Editing Sonata (section)

==Instrumentation==
In the [[Baroque music|Baroque period]], a sonata was for one or more instruments, almost always with [[figured bass#Basso continuo|continuo]]. After the Baroque period most works designated as sonatas specifically are performed by a solo instrument, most often a keyboard instrument, or by a solo instrument accompanied by a keyboard instrument.

Sonatas for a solo instrument other than keyboard have been composed, as have sonatas for other combinations of instruments.

There are some general guidelines a typical sonata might follow, however, it is important to acknowledge the term sonata still hadn’t taken shape yet in the 17th century because of the ''sinfonia'' conflating the term. A sinfonia were pieces played by multiple instruments together, upholding the characteristics of the imitative canzona. The sinfonia showed precursors to the introductory movement of sonata form today. As newer types of canzonas and concertos began to form (called ''stile moderno''), the sonata was still an ambiguous genre because many characteristics of other forms became entangled with early sonatas. 

The sonata finally began to become a separate entity starting in the 17th to 18th centuries when the canzona became less popular and the suite, concerto, and sonata all developed in different directions. In short, a suite is a sequence of movements based on dance movements, whereas sonatas do not possess complete dance like movements.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Schmidt-Beste |first=Thomas |title=The Sonata |date=2011-03-10 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2011 |isbn=9781107306110 |edition=1st |pages=11}}</ref> Although it is important to note that sonatas can contain movements assembled from parts of dance movements, but the passages are not formal enough to be called a suite. Sonatas were standardized to either fall into being a ''sonata da camera'', “chamber sonata,” or a ''sonata da chiesa'', “church sonata.” Corelli’s twelve trio sonatas, Op. 2, were foundational to the development of the sonata and an example of 12 chamber trio sonatas, Op. 2, in 1685. Corelli’s prolific work in his trio sonatas inspired Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, and Telemann. 

The sonata and the suite were two forms that experienced overlap in France, Germany, and England; however, remained separate in Italy because the scoring criteria was different. Beste writes that during this time period, the keyboard repertoire evolved with the sonata as Bach was writing his keyboard suites, with BWV 825-30 being called “partitas.” Beste writes on the partita that “By the late seventeenth century, however, [the partita] had come to denote a multi-movement instrumental cycle, either still as a set of variations or as a succession of dances. Only in its latter connotation does it overlap with the sonata, and only in a specific instrumental and geographical context: its widespread currency is limited to Germany, and to the solo keyboard repertoire (12). The overlap between sonata and partita are interesting to consider looking at Bach’s unaccompanied sonatas for violin, as Beste writes “they conform to the four-movement ‘church sonata’ pattern established by Corelli, for which no other generic term was available. The partitas, on the other hand, borrow their designation from the keyboard repertoire, as multi-movement dance cycles for solo instrument.”