Variation is a third form that falls between repetition and contrast. With variation, some aspects of the piece are altered, but we are still able to recognize the original.
No matter how diverse the musical structures that generations of composers have produced, they are still based in one way or another on repetition and contrast. The forms are not fixed molds. What makes a piece of music unique is the way in which it follows a plan based upon its own requirements. For example, each person's face has the same parts, but the features make up a wholly individual combination.
Even with improvisation or the creating of a piece of music during a performance rather than before, repetition, contrast, and variation all play a role. And a balance of these structural principles is present.
Two of the most basic patterns in Western music are two-part, or binary, and three-part, or ternary. Binary form is based on a statement and a departure, without a return to the opening section. Contrast is central to this scheme. Ternary form extends the idea of statement and departure by bringing back the first section. Both contrast and repetition are used in this form. Both of these forms are seen in short pieces such as songs and dances.
A theme is a melody used as a building block in a work of music. Spinning out a theme, weaving and reweaving its lines is the essence of musical thinking. The expansion of a theme is called thematic development. It is the elaborating or varying of a musical idea, presenting its capacity for growth. And this melody can be broken up into smaller units called motives. Motives are the cells of musical growth. When an idea is restated at a higher or lower pitch level it is known as a sequence.
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