In
music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
, the introduction is a
passage or
section which opens a
movement or a separate
piece, preceding the
theme or
lyrics
Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...
. In
popular music
Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
, this is often known as the song intro or just the intro. The introduction establishes
melodic,
harmonic
In physics, acoustics, and telecommunications, a harmonic is a sinusoidal wave with a frequency that is a positive integer multiple of the ''fundamental frequency'' of a periodic signal. The fundamental frequency is also called the ''1st har ...
or
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...
ic material related to the main body of a piece.
[Pease, Ted (2003), p.172. ''Jazz Composition : Theory and Practice''. .]
Introductions may consist of an
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from the Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces inc ...
that is used in the following music, an important
chord or
progression that establishes the
tonality
Tonality is the arrangement of pitch (music), pitches and / or chord (music), chords of a musical work in a hierarchy of perceived ''relations'', ''stabilities'', ''attractions'', and ''directionality''.
In this hierarchy, the single pitch or ...
and
groove
Groove or Grooves may refer to:
Music
* Groove (music)
* Groove (drumming)
* The Groove (band), an Australian rock/pop band of the 1960s
* The Groove (Sirius XM), a US radio station
* Groove 101.7FM, a former Perth, Australia, radio station
...
for the following music, or they may be important but disguised or out-of-context
motivic or
thematic material.
As such, the introduction may be the first statement of primary or other important material, may be related to but different from the primary or other important material, or may bear little relation to any other material.
A common introduction to a rubato ballad is a
dominant seventh chord with
fermata
A fermata (; "from ''fermare'', to stay, or stop"; also known as a hold, pause, colloquially a birdseye or cyclops eye, or as a grand pause when placed on a note or a rest) is a symbol of musical notation indicating that the note should be ...
, an introduction that works for many songs is the last four or eight measures of the song, while a common introduction to the
twelve-bar blues
The twelve-bar blues (or blues changes) is one of the most prominent chord progressions in popular music. The blues progression has a distinctive form in lyrics, phrase, chord structure, and duration. In its basic form, it is predominantly ba ...
is a single chorus.
[Weir (2005), p.55.]
If a movement in
sonata form
The sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement form) is a musical form, musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of t ...
form begins with an introductory section, this introduction is typically not considered part of the movement's
exposition
Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to:
*Universal exposition or World's Fair
*Expository writing
*Exposition (narrative), background information in a story
* Exposition (music)
*Trade fair
* ''Exposition'' (album), the debut alb ...
.
See also
*
Anacrusis
In poetic and musical meter, and by analogy in publishing, an anacrusis (from , , literally: 'pushing up', plural ''anacruses'') is a brief introduction. In music, it is also known as a pickup beat, or fractional pick-up, i.e. a note or seque ...
*
Dominant (music)
In music
Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present ...
and
secondary dominant
A secondary chord is an analytical label for a specific harmonic device that is prevalent in the tonal idiom of Western music beginning in the common practice period: the use of diatonic functions for tonicization.
Secondary chords are a ...
*
Fanfare
*
Leading tone
*
Overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...
*
Turnaround (music)
In jazz, a turnaround is a passage at the end of a section which leads to the next section. This next section is most often the repetition of the previous section or the entire piece or song.Randel, Don Michael (2002). ''The Harvard Concise Dic ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Introduction (Music)
Auxiliary members