Week 1, lecture 2

1. In the class syllabus

• Consult the syllabus and the objectives for the unit on form , as well as Fundamental Principles of Analysis, and A Brief Glossary of terms.
• Keep in mind the idea of chord classes (see the handout from Monday)
• All compositions in the reserve recordings list exist in digitized form for listening using the Simon Music Library IBM workstations.

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2. Form diagrams

• The purpose of a diagram is to summarize, to show in a glance aspects of the structure of a composition as it unfolds in time.
• Draw diagrams proportional to the time span, not to the number of measures (unless the meter is the same throughout).
• Keep the diagrams concise. If the diagram is as detailed as the music itself (or even nearly so), its functionality is debatable.
• Consult pp. 5-9 of the IAT packet for a variety of diagram types drawn from reserve readings by Green, Rothstein, LaRue, and Howat. We will discuss these in class, all of which pertain to the Bach piece shown on p. 10.

3. Consult Lerdahl and Jackendoff's A Generative Theory of Tonal Music, Chs.2-3 for grouping information. See the IAT, pp. 66-67 for a summary of rules underpinning grouping.

4. LaRue's symbols. Read the excerpt from LaRue's Guidelines for Style Analysis in the IAT (pp. 11-21). While it is possible to use the symbols P, T, S, and K for any form type (e.g., see the IAT, p. 8 ex. 4), in general reserve these symbols for sonata form diagrams. For binary and ternary forms, the capital letters A, B, and C are sufficient for main sections. For phrases and subphrases, the use lower case letters (a, b,..., x, y, and z) for all form types. Keep in mind that the phrase and subphrase letters start anew with each next higher level symbol. That is, Aa b Ba b denotes two main sections A and B and two different phrases within each one.

5. Take the time to apply grouping slurs and LaRue symbols to works in the IAT materials, Part II. We will look at Bach's Menuet from his French Suites on Friday (Ex. 2)