Introduction to music theory 1: form

In this free course, you will learn how to identify musical form through close engagement with recorded music, and studying examples of folk, popular, and classical music from several world traditions. You will explore a number of methods of representing form, including alphabetical designations (e.g., AABA), genre-specific terminology (e.g., terms such as ‘verse’ and ‘chorus’) and visual representations (e.g., diagrams, tables).This course is adapted from the Open University course A234 Understanding Music. It is the first in a planned sequence of courses that will each introduce different aspects of music theory.

• 1 Indicators of form
• 1.1 Repetition, contrast and variation
• 2 Perceiving song form
• 3 Further examples of specialist terminology
• 4 Powwow song
• 5 Song in Hindustani classical vocal music
• 5.1 Working with specialist terminology
• 6 Alphabetical designations
• 7 Form in instrumental jazz
• 8 Using alphabetic designations
• 9 Formal detail in drum song