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Figured bass is a kind of shorthand in musical technique that came into use in the 17th century, whereby only the bass line of harmonic accompaniment, performed on plucked or keyboard instruments, was written out (Notation, musical). The harmonic chords to be filled in above this bass line were improvised (Improvisation); these were built on standardized chord progressions or were indicated by a system of numbered intervals. In this system, a given triad usually required just one number. Around the year 1607, the two earliest schools of figured bass [1]; [2] designated special form…

Ornaments (also “embellishments”) may be seen as a subordinate level of musical setting. Ornamentation involved enlivening the primary notes that bore the structure of the piece, often by subdividing them into sequences of shorter notes, or joining several such primary notes together by inserting additional notes between. Because this was a lower order of setting, the addition of ornaments to a composition was often left to the performer (Improvisation).Traditional counterpoint theory provided, alongside the regular occurrence of  contrapunctus simplex ( punctus contra…

1. ConceptA composition or performance is called polychoral if multiple groups of singers or instruments enter both in alternation and simultaneously. The alternation of groups of singers, and the alternation of a cantor and the congregation in the declamation of psalms, was adopted in the Christian church from Jewish cult practice. Developing out of these monophonic practices, a new way of combining two choral groups emerged in polyphonic church music in the early 16th century. Rather than simpl…

1. Background In ancient Greece, systematic investigation of the phenomena of speech and rhetoric (“the art of speaking”) began in the 5th century BCE. Initially this involved teachers sharing model speeches with their students. In the 4th century BCE, in the works of Aristotle, it became the object of a systematic search for the principles of successful persuasion. Aristotle recognized material proof, the character of the speaker, and the emotional state of the listener as the three most effectiv…

1. Definition Tuning in relation to a musical instrument is the setting of pitch (Tonal systems). A distinction must be made between setting an absolute basic pitch reference (concert pitch) and tuning as the alignment of other pitches set on an instrument to this pitch reference. Setting a common pitch reference is essential when several instruments are playing together. By international convention established in 1939, concert pitch of A above middle C (A4) is set at 440 Hz. Different values, however, have applied throughout musical history [4]. In the 18th century, there …