Period (music) - Wikipedia

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Period (music)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In music, period refers to certain types of

recurrence in small-scale formal structure. In
twentieth-century music scholarship, the term
is usually used as defined by the Oxford
Companion to Music: "a period consists of
two phrases, antecedent and consequent, each
of which begins with the same basic motif."
[3] Earlier usage varied somewhat, but usually
referred to a similar notions of symmetry,
recurrence, and closure. The concept of a
musical period originates in comparisons
between music structure and rhetoric at least
as early as the 16th century.[4]

Period (two five-bar phrases) in Haydn's Feldpartita.

Play The second phrase is built of parallel (similar)
melodic material, distinguished by an authentic
cadence answering the half cadence at the end of the
first phrase.[1]

Contents
1 Western art music
2 Sub-Saharan music and music of the
African diaspora
2.1 Bell patterns
2.2 Clave
3 See also
4 Sources
5 External links

Period (two four-bar phrases) in Beethoven's Piano

Sonata in C Minor, Op. 13 (Pathetique), second
movement. Play Second phrase built from new
material, "gives the effect of greater freedom of
melodic thought."[2]

Western art music

In Western art music or Classical music, a period is a group of
phrases consisting usually of at least one antecedent phrase and
one consequent phrase totaling about 8 measures in length
(though this varies depending on meter and tempo). Generally,
Diagram of a typical period
the antecedent ends in a weaker and the consequent in a
consisting of two phrases[5][6][7]
stronger cadence; often, the antecedent ends in a half cadence
while the consequent ends in an authentic cadence. Frequently,
the consequent strongly parallels the antecedent, even sharing most of the material save the final
measures. In other cases, the consequent may differ greatly (for example, the period in the

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beginning of the second movement of the Pathetique Sonata).

The 1958 Encyclopdie Fasquelle defines a period as follows:
"A complex phrase, in which the various parts are enchained."[8]
Another definition is as follows:
"In traditional music...a group of bars comprising a natural division of the melody; usually
regarded as comprising two or more contrasting or complementary phrases and ending with a
cadence." (Harvard Dictionary of Music, 1969)[9]
And
"A period is a structure of two consecutive phrases, often built of similar or parallel melodic
material, in which the first phrase gives the impression of asking a question which is
answered by the second phrase."[1]
A double period is, "a group of at least four phrases...in which the first two phrases form the
antecedent and the third and fourth phrases together form the consequent."[10]
When analyzing Classical music, contemporary music theorists usually employ a more specific
formal definition, such as the following by William Caplin:
"the period is normatively an eight-measure structure divided into two four-measure phrases.
[...] the antecedent phrase of a period begins with a two-measure basic idea. [...] measures 3-4
of the antecedent phrase bring a 'contrasting idea' that leads to a weak cadence of some kind.
[...] The consequent phrase of the period repeats the antecedent but concludes with a stronger
cadence. More specifically, the basic idea 'returns' in measures 5-6 and then leads to a
contrasting idea, which may or may not be based on that of the antecedent." [11]

"Greensleeves": sectional binary form (first phrase ends with

the tonic).[12] Play

Sub-Saharan music and music of the African diaspora

Bell patterns
The second definition of period in the New Harvard Dictionary of Music states: "A musical element

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that is in some way repeated," applying "to the units

of any parameter of music that embody repetitions at
any level."[13] In some sub-Saharan music and music
of the African diaspora, the bell pattern embodies
this definition of period.[14] The bell pattern (also
known as a key pattern,[15][16] guide pattern,[17]
phrasing referent,[18] timeline,[19] or asymmetrical
timeline[20]) is repeated throughout the entire piece,
and is the principal unit of musical time and
rhythmic structure by which all other elements are
arranged.[21][22] The period is often a single measure
(four main beats).[23][24]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Period_(music)

Period in a single measure. Standard pattern

written in simple meter (4/4) and compound
meter (12/8).

