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A three-part form (ABA) where the first section returns after a contrasting middle section.
Ternary form is fundamental to song forms, minuets/trios, and character pieces. The A section establishes the main idea, B provides contrast (often in a new key), and the return of A provides satisfying closure. The return can be exact (da capo) or modified.
Mozart, Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331, second movement: the Menuetto’s last bar is marked “Fine”, and the Trio ends with “Menuetto da capo”, sending the player back to complete the A–B–A shape.
Ternary 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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