Privileged pattern
Encyclopedia
In music
a privileged pattern is a motive
, figure
, or chord
which is repeated and transposed
so that the transpositions form a recognizable pattern
. The pattern of transposition may be either by a repeated interval
, an interval cycle
, or a stepwise
line of whole tones
and semitone
s. The pattern is said to be privileged
because it requires no context and is a precompositional
technique. (Wilson 1992, p.39-40)
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
a privileged pattern is a motive
Motif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
, figure
Figure (music)
A musical figure is the shortest idea in music, a short succession of notes, often recurring. It may have melodic pitch, harmonic progression and rhythmic . The 1964 Grove's Dictionary defines the figure as "the exact counterpart of the German 'motiv' and the French 'motif'": it produces a "single...
, or chord
Chord (music)
A chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
which is repeated and transposed
Transposition (music)
In music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key...
so that the transpositions form a recognizable pattern
Pattern
A pattern, from the French patron, is a type of theme of recurring events or objects, sometimes referred to as elements of a set of objects.These elements repeat in a predictable manner...
. The pattern of transposition may be either by a repeated interval
Interval (music)
In music theory, an interval is a combination of two notes, or the ratio between their frequencies. Two-note combinations are also called dyads...
, an interval cycle
Interval cycle
In music, an interval cycle is a collection of pitch classes created from a sequence of the same interval class. In other words a collection of pitches by starting with a certain note and going up by a certain interval until the original note is reached In music, an interval cycle is a collection...
, or a stepwise
Steps and skips
In music, a step, or conjunct motion, is a linear or successive interval between two pitches which are consecutive scale degrees. Any larger interval is called a skip , or disjunct motion...
line of whole tones
Major second
In Western music theory, a major second is a musical interval spanning two semitones, and encompassing two adjacent staff positions . For example, the interval from C to D is a major second, as the note D lies two semitones above C, and the two notes are notated on adjacent staff postions...
and semitone
Semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically....
s. The pattern is said to be privileged
Privileged
- Television :* Privileged , a 2008 US television series- Film :* The Privileged Planet, a 2004 American documentary* Privileged , a 1982 Hollywood film- Other uses :...
because it requires no context and is a precompositional
Precompositional
In music, precompositional decisions are those decisions which a composer decides upon before or while beginning to create a composition. These limits may be given to the composer, such as the length or style needed, or entirely decided by the composer....
technique. (Wilson 1992, p.39-40)