I just want to give a brief overview of some different musical forms, that is, how you can develop your songs. For example, a lot of songs in this era have a verse, chorus, verse, chorus sequence and sometimes, a bridge. Maybe you don’t want to follow that standard, or maybe you want to try something new or more simple. I’m going to give an overview of three other musical forms.
Theme and Variations
This form is fairly simple, but it does stretch you because it forces you to change up and explore your own compositions. Basically, the form is exactly what its name implies. You have your basic melody and chords, but you have to make them more interesting. Maybe you’ll add extra notes to enhance the melody, or change the way you’re playing your chord progressions. Typically you play the theme once, and then add two or three different variations then end the composition. I’ve never actually tried to compose a song using this form simply because it’s challenging, but I do plan on trying it soon. For more information on how to play using this method see this website: https://www.musictheoryacademy.com/understanding-music/theme-and-variations/
Ternary Form
This is a really simple form, but I think that’s a good thing, because it allows you to explore and have quite a bit of leeway. Ternary form is basically ABA form. Usually you have an A section (kind of your first melody and chord progressions) and then you have B section which is supposed to contrast with your A section a bit. For instance, if your A section is more happy sounding and playful, your B section might be a little more serious or sad. Or maybe your A section is really discordant and sounds kind of Postmodern, so you make your B section sound a bit more pleasant and romantic. After the B section, you go back to A section again, but typically this time the A section is a little bit more interesting or complex than the previous A section.
Strophic Form
This form is simply A-A-A. I chose this form simply because if you’re first starting out creating music, maybe one melody is really all you can focus on right now. And that’s perfectly fine. That’s how my first song was. In this form, you have three A sections, and they all pretty much sound the same. If you want, you can make your third A section a little different or ornamented than the first two.
Different Forms
There are all different types of musical forms and plenty of information about them online. Feel free to check out on other websites other forms like Sonata, Binary, and Rondo forms and many more!
Basics of Creating Music 
Great job giving us some real life examples of different musical forms. I think this is a great way to educate people about what different kinds of music is structured like. A family member of mine is very musically talented and I can appreciate how different kinds of music are used to create great sounds and emotions. The academic side of music is very cool for some people to study and understand as they try to make their own music as well. Great post!
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Hello Emily
I think that you have given a great overview of the different musical forms in your last post. I do not know very much about music, but I think your descriptions are detailed and interesting. I think that your post is very easy to read because of your short paragraphs and clear sub titles. I also thought that your post was easy to navigate.
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Hey, Emily. I like how easy it is to navigate your blog. Your visualizations of ways to use chord progressions helped me see different ways to improvise my left hand. In addition, your information on chord progressions helped me get out of the rut of just playing I-V-vi-IV. Thanks for telling me about other musical forms. I enjoy playing around on the piano, but I tend to stick to the same things over and over again (hence the rut of playing I-V-vi-IV in my left hand). I’ve played the other forms in musical compositions, but I’ve rarely experimented improvising with them. Like you said, strophic is the easiest form and the one I tend to stick to. Your tips are extremely helpful for anyone looking to improvise. As you add more and more posts, perhaps work at grouping them and putting them in the menu for easy navigation. It may be hard to find a particular post if you have a lot of posts.
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