Information AboutOstinati |
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Ostinatos are to Classical Music what Riff s 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 and are often used in Modal and Latin Jazz , traditional African Music including Gnawa Music . Applicable in Homophonic and Contrapuntal Textures they are distinguished as "repetitive rhythmic- Harmonic schemes", the more familiar Accompaniment al melodies, or as purely rhythmic . The technique's appeal to composers from Debussy to Avant-garde composers till at least the seventies "lies in part in the need for unity created by the virtual abandonment of Functional Chord Progression s to shape phrases and define Tonality " . Similarly in Modal music "relentless, repetitive character help to establish and confirm the Modal Center " . 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 " . GROUND BASS A ground bass (also '''basso ostinato''': obstinate bass) is a Bass part or Bassline that repeats continually, as an ostinato, while the melody and possibly harmony over it change. It was developed and used frequently in the Baroque era. In Popular Music , many Bass Guitar Riff s 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 ". FAMOUS EXAMPLES Popular music A 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 Verse s, Benny and Björn sing repeatedly "take a chance, take a chance, take a, take a chan-chance", while Agnetha and Frida sing the Lyrics . Jazz music Examples in jazz include " So What ," " A Night In Tunisia ," " Take Five ," " Maiden Voyage ," and "Cantaloupe Island" . 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 ''. 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 '', and the harmonic pattern in Chopin 's ''Berceuse''. 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" . HISTORY
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