In music, an ostinato (derived from Italian: "stubborn", compare English: obstinate) is a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated at the same pitch. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody.^[1] Both "ostinatos" and "ostinati" are accepted English plural forms. Strictly speaking, ostinatos should have exact repetition, but in common usage, the term covers repetition with variation and development, such as the alteration of an ostinato line to fit changing harmonies or keys. For other uses, see Music (disambiguation). ... In music, a motif is a perceivable or salient reoccurring fragment or succession of notes that may used to construct the entirety or parts of complete melodies, themes. ... In music a phrase (Greek φράση, sentence, expression, see also strophe) is a section of music that is relatively self contained and coherent over a medium time scale. ... Look up Repetition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Pitch is the perceived fundamental frequency of a sound. ... In music, variation is a formal technique where material is altered during repetition; reiteration with changes. ... Musical development is the transformation and restatement of initial material, often contrasted with musical variation, with which it may be difficult to distinguish as a general process. ...

Characteristics

Musicologist Robert Rawlins defines an ostinato as "any clearly defined melodic or rhythmic pattern that is repeated persistently".^[2] In this usage, "pattern" implies recognizable rather than exact recurrence. The general concepts may be applied to quasi-ostinato or ostinato-like techniques lacking rhythmically "symmetrical" or regular repetition, and some have considered the twelve tone technique an extension or specific example of ostinato.^[3] Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Rhythm (Greek = flow, or in Modern Greek, style) is the variation of the length and accentuation of a series of sounds or other events. ... Twelve-tone technique is a system of musical composition devised by Arnold Schoenberg. ...

Ostinatos are to classical music what riffs are to popular music. They have a large role in improvised music such as in jazz and Baroque music. A "favorite technique of contemporary jazz writers", ostinatos are often used in modal and Latin jazz, traditional African music including Gnawa music^[2] and Boogie-Woogie.^[4] Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... Riff is also an alternate spelling of Rif, a region of Morocco. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ... Improvisation is the practice of acting and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of ones immediate environment. ... Modal jazz is jazz played using musical modes rather than chord progressions. ... Latin jazz is the general term given to music that combines rhythms from African and Latin American countries with jazz harmonies from the United States. ... Africa is a large and diverse continent, consisting of dozens of countries, hundreds of languages and thousands of races, tribes and ethnic groups. ... Gnawa music is a mixture of African and Arabic religious songs and rhythms. ... Boogie woogie has two different meanings: a piano based music style, boogie woogie (music) a dance that imitates the rocknroll of the 50s, boogie woogie (dance) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

Applicable in homophonic and contrapuntal textures they are distinguished as "repetitive rhythmic-harmonic schemes", the more familiar accompanimental melodies, or as purely rhythmic.^[3] The technique's appeal to composers from Debussy to avant-garde composers until at least the 1970s "lies in part in the need for unity created by the virtual abandonment of functional chord progressions to shape phrases and define tonality".^[3] Similarly in modal music "relentless, repetitive character help to establish and confirm the modal center".^[2] Their popularity may also be justified by their ease as well as range of use, though "ostinato must be employed judiciously, as its overuse can quickly lead to monotony".^[2] Homophony is a musical term that describes the texture of two or more instruments or parts moving together and using the same rhythm. ... In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more voices that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony. ... In music texture is the overall quality of sound of a piece, most often indicated by the number of voices in the music and to the relationship between these voices (see below). ... Harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music. ... In music accompaniment is the art of playing along with a soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner as well as the music thus played. ... For experimental rock music, see experimental rock. ... A diatonic function, in tonal music theory, is the specific, recognized roles of notes or chords in relation to the key. ... A chord progression (also chord sequence and harmonic progression or sequence), as its name implies, is a series of chords played in order. ... Tonality is a system of writing music according to certain hierarchical pitch relationships around a key center or tonic. ... In music, a scale is an ordered series of musical intervals, which, along with the key or tonic, define the pitches. ... In music a melodic mode (van der Merwe 1989, p. ... Monotony is continuation without variation; but not necessarily the extreme of complete stagnation and constancy. ...

