Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A short melody or pattern that is constantly repeated, usually in the same part at the same pitch.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun music A piece of
melody , achord progression , or a bass figure that is repeated over and over as a musicalaccompaniment .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a musical phrase repeated over and over during a composition
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Park's "Chronos" features an ostinato bass line that allows Redman to explore vestiges of Middle Eastern music on the melody.
Ralph A. Miriello: Review of the 2011 Jazz Festival at Beautiful Caramoor, Katonah, NY Ralph A. Miriello 2011
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Park's "Chronos" features an ostinato bass line that allows Redman to explore vestiges of Middle Eastern music on the melody.
Ralph A. Miriello: Review of the 2011 Jazz Festival at Beautiful Caramoor, Katonah, NY Ralph A. Miriello 2011
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"Implacable," the first of several Klein compositions on the album, starts with an ostinato on Rhodes piano by Mr. Klein.
Ralph A. Miriello: Aaron Goldberg and Guillermo Klein Join Forces to Create the Compelling Beinestan Ralph A. Miriello 2011
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"Implacable," the first of several Klein compositions on the album, starts with an ostinato on Rhodes piano by Mr. Klein.
Ralph A. Miriello: Aaron Goldberg and Guillermo Klein Join Forces to Create the Compelling Beinestan Ralph A. Miriello 2011
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"Implacable," the first of several Klein compositions on the album, starts with an ostinato on Rhodes piano by Mr. Klein.
Ralph A. Miriello: Aaron Goldberg and Guillermo Klein Join Forces to Create the Compelling Beinestan Ralph A. Miriello 2011
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"Implacable," the first of several Klein compositions on the album, starts with an ostinato on Rhodes piano by Mr. Klein.
Ralph A. Miriello: Aaron Goldberg and Guillermo Klein Join Forces to Create the Compelling Beinestan Ralph A. Miriello 2011
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Herrmann also introduced audiences to his affection for ostinato—short, repeated phrases of a few notes—a device he would use repeatedly throughout his career.
'Psycho' Maestro at 100 Jim Fusilli 2011
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Herrmann also introduced audiences to his affection for ostinato—short, repeated phrases of a few notes—a device he would use repeatedly throughout his career.
'Psycho' Maestro at 100 Jim Fusilli 2011
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But if Hamasyan likes embroidering gentle folk melodies and combining them with a little liltingly tranquil singing too, his power at a keyboard always throbs below the surface in rolling, ostinato patterns, chord-clamouring climaxes and whirling folk dances.
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"Implacable," the first of several Klein compositions on the album, starts with an ostinato on Rhodes piano by Mr. Klein.
Ralph A. Miriello: Aaron Goldberg and Guillermo Klein Join Forces to Create the Compelling Beinestan Ralph A. Miriello 2011
bilby commented on the word ostinato
"He drank from the glass. In the midst of failure all the sounds he heard seemed very neat. The sounds of April were unlike any others. No leaves on the trees. No vegetation to dampen reflection and diffusion. He heard the last rush-hour traffic from Glostrup. The distant drone from Ring Road 4. The birds in the bogs. Voices of the seamstresses. Cheered by the sunset. By closing time. Yet, not completely present. A part of their systems was already on the way home. Most of them had children. Women's voices developed a certain gravity when they had children. An ostinato."
- 'The Quiet Girl', Peter Høeg.
March 18, 2008
sionnach commented on the word ostinato
The rustle of the child-molesters luring their prey into vans. Warbling of the spinsters. The soft pirip-pirip of the Lyme tics in the grass. The merry laughter of the calf-roping chartered accountants in the schoolyard. The soft whimpering of Miss Smilla, as she is repeatedly pecked by the seagulls of despair. The blond acolytes in single file, each with a bun in the oven, looking forward to that evening's repast. Sauerbraten mit Apfelkompott. The delicate filigree of angelhair pasta. A fragrant osso buco. Followed by that rarest of sweet treats - the child-molester chocolate souffle.
April 12, 2008
bilby commented on the word ostinato
Hey, can you pluck that up and insert (no purchase necessary) on my Miss Smilla list, coming soon?! Pretty psychoplease with a Fiji apple on top?
April 12, 2008
frindley commented on the word ostinato
Peter Høeg's neatly accurate characterisation of bariolage in the same novel had me impressed. This is less clear. If he is saying that "all the sounds he heard" were coming together to create an ostinato according to musical definition then that makes sense.
But if (and this is how I interpreted it on first read) he is using "ostinato" to extend the idea of women's voices acquiring gravity after having children, then it makes no sense at all. Unless he is being wicked and making a subtle reference to the fact that women with children are more likely to have to repeat the same small things over and over, i.e. ostinato = nagging.
April 12, 2008
1777237712 commented on the word ostinato
riff: a jazz ostinato; usually provides a background for a solo improvisation
February 27, 2010