Sonata Form

The rules of sonata form apply to the first movement of a sonata or a symphony. The movement is divided into three main sections, the exposition, the development and the recapitulation. The exposition states the primary theme in the home key of the piece and then transitions to the secondary theme in a new key. The development is a “working out” of these two themes reaching a climax before returning to the primary and secondary themes in the recapitulation. This time both themes are in the home key.