The 1957 ''Encyclopédie Larousse''
[quoted in Nattiez, Jean-Jacques (1990). ''Music and Discourse: Toward a Semiology of Music'' (''Musicologie générale et sémiologue'', 1987). Translated by Carolyn Abbate (1990). .] defines a cell 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 ...
as a "small
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 and
melodic design that can be isolated, or can make up one part of a
thematic context". The cell may be distinguished from the
figure
Figure may refer to:
General
*A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration
*Figure (wood), wood appearance
*Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif
* Noise figure, in telecommunication
* Dance figure, an elementary dance patt ...
or
motif:
the 1958 ''Encyclopédie Fasquelle''
defines a cell as "the smallest indivisible unit", unlike the motif, which may be divisible into more than one cell. "A cell can be
developed, independent of its context, as a melodic fragment, it can be used as a developmental motif. It can be the source for the whole
structure
A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...
of the work; in that case it is called a generative cell."
A rhythmic cell is a cell without melodic connotations. It may be entirely percussive or applied to different melodic segments.
History
The term "cell" (German: ''Keim'') derives from organic music theorists of the nineteenth century.
Arnold Schering adopted the term, along with "melodic kernels" (''Melodiekerne'') in his analysis of 14th-century
madrigal
A madrigal is a form of secular vocal music most typical of the Renaissance (15th–16th centuries) and early Baroque (1580–1650) periods, although revisited by some later European composers. The polyphonic madrigal is unaccompanied, and the ...
, one of the first uses of
Gestalt psychology
Gestalt psychology, gestaltism, or configurationism is a school of psychology and a theory of perception that emphasises the processing of entire patterns and configurations, and not merely individual components. It emerged in the early twent ...
in music theory.
See also
*
Clave (rhythm)
The clave (; ) is a rhythmic pattern used as a tool for meter (music), temporal organization in Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music, Cuban music. In Spanish, ''clave'' literally means key, clef, code, or keystone. It is present in a variety of genres ...
*
Hauptrhythmus
In music, (German for ''primary voice'') or is the main melody, voice, chief part (music), part; i.e., the counterpoint, contrapuntal or melodic line of primary importance, in opposition to . (German for ''secondary voice'') or is the seco ...
*
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 ...
*
Vamp
References
{{Musical form
Formal sections in music analysis