Vocabulary – Part 14

Canon:

A canon in music is a device in counterpoint in which a melody announced by one voice or instrument is imitated by one or more other voices or instruments, entering after the first has started, in the manner of a round. The word canon may describe the device as it occurs in a piece of music or a complete composition in this form, like Pachelbel’s well known Canon.   (https://www.sfcv.org)

Crab Canon: (also known by the Latin form of the name, canon cancrizans)

An arrangement of two musical lines that are complementary and backward, similar to a palindrome. Originally it is a musical term for a kind of canon in which one line is reversed in time from the other (e.g. FABACEAE played simultaneously with EAECABAF). A famous example is found in J. S. Bach‘s The Musical Offering, which also contains a canon (“Quaerendo invenietis”) combining retrogression with inversion, i.e., the music is turned upside down by one player, which is a table canon.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_canon)

Counterpoint:

A form of musical composition where multiple melodies are combined to form the whole. Significant consideration is given to the interaction between the melodies. This may include specific harmonies but is generally more focused on the creation and release of harmonic tension. There are many types of counterpoint. Species counterpoint is a specific tool used for musical training and has many strict rules. Free counterpoint is more commonly used and significantly relaxes those rules. Round, canon, and fugue are well-known techniques for creating contrapuntal pieces.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpoint)

Alberti bass:

A special type of chord figuration that alternates 1 5 3 5 and repeats as an accompaniment figure. It is very common in the music of the 18th century Classical style and is named after the composer Domenico Alberti, who used it frequently. (http://solomonsmusic.net/glossary.htm)

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