VCE Music Composition cheat sheet

Melodic contour types: arch (rise then fall), descending sequence, ascending sequence, terraced (stepwise plateaus), and angular (leaps of a 4th or more); contour choice drives phrase shape and listener expectation.

Phrase structure units: motif (2-5 notes), phrase (typically 4 or 8 bars), period (antecedent + consequent), and sentence (presentation + continuation); a period's consequent usually ends on the tonic where the antecedent ended on dominant or half cadence.

Cadence hierarchy in tonal music: perfect authentic (V-I, soprano on tonic), imperfect authentic (V-I, soprano on 3rd or 5th), plagal (IV-I), half (ends on V), deceptive (V-vi); cadence strength determines section closure.

Harmonic progression functions: tonic (I, vi, iii), predominant (ii, IV), dominant (V, vii°); the ii-V-I or IV-V-I axis is the standard tonal cadential engine and can be substituted with tritone replacement (bII7 for V7).

Texture categories: monophonic (single line), homophonic (melody plus chordal accompaniment), polyphonic (independent simultaneous lines: imitation, canon, fugue), and heterophonic (simultaneous variants of one line).

Form templates and their identifying markers: binary (AB, two repeated sections), ternary (ABA), rondo (ABACA), sonata (exposition-development-recapitulation with two key areas and a tonal reconciliation in recap), theme and variations, and strophic (same music, new text per verse).

Modulation techniques: pivot chord (diatonic to both keys), chromatic pivot (altered chord shared by both), direct/phrase modulation (new key begins a phrase), and common-tone modulation; related keys are tonic, dominant, subdominant, relative minor/major, and supertonic minor.

Motivic development operations: transposition, inversion (mirror intervals), retrograde (reverse order), rhythmic augmentation/diminution (double/halve durations), fragmentation (extract a cell), and intervallic expansion or compression.

Voice-leading constraints in four-part writing: no parallel perfect 5ths or octaves, resolve tendency tones (leading tone up, chordal 7th down), avoid voice crossing and overlap, and keep spacing within an octave between adjacent upper voices.

Melodic contour types: arch (rise then fall), descending sequence, ascending sequence, terraced (stepwise plateaus), and angular (leaps of a 4th or more); contour choice drives phrase shape and listener expectation.

Phrase structure units: motif (2-5 notes), phrase (typically 4 or 8 bars), period (antecedent + consequent), and sentence (presentation + continuation); a period's consequent usually ends on the tonic where the antecedent ended on dominant or half cadence.

Cadence hierarchy in tonal music: perfect authentic (V-I, soprano on tonic), imperfect authentic (V-I, soprano on 3rd or 5th), plagal (IV-I), half (ends on V), deceptive (V-vi); cadence strength determines section closure.

Harmonic progression functions: tonic (I, vi, iii), predominant (ii, IV), dominant (V, vii°); the ii-V-I or IV-V-I axis is the standard tonal cadential engine and can be substituted with tritone replacement (bII7 for V7).

Texture categories: monophonic (single line), homophonic (melody plus chordal accompaniment), polyphonic (independent simultaneous lines: imitation, canon, fugue), and heterophonic (simultaneous variants of one line).

Form templates and their identifying markers: binary (AB, two repeated sections), ternary (ABA), rondo (ABACA), sonata (exposition-development-recapitulation with two key areas and a tonal reconciliation in recap), theme and variations, and strophic (same music, new text per verse).

Modulation techniques: pivot chord (diatonic to both keys), chromatic pivot (altered chord shared by both), direct/phrase modulation (new key begins a phrase), and common-tone modulation; related keys are tonic, dominant, subdominant, relative minor/major, and supertonic minor.

Motivic development operations: transposition, inversion (mirror intervals), retrograde (reverse order), rhythmic augmentation/diminution (double/halve durations), fragmentation (extract a cell), and intervallic expansion or compression.

Voice-leading constraints in four-part writing: no parallel perfect 5ths or octaves, resolve tendency tones (leading tone up, chordal 7th down), avoid voice crossing and overlap, and keep spacing within an octave between adjacent upper voices.