The seven-stroke standard bell pattern is one of the most commonly used representations of the
musical period in sub-Saharan music.[25] The first three strokes of the bell are antecedent, and the
remaining four strokes are consequent. The consequent diametrically opposes the antecedent.[26][27]

Clave
Cuban musicologist Emilio Grenet represents
the period in two measures of 2/4. In
explaining the structure of music guided by
the five-stroke African bell pattern known in
Cuba as clave (Spanish for 'key' or 'code'),
Period in two measures. Clave written in 2/4
Grenet uses what could be considered a
definition of period: "We find that all its
melodic design is constructed on a rhythmic pattern of two measures, as though both were only
one, the first is antecedent, strong, and the second is consequent, weak."[28]
As Grenet and many others describe the period, the cross-rhythmic antecedent ('tresillo') is strong
and the on-beat resolution is weak. This is the opposite of Western harmonic theory, where
resolution is described as strong. Despite this difference, both the harmonic and rhythmic periods
have consequent resolution. In simplest terms, that resolution occurs harmonically when the tonic is
sounded, and in clave-based rhythm when the last main beat is sounded.[29] Metric consonance is
achieved when the last stroke of clave coincides with the last main beat (last quarter note) of the
consequent measure.[30]
The antecedent measure has three strokes and is called the three-side of clave. The consequent
measure has two strokes and is called the two-side.[31] The three-side gives the impression of
asking a question, which is answered by the two-side. The two sides of clave cycle in a type of
repeating call and response.

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[With] clave . . . the two measures are not at odds, but rather, they are balanced
opposites like positive and negative, expansive and contractive or the poles of a magnet.
As the pattern is repeated, an alternation from one polarity to the other takes place
creating pulse and rhythmic drive. Were the pattern to be suddenly reversed, the rhythm
would be destroyed as in a reversing of one magnet within a series . . . the patterns are
held in place according to both the internal relationships between the drums and their
relationship with clave . . . Should the drums fall out of clave (and in contemporary
practice they sometimes do) the internal momentum of the rhythm will be dissipated and
perhaps even brokenAmira and Cornelius (1992).[32]
An actual key pattern does not need to be played in order for a key pattern to define the period.
[33][34]

See also
Section (music)
Sentence (music)

Sources
1. White, John D. (1976). The Analysis of Music, p.44. ISBN 0-13-033233-X.
2. White (1976), p.45.
3. Whittall, Arnold. "period." The Oxford Companion to Music. Oxford Music Online
(http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t114/e5096). Oxford University Press.
Accessed August 4, 2015.
4. Ratner, Leonard G. "Period." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online
(http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/21337). Oxford University Press.
Accessed April 22, 2015.
5. Benjamin, Thomas; Horvit, Michael; and Nelson, Robert (2003). Techniques and Materials of Music,
p.252. 7th edition. Thomson Schirmer. ISBN 0495500542.
6. Cooper, Paul (1973). Perspectives in Music Theory, p.48. Dodd, Mead, and Co. ISBN 0396067522.
7. Kostka, Stefan and Payne, Dorothy (1995). Tonal Harmony, p.162. Third edition. McGraw-Hill. ISBN
0073000566.
8. Nattiez, Jean-Jacques (1990). Music and Discourse: Toward a Semiology of Music (Musicologie
gnrale et smiologue, 1987). Translated by Carolyn Abbate (1990). ISBN 0-691-02714-5.
9. (1969). Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cited in Nattiez, Jean-Jacques (1990),.
10. White (1976), p.46.
11. Caplin, William (1998). Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of
Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven (1998), p.12. Oxford. ISBN 9780195143997/ISBN 9780195355758.
12. Kostka and Payne (1995), p.336.
13. New Harvard Dictionary of Music (1986: 625) ed. Don Michael Randel. Cambridge: Harvard University
Press.
14. "The time span of the bell rhythm and its division into beats establish meter, a concept that implies a

