Binary form is a musical form in two related sections, both of which are usually repeated. Binary is also a structure used to choreograph dance.
Binary form was popular in the Baroque period, often used to structure movements of keyboard sonatas. It was also used for short, one-movement works. Around the middle of the 18th century, the form largely fell from use as the principal design of entire movements as sonata form and organic development gained prominence. When it is found in later works, it usually takes the form of the theme in a set of variations, or the Minuet, Scherzo, or Trio sections of a Minuet and Trio or Scherzo and Trio movement in a sonata, symphony, etc. Many larger forms incorporate binary structures, and many more complicated forms (such as sonata forms) share certain characteristics with binary form.
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Most strictly, a piece in binary form is characterized by two complementary, related sections of roughly equal duration, which come up frequently. The first section will start in a certain key, and will usually modulate to a related key:
The second section of the piece begins in the newly established key, where it remains for an indefinite period of time. After some harmonic activity, the piece will eventually modulate back to its original key before ending. More often than not, especially in 18th-century compositions, the A and B sections are separated by double bars with repeat signs, meaning both sections were to be repeated.
Binary form is usually characterised as having the form AB, though since both sections repeat, a more accurate description would be AABB. Others, however, prefer to use the label AA′. This second designation points to the fact that there is no great change in character between the two sections. The rhythms and melodic material used will generally be closely related in each section, and if the piece is written for a musical ensemble, the instrumentation will generally be the same. This is in contrast to the use of verse-chorus form in popular music—the contrast between the two sections is primarily one of the keys used.
A piece in binary form can be further classified according to a number of characteristics:
Occasionally, the B section will end with a "return" of the opening material from the A section. This is referred to as rounded binary, and is labeled as ABA′. In rounded binary, the beginning of the B section is sometimes referred to as the "bridge", and will usually conclude with a half cadence in the original key. Rounded binary is not to be confused with ternary form, also labeled ABA—the difference being that, in ternary form, the B section contrasts completely with the A material as in, for example, a minuet and trio. Another important difference between the rounded and ternary form is that in rounded binary, when the "A" section returns, it will typically contain only half of the full "A" period, whereas ternary form will end with the full "A" section.
Rounded binary or minuet form[1]:
A :||: B A or A' I(->V) :||: V(or other closely related) I
If the B section lacks such a return of the opening A material, the piece is said to be in simple binary.
Simple[1]:
A->B :||: A->B I->V :||: V->I
Slow-movement form[1]:
A' A" I->V I->I
If the A section ends with an Authentic (or Perfect) cadence in the original tonic key of the piece, the design is referred to as a sectional binary. This refers to the fact that the piece is in different tonal sections, each beginning and ending in their own respective keys.
If the A section ends with any other kind of cadence, the design is referred to as a continuous binary. This refers to the fact that the B section will "continue on" with the new key established by the cadence at the end of A.
If the A and B sections are roughly equal in length, the design is referred to as symmetrical.
If the A and B sections are of unequal length, the design is referred to as asymmetrical. In such cases, the B section is usually substantially longer than the A section.
The asymmetrical binary form begins to be more common than the symmetrical type from about the time of Beethoven onwards, and is almost routine in the main sections of Minuet and Trio or Scherzo and Trio movements in the works of many composers from Beethoven onwards. In such cases, occasionally only the first section of the binary structure is marked to be repeated.
Although most of Chopin's nocturnes are in an overall ternary form, quite often the individual sections (either the A, the B, or both) are in binary form, most often of the asymmetrical variety. If a section of this binary structure is repeated, in this case it is written out again in full, usually considerably varied, rather than enclosed between repeat signs.
In some simple continuous binary forms, there is a kind of "rhyme" between the closing gesture of the first reprise and the closing gesture of the second. In other words, the cadential material at the end of the first reprise (in the key of the dominant) will return, transposed to the tonic, at the end of the second reprise. This is referred to as balanced binary.
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