Area of Study 1: Musical Forms and Devices
What's covered
Key facts
Features of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music
Basso continuo (a bass line plus chords) is a hallmark of Baroque texture.
Musical devices in the Western Classical Tradition
Many WCT melodies begin with an anacrusis (an upbeat).
Set work: Badinerie (J.S. Bach)
It is fast, energetic and virtuosic — a showpiece for the solo flute.
Structural forms
Binary form sections are usually each repeated.
Features of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music
Terraced dynamics means sudden shifts between loud and soft, not gradual changes.
Musical devices in the Western Classical Tradition
Imitation, where one part copies another, is common in Baroque counterpoint.
Set work: Badinerie (J.S. Bach)
Badinerie was composed by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Structural forms
A ground bass is a repeating bass line used in Baroque variations.
Features of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music
The Alberti bass is a common Classical accompaniment pattern.
Musical devices in the Western Classical Tradition
WCT pieces often modulate to the dominant key in the first section.
Sample questions
A taste of the 40 questions in this topic, answers marked. Sign up to practise the full set with spaced repetition.
What are terraced dynamics?
- •A slow fade down to silence
- •A steady medium volume throughout
- •Gradual changes in the volume
- ✓Sudden shifts between loud and soft
Ornamentation such as trills is especially characteristic of which period?
- ✓Baroque
- •Classical
- •Modern
- •Romantic
Who composed Badinerie?
- •Handel
- ✓J.S. Bach
- •Mozart
- •Vivaldi
Baroque dance movements in a suite are usually in which form?
- ✓Binary
- •Rondo
- •Sonata
- •Strophic
Classical-period music is best characterised by?
- ✓Clear, balanced phrases
- •Dense Baroque ornamentation
- •Electronic dance-music loops
- •Huge late-Romantic orchestras
Why do composers use a melodic sequence?
- ✓To develop and extend a melody
- •To end a piece very suddenly
- •To slow the tempo right down
- •To swap the instruments over
Try it for four weeks. Free.
One school. Unlimited classes. No card limit. No teacher limit. If your students aren't practising daily by the end of the trial, you owe us nothing.