62: A simple binary form

The best place to start discussing form is at the simplest possible level: the binary form. Binary form simply means we have some initial material, A, (which we often repeat, so AA), and some contrasting material, B (which, again, is often repeated, BB). This leads to an overall form of AB, or AABB (depending on the repeats).


Here is an example (of AABB, not AB—which I neglected to practice when I was little, and I place a significant amount of blame for my stage fright on the incident in 2009 that that lack of practice caused me):



Note the contrast: A is solidly grounded in G major, but B explores both E minor and D major before ultimately returning home to G.

Note also that this is not  ABA(which may or may not be A’)—which is another form entirely, and will be the subject of our next article.

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