JBF_Composition

Answer 1

A symphony traditionally has four movements
First Movement – Tends to be in Sonata form (also commonly called Sonata-Allegro form, to differentiate it from the Sonata Cycle). I will stick with this, as the Sonata form gives you a great vehicle for development. An excellent example of this is Beethoven’s 5th, 1stMovement.
Second Movement – Tends to be something slower, and can be in many different forms. Sometimes this is swapped with the third movement, which we’ll talk about below.
Third Movement – Tends to be a Minuet and Trio or a Scherzo. We’ll talk about these forms more in depth later on down the road.
Fourth Movement – Once again, this can be in all shapes and sizes, but it usually has a much more “finale” type of feel to it. I am thinking of doing a rondo for the last movement, but I haven’t made up my mind.