Macpherson (1930, 25) defines a musical sentence as "the smallest period in a musical composition that can give in any sense the impression of a complete statement." It "may be defined as a period containing two or more phrases, and most frequently ending with some form of perfect cadence." Some theorists consider a sentence distinct from a period. It consists of a presentation phrase (a repeated motive) followed by a continuation phrase which ends in either a half cadence or an authentic cadence.
Source
- Nattiez, Jean-Jacques (1990). Discourse: Toward a Semiology of Music (Musicologie générale et sémiologue, 1987). Translated by Carolyn Abbate (1990). ISBN 0-691-02714-5.
- MacPherson (1930). Form in Music, Joseph Williams Ltd., London.
- Caplin, William E. (1998). Classical Form: A theory of Formal Functions. ISBN 0-19-514399.
 |
This music theory article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
