Topmusicanswers
- What does retrograde mean in a musical composition?
- What is the difference between retrograde and inversion in music?
- What is retrograde form?
What does retrograde mean in a musical composition?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. A melodic line that is the reverse of a previously or simultaneously stated line is said to be its retrograde or cancrizans ("walking backward", medieval Latin, from cancer, crab). An exact retrograde includes both the pitches and rhythms in reverse.
What is the difference between retrograde and inversion in music?
The retrograde is the prime form backward. The inversion is the original row with all intervals in the row inverted (going in the opposite direction of the original).
What is retrograde form?
A retrograde form of the row takes a prime form and exactly reverses the pitch classes. Its interval content, then, are the reverse of the prime forms. Retrograde forms are labeled R followed by a subscript denoting the last pitch class in the row.
