Ternary form

"Song form" redirects here. For the verse-chorus structure found in various songs, such as pop songs, see Song structure.

Ternary form, sometimes called song form,[1] 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 Handel's Messiah, Chopin's Prelude in D-Flat Major "Raindrop", (Op. 28)[2] and the opening chorus of Bach's St John Passion.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference HD2nd binary and ternary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ White, John D. (1976). The Analysis of Music, pp. 53–54. ISBN 0-13-033233-X.