Melodic contour types: arch (rise then fall), descending sequence, ascending sequence, terraced (stepwise plateaus), and angular (leaps of a 4th or more); contour choice drives phrase shape and listener expectation.

Phrase structure units: motif (2-5 notes), phrase (typically 4 or 8 bars), period (antecedent + consequent), and sentence (presentation + continuation); a period's consequent usually ends on the tonic where the antecedent ended on dominant or half cadence.

Cadence hierarchy in tonal music: perfect authentic (V-I, soprano on tonic), imperfect authentic (V-I, soprano on 3rd or 5th), plagal (IV-I), half (ends on V), deceptive (V-vi); cadence strength determines section closure.

Harmonic progression functions: tonic (I, vi, iii), predominant (ii, IV), dominant (V, vii°); the ii-V-I or IV-V-I axis is the standard tonal cadential engine and can be substituted with tritone replacement (bII7 for V7).

Texture categories: monophonic (single line), homophonic (melody plus chordal accompaniment), polyphonic (independent simultaneous lines: imitation, canon, fugue), and heterophonic (simultaneous variants of one line).

Form templates and their identifying markers: binary (AB, two repeated sections), ternary (ABA), rondo (ABACA), sonata (exposition-development-recapitulation with two key areas and a tonal reconciliation in recap), theme and variations, and strophic (same music, new text per verse).

Modulation techniques: pivot chord (diatonic to both keys), chromatic pivot (altered chord shared by both), direct/phrase modulation (new key begins a phrase), and common-tone modulation; related keys are tonic, dominant, subdominant, relative minor/major, and supertonic minor.

Motivic development operations: transposition, inversion (mirror intervals), retrograde (reverse order), rhythmic augmentation/diminution (double/halve durations), fragmentation (extract a cell), and intervallic expansion or compression.

Voice-leading constraints in four-part writing: no parallel perfect 5ths or octaves, resolve tendency tones (leading tone up, chordal 7th down), avoid voice crossing and overlap, and keep spacing within an octave between adjacent upper voices.

Melodic contour types: arch (rise then fall), descending sequence, ascending sequence, terraced (stepwise plateaus), and angular (leaps of a 4th or more); contour choice drives phrase shape and listener expectation.

Phrase structure units: motif (2-5 notes), phrase (typically 4 or 8 bars), period (antecedent + consequent), and sentence (presentation + continuation); a period's consequent usually ends on the tonic where the antecedent ended on dominant or half cadence.

Cadence hierarchy in tonal music: perfect authentic (V-I, soprano on tonic), imperfect authentic (V-I, soprano on 3rd or 5th), plagal (IV-I), half (ends on V), deceptive (V-vi); cadence strength determines section closure.

Harmonic progression functions: tonic (I, vi, iii), predominant (ii, IV), dominant (V, vii°); the ii-V-I or IV-V-I axis is the standard tonal cadential engine and can be substituted with tritone replacement (bII7 for V7).

Texture categories: monophonic (single line), homophonic (melody plus chordal accompaniment), polyphonic (independent simultaneous lines: imitation, canon, fugue), and heterophonic (simultaneous variants of one line).

Form templates and their identifying markers: binary (AB, two repeated sections), ternary (ABA), rondo (ABACA), sonata (exposition-development-recapitulation with two key areas and a tonal reconciliation in recap), theme and variations, and strophic (same music, new text per verse).

Modulation techniques: pivot chord (diatonic to both keys), chromatic pivot (altered chord shared by both), direct/phrase modulation (new key begins a phrase), and common-tone modulation; related keys are tonic, dominant, subdominant, relative minor/major, and supertonic minor.

Motivic development operations: transposition, inversion (mirror intervals), retrograde (reverse order), rhythmic augmentation/diminution (double/halve durations), fragmentation (extract a cell), and intervallic expansion or compression.

Voice-leading constraints in four-part writing: no parallel perfect 5ths or octaves, resolve tendency tones (leading tone up, chordal 7th down), avoid voice crossing and overlap, and keep spacing within an octave between adjacent upper voices.