variation

Home > ... > Literature and the Arts > Performing Arts > Music: Theory, Forms, and Instruments > ...

Essential reading Compare
side-by-side World Encyclopedia The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

variation

variation in music, a compositional device in which certain features of a musical unit, e.g., phase, are altered while others are retained in a subsequent statement of the unit. Modifications include melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic. Variation is fundamental in Western music, serving to identify the unique features of a composition by partitioning those features. Gregorian chant exhibits much melodic variation, and all music from the Middle Ages through the 20th cent. employs the technique in some form. Specifically the term refers to a musical form, also called "theme and variations," in which the varied item is an entire brief movement. The form originated in baroque dance suites, in which all movements have the same theme, and was popular during the 18th and 19th cent. Bach's Goldberg Variations and Beethoven's Diabelli Variations are famous examples of the genre.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1E1-variatn2" title="Facts and information about variation">variation</a>

Give this article a thumbs-up on StumbleUpon

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"variation." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 24 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"variation." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (December 24, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-variatn2.html

"variation." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved December 24, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-variatn2.html

Learn more about citation styles

variation

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Â© World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

variation In music, a variety of treatments upon a single theme. Successive statements of the theme are altered by such means as simple elaboration, change of key, or change of time signature.

Create a link to this page

Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:

<a href="http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/.aspx#1O142-variation1" title="Facts and information about variation">variation</a>

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

"variation." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 24 Dec. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

"variation." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (December 24, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-variation1.html

"variation." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved December 24, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-variation1.html

Learn more about citation styles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries and thesauruses

Rate these entries|See all related entries

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Claimable Variations Under The Victorian Security Of Payment Legislation. News Wire article from: Mondaq Business Briefing; 6/19/2009
	VARIATION PROFILES OF COMMON SURGICAL PROCEDURES. Magazine article from: AORN Journal; 10/1/1999
	Claimable Variations Under The Victorian Security Of Payment Legislation.(Law overview) News Wire article from: Mondaq Business Briefing; 6/29/2009

Facts and information from other sites

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, and more

	Claimable Variations Under The Victorian Security Of Payment Legislation. News Wire article from: Mondaq Business Briefing; 6/19/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...a claimable variation".2 Claimable variations are broken into...second class variations and were therefore...second class variation are: the provision...of disputed variations for which all...second class variation were met and...
	VARIATION PROFILES OF COMMON SURGICAL PROCEDURES. Magazine article from: AORN Journal; 10/1/1999; ; 700+ words ; ...component of total variation in rates across...Results. Regionally, variations were noted for all procedures. Variation profiles differed...which had greater variations. One might ask why there is little variation for one type of...
	Grammatical Variation in Neo-Assyrian.(Book review) Magazine article from: The Journal of the American Oriental Society; 1/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; ...chapter 7) variations. The remaining...external types of variation "are inserted...orthographic variation" (p. 11). All other variations listed by Luukko...rather than variations themselves...phonological variation can be caused...
	Interprovincial variations in the use of custody for young offenders: a funnel analysis. (Canada) (The Young Offenders Act - Ten Years After Implementation) Magazine article from: Canadian Journal of Criminology; 7/1/1994; ; 700+ words ; ...interprovincial variation in the use of custodial...jurisdictional variation and to identify the locus of variations which remain...jurisdictional variations in custodial sentencing...jurisdictional variation in the per capita...
	Interdecadal variations of annual precipitation in the central United States Magazine article from: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society; 2/1/1998; ; 700+ words ; ...significant precipitation variations of interdecadal...particular, one variation has a quasi 20...outstanding interdecadal variations in annual precipitation...2) among these variations is a fairly regular variation of a quasi 20...
	Brahms's Variations on a Hungarian Song, op. 21, no. 2: "Betrachte dann die Beethovenschen und, wenn Du willst, meine".(Critical Essay) Magazine article from: Brahms Studies; 1/1/2001; ; 700+ words ; ...applications of variation procedure and...with, why variations on a Hungarian...freestanding variation sets--the Handel Variations, the Paganini...included a single variation on an Irish...to see more variations, Joachim responded...
	Seasonal Variations in the Circulation over the Middle Atlantic Bight Continental Shelf Magazine article from: Journal of Physical Oceanography; 7/1/2008; ; 700+ words ; ...corresponding seasonal variation (annual cycle...documented seasonal variations in both the wind...cause of seasonal variations in the circulation...evidence of a seasonal variation in the along...contributed to seasonal variations in the along...sources of seasonal variation in the ...
	8 Variations on a Dutch Song. 6 Variations on "Salve tu, Domine." 7 Variations on "Willem van Nassau." 12 Variations on a Minuet by Johann Christian Fischer. 12 Variations on "Je suis Lindor." 6 Variations on "Mio caro Adone" by Salieri. Londoner Skizzenbuch: 6 Pieces. Overture. Allemande. Courrante. Eine kleine Gigue in G. Capriccio in C, K 574. Minuet in D, K 355; 6 Variations on an Allegretto. Andante fur eine Walze in eine kleine Orgel. Rondo in D, K 485. 10 Variations on "Unser dummer Pobel meint." 12 Variations on an Allegretto. Sonata Movement in B[musical flat], K 400. Fugue in g, K 401. 12 Variations on "Ah vous dirai-je, Maman." 12 Variations on "La belle francoise." Fantasy in c, K 396. Kleier Trauermarsch in c. Fantasy and Fugue in C, K 394. Rondo in a, K 511. Adagio in b, K 540. Allegro in g, K 312. 9 Variations on a Minuet by Duport. Allegro and Rondo in F. 8 Variations on "Come un'agnello." 8 Variations on "Ein Weib ist das herlichste Ding." Sonata Movement and Minuet in B[musical flat]. 8... Magazine article from: Fanfare; 11/1/2007; ; 700+ words ; MOZART 8 Variations on a Dutch Song. 6 Variations on "Salve tu, Domine." 7 Variations on "Willem van Nassau." 12 Variations on a Minuet by Johann Christian Fischer. 12 Variations on "Je suis Lindor." 6 Variations on "Mio caro Adone...
	Variation of the Probability of a Male Birth Within and Between Sibships Magazine article from: Human Biology; 2/1/2009; ; 700+ words ; ...counterbalancing measures of Poisson and Lexis variation are simultaneously present. These conditions are...WORDS: BINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION, LEXIS (LEXIAN) VARIATION, POISSON VARIATION, SEX RATIO. Stansfield and Carlton (2007) found...
	2 Process variations.(Statistical Performance Modeling and Optimization) Magazine article from: Foundations and Trends in Electronic Design Automation; 12/1/2006; ; 700+ words ; Process variations are the deviations from the intended...paper, we focus on the parametric variations due to the continuously varying structural...the manufacturing steps, parametric variations can be classified into two broad categories...