. Repeat your very first tune in G - this is called the recapitulation - only this time change it in some way so that it cadences in D.

6. Repeat your second tune, only this time in G.

That, my friend, is the very basic, bare-bones of the Sonata form. Naturally, it can get much more complex, with modulations and codas and all kinds of things in between the basic sections (hence the tome of 900 pages on the subject); but if you do this exercise, what you'll have is a very simple sonata movement. Once you've tried this, listen carefully to other sonata movements and see if you can identify the different parts. You'll gradually gain an understanding of what a sonata movement is at its most basic, and what it can be at its most complex, applying your understanding to your own work.

I hope that helps a little. I may post a diagram later.

I find sonata form to be so easy I can't get rid of it - I find writing without a set form to be way more challenging.

I find sonata form to be so easy I can't get rid of it - I find writing without a set form to be way more challenging.

That can be very true. Although, in my opinion, writing a piece without a set form seems easy and limitless, it can be overwhelming in the actual writing process when you can go anywhere.

It might be best to understand the history of the Sonata Form to see what it means.

The Sonata-Allegro Form is pretty simple though:

Exposition -> Development -> Recapitulation(modified repetition of Exposition)

The Exposition consists of two themes, the primary and secondary, and a codetta. The Themes are part forms... usually 2 part and the 2nd theme being in the dominant/relative major key.

The Development section is development of the themes. Sometimes its very short and sometimes it's not really related much to the themes(and in some instances is almost an entirely distinct). At some point though it has a re-transition towards the exposition, which is called the recapitulation.

The Recapitulation is a "review" or "repeat" of the exposition. It can be almost an exact repetition or almost completely independent(but still related).

So basically you have A B A' for the large divisional structure. B being development of A and A' being a modified repetition of A.

A itself consists of a two song forms as I said with the second being in the dominant/relative major.

I suggest that you try to analyze a simple sonata... one of the shorter ones by Haydn or Mozart and maybe Beethoven rather than the long ones. You do this by recognizing the themes which help you determine the structure of A and also A'. There will usually be clear breaks between the divisions. (A' usually starts off with the original themes(in the primary key))

Point being once you sorta have some clue you can listen to the piece and follow along. The idea is to always have the themes in your head and listen for them.

That is basically what the sonata-allegro form is about. Note that a "Sonata" is a collection of movements, the first one being a sonata-allegro, one being a minuette and trio, and usually some other part form(there's a wide variety that exists but always starts out with a sonata-allegro).

if you want to write a sonata, you dont have to use sonata form for all the movements. for the second movement, you can use a shortened version of sonata form, that is, to write one theme instead of two. for the third movement you can use minuet and trio or rondo. keep your mind open for choices.

Sadly, this is in german: Die Sonate So, uh, use a translator or something. It has diagrams and colors and fun. Though it's a little basic, it's a good thing to start with. There's even an analysis of the first piano sonata by Beethoven. :>

thanks for that post J. Lee Graham!

Sadly, this is in german: Die Sonate So, uh, use a translator or something. It has diagrams and colors and fun. Though it's a little basic, it's a good thing to start with. There's even an analysis of the first piano sonata by Beethoven. :>

I KNEW learning German was a good idea :]

Them Germans are really good at explaining things ad nauseum in the most absurd of details. :x

thanks for that post J. Lee Graham!

Hello,

Go to this website:

Justin Rubin Sonata Form

It is basically a tutorial by a composition professor on writing a sonata.

You should get a private teacher though because a sonata is more than just the sum of its parts. What I mean is that it is NOT just about doing the formula but is also about how the ideas unfold and that is hard to do without a teacher analyzing some successful examples of sonata and critiquing yours by comparison. Also, there is generally a progression to writing large form which is probably why it is intimidating to you. The student usually starts with binary -> ternary -> rondo -> sonata (or something like that).

Why haven't you had a teacher? Just never got around to it or you live in the alps or something?

Cheers.

Hello,

Justin Rubin Sonata Form

This is a small freakin' world.