retrograde
[English]
Moving backwards; A device used by composers where a series of notes (comprising a figure or theme) is brought back later in the composition, but written backwards. This device is essential in twelve-tone music. Also, twelve-tone music allows any note in the series to be placed in any octave, so the retrograde form of a serial melody does not necessarily match the contour of the original melody.
See Also
[English] crab motion[English] retrograde inversion
[English] retrograde canon
[English] retrograde motion
[English] retrogression
[German] Krebsgang
[Latin] cancrizans
[Latin] canon cancrizans
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Last Updated: 2016-06-07 14:22:57