Segue
Encyclopedia
A segue is a smooth transition from one topic or section to the next.
, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue (the next section) without a pause. It comes from the Italian
"it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.
For written music it implies a transition from one section to the next without any break. In improvisation
, it is often used for transitions created as a part of the performance, leading from one section to another.
In live performance, a segue can occur during a jam session
, where the improvisation of the end of one song progresses into a new song. Segues can even occur between groups of musicians during live performance. For example, as one band finishes its set, members of the following act replace members of the first band one by one, until a complete band swap occurs.
In recorded music, a segue is a seamless transition between one song and another. The effect is often achieved through beatmatching
, especially on dance and disco
recordings, or through arrangements that create the effect of a musical suite
, a classical style also used in many progressive rock
recordings.
Some album notations distinguish track listings though the use of symbols, such as a >, →, or / to indicate songs that flow seamlessly.
, a segue is a method of smoothly transitioning from one topic to another. A segue allows the host or writer to naturally proceed to another topic without jarring the audience. A good segue makes the subject change seem like a natural extension of the discussion.
"It is typical that his story of Alfred E Smith's magnificent 1919 denunciation of unscrupuulous newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst for abusing the power of the press segues into a reheating of Cartman invective on the subject of "Kyle's mom" from the scurrilous television cartoon series South Park." From Sunday Times Culture 16 October 2011, James McConnachie's review of YOU TALKING TO ME? Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama by Sam Leith.
In music
In musicMusic
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...
, segue is a direction to the performer. It means continue (the next section) without a pause. It comes from the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
"it follows". The term attacca is also used in classical music.
For written music it implies a transition from one section to the next without any break. In improvisation
Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation is the creative activity of immediate musical composition, which combines performance with communication of emotions and instrumental technique as well as spontaneous response to other musicians...
, it is often used for transitions created as a part of the performance, leading from one section to another.
In live performance, a segue can occur during a jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
, where the improvisation of the end of one song progresses into a new song. Segues can even occur between groups of musicians during live performance. For example, as one band finishes its set, members of the following act replace members of the first band one by one, until a complete band swap occurs.
In recorded music, a segue is a seamless transition between one song and another. The effect is often achieved through beatmatching
Beatmatching
Beatmatching is a disc jockey technique of pitch shifting or timestretching a track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track e.g. the kicks and snares in two house records hit at the same time when both records are played simultaneously...
, especially on dance and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
recordings, or through arrangements that create the effect of a musical suite
Suite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
, a classical style also used in many progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
recordings.
Some album notations distinguish track listings though the use of symbols, such as a >, →, or / to indicate songs that flow seamlessly.
In journalism
In journalismJournalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, a segue is a method of smoothly transitioning from one topic to another. A segue allows the host or writer to naturally proceed to another topic without jarring the audience. A good segue makes the subject change seem like a natural extension of the discussion.
See also
- BeatmatchingBeatmatchingBeatmatching is a disc jockey technique of pitch shifting or timestretching a track to match its tempo to that of the currently playing track e.g. the kicks and snares in two house records hit at the same time when both records are played simultaneously...
- BeatmixingBeatmixingBeatmixing is a disk jockey technique of playing two songs at the same time so that the beats of one song occur at the same time as the other.-History:...
- Derailment (thought disorder)Derailment (thought disorder)In psychiatry, derailment refers to a pattern of discourse that is a sequence of unrelated or only remotely related ideas. The frame of reference often changes from one sentence to the next...
- Harmonic mixingHarmonic mixingHarmonic mixing or key mixing is a DJ's continuous mix between two pre-recorded tracks that are most often either in the same key, or their keys are relative or in a subdominant or dominant relationship with one another....
- Gapless playbackGapless playbackGapless playback is the uninterrupted playback of consecutive audio tracks without intervening silence or clicks at the point of the track change. Gapless playback is common with compact discs, gramophone records, or tapes, but is not always available with other formats that employ compressed...
- Match cutMatch cutA match cut, also called a graphic match, is a cut in film editing between either two different objects, two different spaces, or two different compositions in which an object in the two shots graphically match, often helping to establish a strong continuity of action and linking the two shots...
"It is typical that his story of Alfred E Smith's magnificent 1919 denunciation of unscrupuulous newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst for abusing the power of the press segues into a reheating of Cartman invective on the subject of "Kyle's mom" from the scurrilous television cartoon series South Park." From Sunday Times Culture 16 October 2011, James McConnachie's review of YOU TALKING TO ME? Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama by Sam Leith.