What is a Theme?
For one thing, a theme is often catchy—think Pirates of the Caribbean or Star Wars. These movie themes are recognizable segments of music that help stitch the many different scenes together, acting like a common thread. In Classical music, a theme has a similar role—it is a recognizable (and often catchy) segment of music that acts like a familiar guide as we move through a composition. Given this crucial role, composers present their themes at the very beginning of pieces, and take great care in their construction.
To guarantee success, Classical composers used special formulas to structure their themes. In fact, Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven used only three formulas, which we will call the three theme types. These theme types characterize every single theme in the entire instrumental output of these great composers—sonatas, symphonies, string quartets, you name it. Learning to hear these themes as their masterful creators understood them is a lot simpler than you might think. Let’s begin our first installment of how to listen by focusing on one of these theme types. We will learn the other two types in future installments.
The Sentence
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 2, mvt i begins with a theme type called a sentence.1 A musical sentence can be roughly equated with a grammatical sentence. Instead of subject-verb-object structure, a musical sentence has a beginning-middle-end structure.2 More on this below.
For the present, let’s begin with a fun little listening exercise. As you listen to the opening theme of Beethoven’s sonata below, try to decide where you can break it into three parts: (1) the beginning, (2) the middle, and (3) the ending. Try to be very specific with your decision: where precisely are the demarcations between these three parts? Mark them in your mind upon multiple listenings and when you feel confident in your answer, read on.
Beethoven’s sentence has a beginning, a middle, and an ending. These are essential musical functions—they serve a specific musical purpose. His beginning introduces his basic musical idea for the piece. This basic idea will reappear multiple times throughout the piece of music, so he is showing it off to us at the very beginning. In this case, the idea is an ascending arpeggio (fancy name for the outline of a chord) followed by a quick turn around that moves step-wise in the opposite direction. He repeats this idea a second time, beginning on a different harmony to really drive the point home. This musical situation is much easier to hear than describe, so take a listen to the beginning section of the theme below. Listen for the basic idea and it’s repetition over a different harmony.
So, Beethoven’s beginning section is divided into two parts: a basic idea and the repetition of this basic idea. The illustration below summarizes this section of the theme.
Every theme structured as a sentence begins this same way, whether composed by Mozart, Haydn, or Beethoven. We will see some examples from Mozart and Haydn later, but let’s stick with Beethoven’s sentence for the time being.
Following the basic idea and repetition, Beethoven moves from the beginning of his sentence to the middle. The function of the middle is to lead us somewhere, to force us ahead toward a goal. To accomplish this, Beethoven employs one of the most common strategies: he shortens the basic idea we heard in the beginning section—we call this fragmentation. In this case, he uses only the second half of his basic idea for his fragment—the step-wise turn around. He repeats this fragment twice in quick succession, propelling us forward.
To help parse this description of the middle section, let’s work through four listening examples. The first example is the basic idea from the beginning section. I did not include the repetition this time, just the basic idea. Remember, it begins with an upward arpeggio followed by a turn figure that steps quickly in the opposite (downward) direction. Take a listen:
For his middle section, Beethoven fragments this basic idea (shortens it) and uses only the second part—the turn around, step-wise figure. The following example focuses only on this turn figure from the basic idea:
Now here is his middle section, comprising this fragment (turn figure) twice in a row. Beethoven repeats the second fragment higher than the first, intensifying the forward momentum.
Finally, let’s listen to the beginning and middle sections together. We will hear: the beginning, made from a basic idea and it’s repetition, and then two fragments forming the middle section. The listening example appears below the diagram illustrating the structure of the theme so far:
Beethoven’s beginning and middle sections are followed by the ending section. In music, we end with a cadence. A cadence is like a period in language. Without a period, our grammatical sentences run on and on. Periods punctuate endings. Cadences punctuate musical endings. So what does a cadence sound like? A very clear cadence will sound obviously like an ending—a moment in the music where a resolution occurs. Often cadences include a little pause; everything feels like it stops briefly. Here’s the cadence from Beethoven’s sentence:
Sense that pause? I bet you did. All sentences (the musical kind) end with cadences. I wish I could tell you all cadences correlate with helpful pauses like Beethoven’s, but sometimes cadences happen very quickly. Why a cadence might involve a pause or be much quicker depends on the feeling a composer is going for. Beethoven wants a dramatic finish to his theme, so he pauses at his cadence. Other times, the music might blast on immediately after the cadence, providing a feeling of uncontrollable energy. We will see an example of this shortly. For now, let’s recap the structure of a sentence, as shown in the diagram below. Every theme type composed as a sentence has this same structure.
Having reached this point in our discussion we can now hear Beethoven’s theme the way he conceptualized it: with a beginning, middle, and ending, each comprising certain musical components as labelled above. Let’s give the entire theme a final listen before considering an example from Mozart. As you listen, use the diagram above as a guide and try to identify all the musical components we discussed along the way.
Mozart Too?
Yes, Mozart composed sentences this very same way. So did Haydn, and every other Classical composer. But remember, this is just one of the three theme types; we will discuss the others in future posts.
