To a composer in the Classical era, elegance and symmetry of form was an integral part of beauty in music. During the early part of this period, very clear expectations for the structure of larger works and the form of each movement within those works developed. The readings in this section will explain some of the most common musical forms of the Classical era.

This section includes the following pages:

• Slide Show: Classical Forms
• Ternary Form
• Sonata-Allegro Form
• Theme and Variations
• Rondo Form