Diminution

This article is about diminution in music. For the diminution of chromatin see diminution (chromatin) .

Under diminution (from Latin deminutio , downsizing ' ) is understood in the music several issues:

• In a more general sense, diminution means the reduction of note values ​​(e.g. from half notes to quarter notes). For example, it is possible for a musical theme to sound in the course of a piece in diminished form, i.e. in shorter note values ​​and thus faster. If, on the other hand, note values ​​are increased, one speaks of augmentation .

• Diminution can also affect the interval structure of a piece; then note jumps in a melody are made smaller. Here, too, the opposite process is called augmentation.

• Diminution in a more specific sense is a type of ornament that works by reducing the time value of the notes . When a melody is diminished , the given notes become note groups with half, quartered or otherwise subdivided note values . In each of these note groups, the original tone usually (but not always) appears at least once, while the other pitches are invented. The result is a melody line that seems to be playing around the original melody in faster tones. Diminution became a popular means of improvised variation in 17th century music . It affects the musical parameters of rhythm and melody. One form that makes use of diminution is the double .