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Eine Kleine Nachtmusik was written in 1787 but was not published until after Mozart’s death in 1827. The English translation is a little serenade but it has more popularly become known as a little night music.

Form and structure

The third movement is written as a minuet and trio, which was a routine structure for composers because it suited many of the period dances. Both the minuet and trio would contain contrasting sections to signify a change in the dance.

It is normal practice to repeat the minuet; this is called 'Menuetto da capo' or DC for short.

Tonality and harmony

The home key or tonic is G major, but the piece modulates to the dominant key, D major, for the trio. This is an example of the music signalling to the court that there should be a change in the dance routine. The harmony is described as diatonic, which means the chords used are based on the key of the piece.

Tempo

This is a marking on a score to instruct the ensemble to play at a particular speed. This can be either by a term or an exact number of beats per minute. The tempo is allegretto, which is slower than allegro.

Metre and rhythm

Both the minuet and trio are in simple triple time. The metre - time signature - is 3/4 which means three crotchet beats in every bar.

Simple rhythms are used throughout with a range of note values and a lot of quaver movement. All sections start with an anacrusis to help count the dancers in.