Ground bass

A ground bass (also basso ostinato: obstinate bass) is a bass part or bassline that sometimes repeats continually, as an ferdango, while the melody and possibly harmony over it always repeat. It was developed and used frequently in the Baroque era. "When I am Laid in Earth," a da capo caro aria from Dido and Aeneas, by Henry Purcell provides an excellent example of this technique. By use of descending choromaticism, variation in rhythm, and irregular phrasing, Purcell draws attention to his ostinato. Bass (IPA: [], rhyming with face), when used as an adjective, describes tones of low frequency or range. ... In popular music a bassline, also bass line, is an instrumental part, or line, which is in the bass or lowest range and thus lower than the other parts and part of the rhythm section. ... The Composer, Henry Purcell Dido and Aeneas is an opera by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell, from a libretto by Nahum Tate. ... Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (IPA: [1]; September 10 (?) [2], 1659–November 21, 1695), a Baroque composer, is generally considered to be one of Englands greatest composers. ...

In popular music, many bass guitar riffs can be regarded as a modern version of the ground bass. Two examples are Pink Floyd's "Money" (The Dark Side of The Moon - 1973) and Black Sabbath's "Planet Caravan". In retrospect, one can conclude many repetitive bass patterns in popular music to be considered a ground bass. Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ... The electric bass guitar (or electric bass) is a bass string instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping,popping or using a pick. ... Riff is also an alternate spelling of Rif, a region of Morocco. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic rock music, and, as they evolved, for their avant-garde progressive rock music. ... Money is the 5th/6th song on Pink Floyds famous album Dark Side of the Moon. ... For other uses, see Black Sabbath (disambiguation). ... Planet Caravan is a psychedelic song by Black Sabbath. ...

In jazz, arguably the two most famous and recognizable ground basses were penned by Miles Davis in his All Blues (from the album Kind of Blue) and by Wayne Shorter in his Footprints (became famous from the album Miles Smiles). This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... All Blues is a jazz composition by Miles Davis first appearing on the influential 1959 album Kind Of Blue. ... Kind of Blue is a jazz album by musician Miles Davis, released on August 17, 1959. ... Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz composer and saxophonist. ... Footprints is a jazz standard composed by Wayne Shorter, first appearing on his 1965 album Adams Apple. ... Miles Smiles is an album recorded in October 1966 by the Miles Davis quintet. ...

Music Education

The Orff-Schulwerk approach is built on a style of elemental music created by Carl Orff and Gunild Keetman. This approach makes extensive use of ostinati, in addition to drones (more simplified ostinati that establish the meter and tonal center). Students, beginning quite young, play ostinati, often through body percussion or upon xylophones. These drones and ostinati can then be improvised upon, either vocally, with xylophones, or using a Recorder. The Schulwerk is a very popular approach in music education throughout the world. The Orff Schulwerk or Orffschulwerk, also called as Orff-method is an approach for music education for children. ... Carl Orff Carl Orff (July 10, 1895 – March 29, 1982) was a 20th-century German composer, most famous for Carmina Burana (1937). ... Gunild Keetman (1904-1990) was the primary originator, along with Carl Orff, of the method of teaching music known as Orff Schulwerk. ... Body Percussion is the art of creating percussive sounds using body movements and body parts exclusively. ... Xylophone in Bali 1937 The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family. ... Various recorders The recorder is a woodwind musical instrument of the family known as fipple flutes or internal duct flutes — whistle-like instruments which include the tin whistle and ocarina. ...

Famous examples

Popular music

A famous short piece of Ostinato can be found in the theme music to the movie Jaws composed by John Williams. It used the two notes in the bass section of the scale, repeated in various tempos to express the different activities of the killer shark. The two note ostinato is perhaps the most recognisable film music in history. It has been suggested that Orca (Jaws boat) be merged into this article or section. ... This biographical article or section needs additional references for verification. ... A film score is a set of musical compositions written to accompany a film. ...

Danny Elfman's theme for Men in Black is an ostinato on bass guitar. Common depiction of the Men in Black. ...

Another very handy example for understanding the procedure is the famous tune from ABBA, "Take a Chance on Me". In its video, we can see each of the four members in a different corner of the screen; during the verses, Benny and Björn sing repeatedly "take a chance, take a chance, take a, take a chan-chance", while Agnetha and Frida sing the lyrics. This article or section may contain excessive or improper use of copyrighted images and/or audio files. ... The song Take A Chance On Me was recorded in 1977 by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It can be found on their album, ABBA-The Album. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... The structures or musical forms of songs in popular music are typically sectional forms, such as strophic form. ... Image:Benny Andersson. ... Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (Swedish IPA: ) (born April 25, 1945) is a Swedish musician and composer, most notable as a member of ABBA. Ulvaeus was born in Gothenburg, but as a child he moved with his family to Västervik. ... Agnetha Ã…se Fältskog (born 5 April 1950) in Jönköping) is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter and producer, most notable as being a member of Swedish pop group ABBA. Her name was originally spelled Agneta; she added the h later herself. ... The ABBA single cover for Mamma Mia (1975) shows the group: Benny, Anni-Frid (top center), Agnetha, and Björn. ... Lyrics are the words in songs. ...

