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13.2: The Sentence

  • Page ID
    117459
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    13.2 The Sentence

    A sentence in music is a phrase with a specific melodic construction: a melodic idea (motive 1 or subphrase a) is either repeated or sequenced then followed by either related or unrelated material leading to a cadence.

    In this first example, Mozart sequences motive 1 from measure 1 up a step in measure 2. Measure 3 contains related material and measure 4 contains cadential material.

    phrases-sentence-moz-k331i.svg

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    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Sentence Structure in Mozart, K. 331, I

    In the next example, Beethoven changes the intervals of subphrase a in measures 3–4 to fit the dominant harmony. He extracts motive 2 from subphrases a and a’ in measures 5–6. Measures 7–8 lead to a half cadence.

    phrases-sentence-beeth-op2no1iC.svg

    /
    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Sentence Structure in Beethoven, Op. 2, No. 1, I

    In the next example, unrelated material follows subphrase a and its repetition.

    phrases-sentence-moz-k333-st.svg

    /
    Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): Sentence Structure in Mozart, K. 333, I (1783)

    This page titled 13.2: The Sentence is shared under a GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Robert Hutchinson via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.