KEY SIGNATURE

AND MUSICAL
FORMS

Key Signature
composed of a group of
flats or a group of
sharps written at the
beginning of a
composition.

 Written immediately after the clef

at the beginning of a line of musical
notation
Used to avoid the complication of
having sharp or flat symbols on every
instance of certain notes or to
minimize the number of such
accidentals required to notate the
music
All the notes that will pass through
the line or space where a sharps or
flats are placed at the key signature
will be affected by the said chromatic

 The effect of a key signature

continues throughout a piece or
movement, unless explicitly
cancelled by another key signature.
The following are the sequence and
placement of sharps and flats in the
different Key Signatures
.

Sharp/s

Flat/s

1 sharp

Fa

1 flat

Ti

2 sharps Fa Do

2 flats

Ti Mi

3 sharps Fa Do Sol

3 flats

Ti Mi La

4 sharps Fa Do Sol Re

4 flats

Ti Mi La Re

5 sharps Fa Do Sol Re
La

5 flats

Ti Mi La Re Sol

6 sharps Fa Do Sol Re
La Mi

6 flats

Ti Mi La Re Sol
Do

7 sharps Fa Do Sol Re
La Mi Ti

7 flats

Ti Mi La Re Sol
Do Fa

MODULATION

musicians an option on how high or

how low they can perform a
particular music. It allows a musician
to perform within a comfortable
range.
There are pieces that modulate
or shift from one key to another key
signature. Modulation occurs when
there is a shift of one home tone to
another home tone.
Composers make use of
modulation to make a piece more
interesting. It is often indicated by a
double bar line and by the change of

MUSICAL
FORMS

Music is one way of expressing ones

thoughts and feelings. The beautiful
lyrics, music and even the singers
rendition of a song show the
composers effort of organizing the
musical form that makes the music
tick. The composers have certain
ideas or themes before they create
music. No matter how simple, basic
of complicated the music is, it
requires an organized structural
form.

All artistic works have form. Shapes,

structures, and organization are all
related with form. And just like
artworks, music also has its form.
After learning about rhythm, melody,
dynamics, harmony and texture in
the past lessons, we are now ready
to study and analyze the structure of
music.

The organization of musical elements

to achieve utmost symmetry and
balance is called musical form. A
composer will be able to catch the
attention of the listeners by planning
and combining the musical elements
carefully. This will provide the
listeners a good grasp of the form of
a simple piece with ease.

a. Motif - the smallest unit of music.

This is where form usually begins. It
serves as the foundation of a musical
piece and can be heard very often or
repeatedly all throughout the
composition. Motif may be melodic,
rhythmic, harmonic, or a combination
of the elements. The first few notes
of Lupang Hinirang is an example
of a familiar motif.

b. Phrase - a musical phrase is

formed when motifs are combined. A
phrase is a short musical passage
which is two to four measures long
forming part of a larger unit. Just like
motif, a phrase can be heard or
played repeatedly throughout the
composition. One musical phrase
expresses an idea and is often
compared to how a sentence
functions in language.

c. Cadence - A musical composition

usually begins with a motif and
develops into phrases that ends with
a cadence. Cadence is a succession
of notes that goes to the final ending
of a musical piece.

c. Cadence - A musical composition

usually begins with a motif and
develops into phrases that ends with
a cadence. Cadence is a succession
of notes that goes to the final ending
of a musical piece.

FORMS OF
MUSIC

1. Strophic - The simplest of all forms

that contain only one section and
remain the same all throughout the
piece is called strophic. Its lyrics may
change but the music stays the
same. It consists of one melody
written in several stanzas and is
represented by letter A or AAA.
Example: Amazing Grace

2. Binary - Musical compositions that

have two basic parts or ideas have
binary structures. In this kind of
form, musical sections are labeled as
A and B. Section A begins in a tonic
chord while the section B modulates
to a dominant chord progression.
These sections may be combined or
repeated to create a variety of form
in music. Binary forms could be
combined as AB, AAB, ABB, or AABB.
Example: Inday (a Visayan Folk
Song)

3. Ternary Form - Some musical

compositions utilize a three-part
form ABA called ternary form.
Contrasting and unifying elements
are observed in this composition. The
music begins with section A, followed
by section B, which is the contrasting
element, and ends by repeating
section A.
Example: Rude

4. Rondo - Another musical form is

called rondo. This form usually has a
general plan which is labeled as A-BA-C-A. Section A is often referred to
as the refrain or rondo which
often recurs in the tonic key. It is
usually binary in form and is
sometimes altered in its
restatements. The altered sections
are often called episodes or couplets.
These are usually explored in the key
areas other than section A.
Example: (A. Elimenreich)