Jonathan W asked 8 years ago
Just a question about extending the opening phrase. (We’ll use Beethoven’s Sonata as an example)..Would I want the extension to come before or AFTER the original presentation phrase?
As it is the Opening phrase leads quite nicely melodically and harmonically… I know that aren’t any fast or “hard” rules…but is there a general preference where it should be placed?
If it’s after I suppose it’s up to the composer to make sure that the melodic/harmonic content is even more accelerated and to give momentum into the continuation phrase? (Thinking outloud a bit here feel free to tell me I’m not making any sense:))
Jon Brantingham Staff answered 8 years ago
Let’s look at the definition first.
Extension is the addition of extra units of similar material in order to stretch out a formal function in time.
Theoretically you could extend something, by adding similar material to the beginning, however it would really just be a game of semantics at that point. By adding to the beginning, it becomes the basic idea from which you are extending from, and hence, the stuff that follows is really the extension.
So conceptually, I picture extension happening after something. For instance,
- a basic idea + an extra measure
- a presentation phrase + an additional repetition
Both of those are logical extensions. Whereas saying, an extra measure + a basic idea doesn’t really make logical sense, even though the music itself may make sense to your ear. It is a matter of words, and sometimes words don’t fully describe the music properly.
Don’t know if this answer helps. I would experiment and see what works.