Part I - Construction of Theme

translate by William

1 The Concept Of Form

The term form is used in several different senses. When used in connexion with binary, ternary or rondo form, it refers chiefly to the number of parts. The phrase sonata form suggests, instead, the size of the parts and the complexity of their interrelationships. In speaking of minuet, scherzo and other dance forms, one has in mind the metre, tempo and rhythmic characteristics which identify the dance.

Form 這個詞會被用在數種不同的情境下。當和二段體、三段體或是迴旋曲一起使用時，他主要指涉段落的數量。奏鳴曲式這個詞則是顯示段落們的大小以及他們的交互關係的複雜度。當我們說到小步舞曲、詼諧曲和其他舞曲時，人們會想到的是區分舞蹈的拍子（拍號）、速度和節奏性的特色。

Used in the aesthetic sense, form means that a piece is organized; i.e. that it consists of elements functioning like those of a living organism.

在美學的意義¹上，form 指的是曲子是有序的；意思是說，它由像是一個活著的有機體一樣運作的元素們構成。

Without organization music would be an amorphous mass, as unintelligible as an essay without punctuation, or as disconnected as a conversation which leaps purpose- lessly from one subject to another.

沒有了組織性，音樂將會是一堆不定型的東西，就像一篇沒有標點符號的文章一樣難以理解，或像是一段從一個主題到另一個主題毫無目的地跳躍的對話一樣斷裂。

The chief requirements for the creation of a comprehensible form are logic and coherence. The presentation, development and interconnexion of ideas must be based on relationship. Ideas must be differentiated according to their importance and function.

可理解的 form 的形成最首要的要求是符合邏輯和連貫性。

Moreover, one can comprehend only what one can keep in mind. Man’s mental limitationsprevent him from grasping anything which is too extended. Thus appro- priate subdivision facilitates understanding and determines the form. The size and number of parts does not always depend on the size of a piece. Generally, the largerthe piece, the greater thenumber of parts. But sometimes ashort piece may have the same number of parts as a longer one, just as a midget has the same number of limbs, the same form, as a giant.

A composer does not, of course, add bit by bit, as a child does inbuilding with wooden blocks. He conceives an entire composition as a spontaneous vision. Then he proceeds, like Michelangelo who chiselled his Moses out of the marble without sketches, complete in every detail, thus directly forming his material.

No beginner is capable ofenvisaging a composition in its entirety; hence he must proceed gradually, from the simpler to the more complex. Simplified practice forms, which do not always correspond to art forms, help a student to acquire the sense of form and a knowledge of the essentials of construction. It will be useful to start by building musical blocks and connecting them intelligently.

These musical blocks (phrases, motives, etc.) will provide the material for building larger units of various kinds, according to the requirements of the structure.Thus the demands of logic, coherence and comprehensibility can be fulfilled, in relation to the need for contrast, variety and fluency of presentation.