One often hears symphonies, sonatas, and operas referred to as “forms” of music. Actually this is loose terminology, best avoided in the interests of clarity, because symphonies and other works can be composed in completely different standardized forms. Thus, the last movement of Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 95 is in rondo form, whereas the last movement of Hector Berlioz’s Fantastic Symphony follows no standard form whatsoever.

The best term for these general categories or kinds of music is genre (jáhn-ruh), borrowed from French. A genre can be defined by its text (a madrigal has Italian verses of a specific kind), or by its function (a Mass is written for a Roman Catholic service), or by the performing forces (a quartet is for four singers or instrumentalists). The main genres of Western music taken up in Listen are listed below.