Development (music)
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In music, development is a process by which a musical
Development is often contrasted with musical variation, which is a slightly different means to the same end. Development is carried out upon portions of material treated in many different presentations and combinations at a time, while variation depends upon one type of presentation at a time.[2]
The development is the middle section of the sonata form, between the exposition and the recapitulation; in some older texts, this section may be referred to as free fantasia.[citation needed]
Methods of development
According to the
- The division of a theme into parts, each of which can be developed in any of the above ways or recombined in a new way. Similarly, two or more themes can be developed in combination; in some cases, themes are composed with this possibility in mind.
- Alteration of pitch intervals while retaining the original rhythm.
- Rhythmic displacement, so that the metrical stress occurs at a different point in the otherwise unchanged theme.
- Sequence, either diatonically within a key or through a succession of keys.
The Scherzo movement from Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op 28 (the "Pastoral" Sonata) shows a number of these processes at work on a small scale. Charles Rosen (2002) marvels at the simplicity of the musical material: "The opening theme consists of nothing but four F sharps in descending octaves, followed by a light and simple I/ii/V7/I cadence with a quirky motif repeated four times."[4] These opening eight bars provide all the material Beethoven needs to furnish his development, which takes place in bars 33-48:
The division of a theme into parts
The falling octave in the first two bars and the repeated staccato chord in the left hand in bars 5-8 are the two fragments that Beethoven later develops:
Alteration of pitch intervals
The somewhat bald falling octave idea in the first four bars is transformed in bars 33-36 into an elegant shape ending with an upward-curving semitone:
Rhythmic displacement
In this movement, the repeated left hand chords in bar 5 are displaced so that in bar 33 onwards, they fall on the 2nd and 3rd beats:
Sequence and the development of two or more themes in combination
In bars 33-48, the two fragments combine and the development goes through a
To quote Rosen again, writing à propos of this movement: "As Beethoven's contemporary, the painter John Constable, said, making something out of nothing is the true work of the artist."[5]
Development on a larger scale
Not all development takes place in what is commonly known as the "development section" of a work. It can take place at any point in the musical argument. For instance, the “immensely energetic
William Mann says “the first, insistent phrase [of the above] is very important. At once it is taken up imitatively by various departments of the orchestra, and [starting in] A major, jumps through several related keys.”[8] Each repetition of the descending phrase is subtly altered one note at a time, causing the music to pass from the key of A major, through A minor and thence via a chord of G7 to the remote key of C major, and thence back to A major.
The central section of the Overture (the part commonly known as the "development section") utilizes both phrases of the theme “in new juxtapositions and new tonalities,”
Simultaneously, Mozart adds to the mix and continues to develop the See also
References