Chapter 3 – Phrase-size and also Phrase-rhythm

Before continuing it is necessary to suggest out some exceptions where the concept does not use. In random order:

- Characteristic dances deserve to have actually cadence-points that are not on the first beat (e.g. Polonaise), or rhythms that proccasion complete repose (e.g. Scottish dances).- Recitatives have actually a type that is entirely identified by speech rhythm, therefore they are irregular in respect of cadences, phrases and also phrase-rhythm. Vocal creates tend to be much less regular anyway bereason the meaning and also grammar of the lyrics have the right to not be interfered through.- Fugues and also pieces in similar style are constructed by different principles wright here imitations and the consistent weaving of independent voices overpreeminence the need for regular phrases.- Fantasies and also various other improvised music execute not necessarily have actually bar lines, let alone constant phrases. But they should be judged carefully: some fantasies are on a regular basis structured although notated without bar lines, and also totally free fantasies regularly contain perfectly continuous melodic and also thematic sections for comparison.

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Many authors agree that four bars is by much the many prevalent, valuable and agreeable length for a phrase. Counting bars seems simple however tbelow are some worries.

Upbeats can reason confusion. In Figure 21 the upbeat takes more beats than left over in bar 4, however upbeats may be neglected as soon as counting bars.22Heinaffluent Christoph Koch, Versuch einer Anleitung zur Komposition, 3 vols (Leipzig, 1787), ii, 368.


Figure 21: An upbeat renders the phrase look also long, instance by Koch.

In Figure 22 the oppowebsite case: the bass proves the expression starts prior to the melody. Since it is therefore not a genuine upbeat but fairly a late entry, the initially bar demands to be included in counting.23Heinwealthy Christoph Koch, Versuch einer Anleitung zur Komposition, 3 vols (Leipzig, 1787), ii, 370.


Figure 22: A late entry instead of an upbeat, example by Koch.

An even more surprising issue is the relation in between metre and also bar count. Theory dictates the cadence-point to autumn on the initially beat of the last bar of the phrase, counted in straightforward metre. This is a metre through either 2 or 3 for numerator. A 4/4 is therefore really 2 2/4 actions notated in one bar, making Fig. 23 four bars long(!), as indicated by Koch. The proof is in the fact that the cadence-allude is then on the initially beat of the fourth (virtual) bar.

Figure 23: Cadence-allude halfmeans the bar, instance by Koch (vol.II, 372)

According to John Wall Callcott (1766-1821) ‘the Caecertain , in prehistoric Music, a lot of generally occurs in the middle of the compound Maecertain, and hence appears to a modern watch ircontinual and also incorrect’–this was created in 1806.24Callcott, A Musical Grammar, in Four Parts, First Amerideserve to edition, from the last London edition (Boston, 1810), para. 509. This old-fashioned method of notating we often discover through Haydn who typically has actually the cadence-point on the third beat.

Early Classical style tfinished to relocate amethod from the compound 4/4 towards easy 2/4 and 2/2, as stated by Johann Adolf Scheibe (1708-1776).25Johann Adolph Scheibe, Über die musikalischen Composition, im Schwickertschen Verlage (Leipzig, 1773), i, 205. Later in the Classical period 4/4 ended up being even more well-known aacquire, yet with a distinction.


Figure 24: The opening bars of Mozart"s Violin Concerto K.217 in "new" 4/4.

Fig. 24 is a ‘new’ kind simple 4/4. The proof is the cadence-point at the start of bar 4. Koch would have argued that it have to rightly have actually been written in (simple) 2/2 and blames sloppiness and also also ignorance of composers and publishers.26Heinwell-off Christoph Koch, Versuch einer Anleitung zur Komplace, 3 vols (Leipzig, 1787), ii, 295. But a quick survey of scores by Mozart and also Beethcooktop mirrors the brand-new 4/4 ended up being standard notation. Almany all concertos by Mozart are in straightforward 4/4 and could just as well have actually been created in 2/2.

This may seem like a dry theoretical conversation however tbelow are handy after-effects. For circumstances in Mozart’s Quintet for piano and wind, K.452:


FIgure 25: Mozart, Quintet for piano and wind, K.452, Bärenreiter NMA edition. The metre indication in bar 1 is c.

Recognizing the cadence-suggest halfway the bar, we realize that tbelow are two phrases of 4 (virtual) bars in 2/4 instead of one 4-bar phrase. Seeing it as two phrases will certainly have actually you endure two moments of repose, more than likely resulting in an extra serene tempo, clearer punctuation and possibly a much more explicit shipment than when you would try to pace it as one expression, arching over the break halfmethod towards the last bar. Dividing it right into 2 phrases does of course not deny that the totality passage belongs together, punctuation additionally serves to connect after all, it just gives a various scope and direction.

It is essential to identify that Fig. 23 and also 24 are two different kinds of Allegro even though the tempo noting and metre are identical. The old type (prefer K.452) is characterised by the cadence-point halfway with the bar, frequently via quicker harmony transforms and also an extra active bass line, and also is commonly played about twice as sluggish as the new kind. It means we can not take metre and also tempo at challenge worth without relating it to phrase-size.

