Sonata Theory - Methodology

Methodology

Rather than attempt to prescribe a set of rules to which all pieces in sonata form must adhere, sonata theory seeks to demonstrate that sonata form is "a constellation of normative and optional procedures that are flexible in their realization." A work in sonata form is expected to accomplish certain goals; how it goes about this task is to be understood in relation to a set of background stylistic tendencies. The theory, then, understands the sonata as an example of dialogic form: the compositional choices that create an individual piece of music are in dialogue with generic norms and expectations. A large component of the theory is therefore a reconstruction of what these norms were based on an extensive study of the late-eighteenth-century repertoire.

Central to this undertaking are the notions of defaults and deformations. At any point in a sonata movement, such as at the beginning of the secondary theme or the end of the development, a composer had various choices for how to proceed. The most typical option, or the first level default, might be bypassed in favor of a second (or lower level) default. For example, developments most frequently begin by recalling the exposition's primary theme in a new key, but a development might also begin episodically by introducing new material, which Hepokoski and Darcy posit "may be a second-level default option." On the other hand, a composer might choose for this moment of the piece to behave in a genuinely atypical way. This is what Sonata Theory terms a "deformation" of normal practice. The term deformation is not meant to suggest an aesthetic judgment (along the lines of "malformed") but rather is intended as a technical term indicating a significant deviation from ordinary practice. Indeed, deformational moments are often the most unusual, interesting, and pleasing aspects of a work: "Deformations are compositional surprises, engaging forays into the unexpected. But the paradox of art is that the nature of the game at hand also and always includes the idea that we are to expect the unexpected." A central part of the analytic and interpretive work of Sonata Theory lies in recognizing these deformations and default choices and understanding how they affect the progress of a piece as a whole.

From the perspective of the theory, sonata form engages two principal levels of compositional design: tonal and rhetorical. The tonal layout of sonata form has frequently been described by theorists, and involves a motion from the tonic to a secondary key in the exposition, answered by a return and solidification of the tonic later in the piece (usually in the recapitulation). The rhetorical form, on the other hand, concerns the manner in which themes, textures, and musical ideas are presented; it "includes personalized factors of design and ad hoc expression: modular and textural layout, selection and arrangement of musical topics, varieties of structural punctuation, and so on." A key consideration of the theory in this regard is the rotational layout of the usual sonata design. An exposition usually presents a number of differing musical ideas in a specific order. Later sections of the piece (such as the development, recapitulation, and coda) usually revisit these ideas in the same order—though not necessarily touching on every one—as if rotating through a pre-set sequence, like hours on a clock or channels on a television dial.