Download Musical Form - Fur Elise

Musical Form A key to finding out the form of a piece is to listen to what is familiar, and to what is different – in other words, listen for sounds, melodies, etc., that repeat, and listen to sounds, melodies, etc., that are new or different. Fur Elise, a piano piece by Ludwig van Beethoven, is a good piece to start with when learning what to listen for. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mVW8tgGY_w The beginning of the piece has a very smooth character, is in a minor key, and has a melody that begins with two high notes which sound alternately, and then descends in pitch. We will call this part of the piece “A” The second part of the piece (at 0:49) changes to a major key, and sounds brighter, happier, quicker. After a moment it seems to halt abruptly, and you again hear the alternating notes you heard at the beginning of the piece (at 1:05). We will call this part of the piece “B” since it is different than “A”. The next part of the piece is a repeat of the “A” section – just like what we heard at the beginning. At 1:32, we hear another change of character. The music sounds darker, more dramatic, with a different melody than either the “A” section or the “B” section. It has fast repeated chords in the low pitches of the piano that drive the rhythm forward. This section of the piece ends with a flourish of notes reaching a high pitch level. We will call this part of the piece “C” since it is different than both “A” and “B”. “A” comes back once again at 1:58! We hear the same music repeated as before. This piece is in what is called Rondo form: A-­‐B-­‐A-­‐C-­‐A