
For one famous example, see the finale of Symphony No. One of the ways that Beethoven extended and intensified Classical practice was to expand the coda sections, producing a final section sometimes of equal musical weight to the foregoing exposition, development, and recapitulation sections and completing the musical argument. In works in variation form, the coda occurs following the last variation and will be very noticeable as the first music not based on the theme. The recapitulation often ends with a passage that sounds like a termination, paralleling the music that ended the exposition thus, any music coming after this termination will be perceived as extra material, i.e., as a coda. In a sonata form movement, the recapitulation section will, in general, follow the exposition in its thematic content, while adhering to the home key. Codas were commonly used in both sonata form and variation movements during the Classical era.


The presence of a coda as a structural element in a movement is especially clear in works written in particular musical forms.
