Binary form

EnglishForm & StructureTheory term

A two-part form (AB) where each section is typically repeated. The A section moves to the dominant; B returns to the tonic.

How Composers Use It

Binary form is the foundation of Baroque dance movements and eventually evolved into sonata form. In rounded binary, the A material returns within B — this is the embryo of sonata form. Most Baroque suite movements use binary form.

Example

Bach's French Suites — each dance movement (Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue) is in binary form with repeats.

Related Terms

Ternary form Sonata form

Binary form is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.

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