Compositional Devices
Augmentation
Increasing the note values of a musical theme, usually to twice their value.
The end of God Defend New Zealand is written:
but often performed:
Diminution
Repeating a theme or motif with notes of smaller value (usually half)
Bach Fugue 9
Extension
Developing a phrase or motif by making it longer.
Fragmentation
The breaking of a theme into segments in order to develop it.
Theme: 1st Movement Eroica
Symphony – Beethoven
Development by fragmentation:
Imitation
The repetition by one or more different voices (or instruments) of a phrase first stated by
one instrument. A
Unfinished
Symphony
–
Schubert
Sometimes only the rhythm of a passage is imitated and not the melody. A is an example
of this and is rhythmic imitation.
Sometimes the phrase being imitated is turned upside down. B shows this happening.
This is known as imitation by inversion.
Inversion
String Quartet
Turning No
melody.
upside B
down. The change of the relative position of an interval, chords or a
5 – Bartok
An interval is inverted by placing the lower
note above the upper note (moving it an
octave higher)
Inversions of chords are used
to give a more melodic bass
part and to give variety to the
music
A melody moves by inversion if it moves in contrary motion when repeated. Sometimes
the intervals are not exact.
Bach cleverly designed
the melody below to
sound good when played
against itself.
Ornaments
Ornaments decorate a melody by adding extra notes to it. Ornaments are sometimes
called “grace notes”. There are five main types of ornaments:
Appoggiatura (see also melodic decoration) Turn
Mordent Acciaccatura Trill
Repetition
Repetition occurs when a phrase is repeated immediately at exactly the same pitch.
Death of Ase – Grieg
Repetition may Rhapsod
involve the harmony y Op79
as well as the No1 –
Retrograde
melody: Brahms
Going backwards. In music the term refers to a composition or part of a composition that
can be performed backwards as well as forwards. The device was mostly used by twelve-
tone composers of the twentieth century as a way of organising their music.
A twelve-tone row
Retrograde of the same row
Sequence
The repetition of a musical idea at a higher or lower
pitch. The idea may be just a few notes:
or a complete phrase
There are two types of sequence – Real and Tonal.
a b
b is an exact
transposition of a. with
all the notes being a
a b semitone lower
A real sequence is an
exact transposition of
each note in the
sequence
A tonal sequence b is not an exact transposition of
occurs when the a. The interval at a in the
intervals of the first soprano part is a major 3rd,
phrase are not whereas at b the interval is a
reproduced exactly minor 3rd
A real sequence will always produce modulation. A tonal sequence can produce
modulation, but does not always do so.
The two examples above are harmonic sequences (sequences in all parts).
Melodic sequences (which can also be real or tonal) occur only in the melody over an
independent bass.
Mazurka
in B minor
Op30 No2
- Chopin