American drummer Terry Bozzio has made extensive use of the ostinato as a drumset technique. Many examples can be heard on his instructional videos Melodic Drumming and the Ostinato Vol. I, II, and III, as well as his CDs Solo Drum Music Vol. I and II. Terry John Bozzio (born December 27, 1950, San Francisco, California) is an American drummer. ...

American Progressive metal band Symphony X often uses the melody as an Ostinato, while having the bassline act as a moving line. Progressive metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music which blends the powerful, guitar-driven sound of metal with the complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing of progressive rock. ... Symphony X is a American progressive / neo classical / power metal band from New Jersey founded in 1994 by guitarist Michael Romeo. ... Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Also, Seasons of Love from the broadway show Rent features an ostinato in the beginning. Seasons of Love is the most celebrated song from the Broadway musical Rent, written and composed by Jonathan Larson. ... Rent is a American Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical, with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson. ...

We Can't Live Forever from Joe Jackson's Big World album has an ostinato fretless bass which relents only for the bridge. Joe Jackson (born David Ian Jackson, 11 August 1954, Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire) is an English musician and singer-songwriter probably best-known for the 1979 hit song Is She Really Going Out With Him?, which still gets extensive FM radio airplay; for his 1982 hit, Steppin Out; and for... Big World is a 1986 album by Joe Jackson. ...

Stupidly Happy from XTC's Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) offers a variety of melodic excursions over an ostinato guitar riff which elaborates only a tiny bit over the course of the song. XTC are an influential new wave band from Swindon, England. ... Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) The second volume of the Apple Venus set. ...

Jazz music

In jazz, a vamp is simply a repeating musical figure or accompaniment. The equivalent in classical music would be an ostinato. A background vamp provides a performer, or perhaps the pianist's right hand, a harmonic framework upon which to improvise. A vamp often acts as a springboard at the opening of an improvisation. The word vamp, Vamp, or VAMP can mean any of the following: Vamp (music), a repeating figure. ...

Classic examples in jazz, include "So What", "A Night in Tunisia", "Take Five", "A Love Supreme", "Maiden Voyage", and "Cantaloupe Island".^[2] Kind of Blue is a jazz album by musician Miles Davis, released on August 17, 1959. ... A Night in Tunisia is a musical composition written by Dizzy Gillespie in 1942 while he was playing with the Earl Hines Band. ... This article is about Dave Brubeck Quartet jazz piece. ... A Love Supreme is a jazz album recorded by John Coltranes quartet on December 9, 1964 at the Van Gelder studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. ... The maiden voyage of a ship or aircraft is the first cruise or flight in revenue service, typically following a series of shakedown cruises or test-flights. ... Cantaloupe Island is a jazz standard composed by Herbie Hancock. ...

