There's some graphs too that are easy to visualize but it's not possible to put them up right now because of a bad connection. Later.

Intros tend to be a phrase eight measures long and slower than the exposition.

At the start of the exposition, the first part of the main theme is usually a 4ms phrase idiomatic for instruments (masculine) played 2 or 4 times.

The 2nd part of the main theme contrasts with the first by being a 2 or 3 measure phrase played 1,2,4, or 8 times avoiding the number of times the first part of the main theme was played.

The third part of the main theme is a 2,4,5 or 8 ms phrase played twice, again avoiding the same number of times played as the other 2.

Episodes are predominantly a 4ms phrase repeated up to a length of between 17-31 ms, the mean being 22, and the median being 25 measures long.

The sub theme is usually a 2,3, or 5 measure phrase idiomatic for voice (feminine) often played 5 times to contrast with the first part of the main theme’s 2 or 4. It may have sequences of 5ths. Sometimes the sub theme is played 3 or 9 times instead.

During the romantic era focus is placed on changing the texture and the tempo when moving to the sub theme and not on motion to the dominant ey although this may occur as well. Changes of meter are also common such as 2/4-4/4, 9/4-9/8, 3/2-6/4 but it’s optional.

The second part of the sub theme is usually an 8 measure phrase.

The third part of the sub theme can be a repeat of the previous two parts or new material 7-8 measures long.

There’s also the possibility of an optional closing group with a phrase 4 measures long played 4 times.

The development is usually in 4 sections. The first part is often around 24 measures long.

The second part is around 20 measures long, the 3rd is 18 measures long and the 4th is around 30 measures long.

Phases in the first part of the development are usually 4 measures long but 6 measures and 2 measures are common.

Phrases in the 2nd part are usually 2 measures long and phrases in the third part are usually 4 measures long but 2 measures are common.
Phrases don’t run longer than six measures or shorter than two.

Repeats of the exposition alternate solo tutti. T ends with a cadenza which is a fast quasi improvisatory passage.

The romantic symphony and tone poem’s based on sonata allegro form were concerned with nature, mystery, the unusual, the fabulous, night, ghosts, fear, spirituality, subjectivity, autobiography, feelings, the exotic, the historical, traveling, mythology, originality.

Recap may dispense with the first theme and start with the sub theme which may be re-expositioned in the wrong ey.

Studying late Romantic pieces from the reference that had Scriabin Prometheus revealed that the development techniques employed were stretto, fugato, inversion, mute, trill, canon, tremolo, alternation/dialogue between themes, counterpoint, sustained harmony, diminuendo, augmentation, additional material, visiting a variety of tonic centers, figuration as bacground, variants, fragmentation, theme over fragments, pizzicatto and theme played at two speeds.

n early music only the first movement of a multi movement piece was in sonata form, later other movements also were put in sonata form. As multi movement pieces became sectional pauses started to be added between movements.

Movements were fast, slow, fast with the first being in sonata form, the second being a romance or sonata form, and the last movement being a theme and variations, or rondo.

I like the objectification of music. It can add a layer of cortical processing to your approach.

Let me suggest another, perhaps higher, layer: one that takes into account the perceiving mind and ear of the listener.

I'll post more later.

R

When I worked at the Cline library there were several books on the music and perception. Some were in response to what's happening when we hear 12 tone serial music and if that's really triggering what normal music triggers for the listener (mostly the listener is oblivious to the composers devices). Other books talked about formal logic and it's application in set theory and how that can make listeners notice what the composer is doing and triggering for us more of what normal music does.

But I actually just put this here in case anyone wanted to try their hand at composing a Sonata. It was helpful for me to know the basic parameters in more of a meat and bones kind of way. I'd never seen it presented quite like that. All the sonata lectures at university never made me think I could easily compose a decent one and the book I had on Symphony and Symphonic poem broke things down so clearly it looked like creating sonatas was easy.

I see the 5th paragraph in the original post has an error. It should say avoiding the same measure length, not avoiding the same number of repetitions. Anyway, here's the chart I promised.

I logged in with Google Chrome instead of Firefox when I uploaded these. Maybe that's why they're not sideways and upsidedown?

Just wanted to mention this is the basic outline I used to compose "Romantic Notions." Remember, most theorists consider the Sonata form to be more of an analytical device. If you can't make your composition fit this exactly, it's fine.

The thing you might find useful about it is if comparing it to normal jazz compositional approach AABA or with pop; Verse, Chorus, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Verse, Chorus is that the Sonata has room for more ideas. It's 1st Theme I, II, III, an optional Episode (which is usually a 4 ms phrase repeated 8 times if I remember correctly...couldn't figure out how to work in an episode without being BORING), then 2nd Theme I, II, III. I treated the individual development sections I, II and III as areas for the different soloists.

It gives a more meaty, substantial form to work from. ABC Episode DEF Dev I,II,III, (ABC) DEF. If you're still not finished there's room for around 3 or so more expositional ideas in the form of closing themes that can come after the last of the second themes but before moving on to the development.

One of the things I noticed was that Chick Corea though working within the jazz form, will preshadow an upcoming section by repeatedly playing little snippets of it which get longer and longer. These little snippets kind of fill areas that could loosely be interpreted as second and third themes.

Corea also takes a cue from the Sonata form by changing meter for his B sections and/or changing the phrase length. Although, I seem not to enjoy the change of meter in his work. My favorite pieces of his keep the original meter throughout.

Although, composers in the Romantic era predominantly did not change time signature between sections like 4/4 -6/4, it occurs often enough to be relevant to the discussion. More often though it would be duple meter changing to a different duple like 2/4-4/4 or triple meter changing to a different triple meter 3/4-6/4 perhaps and those mostly occur when moving from the introduction to the work proper.