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{{Short description|3-part musical form}} {{Redirect|Song form|the verse-chorus structure found in various songs, such as pop songs|Song structure}} '''Ternary form''', sometimes called '''song form''',<ref name="HD2nd binary and ternary" /> is a three-part [[musical form]] consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples include the da capo aria "The trumpet shall sound" from [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]]'s ''[[Messiah (Handel)|Messiah]]'', [[Frédéric Chopin|Chopin]]'s [[Prelude, Op. 28, No. 15 (Chopin)|Prelude in D-Flat Major]] "Raindrop", ([[Preludes (Chopin)|Op. 28]])<ref>White, John D. (1976). ''The Analysis of Music'', pp. 53–54. {{ISBN|0-13-033233-X}}.</ref> and the opening chorus of [[Johann Sebastian Bach|Bach]]'s ''[[St John Passion]]''. ==Simple ternary form== In ternary form each section is self-contained both [[theme (music)|thematically]] as well as [[tonality|tonally]] (that is, each section contains distinct and complete themes), and ends with an [[cadence (music)#Authentic cadence|authentic cadence]].<ref name="HD2nd binary and ternary" /> The B section is generally in a contrasting but [[closely related key]], usually a [[perfect fifth]] above or the [[Parallel key|parallel]] minor of the home key of the A section (V or i); however, in many works of the Classical period, the B section stays in tonic but has contrasting thematic material.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mailer.fsu.edu/~nrogers/Handouts/Binary_Ternary_Form_Handout.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2014-03-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202132659/http://mailer.fsu.edu/~nrogers/Handouts/Binary_Ternary_Form_Handout.pdf |archive-date=2012-12-02 }}</ref> It usually also has a contrasting character; for example section A might be stiff and formal while the contrasting B section would be melodious and flowing. ===Da capo aria=== Baroque opera arias and a considerable number of baroque sacred music arias was dominated by the [[Da capo aria|''Da capo'' aria]] which were in the ABA form. A frequent model of the form began with a long A section in a major key, a short B section in a relative minor key mildly developing the thematic material of the A section and then a repetition of the A section.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The new Grove dictionary of music and musicians. "Ternary form".|date=2001|publisher=Grove|others=Sadie, Stanley., Tyrrell, John, 1942-|isbn=1561592390|edition=2nd |location=New York|oclc=44391762}}</ref> By convention in the third section (the repeat of section A after section B) soloists may add some ornamentation or short improvised variations. In later classical music such changes may have been written into the score. In these cases the last section is sometimes labeled A’ or A1 to indicate that it is slightly different from the first A section.<ref>Bartlette, Christopher, and Steven G. Laitz (2010). Graduate Review of Tonal Theory. New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 197–206. {{ISBN|978-0-19-537698-2}}</ref> ==Compound ternary or trio form== {{anchor|Trio form}} In a trio form each section is a dance [[Movement (music)|movement]] in binary form (two sub-sections which are each repeated) and a contrasting trio movement also in binary form with repeats. An example is the [[minuet]] and trio from [[Joseph Haydn|Haydn]]'s ''[[Surprise Symphony]]''. The minuet consists of one section (1A) which is repeated and a second section (1B) which is also repeated. The trio section follows the same format (2A repeated and 2B repeated). The complete minuet is then played again at the end of the trio represented as: {{Nowrap|[(1A–1A–1B–1B) '''(2A–2A–2B–2B)''' (1A–1A–1B–1B)]}}. By convention in the second rendition of the minuet, the sections are not repeated with the scheme {{Nowrap|[(1A–1A–1B–1B) '''(2A–2A–2B–2B)''' (1A–1B)]}}. The trio may also be referred to as a double or as I/II, such as in Bach's polonaise