Since the sentence is brand new to us, we should listen to a couple more examples to help solidify our newly-developed listening abilities and encounter some slight variations that are possible. The following example is a sentence beginning Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C Major, K. 330, i. Since you know this is a sentence, you can listen actively: where is the beginning? where is the middle? where is the ending? I recommend listening multiple times, each time refining what you hear. For instance, what is the basic idea? When does Mozart repeat this basic idea? And so on.
I’m guessing you were quite successful in hearing the parts of the theme, but let’s break it down to be sure. I divided Mozart’s sentence into its three parts below:
Beginning (Comprises Basic Idea and Repetition)
Middle (Comprises Two Fragments)
Ending (Comprises the Cadence)
I recommend listening to the entire theme again once you’ve listened to these individual parts. Don’t let yourself listen passively—be active! Identify the musical material as it occurs—listen to the theme the way Mozart would have.
Mozart’s sentence closely resembles Beethoven’s, but there are some differences that we should address. To help us, I’ve reproduced the sentence schematic below:
Mozart’s sentence differs from the structure of Beethoven’s in two ways: (1) the fragments and (2) the cadence. Let’s begin with the fragments. Beethoven used a segment of his basic idea from the beginning of his sentence to form the fragments for his middle section. This is a common strategy, but by no means the only strategy. Composers can also introduce new musical material for their fragments. Whether new or old material, fragments will always be shorter than the basic idea at the beginning of the sentence. Why? To create a sense of forward momentum. By shortening the length of musical ideas as we go along, we feel like we’re speeding up.
So what do Mozart’s fragments sound like? Following his beginning section, Mozart introduces an ascending arpeggio figure as his initial fragment for the middle section. He repeats this fragment once, but lower. Listen to the beginning and middle section below, and notice how Mozart’s fragment is shorter (takes less time to happen) than his basic idea:
Beginning (Comprises Basic Idea and Repetition)
Middle (Comprises Two Fragments)
Take away: middle sections include fragments, which may or may not be derived from the basic idea heard in the beginning section.
Now for the second difference between Mozart’s and Beethoven’s sentences: the cadence. Beethoven’s cadence correlates with a distinctive pause—Mozart’s does not. Instead, Mozart keeps the energy going right through his cadence. This type of cadence can be difficult to listen for, since it is disguised by the continual musical motion. This continual motion does not, however, prevent the cadence from clearly occurring. All sentences end with a cadence.
Take a listen to Mozart’s cadence and carefully discern the cadential ending sound while appreciating how Mozart keeps the musical motion going throughout the cadence. You’ll know when the cadence officially ends because Mozart clearly steps up into the cadence at the very end of this example:
Despite the step upward played by the highest sounding piano notes, which provides a clear cadential feeling, he keeps the lowest sounding notes chugging along. He does, after all, have an entire sonata to complete.
Take away: sentences always end with cadences. Sometimes these include a pause, sometimes they do not. Either way, Classical composers usually try to emphasize the clear ending sound of a cadence for their listeners—us!
Let’s Conclude With Haydn
Haydn, like his contemporaries, composed numerous themes as sentences. And just like his contemporaries, he always composed these the same way: with a beginning, middle, and ending, characterized by the musical features described previously.
Let’s try a different listening exercise this time. Below, I have disassembled Haydn’s sentence from his String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 42, i into its three sections. Instead of presenting these in chronological order—beginning, then middle, then ending—I randomized them. Your task is to listen to each section and decide what you’re hearing: a beginning, a middle, or an ending. I recommend revisiting the sentence structure diagram above and deciding which specific musical features will guide your listening.
Three sections (in random order) from Haydn’s sentence, String Quartet in D Minor, Op. 42, i:
Having decided on your ordering, take a listen to Haydn’s complete sentence below:
Well, how did you do? If you nailed it, you are officially listening Classically. You are hearing the way Haydn and his contemporaries heard sentences in the 18th century. If you didn’t do so hot, not to worry. This post has a lot of new info, and we’re going totally by ear! Not even Mozart went totally by ear. He used music notation.
At the very bottom of this post, I provide three more examples of sentences for you to practice on your own. I highly recommend using the sentence structure diagram in this post as a guide while you listen. Eventually, you should aim to have this diagram memorized as a listening template that can be called to mind as you listen.
In the next post, we will learn about the second theme type: the period. Unlike the sentence, which musically propels forward toward a cadence, the period is all about balancing two halves. More on that next time.
Additional Listening Examples
Mozart, Rondo In D, K. 485, i - Opening Theme
Beethoven, Piano Sonata in C, Op. 2, No. 3, i - Opening Theme
Mozart, Piano Sonata in F, K. 332, ii - Opening Theme
For an even more in depth discussion of this topic see William E. Caplin, Analyzing Classical Form (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 33-67.
Arnold Schoenberg—an important 20th century composer—was the first person to describe this theme type. The curious reader can consult chapters 5 and 6 of his Fundamentals of Musical Composition (London: Faber and Faber, 1967) for more info.