Lesson 4-2: Sonata Form, 4:3 Polyrhythms

Objectives

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:

Demonstrate further proficiency sight-reading, improvising, and transcribing excerpts that incorporate chromatic harmony from Unit 3.
Sight-read and aurally identify rhythms that incorporate 3:4 and 4:3 polyrhythms in simple and compound time.
Aurally analyze an excerpt from the repertoire in sonata form, using an audio annotation tool; identify key sections and components of the form (including the exposition, development, primary theme, secondary theme, transitions, and codettas), as well as key areas and points of modulation.

Preparation for Class

Watch

4:3 Polyrhythms (In Top 40 Pop Music?!)
Adam Neely, 4 mins

Learn how to break down a polyrhythm for practice, a helpful mnemonic, and listen to a few top 40's that use 4:3 polyrhythms.

Explore

Online Polyrhythm Generator: Simple visual tool that plays different polyrhythmic layers with adjustable timbres and tempos.

Mnemonics: Skye Løfvander has a playlist of visual polyrhythm metronomes on YouTube with helpful Mnemonics for each part. The 2:3 video is provided to the right. Click the gear icon on YouTube to adjust the playback speed.

Study Aids

Sonata Form Handout
(Source: Toby Rush)

Sonata Form Diagram
(Source: Kaitlin Bove, from “Sonata-Allegro Form”)

4:3 Polyrhythm Mnemonic
(Source: Wikipedia, “Polyrhythm”)

Lesson Materials

Sight-Reading

Melodic Sight-Reading (Unit 3 Continued): Continue practice with chromatic harmony, embellishing tones, and modulation.
- - Practice from Developing Musicianship Through Aural Skills: Augmented 6ths (pp. 357–362), Neapolitan 6ths (pp. 349–354), Mode Mixture (pp. 311–321)
Rhythm Sight Reading (4:3 Polyrhythms): Sight-read rhythms in the “Three Against Four” section of the anthology. See additional exercises and warmups below.
- - Warmup: Nos. 3–4 on the Rhythm Worksheet here (from Integrated Musicianship)
  - Exercises:
    - - Developing Musicianship: Solos, duets, trios (See the 4:3 examples on pp. 451–455)
      - Rhythm: Advanced Studies: Quadruplets: pp. 39–40

Melody: Chromatic Embellishing Tones

Melody: Chromatic Harmony

Melody: Modulation

Rhythm: Polyrhythms

Improvisation

Rhythmic Improvisation (Polyrhythms): Select a simple or compound time signature, load up a backing track, then improvise a 1-4 bar rhythm that incorporates a 4:3 or 3:4 polyrhythm. Use the rhythmic syllables specified by your instructor and conduct while you improvise. For additional practice, take turns doing call and response. Improvise one measure using a neutral syllable; the class responds by singing back (or transcribing) the rhythm with correct rhythmic syllables to ID the rhythm.
- - See also the rhythm improvisation exercises in Developing Musicianship on pp. 454–455.
Melodic Improvisation (Chromatic Harmony, cont.): Continued practice improvising with mode mixture, Neapolitan 6ths, and Augmented 6ths. See the improvisation exercises in Unit 3.

Aural ID & Dictation

Large-Scale Listening (Sonata Form): Use BriFormer to create a form diagram of a piece in Sonata form by ear without the use of the score. Interact with an example created by Brian Jarvis here (pictured below). Select a piece from the anthology and copy the YouTube link into BriFormer. Listen and ID cadences (labeled by type) and key areas where each begins.
- - Label sections the main sections: Exposition, Development, and Recapitulation.
  - Label subsections: Primary (P) and Secondary (S) themes, Transition (TR), and Closing areas (C).
  - Identify cadences, key areas, and phrase structure in the exposition and recapitulation.

Work together in groups, then compare your work with the class. Discuss any differences in analysis.

Theory Anthology: Sonata Form

Brian Jarvis, Example of a formal diagram for Mozart's Piano Sonata, K. 330, I, diagramed in BriFormer.

NEXT STEP

Next Lesson: Rondo, Polyrhythms (cont.)

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