Binary Form through the Music of Underrepresented Composers

This chapter presents material for an introduction to binary form, appropriate for form and analysis classes or chromatic harmony classes with an introduction to small forms. Skills developed include how to identify large-scale two-part forms both aurally and in score study and to determine how binary form manifests in various musical contexts, such as in continuous and sectional, balanced, simple and rounded designs. Pieces for analysis include Valerie Capers’ (b. 1935) “Billie’s Song” from Portraits in Jazz (1976), and Elisabeth Jacquet de la Guerre’s (1665–1729) Allemande from the Suite in D Minor from Pieces de Clavecin (1687).