Variation

As Printed on a Score

Printed as a heading at the start of each variation in a set (Var. I, Variation 2, VAR. III), labelling the section until the next heading; the theme is usually headed Theme or Tema.

Abbreviations: Var.

How Composers Use It

Each variation reworks the theme’s melody, harmony or rhythm while keeping its framework recognisable, usually its phrase lengths and cadences. Plan contrast across the set — tempo, texture, mode — and number the variations clearly. A minor-mode variation and a slow variation near the end are traditional ways to shape a set, and many close with a longer final variation or a coda that breaks the pattern.

Example

Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat major, Op. 26, first movement (Andante con variazioni), m. 35: “Var. I.” heads the first variation after the theme.

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