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Preparing for the Musicology/Aural skills examination

Structure

Structure refers to the idea of design or form in music. In organising sound the concepts of duration, pitch and tone colour are combined in some way for a particular purpose. Structure relates to the ways in which music sounds the same (or similar) and/or different.

Structure	Observations of structure
Students should be able to discuss the following aspects of structure as relevant to the music studied: phrases motifs riffs and other repetitive patterns techniques of call and response or question and answer traditional and non-traditional patterns of musical structure structures used in world music structures used in single pieces of music multi-movement structures, e.g. symphony.	Identification Identify the main motifs or themes and where they re-occur. Analysis of structure New material/old material. Repetition of themes or motifs. Development of themes or motifs. Discuss unity or contrast achieved through repetition or variation. Recognised FORMS (depends on style) Binary (A B) Ternary (A B A) Rondo (A B A C A) Sonata (first movement) form Theme and variations, including fugue, canon, chaconne etc Strophic or through-composed Fugue

Structure

Observations of structure

Students should be able to discuss the following aspects of structure as relevant to the music studied:

phrases
motifs
riffs and other repetitive patterns
techniques of call and response or question and answer
traditional and non-traditional patterns of musical structure
structures used in world music
structures used in single pieces of music
multi-movement structures, e.g. symphony.

Identification
Identify the main motifs or themes and where they re-occur.

Analysis of structure
New material/old material.
Repetition of themes or motifs.
Development of themes or motifs.
Discuss unity or contrast achieved through repetition or variation.

Recognised FORMS (depends on style)
Binary (A B)
Ternary (A B A)
Rondo (A B A C A)
Sonata (first movement) form
Theme and variations, including fugue, canon, chaconne etc
Strophic or through-composed
Fugue