Music: An Appreciation, 10th Edition (Kamien)

Theme and Variations

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~krr2/themevariation.html

This site provides a brief terminological description of theme and variation, concluding with a list of musical examples for each concept.

Theme and Variation Assignment

http://www.duke.edu/web/mus065/vary.htm

This assignment provides four sample files of variations on "Ah, vous dirai-je, Maman", with an assignment for students to compose their own themes to a similarly structured piece.

Using the websites provided above, answer the following questions.

1			Describe the idea of theme and variations.
2			What is the structural designation of theme and variations?
3			Define three different types of variation and cite examples of each.