rounded binary form

noun

variants or rounded binary

: a two-part musical form in which the first part modulates to the dominant or relative major and the second part returns to the tonic and recapitulates all or most of the opening section entirely in the tonic

When the opening section of the three-phrase form has a strong cadence on V, it is generally classified as rounded binary form.

—Charles Rosen, Sonata Forms, 1988

Grieg's highly conventional rounded binary form (two halves, each repeated, with the second incorporating a modified recapitulation of the first) provides the foundation for Ellington's version.

—Mervyn Cooke, in The Cambridge Companion to Jazz, 2002

compare binary form, tertiary form

Word History

First Known Use

1954, in the meaning defined above

Love words?

You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

• More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
• Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
• Advanced search features
• Ad free!