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sonata form

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noun
  1. a musical form comprising an exposition, in which the main theme or themes are stated, a development section, a recapitulation of the material in the exposition, and, usually, a coda.

Origin of sonata form

First recorded in 1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sonata form

Historical Examples

  • It remains to speak of the beginning and end of the Sonata-Form.

    Music: An Art and a Language

    Walter Raymond Spalding

  • As for the structure, Schumann clings too closely to the Sonata-form.

    Music: An Art and a Language

    Walter Raymond Spalding

  • This work consists of one movement (Allegro) in sonata-form.

  • It is important to distinguish between sonata and sonata-form.

  • Sonata-form, as will be shown later on, has been evolved from old binary form.

British Dictionary definitions for sonata form

sonata form

noun
  1. a musical structure consisting of an expanded ternary form whose three sections (exposition, development, and recapitulation), followed by a coda, are characteristic of the first movement in a sonata, symphony, string quartet, concerto, etc
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012