Definition
The minuet is a French dance in 3/4, at a moderate tempo, popular at the court of Louis XIV (Lully) and then throughout Europe. In the Classical period it became the standard third movement of symphonies, quartets and sonatas (sometimes the second), in the form minuet – trio – minuet da capo. The trio is a contrasting second minuet: the name comes from the Baroque practice of entrusting it to three instruments (for example two oboes and bassoon) as a contrast to the tutti.
The form, level by level
The minuet alone is usually a rounded binary:
- ||: A (8 bars, I → V or I with a cadence) :||
- ||: B (4–8 bars, often on the dominant or with sequences) + A′ (return of A, modified to close in the tonic) :||
The complete movement is a compound ternary:
| Section | Content | Key | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minuet | : A : | : B A′ : | I | |||||
| Trio | : C : | : D C′ : | often IV, V, the relative or the parallel mode | |||||
| Minuet da capo | A B A′ without repeats (performance tradition) | I |
Possible short coda.
Stylistic features
- Regular phrases of 4 + 4 bars, clear hypermeter.
- Accent on the first beat, often with a dotted quarter note or a rhythm of regular quarter notes.
- In the trio, a lighter texture (few instruments, woodwind melody, pizzicato) or a rustic character (pedals, drones, imitations of folk dances such as the Ländler).
Examples
- Minuet in G major BWV Anh. 114, from the Notenbüchlein for Anna Magdalena Bach (attributed to Christian Petzold): simple binary form of 32 bars, the first minuet many pianists learn.
- Mozart, “Eine kleine Nachtmusik,” K. 525, III (Menuetto. Allegretto – Trio): minuet in G major, trio in D major more cantabile and legato.
- Mozart, Symphony No. 40, K. 550, III: minuet in G minor with asymmetrical phrases and hemiolas (it sounds like 2/4), trio in G major with the horns.
- Haydn: hundreds of minuets in the quartets and symphonies, with metric jokes (silences, hemiolas, false recapitulations).
- Beethoven, Symphony No. 1, III: still called “Menuetto” but it is an Allegro molto e vivace: in effect a scherzo.
Example to write (C major, 3/4)
- A (bars 1–8): 4-bar presentation (I – V6/5 – I – V), continuation and half cadence on G.
- B (bars 9–12): sequence over a dominant pedal (G7 – C/G – G7 – C/G).
- A′ (bars 13–20): like A but with a perfect cadence in C.
- Trio in F major: legato woodwind melody, drone bass F–C.
- Da capo without repeats.
Common mistakes
- Phrases of random length: the minuet lives on regularity (which can then be broken on purpose).
- Trio too similar to the minuet: it must contrast in key, texture and instrumentation.
- Tempo too fast: it becomes a scherzo or a waltz.
For a producer
The A – B – A form with a lighter central section and the return of the first without repeats is the idea of the breakdown between two drops: same key (or a nearby one), fewer instruments, different character, then the shortened return of the main material.
Related
Binary, ternary and AABA form, Scherzo, The symphony: structure of the movements, Baroque suite, Galant schemata, The period.