and double (or Polonaise I/II) from his [[Orchestral suites (Bach)#Suite No. 2 in B minor.2C BWV 1067|second orchestral suite]] and his [[Bourrée]] and double (or Bourrée I/II) from his second [[English Suites (Bach)|English Suite]] for harpsichord. [[File:Compoundbinaryformdiagram.png|500px|thumb|Diagram of a minuet and trio]] The scherzo and trio, which is identical in structure to other trio forms, developed in the late Classical and early Romantic periods. Examples include the scherzo and trio (second movement) from [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]]'s [[Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)|Symphony No. 9]] and the scherzo and trio in [[Franz Schubert|Schubert]]'s [[String Quintet (Schubert)|String Quintet]].<ref name="HD2nd trio (2)" /> Another name for the latter is "composite ternary form".{{citation needed|date=August 2011}} Trio form movements (especially scherzos) written from the early romantic era sometimes include a short [[coda (music)|coda]] (a unique ending to complete the entire movement) and possibly a short introduction. The second movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 is written in this style which can be diagrammed as {{Nowrap|[''(INTRO)'' (1A–1A–1B–1B) '''(2A–2A–2B–2B)''' (1A–1B) ''(CODA)'']}} [[Quickstep (march music)|Quickstep]] military marches, in particular, many marches by [[John Philip Sousa]] follow this form, and the middle section is called the "trio".{{cn|date=June 2024}} [[Polka]]s are also often in compound-ternary form.{{cn|date=June 2024}} ===Quasi compound form=== Occasionally the A section or B section of a dance like movement is not divided into two repeating parts. For example, in the Minuet in Haydn's String Quartet op. 76 no. 6, the Minuet is in standard binary form (section A and B) while the trio is in free form and not in two repeated sections. Haydn labeled the B section "Alternative", a label used in some Baroque pieces (though most such pieces were in proper compound ternary form).<ref>{{cite book |title=Musical Composition: Craft and Art |last=Belkin |first=Alan |location=New Haven and London |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |date=2018 |pages=82–83 |isbn=978-0-300-21899-2}}</ref> ==Ternary form within a ternary form== In a complex ternary form each section is itself in ternary form in the scheme of {{Nowrap|[(A–B–A)'''(C–D–C)'''(A–B–A)]}} By convention each part is repeated and only on its first rendition: {{Nowrap|[(A–A–B–B–A)'''(C–C–D–D–C)'''(A–B–A)]}} .<ref name="Benward & Saker" /> An example are the Impromptus (Op. 7) by [[Jan Václav Voříšek|Jan Voříšek]].<ref>"An Analysis of Three Impromptus for Piano Op. 68 by [[Lowell Liebermann]]" by Tomoko Uchino.</ref> Expanded ternary forms are especially common among [[Romantic music|Romantic-era composers]]; for example, Chopin's [[Polonaises Op. 40 (Chopin)|"Military" Polonaise (Op. 40, No. 1)]] is in the form {{Nowrap|[(A–A–B–A-B–A)'''(C–C–D–C-D–C)'''(A–B–A)]}}, where the A and B sections and C and D sections are repeated as a group, and the original theme returning at the end without repeats. ==See also== * [[Bar form]] (AAB) * [[Thirty-two-bar form]] (AABA) ==Sources== {{Reflist|refs= <ref name="HD2nd binary and ternary">"Binary and ternary form" in the ''Harvard Dictionary of Music'', 2nd ed. rev. and enlarged (1969). [[Willi Apel]], ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press</ref> <ref name="HD2nd trio (2)">See "Trio (2)" in the ''Harvard Dictionary of Music'', 2nd ed. rev. and enlarged (1969). Willi Apel, ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press</ref> <ref name="Benward & Saker">Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice'', Vol. I, p. 315. Seventh Edition. {{ISBN|978-0-07-294262-0}}.</ref>}} == External links == * [http://www.artofcomposing.com/06-ternary-form "Small Ternary Form"] by Jon Brantingham, 17 October 2011, artofcomposing.com {{musical form}} [[Category:Musical form]] [[Category:Song forms]]
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