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musical period" Locke, David "Improvisation in West African Musics" Music Educators Journal, Vol.
66, No. 5, (Jan., 1980), p. 125-133. Published by: MENC: The National Association for Music
Education.
15. Novotney, Eugene N. (1998: 165) Thesis: The 3:2 Relationship as the Foundation of Timelines in West
African Musics, UnlockingClave.com. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois.
16. Pealosa, David (2012: 255) The Clave Matrix; Afro-Cuban Rhythm: Its Principles and African Origins.
Redway, CA: Bembe Inc. ISBN 1-886502-80-3.
17. Gerstin, Julian (2013) "Rhythmic Structures in the African Continuum" Analytical Approaches to World
Music.
18. Agawu, Kofi (2003: 73) Representing African Music: Postcolonial Notes, Queries, Positions. New
York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415943895.
19. Nketia, Kwabena (1961: 78) African Music in Ghana. Accra: Longmans.
20. Kubik, Gerhard (1999: 54) Africa and the Blues. Jackson, MI: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN
1-57806-145-8.
21. "A regular and recurrent rhythm pattern played on the bell provides the time referent by which members
of the performing group reckon the alignment of their rhythm patterns, song melodies, and dance
movements. Not only is the basic musical period established by the bell pattern but its distinctive
rhythmic shape influences all aspects of the music and dance." Locke, David (1982: 217-218)
"Principles of Off-Beat Timing and Cross-Rhythm in Southern Ewe Dance Drumming," Society for
Ethnomusicology Journal, November, p. 217.
22. "Whether performed individually or shared as a collective experience, the music is nonetheless rigidly
controlled by a recurrent rhythm often associated with the role of the bell pattern typical of West and
Central African drumming" Anku, Wille (2000: 1) "Circles and Time: A Theory of Structural
Organization of Rhythm in African Music," Society for Music Theory 6, no. 1.
23. Ladzekpo, C.K. (1995: Web) "Main Beat Schemes." Foundation Course in African Music.
24. Locke, David "Agbadza: The Critical Edition" Tufts University.
25. Jones, A.M. (1959: 211-212) Studies in African Music.
26. Novotney (1998)
27. Pealosa (2012: 59).
28. Grenet, Emilio, translated by R. Phillips (1939: XV). Popular Cuban Music New York: Bourne Inc.
[ISBN 9780849033520.]
29. C.K. Ladzekpo considers cross-rhythm to be rhythmic conflict or an alternate motion, and a main beat
concurrence to be a moment of resolution. Ladzekpo, C.K. (1995: Web) "Technique of Composite
Rhythm" Foundation Course in African Music. http://home.comcast.net/~dzinyaladzekpo
/PrinciplesFr.html
30. Pealosa (2012: 104).
31. "[The] clave pattern has two opposing rhythm cells: the first cell consists of three strokes, or the rhythm
cell, which is called 'tresillo' (Spanish tres = three). This rhythmically syncopated part of the clave is
called the three-side or the strong part of the clave. The second cell has two strokes and is called the
two-side or the weak part of the clave . . . The different accent types in the melodic line typically
encounter with the clave strokes, which have some special name. Some of the clave strokes are accented
both in more traditional tambores bat -music and in more modern salsa styles. Because of the
popularity of these strokes, some special terms have been used to identify them. The second stroke of
the strong part of the clave is called 'bombo'. It is the most often accented clave stroke in my research
material. Accenting it clearly identifies the three-side of the clave (Pealosa The Clave Matrix 2009,
93-94). The second common clave stroke accented among these improvisations is the third stroke of the
strong part of the clave. This stroke is called 'ponche.' In Cuban popular genres, this stroke is often
accented in unison breaks that transition between the song sections (Pealosa 2009, 95; Maulen 1993,

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169)" Iivari, Ville (2011: 1, 5) The Relation Between Clave Pattern and Violin Improvisation in
Santeras Religious Feasts. Department of Musicology, University of Turku, Finland. Web.
http://www.siba.fi/fi/web/embodimentofauthority
/proceedings;jsessionid=07038526F10A06DE7ED190AD5B1744D7
32. Amira, John and Steven Cornelius (1992: 23, 24) The Music of Santeria; Traditional Rhythms of the
Bat Drums. Tempe, AZ: White Cliffs. ISBN 0-941677-24-9
33. Jones (1959: 197-198)
34. Gerard, Charley, and Marty Sheller (1989 :14) Salsa! The Rhythm of Latin Music. Crown Point, Indiana:
White Cliffs. ISBN 9780941677097.

External links
Slideshow about musical periods (http://www.sfcmtheory.com/analysis_lectures/08_periods
/slideshows/The%20Period.html) by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music
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