Classical music

Some famous examples of ostinatos are the basso continuo part from Pachelbel's Canon in D and the military 5/4 rhythm in Gustav Holst's "Mars" from The Planets. The ostinato in the Confutatis movement of Mozart's Requiem carries with it the irresistible whispers of the inferno. Other notable examples include Holst's St. Paul's Suite Mvt. II (in which the subdivided second violins play a repeating pattern of eighth notes), the rhythmic pattern in Ravel's Boléro, the second section of Shostakovich's 7th Symphony, Mvt. I (called the "inexorable march", or "an unstoppable machine," and darkly symbolizing the German Army's advance on Russia), and the harmonic pattern in Chopin's Berceuse. In Anton Arensky's Orchestral Suite No.1 in G minor (Op. 7), the Basso Ostinato theme introduced with low brass and contrabasses convey the Theme Russe very elegantly. Wagner's Das Rheingold features prominent ostinatos on the "anvil" leitmotif in its third and fourth scenes, which build to inexorable climaxes. Ostinatos are used in 20th-century music to stabilize groups of pitches, as in Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring "Introduction" and "Omens of Spring".^[1] Composer Chad Twedt has also written 4-movement "ostinato suites" that showcase the ostinato technique. Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervallic content (the intervals which make up a sonority), later chords, in relation to a bass note. ... Johann Pachelbel (August 1653 - March 3, 1706) was a German Baroque composer and organist, best remembered for his Canon in D. Pachelbel was organist at Erfurt, in the Thuringian region of Germany. ... The Canon in D major (full German title: Kanon und Gigue in D-Dur für drei Violinen und Basso Continuo or Canon and Gigue in D major for three Violins with Bass Accompaniment) is the most famous piece of music by Johann Pachelbel. ... Gustav Holst Gustav Holst (September 21, 1874, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire - May 25, 1934, London) [1] [2] was an English composer and was a music teacher for over 20 years. ... The Planets Op. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was one of the most significant and influential of all composers of Western classical music. ... The Requiem Mass in D minor (K. 626) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was composed in 1791. ... // Inferno means a large fire in general or hell in particular; it derives from Latin infernus, meaning hell, underworld ( beneath). ... Maurice Ravel. ... Boléro is a one-movement orchestral piece by Maurice Ravel. ... Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich (Russian Дмитрий Дмитриевич Шостакович) (September 25, 1906 – August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... The only known photograph of Frédéric Chopin, believed to have been taken by Louis-Auguste Bisson in 1849. ... Wagner may refer to more than one place in the United States: Wagner, South Dakota Wagner, Wisconsin Wagner may refer to more than one person: Richard Wagner, German composer Cosima Wagner, daughter of Franz Liszt and wife of Richard Wagner Heinrich Leopold Wagner, dramatist and author John Peter Honus Wagner... For the famous train, see Rheingold Express. ...

History

As a very accessible frame that allows improvisation, the ostinato was heavily used in the Baroque epoch. For about a century and a half (starting around 1770), the technique was almost abandoned. It suddenly revived in the dawn of the 20th century with the development of jazz music^[5] and also became "perhaps the most typically twentieth-century accompanimental device" used in classical music, in part because of its neoclassical appeal.^[3] By the end of the 1910s, the first records featuring jazz music were released. While most of the performers were not able to notate music, mainly the surviving records prove that early jazz music used a technique similar to ostinato. During the New Orleans era (which ended in the late 1920s), the rhythm section concept crystallized and determined collective improvisation to turn into an "individualised" style, which became a definitive characteristic of the swing style.^[6] Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750[1] (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... The 20th Century saw a revolution in music as the radio gained popularity worldwide. ... Neoclassicism in music was instigated by Igor Stravinsky, according to himself, but attributed by others to composers including Ferruccio Busoni (who wrote Junge Klassizität or New Classicality in 1920), Sergei Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel, and others. ... // The 1910s represent the culmination of European militarism which had its beginnings during the second half of the 19th Century. ... It has been suggested that Childrens gramophone records be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... The 1920s is a decade that is sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties, usually applied to America. ... Rhythm section refers to the musicians whose primary jobs in a jazz or popular music band or ensemble is to establish the rhythm of a song or musical piece, often via repeated riffs or ostinati. ... Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed during the 1920s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States. ...

Similar notions (and synonyms)

• Vamp
• Riff
• Lick (music)
• Hook (music)
• Ciaconna
• Folia, La
• Passacaglia
• Pedal point

In Jazz, a vamp is simply a repeating bass figure. ... Riff is also an alternate spelling of Rif, a region of Morocco. ... In popular music, a lick is a rock term [meaning]...something like a stock pattern or phrase (Middleton 1990, p. ... A hook is a musical idea, a passage or phrase, that is believed to be appealing and make the song stand out; it is meant to catch the ear of the listener (Covach 2005, p. ... In music a chaconne is a musical form. ... -- is one of the oldest European musical themes. ... In music a passacaglia (French: passacaille, Spanish: pasacalle, German: passacalia; Italian: passacaglio, passagallo, passacagli, passacaglie) is a musical form and the corresponding court dance. ... In tonal music, a pedal point (also pedal tone, organ point, or just pedal) is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign, i. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Kamien, Roger (2003). Music: An Appreciation, p.611. ISBN 0-07-284484-1.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Rawlins, Robert (2005). Jazzology: The Encyclopedia of Jazz Theory for All Musicians, p.132-133. ISBN 0-634-08678-2.
3. ^ ^{a b c d} *DeLone et al., eds. (1975). Aspects of 20th Century Music, p.123. ISBN 0-13-049346-5.
4. ^
5. ^ *Popp, Marius (1998). Applicatory Harmony in Jazz, Pop & Rock Improvisation, Introduction. ISBN 973-569-228-7.
6. ^ *Berindei, Mihai (1976). Jazz Dictionary.