Music A-Level
Structural tonal tension
What Structural tonal tension means in Music A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definition of Structural tonal tension
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Reference: AQA
Created when a Classical sonata movement establishes the tonic key firmly before modulating to the dominant or relative major, and resolved in the recapitulation.
Topics that use Structural tonal tension
- Area of study 1: Western classical tradition 1650–1910 (compulsory) - Musical elements (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- Antecedent phrase
- Antiphonal texture
- Aria
- Articulation
- Balanced phrases
- Bass suspension
- Basso continuo
- Binary form
Using Structural tonal tension in the exam
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