ostinato n : a musical phrase repeated over and over during a composition

English

Etymology

Italian ostinato, stubborn

Noun

ostinato (plural: ostinatos)

1. A piece of melody, a chord progression, or a bass figure that is repeated over and over as a musical accompaniment.

Italian

Verb

it-pp ostinat

Adjective

it-adj ostinat

1. stubborn or obstinate

Noun

1. A stubborn or obstinate person

In music, an ostinato (derived from Italian: "stubborn", compare English: obstinate) is a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody. Both "ostinatos" and "ostinati" are accepted English plural forms. Strictly speaking, ostinatos should have exact repetition, but in common usage, the term covers repetition with variation and development, such as the alteration of an ostinato line to fit changing harmonies or keys.

Characteristics

Musicologist Robert Rawlins defines an ostinato as "any clearly defined melodic or rhythmic pattern that is repeated persistently". In this usage, "pattern" implies recognizable rather than exact recurrence. The general concepts may be applied to quasi-ostinato or ostinato-like techniques lacking rhythmically "symmetrical" or regular repetition, and some have considered the twelve tone technique an extension or specific example of ostinato.

Ostinatos are to classical music what riffs 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 are often used in modal and Latin jazz, traditional African music including Gnawa music

Famous examples

Popular music

A famous short piece of Ostinato can be found in the theme music to the movie Jaws composed by John Williams. It used the two notes in the bass section of the scale, repeated in various tempos to express the different activities of the killer shark. The two note ostinato is perhaps the most recognisable film music in history.

Danny Elfman's theme for Men in Black is an ostinato on bass guitar.

Another 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 verses, Benny and Björn sing repeatedly "take a chance, take a chance, take a, take a chan-chance", while Agnetha and Frida sing the lyrics.

American drummer Terry Bozzio has made extensive use of the ostinato as a drumset technique. Many examples can be heard on his instructional videos Melodic Drumming and the Ostinato Vol. I, II, and III, as well as his CDs Solo Drum Music Vol. I and II.

American Progressive metal band Symphony X often uses the melody as an Ostinato, while having the bassline act as a moving line.

American Progressive metal band Dream Theater showcases harmonized guitar-keyboard Ostinatos in songs such as Learning to Live and In the Name of God.

Also, Seasons of Love from the broadway show Rent features an ostinato in the beginning.

We Can't Live Together from Joe Jackson's Big World album has an ostinato fretless bass which relents only for the bridge.

Stupidly Happy from XTC's Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) offers a variety of melodic excursions over an ostinato guitar riff which elaborates only a tiny bit over the course of the song.

Operation Ground and Pound, Cry For Eternity and Black Winter Night by English power metal band, DragonForce all have harmonized ostinato guitar lines during their openings.

Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin features a bass and guitar ostinato on an F# octave throughout the song.

Many third-wave ska songs utilize an ostinato as a brass melody.

Jazz music

In jazz, a vamp is simply a repeating musical figure or accompaniment. The equivalent in classical music would be an ostinato. A background vamp provides a performer, or perhaps the pianist's right hand, a harmonic framework upon which to improvise. A vamp often acts as a springboard at the opening of an improvisation.

Classic examples in jazz, include "A Night in Tunisia", "Take Five", "A Love Supreme", "Maiden Voyage", and "Cantaloupe Island". and also became "perhaps the most typically twentieth-century accompanimental device" used in classical music, in part because of its neoclassical appeal.

See also

• Vamp
• Riff
• Lick (music)
• Hook (music)
• Ciaconna
• Folia, La
• Passacaglia
• Pedal point

References