We can just speculate why Mozart did not compose it in 2/4. Maybe he felt the piece referenced an older style of music that warranted the more typical notation. Maybe he felt that the many type of bar lines in 2/4 would certainly visually contradict the larger scope of the movement, making it visually as well busy and active. It is amazing that in his 18 piano sonatas Mozart supplies a 2/4 just one time in a first motion but 8 times for a ‘finale’ activity. Maybe he wanted to indicate that the initially and third (virtual 2/4) bar were the important bars, which could be melodically true however is harmonically less convincing. Though the question deserve to not be answered it absolutely has ramifications for the way each of us phrases and also plays the music.


Having cadences at regular intervals creates a higher level of rhythm, the phrase-rhythm, that is particularly vital in Classical music. Phrase-rhythm does not need to be consistent yet it does need to be in balance.

The usual Classical expression is a 4-bar phrase, or Vierer in Gerguy, which I will certainly abbreviate to 4-er. Other lengths are not difficult yet they are typically used as a variation fairly than the basic unit for a item. (Antonio Borghese (fl.1777) is the only exemption I found, explaining phrases by indicates of 3-ers.27Borghese, A New and General System of Music, 11.) Even as late as 1885, Saint-Saëns still felt the have to clarify the usage of 5-ers in the Scherzo from his Violin Sonata op.75.


Figure 26: 5-bar phrases indicated by Camille Saint-Saëns, Violin Sonata op.75, mov.2. (Manuscript)

Cadences showing up at constant intervals can become all as well predictable (e.g. in Galant style) and also Reicha says strongly in favour of exploring via different lengths bereason audiences have actually end up being bored by the present predictcapacity of melodies.28Anton Reicha, Traité de haute composition musicale, Czerny edition, 4 vols (Vienna, 1824), ii, 554.

Johann Bernard Logier (1777-1846) illustrates how the ‘spirited (geistvoll) and also effective expression’ developed in Mozart’s Serenade K.388 by phrases of 5 + 4 + 3 bars, would certainly be sacrificed if preserved in a constant 4 + 4 + 4.29Johann Bernard Logier, System der Musikwissenschaft und der praktischen Composition (Berlin, 1827), 296.


Figure 27: Mozart"s original ircontinuous phrases.


Figure 28: Phrases made constant by Logier.

Certainly, it impacts expression in a powerful method, but what about Classical balance? When transforming phrase-rhythm basic advice seems to be:

- Phrases with also numbered bars are still preferred over odd numbered bars.- Use odd numbered bars in pairs to balance them into an also number again.

The phrase-rhythm in the aria ‘Plaire au coeur de ce que j’aime’ by Giovanni Paisiello (1740-1816) is pincreased by Reicha for being ‘differed in an ingenious way’.30Reicha, Traité de haute complace musicale, ii, 426. According to his analysis the first duration is 26 bars (5 + 5, 2 + 2, 2 + 2, 4 + 2 + 2), the second 18 (5 + 5, 2 + 2, 4). A final expression has been added to close the aria via more character (3 + 3 + 2 + 2). The phrase-rhythm is definitely not continual but still highly symmetrical, eextremely odd number paired with a compagnion (Reicha) to keep balance.

He opposes this by the aria ‘Ah! Que je fus bien inspirée’ from Diexecute by Niccolò Piccinni (1728-1800) with a first period of 29 bars (3 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 7 + 5) and a 2nd of 40 bars (6 + 6 + 3 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 5). Reicha clintends the, otherwise well-written aria, has a shaky, unchose melody that is difficult to remember, and also he blames absence of symmetry in phrase-rhythm for making the individual phrases show up unlinked.31Reicha, Traité de haute complace musicale, ii, 465.

Phrase-rhythm is not simply a theoretical concept. Especially Haydn is a grasp of ircontinuous phrases and also the phrase-rhythm adds spice and also originality, but likewise more than that: the composer supposedly needed to deviate from the norm to expush something that might not be expressed within it. In order to bring that throughout in our playing we need to identify the 3 approaches to differ the length of a phrase:

- Invent a melody that sounds totally logical and also complete at this various size (Koch calls this a ‘narrow’ phrase, eng).- Add more material to a traditional 4-er (an ‘extended’ expression, erweitert).- Combine 2 phrases right into a much longer one (a ‘compounded’ phrase, zusammengesetzt).

Extended phrases


The a lot of widespread means to extend a expression is by repeating a component of it. Looking at Paisiello’s aria from Reicha’s evaluation, we check out the first 5-er was developed by repeating two halve bars from the original 4-er:


Figure 29: Paisiello"s expression of 4 bars extended into 5 by repetition.

