Pattern (music)
The pattern ( plural : pattern ; English : pattern; from the Latin patronus: patron ) describes a harmonically or rhythmically recurring structure in the parlance of musicians and composers. The term refers primarily to percussive elements or drums and is partly transferred from this context to other, more general meanings. Here, a recurring motif is usually meant, the term pattern is an Anglicism in such cases .
The ethnomusicology uses this term more specifically. Patterns are differentiated according to the number of their beats (pulses), in African music small numbers predominate, two, three or four beats. At least two are interlinked there. Patterns of different numbers shift against each other in the course of a piece, similar to a beat . Since drums ( djembe ) can have different pitches , not only rhythmic shapes are created, but also melodic ones through the shifting of the focal points and interrelationships.
In electronic music , the term basically has the same meaning. A programmed pattern also describes a basic musical pattern or motif that is repeated several times - even in slight modifications. American minimal music is often based on the constant modification of such patterns. A so-called phase arises when the patterns are slightly shifted in time in different voices or instruments . Dealing with this is called phasing as a composition technique .
The most famous composers who have worked with electronic patterns are Steve Reich , Terry Riley and Philip Glass .
Morton Feldman has based two compositions, Patterns in a Chromatic Field, for cello & piano (1981) and Why Patterns ?, for flute, glockenspiel and piano (1978), on patterns.
Individual evidence
- ^ Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, accessed January 29, 2017 .