Formal Structures in Post-Tonal Music

While form in tonal music has received much scholarly attention, there remains a paucity of research on form in post-tonal music, especially small-scale form in the postwar repertoire. This article proposes that audible phrase-like formal units, called “integrated parametric structures” or IPSs, are created and projected by the action of parameters such as density, dynamics, register, and timbre. Five IPS-types are described and illustrated with examples from Babbitt, Carter, and Stockhausen. The article explores several means for achieving coherence and articulation, with an emphasis on the listener's perception of these formal processes.