There are many type of possibilities: you can repeat 1 or 2 bars literally, or embellish the repeat, or also repeat them at one more action of the vital. Two examples by Koch:


Figure 30: (A) Extfinished by 2-bar repeat on various action of the range, (B) extfinished by repeating 1 bar embelliburned. Examples by Koch (II, 431 en III, 161)

Whereas the Paisiello instance is an apparent repeat, the Koch examples are less easy to acknowledge. Sometimes it is hardly feasible to decide whether a 4-er was extended or simply conceived as a narrowhead 5-er, favor in Schubert"s C minor Impromptu D.899,1. Is bar 3 a repetition? It can be left out after all.


Figure 31: Schubert Impromptu D.899,1 - a narrowhead 5-er or an extensive 4-er?

Whatever you call it, this 5-er (which follows eleven constant 4-ers) is one of the a lot of beautiful alters in phrase-rhythm in the literary works.

Importantly, repeating component of a phrase is more than a mechanical procedure. Koch says the repetitive motif must be ‘worthy’ of repeating: it demands to recurrent the expression of the phrase in a high degree, or highlight a brand-new facet of it.32Heinrich Christoph Koch, Versuch einer Anleitung zur Komplace, 3 vols (Leipzig, 1793), iii, 155. The Paisiello is a great example: the repeated passage has actually the message de ce que j’aime (‘of the one I love’); a worthy topic to dwell upon. Musically a repetition can be highlighted by transforming dynamics, adding embellishments, developing a brand-new twist in the accompanying voices (harmony, texture), and so on Though Koch is writing for aspiring composers it is also motivating advice for performers, really giving us a opportunity to bridge the gap between concept and exercise.

Repetition does not fundamentally adjust the prosections of a phrase bereason the repetition deserve to be omitted. With added repetition, Reicha claims, a expression commonly still sounds also numbered instead of the odd bar count it looks. The placed bar ‘has actually something appealing bereason it adds originality and also attraction’.33Anton Reicha, Traité de haute complace musicale, Czerny edition, 4 vols (Vienna, 1824), ii, 457.


By development one bar gets extended into two like Koch illustrates:


Figure 32: (left) A narrow phrase, which is expanded into a 5-er (right). Example by Koch (III,171).

Expansions lfinish more weight to a phrase. Expansions at the start of phrases are commonly discovered at the grand finale of a bigger complace, specifically oratorios. Expansions at the end of a expression generally increase the cadence to finish a section via even more grandeur, regularly offered in solo concertos. Reicha considers this retard de la cadence a pleasant means to break symmetry. In chamber music it is regularly notated with fermatas as in Fig. 33 (a), in concertos it is commonly written out favor (b).34Anton Reicha, Traité de haute composition musicale, Czerny edition, 4 vols (Vienna, 1824), ii, 399.


Figure 33: Retard de la cadence, examples by Reicha.

The distinction in notation demonstprices that in essence the phrase-rhythm has not been disrupted also though the bar count has. If the cadence is embellished we gain a correct cadenza; this type of free cadenza aobtain does not adjust the bar count.

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Figure 34: Cadenza by Reicha over the previous example.

It is important to realize that the cadenza is not a ‘stop’, the expression must still end up and also Reicha warns that a cadenza need to never be so lengthy regarding make the audience forobtain the resolution of the cadence ‘that it rightcompletely so eagerly awaits.’

Other techniques

Repetition and development include melodic material ‘from the inside’. Koch lists a number of other techniques that include on (usually) much less substantial product. Their much less distinctive features make it unlikely to upset the balance in phrase-rhythm.

- inserting/repeating a characteristic rhythmic pattern.- using a progression, which is a sequence of the very same material on various steps of the range.- using a passage which is basically adding unconsiderable passage-occupational. In this means you can conveniently create exceptionally long phrases. - with an interpolation you have the right to insert non-associated phrase-components right into the phrase. They have to however include meaning to the existing expression.- via an appendix (Koch: Anhang, Reicha: addition) you include product at the finish of the expression. An appendix deserve to provide more decisiveness to a cadence or, the oppowebsite, move in the direction of a cadence on a various chord. Often the appendix in its turn gets an appendix, which leads to one more appendix, etc.; this have the right to extfinish the material substantially. Or the appendix have the right to be simply an included bar in another instrument. as in this example by Reicha:

Figure 35: Appendix by added bars in orchestra, example by Reicha.

The Mozart game


Figure 36: Illustration from

Regardless of the previous renote, Koch treats extensions under the heading ‘About the art of connecting a melody according to mechanical rules’. This offered me the principle for an ‘app’ to play about with extensions. It is based on the initially 2 phrases of Mozart"s Musikalisches Würfelspiel (musical dice game) K.294d wright here a different minuet is ‘composed’ depending on exactly how the dice roll.

I have taken the game one action additionally by having the dice include extensions according to Koch"s methodology. The initially aim was to test exactly how these extensions have the right to work within phrases. But it likewise illustrates Koch’s remarks about different genres requiring different kinds and quantities of extensions. Consequently by having actually the app include extensions, the minuet is taken ameans from its dance structure and also turned into somepoint more akin to the opening of a sonatina. Besides clicking ‘auto extension’ it is also possible to experiment manually by clicking the examine boxes. Of course the musical outcome of this mechanical experiment will necessarily be contrived yet periodically amazing examples appear!