Quick questions on Tonality and structure: keys and forms in any style - WJEC A-Level Music

Identifying the tonality places the style at once: functional major or minor in Classical and pop, modal in folk and impressionism, atonal or post-tonal in much contemporary music.

The common structures to recognise are: binary (AB), two contrasting sections; ternary (ABA), a statement, contrast and return; rondo (ABACA), a recurring main theme alternating with episodes; theme and variations, a theme repeated with changes; sonata form (exposition, development, recapitulation), the design of the symphony set works; verse-chorus, the pop and musical-theatre song form; head-solos-head, the jazz form; strophic, the same music for each verse; and through-composed, continuously new material with no large repeats. You identify a form by listening for returning material (a return signals ternary, rondo or recapitulation) and contrasting material (a contrast signals a B section, episode or verse).

Sections are marked by signposts: cadences and key changes close and open sections; repeats and reprises signal returns; and contrasts of melody, texture, dynamics and instrumentation define new sections. In the exam, name the structure and justify it with located evidence (for example, "the opening theme returns after a contrasting middle section, so this is ternary, ABA").

A confident answer reads the music's plan from its signposts. Suppose an extract opens with a clear, bright theme that cadences firmly in a major key, moves to a contrasting central passage in a related minor key with new material and a different texture, and then brings the opening theme back in the home key. The return of the opening after a contrast tells you this is ternary form, ABA, and the key scheme supports it: the home major key, a move to the relative or another related minor for the middle, and a return to the tonic, each confirmed by a cadence.

What is the difference between ternary and rondo form? [2 marks]

To which keys does music usually modulate, and how is the new key confirmed? [2 marks]

Explain how tonality is established and changed, with reference to major, minor, modal and atonal music. [10 marks]