In the most abstract sense, **musical form** is the order-imposing principle through which the musical content of a work is organized. There are many conceptions of musical form: *form as container*, *form as process*, and others. In its everyday usage, musical form generally refers to the structure of a given work; however, this usage presupposes a particular conception of form.
## Index
You can use the links below to navigate to different topics.
1. [[form-functional theory]]
1. [[formal functions]]
1. [[phrase functions]]
1. [[presentation]]
2. [[continuation]]
3. [[cadential]]
4. [[antecedent]]
5. [[consequent]]
2. [[framing functions]]
1. [[postcadential functions]]
1. [[standing on the dominant]]
2. [[phrase model]]
3. [[cadential types]]
1. [[perfect authentic cadence]]
2. [[imperfect authentic cadence]]
3. [[half cadence]]
4. [[plagal cadence]]
4. [[conventional theme types]]
1. [[sentence]]
2. [[period]]
3. [[hybrid themes]]
5. Formal organization
1. [[tight-knit]]
2. [[loose organization]]
6. [[small ternary]]
## Examples
- [[phrase-design examples from Form and Analysis Basics]]